The dwarf started, as if suddenly awakened, and his eyes lost their speculative gaze.
“Sometimes the vision comes to me,” he said; “how or why I know not. But always I see truly.”
Duncan Moit did not understand this dialogue, which had been conducted in the native tongue. He had been examining, with the appreciation of a skilled workman, the beautiful creations of the Indian goldsmith. But now our uneasy looks and the significant glances of Nux and Bryonia attracted his attention, and he turned to ask an explanation.
The princess evaded the subject, saying lightly that the dwarf had been trying to excuse himself for breaking the law and employing the forbidden gold in his decorations. I turned to Tcharn and again demanded:
“Show us the pebbles.”
At once he drew a basket woven of rushes from beneath a bench and turned out its contents on the top of the great table. A heap of stones was disclosed, the appearance of which at first disappointed me. They were of many shapes and sizes and had surfaces resembling ground glass. In the semi gloom of the bower and amid the shining gold tracery of its ornamentation the “pebbles” seemed uninteresting enough.
But Moit pounced upon the treasure with exclamations of wonder, examining them eagerly. Either the German or the arrow-maker had chipped some of them in places, and then the clear, sparkling brilliancy of the diamonds was fully demonstrated.
“They are magnificent!” cried the inventor. “I have never seen gems so pure in color or of such remarkable size and perfect form.”
I compared them mentally with the stones I had found in the roll of bark taken from the dead man’s pocket, and decided that these were indeed in no way inferior.
The dwarf opened a golden cabinet and brought us three more diamonds. These had been cut into facets and polished, and were amazingly brilliant. I am sure Tcharn had never seen the usual method of diamond-cutting, and perhaps knew nothing of the esteem in which civilized nations held these superb pebbles of pure carbon; so it is remarkable that he had intuitively found the only means of exhibiting the full beauty of the stones.
“Will you give me these, my cousin?” asked the princess.
For answer he swept them all into the basket and placed it in her hands. She turned and with a pleased smile gave the treasure to Moit.
“At last,” said I, with a sigh of relief, “we have accomplished the object of our adventure.”
“At last,” said Duncan, “I have enough money to patent my inventions and to give the machine to the world in all its perfection!”
“But we mus’ get out o’ here, Mars’ Sam,” observed Bry, gravely.
“That is true,” I replied. “And I hope now that we have no further reason for staying that we shall have little difficulty in passing the lines of our enemies.”
We confided to the arrow-maker a portion of our adventures, and told him how Nalig-Nad had seemed determined to destroy us. When the relation was finished I asked:
“Will you advise us how we can best regain our ship without meeting the king’s warriors?”
He considered the matter with great earnestness. Then he enquired:
“Will your machine run safely in the waters of the ocean?”
I repeated the question to Moit.
“Yes,” he answered, “if the water is not too rough.”
“Then it will be best for you to go east until you come to the coast of the Atlantic,” said Tcharn. “The tribes of the south-east will not oppose you if the Princess Ilalah and I are with you. When you get to the ocean you may travel in the water to your river, and so reach your ship.”
This advice was so good that we at once adopted the suggestion.
The arrow-maker now clapped his hands, and to our surprise three tall natives entered the bower and bowed to him. He ordered them to bring refreshments, and they at once turned and disappeared.
“Who are these men?” I asked.
“They are my assistants, who help me to forge the arrows and the spears,” he replied. “The king always allows me three men, and their tongues are cut out so that they cannot tell to others the secrets of my art.”
That explained why he was able to devote so much time to the execution of his gold-work.
The servants shortly returned bearing golden dishes of exquisite shapes, on the polished surfaces of which familiar scenes in the lives of the San Blas were cleverly engraved.
We were given fresh milk, a kind of hominy boiled and spiced, slices of cold mutton and several sorts of fruits, including cocoanut meats.
Sitting around the splendid table, which would have conferred distinction upon a king’s palace, we made a hasty but satisfying meal and then prepared to return to the automobile.
I think the little arrow-maker was as eager to ride in the wonderful machine as to guide us on our way; but we were very glad to have him with us, and he sat quietly absorbed by the side of Duncan Moit and watched the inventor direct the course of his automobile over the difficult pathway between the trees.
We reached level ground without accident and then, turning to the left, increased our speed and travelled rapidly over the now familiar plains in the direction of the sea.
We followed the edge of the forest as well as we could, for here in the uplands the numerous streams were less difficult to cross; but soon after we had passed beyond the point of our first excursion in this direction we came upon a good sized river sweeping out from the wood, which Tcharn told us flowed into the Atlantic further toward the north. There were dangerous rapids in it, however, so we decided it would be safer to continue on to the coast than to trust ourselves to this treacherous current.
And now we soon began to pass the cocoanut groves, while groups of natives paused to stare at us wonderingly. But we made no halt, for the plains were smooth and easy to travel upon and the less we had to do with the natives the better we were off.
A mile inland from the ocean the dwarf told us were many villages. We decided to rush past these quickly to avoid being stopped, and Tcharn agreed that it would be wise. Explanations would be sure to delay us, even if these tribes had not already been warned by messengers from Nalig-Nad to capture us if we came their way. So when we reached the villages we shot by them like a flash, and the sensation we created was laughable.
Men, women and children—even the dogs—rushed from the path of the dreadful flying monster in a panic of fear, and we heard their screams and wild cries long after the houses had been left far behind. These tribes may be just as brave as the ones farther north, but their natures are not so stolid and self-possessed.
The ocean came into view suddenly, and we found the banks so high above the beach that we were obliged to turn north until we reached a small river, the water of which was deep enough to float us out to sea.
Here we bade farewell, with much regret, to our arrow-maker, and Duncan generously presented him with such wrenches and other tools as could be spared from his outfit. These presents gave the dwarf much delight, and for my part I was so grateful for his assistance that I gave him my silver watch, and showed him how to tell the time of day by following the movements of its hands. He understood it very quickly and I knew that he would obtain much pleasure from its possession.
It was little enough, indeed, for the transfer of the diamonds, which were worth a fortune; but the gems were valueless to him, even had he been able to own them without the risk of forfeiting his life.
We left the arrow-maker earnestly watching us from the bank as we paddled swiftly down the stream; but soon our attention was directed to other matters and we forgot him.
When we reached the ocean we headed out boldly, but the long waves rolled pretty high for us, we soon found. It was not at all a rough sea, yet Moit was forced to acknowledge that his invention was not intended for ocean travel. After we had tossed about for a time we went ashore, finding to our joy that the beach was broad and sandy, and the tide was out.
This was the best luck that could possibly have happened to us, and we sped along the sands at a fine rate of speed, resolved to make the most of our opportunities.
Just before we reached the northern forest, however, we found that king Nalig-Nad had been thoughtful enough to anticipate the possibility of our coming this way and had sent a large force to oppose us. They were crowded thickly upon the beach and we were given the choice of meeting them or driving into the ocean again.
I rather favored the latter course, but Duncan’s face was set and stern, and I saw that he was intent on running them down.
He increased our rate of speed until we were fairly flying, and a moment more we bumped into the solid ranks of the Indians and sent them tumbling in every direction—not so much on account of the machine’s weight as its velocity.
Those who were not knocked over made haste to get out of our way, and in a few seconds they were all behind us and we could slacken our terrible pace with safety.
We had passed the mouths of several streams on our way, and circled some remarkably broad and pretty bays, so now we began to look for the river in which our wrecked ship was stranded. One broad inlet we paddled up for a way, but it led straight into the wood; so we backed out again, and the next time were more successful; for soon we were able to discern the Gladys H. lying on her side, and knew we were near our journey’s end.
Ilalah told us that small ships sometimes came to this river to trade with her people for skins and tortoise-shell; but none had been there for several months.
At first I thought that our wreck was entirely deserted, but after a time Uncle Naboth’s pudgy form appeared at the stern, waving his red handkerchief in frantic greeting; a moment later our sailors flocked to his side, and then a lusty cheer of welcome saluted our grateful ears.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE PRINCESS DISAPPEARS
We were given a joyful welcome by our comrades aboard the wreck, you may be sure. Ned was there, a smile mantling his rugged face as the auto came alongside and he assisted us to make fast and mount to the slanting deck of the ship.
Uncle Naboth’s eyes were big and staring as our dainty Indian princess came aboard; but I could see that he was pleased with her beauty and modest demeanor.
No questions were asked us until we were all comfortably stowed on deck and the automobile had been hoisted over the side by the willing sailors and set in its old position. They were glad enough to see us safely returned without bothering us with questioning; but I knew of their eagerness to hear of our adventures and so took an early opportunity to remark:
“Well, Uncle Naboth and Ned, we’ve got the diamonds.”
“Sure?”
“Sure enough.”
I brought the basket and allowed them to inspect the treasure, which they did with wonder and a sort of awe, for they had little to say.
“How much is the bunch worth?” asked my uncle, trying to be indifferent.
“Why, we are all quite ignorant of their value,” I replied; “but Moit and I both think we have secured a snug fortune for each one of us four who are interested in the division. We couldn’t have done anything at all without the automobile, though, so I am going to give Duncan a part of my share.”
“I won’t take it,” declared Moit. “We made a fair and square bargain, to share alike, and I mean to live up to it.”
“But you need the money more than we do,” I protested, “for you’ve got to build a factory to manufacture your machines and also to make a home for Ilalah. She is a prize we don’t share in, but we’d like to contribute to her happiness, so I shall suggest to Ned and Uncle Naboth that you take a half of all the diamonds and we will divide the other half.”
“Agreed!” cried my uncle and Ned, both together, and although Duncan objected in a rather pig-headed way I declared that we had fully made up our minds and he had nothing to say about the matter.
Then we told our story, rather briefly at first, for it would take some time to give our friends all the details of our adventures. Uncle was very proud of the way Bryonia and Nux had behaved, and told them so in his outspoken fashion. The honest fellows could have desired no higher reward.
After this Ned told me of his trip. On reaching the ocean he had rigged a mast and sail on the long boat and before a brisk breeze had soon reached Manzanillo Bay and arrived at Colon harbor within a half day.
Colon is a primitive town built upon a low coral island, but being the Atlantic terminal of the great canal it possessed an office of the Central and South American Telegraph Company, so that Ned was able to send a cable message by way of Galveston to Mr. Harlan.
He got an answer the next day, saying that the Carmenia, one of the Company’s ships, was due at Cristobal in a few days, and further instructions as to the disposition of the wrecked cargo would be cabled me on her arrival. Cristobal was a port adjoining Colon, and I remembered to have heard that the Carmenia was soon to come home from the Pacific with a light cargo; so I judged it would be Mr. Harlan’s intention to have her take our structural steel on board and carry it on to San Pedro.
All we could do now was to wait, and instead of waiting in unhealthy Colon Ned wisely decided to return to the wreck and report to me.
They had begun to worry over us and to fear the Indians had murdered us, so it was a great relief to them when we came back safe and successful from our perilous adventure.
Uncle Naboth admired Ilalah more and more as he came to know her, and he told Duncan with great seriousness that she was worth more than all the diamonds in the world, to which absurd proposition the inventor gravely agreed. But indeed we were all fond of the charming girl and vied with one another to do her honor. Even stolid Ned Britton rowed across to the marshes in the afternoon and returned with a gorgeous bouquet of wild flowers to place in the Indian maid’s cabin—formerly his own cabin, but gladly resigned for her use.
Ilalah accepted all the attentions showered upon her with simple, unaffected delight, and confided to us that she had altered entirely her old judgment of the whites and now liked them very much.
“They must be my people, after this,” she said, with a sad smile, “because I have left the Techlas forever.”
At dinner Bryonia outdid himself as a chef and provided for the menu every delicacy the ship afforded. Ilalah ate little, but enjoyed the strange foods and unusual cooking. After dinner we sat on the deck in the splendid moonlight and recited at length our adventures, until the hour grew late.
When I went to bed I carried the diamonds to my locker, putting them carefully away where no one could get at them until we left the wreck and the time came to make the division. The ship was very safe for the present. Until another severe gale occurred to bring the waves up the river there was no danger of her going to pieces, as she held firmly to her mud bank, weighted on her open planks with the great mass of steel in the hold. Her bottom was like a crate, but her upper works seemed as firm and substantial as ever.
Ilalah’s cabin was on the starboard side, but in spite of the ship’s listing her window was four or five feet above the surface of the river. She bade us a sweet good-night in her pretty broken English, and an hour later everyone on board was enjoying peaceful slumbers and I, for my part, was dreaming of the fortune we had so unexpectedly secured.
Suddenly a cry aroused me. I sat up and listened but could hear no further sound. Absolute silence reigned throughout the ship. Yet the cry still rang in my ears, and the recollection of it unnerved me.
While I hesitated a knock came to my door, and I got up and lighted a candle.
Moit was standing outside in the saloon. His face was white but as undecided in expression as my own.
“Did you hear anything, Sam?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Was it a cry for help?”
“That, or a woman’s scream, Duncan.”
“Come with me,” he said, and I followed him to the door of Ilalah’s cabin.
Two or three loud knockings failed to arouse any response. I turned the handle, found the door unlocked, and threw it open.
The room was empty.
I turned my flickering candle in every direction, lighting up the smallest cranny, as if the girl could be hidden in a rat-hole. The window stood wide open, and the cool night breeze came through it.
I turned toward Duncan, who stood in the middle of the room staring at the floor. As my gaze followed his I saw several of the blue beads Ilalah had worn scattered over the carpet.
“It is Nalig-Nad,” he muttered. “The San Blas have stolen my princess!”
“What’s up, boys?” asked Uncle Naboth. He was standing in the doorway clad in a suit of pajamas that were striped like a convict’s, only in more gorgeous colors.
“The Indians have stolen Ilalah and carried her away,” I answered.
I am afraid Uncle Naboth swore. He is a mild mannered old gentleman, but having taken a strong liking for the beautiful girl he perhaps could find no other way, on the impulse of the moment, to express his feelings.
“Well,” he remarked, after we had looked blankly into one another’s faces for a time, “we must get her back again, that’s all.”
“Of course, sir,” agreed Duncan, rousing himself. “We will go at once.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Three o’clock,” answered my uncle, promptly.
“Then let us wait until morning,” I advised. “The Indians already have a good start of us and there would be no chance to overtake them before they regain the king’s village. We must be cautious and lay our plans carefully if we hope to succeed.”
“Perhaps you are right,” returned Duncan, wearily. “But I swear to you, Sam, that I will find Ilalah and bring her back with me, or perish in the attempt.”
I smiled at his theatric manner, but Uncle Naboth said seriously:
“I don’t blame you a bit, sir. That girl is worth a heap o’ trouble, and you can count on me to help you to the last gasp.”
“Well, well,” said I, impatiently, “let us get dressed and go on deck to talk it over.” I well knew there would be no more sleep for us that night, and although I was not in love with the lost princess I was as eager to effect her rescue as Moit himself.
“But I must warn you, gentlemen,” I continued, “that you have to deal with the wiliest and fiercest savage in existence, and if we venture into his dominions again the chances of our ever coming out alive are mighty slim.”
“All right, Sam,” retorted Uncle Naboth, cheerfully; “we’ve got to take those chances, my lad, so what’s the use of grumbling?”
“If you’re afraid, Sam—” began Moit, stiffly.
“Oh, get out!” was my peevish reply. “I may be afraid, and small wonder if I am; but you know very well I’ll go with you. So get your togs on, both of you, and I’ll meet you on deck.”
CHAPTER XIX
WE ATTEMPT A RESCUE
The entire ship’s company was aroused by this time, and it amused me to find that every man jack, down to the commonest sailor, was tremendously indignant and most properly incensed because Nalig-Nad had dared to steal his own daughter—the successor to his throne—from the white men with whom she had fled.
Ned Britton’s plan was to arm our entire company “to the teeth” and march in solid ranks through the forest until we came to the king’s village, which he figured lay about opposite the point where our ship had stranded. Once at the village we could surprise the place, capture Ilalah, and bear her in triumph back to the wreck.
There were several objections to Ned’s optimistic plan. In the first place we did not know the forest, and the Indians did. They could hide behind the trees and pick us off with their arrows before we could use our fire-arms; or they might ambush us, and annihilate our band. Moreover, we were not sure Ilalah had been taken directly to the king’s village. They might have hidden her somewhere else.
“It’s another case of automobile, Mr. Moit,” declared Uncle Naboth. “If we’re a-goin’ to get that girl you’ll have to use the convertible, as sure as fate.”
“There is no doubt of that,” returned the inventor, promptly. “I have determined to start as soon as it is daylight.”
“What is your idea, Duncan?” I asked.
“Simply to enter the country of the Techlas, show them a bold and fearless front, find out where the princess is, and then rescue her in some way. I’m afraid they will treat her badly, because she defied them and ran away with me.”
“But she is to be their next ruler, after Nalig-Nad is dead,” said I.
“Yes, if she outlives him. But the king has two other children, and he may prefer one of them to rule.”
“That’s a fact,” I answered. “I’ve seen them. And Nalig-Nad must have been furious at Ilalah for favoring the hated whites.”
“There is no time to lose,” continued Duncan, nervously. “We must start as soon as possible and make our plans on the way. Who will go with me?”
Everyone wanted to go, of course; but finally it was settled that Uncle Naboth and I, with Nux and Bryonia, should accompany Duncan Moit in the automobile. If we did not return within twenty-four hours then Ned Britton was to land his sailors and march quickly through the forest to our rescue. This arrangement was the best we could think of, and when I frankly told the men that this hazardous duty would not be forced upon them, since the adventure was wholly outside their province as seamen, they one and all declared they would “see us through” or die in the attempt.
Only Dick Lombard, whose arm had been broken, and an old sailor with a bruised knee were to be left behind, that they might care for the ship in our absence.
“No one can steal the cargo, anyhow; it’s too heavy,” I remarked; “and if the Indians manage to do us up entirely Mr. Harlan will still be able to get his steel beams. So we need not worry over the ship.”
It was a desperate enterprise, and we knew it; but so strong was our admiration for the Princess of the Techlas that we did not hesitate to attempt in her behalf all that brave men might be capable of.
At the first break of day we got the automobile over the side and safely launched it. There was not a moment’s unnecessary delay, and as Duncan was now familiar with the river channel we were soon paddling at our best speed up the river.
By the time the red rays of the rising sun gleamed over the water we had passed the two hillocks and reached the southern tributary that led into the land of the Techlas.
We saw no Indians in the forest this time. Either it was too early for them to be abroad or they had assembled inland for some purpose. The forest was deserted.
Our progress was, of course, much slower than on land. I think the automobile paddled about eight miles an hour in still water, but as we now had to stem a current we made less time than that. But distances are not great in Panama, where the isthmus has a breadth of only some fifty miles, so that we were not long in passing the northern forest and coming to the coastal plains.
We left the river at the same spot as before, where the bank was low and shelving; for in talking over our plans we had decided to make directly for Nalig-Nad’s own village. It was reasonable to suppose that Ilalah had been first taken there, it being the nearest point to the ship from whence they had stolen her. The king might intend to hide her, presently, even if he permitted his rebellious daughter to live; but we judged that he would not expect us to give chase so soon. That we would dare venture into his dominions a second time the astute monarch would hesitate to believe.
We relied much upon the promptness with which we had acted, and although we were forced to travel by a roundabout route we ought, with good luck, to reach the king’s village by the middle of the forenoon.
Once on the broad and level plains Moit allowed his machine to do its best. We knew there were no obstructions in the way, so we made a wonderful dash across the country.
No effort was made by the San Blas to oppose us or interfere with our progress. We observed no warriors at all, and the few farmers we passed scarcely paused in their labors long enough to stare at us.
When we came to Ogo’s village, however, we saw by means of the glass that the place was swarming with Indians, who were as busy and excited as bees in a hive. This puzzled us, and made us fear the princess might be in this place instead of the village farther on. But we decided to stick to our first programme, so we circled around the town to the north and continued on our way.
Much faster than we had covered the distance before we now fled over the plain, and soon the enclosure became visible and our journey was almost over.
A great jagged section of the wall had been blown up by the explosion, wrecking some of the huts at the same time; but as we drew nearer we discovered that Nalig-Nad had caused a big ditch to be dug, in the form of a half moon, reaching from one end of the broken wall to the other. This ditch was evidently made on our account, and as it circled outward into the plain it prevented most effectually our entering the enclosure with the automobile.
We smiled at so childish an attempt to bar us from the village, but it informed us plainly that the king had anticipated our return and feared us, which knowledge served to encourage us very much.
We halted the machine outside the ditch, a hundred yards or so from the wall, and then proceeded to take careful observation of the condition of affairs at the village.
Our arrival had created no apparent excitement. There were no crowds to be seen and the few natives, men or women, who stalked across the space that was visible within the wall, going from one building to another, merely turned their faces toward us for a moment and then continued on their way. A woman sat at one side of the gap milking a goat; another near her was hanging some newly washed tunics on the edge of the broken wall to dry in the sun; but neither of these gave us more than a glance or allowed us to interrupt their occupation.
This apathy was mystifying. Surely we had created enough excitement at the time we left the king’s village to ensure a degree of interest in our return. If the savages imagined their puny ditch any protection they were likely to find themselves much mistaken.
Presently we saw something that aroused us to action. Ilalah appeared, crossing the enclosure from one of the side huts to the king’s palace. Her hands were bound firmly behind her back and her eyes were covered with a thick scarf which effectually blindfolded her. She was led and pushed along by two sour visaged old women, who showed their princess scant courtesy.
Moit swore roundly under his breath and I myself was filled with indignation at the poor girl’s condition; at the same time we were gratified to know we had found her by coming promptly to the right place.
“Now,” said Duncan, grimly, “we know what to do.”
“What is it?” I enquired.
“They will bring her out again, sooner or later,” he answered, “and then we must make a dash, seize her, regain the automobile, and fly back to the ship.”
“Easy enough!” ejaculated Uncle Naboth, admiringly.
The women had finished milking and hanging out their clothes. Just now the courtyard seemed deserted.
“This is our chance,” cried Moit. “Follow me, all of you except Mr. Perkins. He must stay to guard the machine and to wave us a signal when Ilalah appears. We will creep up to the broken wall and hide behind it until the princess comes back. Then we will make a rush all together and capture her before the Indians know what we are about. Are you all armed?”
We were, and ready.
Duncan leaped from the car and we followed him. Then, bounding across the narrow ditch, we ran silently but quickly to a position behind the wall, where those inside could not see us. There we crouched, panting, to await Uncle Naboth’s signal.
CHAPTER XX
OUTWITTED
The silence of death seemed to reign in the little village. All life had for the moment ceased, and gradually this extraordinary fact impressed me ominously.
“Where are all the people?” I whispered to Moit.
“I can’t imagine,” he answered.
“Guess dey in de co’te-yard of de palace,” said Bry, who with Nux stood just beside us. “Princess bein’ judged; ev’body lookin’ on.”
That seemed plausible; and it was a condition especially favorable to our plans; so we waited with suppressed excitement, our eager eyes upon the automobile, until suddenly we saw Uncle Naboth spring to his feet and wave his red handkerchief.
At the signal we four rose as one man and dashed through the gap into the enclosure, each with a revolver held fast in either hand.
As I bounded over the loose rubbish something suddenly caught me and threw me violently to the ground, where I rolled over once or twice and then found myself flat upon my back with a gigantic Indian pressing his knee against my chest.
I heard a roar from Moit and answering shouts from our two blacks, and turning my head saw them struggling with a band of natives who surrounded them on every side.
Indeed, our conquest was effected much sooner than I can describe the event on paper, and within a few moments all four of us stood before our captors disarmed and securely bound.
I own I was greatly humiliated by the clever deception practiced upon us by Nalig-Nad. The wily king had foreseen our arrival and using Ilalah as a bait had ambushed us so neatly that we had no chance to fight or to resist our capture. The victory was his, and it was complete.
Stay; there was Uncle Naboth yet to be reckoned with. I could see him still standing in the car glaring with amazement at the scene enacted within the enclosure.
The Indians saw him, too, and with wild and triumphant yells a score of them rushed out and made for the car. But my uncle was warned and had calmly laid a number of revolvers upon the seat beside him.
With a weapon in either hand the old gentleman blazed away at the Techlas as soon as they approached, doing such deadly execution that the natives were thrown into confusion and held back, uncertain what to do.
Having emptied one brace of revolvers Mr. Perkins hurled them at the heads of his assailants and picked up another pair. I wondered that the San Blas did not shoot him down with arrows, or impale him on a spear, for the top was down and he was unprotected from such missiles; but doubtless they had been instructed to capture him alive and had not been prepared for such a vigorous resistance.
Presently an Indian who had made his way around to the opposite side put his hand on the rail and leaped lightly into the car; but my uncle turned in a flash and seized the fellow at the waist in his powerful arms. Lifting the astonished Techla high in the air Uncle Naboth flung him bodily into the furious crowd before him, tumbling a number of his foes to the ground with this living catapult.
But such magnificent strength and courage was without avail. Before uncle could seize his revolvers again a dozen warriors had leaped into the car beside him and grasped him so firmly that further struggles were useless. The little man collapsed immediately and was dragged out and brought to where we had been watching him in wonder and admiration.
“Good for you, Uncle!” I cried. “If we could have managed to put up such a fight it might have been a different story.”
He smiled at us cheerily.
“Hain’t had so much fun, my lads, since Polly had the measles,” he panted; “but it couldn’t last, o’ course, ’cause I’m all out o’ trainin’.”
And now that all our party had been captured, transforming powerful enemies into helpless victims, King Nalig-Nad appeared before us with a calm countenance and ordered us taken to one of the huts, there to remain in confinement to await his pleasure concerning our disposal.
“Who’s this feller?” asked Uncle Naboth, looking hard at the king.
“It is Nalig-Nad,” I replied, rather depressed by our hard luck.
“Why, hello, Naddie, old boy—glad to meet you!” said Mr. Perkins, advancing as far as his captors would let him and holding out one of his broad, fat hands.
The king regarded him silently. It was the first time he had had an opportunity to inspect this addition to our former party. But he paid no attention to the outstretched hand.
“Know your daughter well,” continued Uncle Naboth, unabashed at the marked coolness with which his friendly advances were met; “she’s a fine gal, Nalig; oughter be proud o’ her, old chap!”
With this he began to chuckle and poked the king jovially in his royal ribs, causing the stern visaged monarch to jump backward with a cry of mingled indignation and rage. This so pleased my uncle that his chuckle increased to a cough, which set him choking until he was purple in the face.
The king watched this exhibition with amazement; but when his prisoner recovered with startling abruptness and wiped the tears of merriment from his eyes, the barbarian gave a disdainful grunt and walked away to his palace. He was followed by his band of attendant chiefs, whom I recognized as his former counsellors.
I looked around for Ilalah, but she had disappeared the moment we rushed into the enclosure, having doubtless been dragged away by her attendants as soon as she had served the purpose of luring us into the trap.
We were now taken to one of the huts built against the wall and thrust through a doorway with scant ceremony. It was merely a one-roomed affair with thick walls and no furniture but a clay bench at the back. The only aperture was the doorway. Several stout warriors, well armed and alert, ranged themselves before this opening as a guard.
We were not bound, for having lost all our weapons, including even our pocket-knives, we were considered very helpless.
“I don’t like the looks of this thing,” I remarked, when we had seated ourselves quite soberly in a row on the mud bench.
“Bad box, sure ’nough, Mars’ Sam,” said Bryonia, with a sigh.
“I hope they won’t touch the machine,” observed Moit, nervously. “I don’t mind what they do to me if they let the automobile alone.”
“That’s rubbish,” said I in a petulant tone; “they couldn’t run it to save their necks. Don’t worry, old man.”
“I s’pose we won’t have much use for an automerbeel in the course of a jiffy or two,” added my uncle, cheerfully.
“Oh, I depend a good deal upon Ned and his men,” I replied. “He will be sure to come to our rescue early to-morrow morning.”
“Too late, den, Mars’ Sam,” muttered Nux. “Dat wicked king ain’t goin’ let us lib long, I ’spect.”
“Then why did he put us here?” I demanded. “If he intended to kill us quickly he’d have murdered us on the spot.”
“There was nothing to prevent his doing that, most certainly,” said Moit, eagerly adopting the suggestion.
This aspect of the affair was really encouraging. So elastic is hope in the breasts of doomed men that we poor creatures sat there for an hour or more and tried to comfort ourselves with the thought that a chance for escape might yet arise. It was pitiful, now that I look back upon it; but at the moment the outlook did not appear to us especially gloomy.
I do not believe that any regret for having followed the Indian girl and tried to rescue her entered into the mind of any one of the party. Ilalah had stood by us and it was our duty to stand by her, even had not Moit been so infatuated by her beauty that he could not be contented without her.
Being a boy and less stolid than my elders, I caught myself wondering if I should ever behold the handsome ship my father was building, and sighed at the thought that I might never stand upon its deck after all the ambitious plans we had laid for the future. There was a little comfort in the thought that all the diamonds were safe in the locker of the wreck and that Ned would look after them and carry my share as well as Uncle Naboth’s to my father. But we were likely to pay a good price for the treasure we had wrested from the San Blas.
Midday arrived and passed. Food was brought to our guard but none was given to us. We were not especially hungry, but this neglect was ominous. It meant that we had either not long to live or our foes intended to starve us. We tried to believe that the latter was the correct solution of the problem.
Soon after noon, however, all uncertainty vanished. Our guards entered, commanded by one of the chiefs, and said we were to be taken to judgment. They prepared us for the ordeal by tying our hands behind our backs with thongs, so securely that there was no way to slip the bonds. Then they fastened us together in a string by an original method.
A coil of dressed skin was brought and an Indian held one end while another made a slip-noose and threw it over Duncan’s head. A second slip-noose was placed around Bryonia’s neck, a third around that of Uncle Naboth, a fourth around Nux and the fifth around my own neck. There was still enough of the coil remaining for a second guard to hold—and there we were. If any one of us attempted to run, or even to struggle, he would only tighten his noose, and perhaps those of the others, and risk a choking.
It wasn’t a bad method of keeping us orderly and meek, and we were not at all pleased with the arrangement, I assure you.
When we had been thus secured the chief—who, by the way, was a “green chief”—ordered us sternly to march; and so, like a gang of chained convicts, we tramped from the gloomy hut and passed out into the courtyard.
CHAPTER XXI
THE SACRIFICE
The elaborate preparations made for our “judgment” were certainly flattering; but we were in no mood to appreciate the mocking attentions of the San Blas.
The open space of the enclosure in front of the palace was filled with a crowd of silent Indians, so many being present that we knew they must have gathered from all parts of the territory.
Our guards led us through the close ranks of these spectators to a clear place near the center, where King Nalig-Nad sat upon a bench with a score of his favorite green chiefs ranged just behind him. At the sides of this interesting group several women, all of whom had green in their tunics, squatted upon the ground. At the king’s feet were the same pretty boy and girl I had seen on my first presentation to the potentate.