Jack was nearly unseated by the sudden dash of his pony, and managing to retain his position he was in imminent danger of being swept off by the branches of the trees.
The deep growl of the creature at his back rang in his ears, and he could feel the poor pony quiver in every muscle, as the fearful claws of the brute were buried deep into its flesh.
This occupied but a moment’s time from the attack of the wild beast to the end of the pony’s flight, but it was such a moment as Jack never forgot.
He had seen a precipice in the pathway of the terrified animal, but not in season to stop the maddened creature or turn it aside, though he did make a frantic effort to do so. As if bent upon its own destruction, the pony made a suicidal leap down the precipitous descent.
The frightened creature struck upon its feet, but immediately fell over on its right side, carrying its rider with it and pinning him under its body.
The savage beast had not lost its hold, and as Jack lay there within its deadly reach he saw for the first time that it was the most dreaded of the wild beasts of South America, the jaguar.
He had barely taken a swift glance at the furious brute before a warning growl above him broke the momentary silence and then a second form, the mate of that beside him, plunged down from the top of the cliff, landing beside the first, that uttered a fierce growl at the same time.
Jack’s heart fairly stopped its beating, and finding himself unable to move his right limb, he felt that it was all over with him.
The pony had apparently been killed by its fall, together with the attack of the jaguar, as it did not move after it fell over on its side.
The ferocious beasts, with a succession of sharp growls and snarls, began to feast upon the still warm carcass of the poor horse.
It was fortunate, and showed Jack’s remarkable presence of mind as well, that at that critical moment he remembered that old hunters had said if one feigned death he might escape the attack of a wild beast under ordinary circumstances, the story of Dr. Livingstone lying under the lion’s paw coming vividly into his mind. But his left leg lay on top of the pony’s body and close to where the two jaguars were exercising their teeth and claws on the flesh.
That morning before starting from Resaca he had put on a pair of boots with stout tops as a means of protection from the bushes and brambles he might encounter on his long ride. But he could not hope these would protect him long, if at all, from the attacks of the voracious brutes.
Words cannot describe his feelings as he lay there listening to the ominous growls and crunching of the hungry animals, expecting every moment to feel their sharp teeth in his own flesh.
Two or three times he felt one or the other of the jaguars push savagely against his foot, which was lifted and carried forward upon the pony’s neck in their eagerness to get at the warm meat.
All of that horrible scene Jack heard and felt rather than saw, for he did not dare to open his eyes--dare to draw a full breath.
After awhile he heard one of the pair move away a short distance, and he could hear it licking its dripping chops after its feast.
Its mate continued its voracious attacks upon the carcass, the grinding of its jaws and the crackling of the pony’s bones making horrible sounds for the helpless boy.
When this had continued for several minutes longer, the second jaguar stopped eating and began to lick Jack’s boots.
Nothing so far had equaled the horror of that sensation.
It seemed to Jack that he must go mad if it continued long!
After what seemed a long time to him in his intense agony, the dull, rasping sound ceased; the jaguar had ended its licking, but, as if loath to leave the spot, it allowed its head to fall forward on the half eaten body, with its nostrils lying on Jack’s foot. Its slow and regular breathing finally told that it had fallen asleep after eating its dinner.
Jack a little later heard the cat-like steps of its mate leaving the place, until the pitter-patter died away in the distance.
Then, for the first time, he dared to open his eyes, though he did not venture to move his head or hand a particle.
He could see the sleeping jaguar’s head and that was all that was in sight of the creature, that still remained motionless but likely to start up at his first movement.
As Jack’s gaze followed his narrow orbit of vision he soon saw his firearm, which had slipped from him in his ride over the precipice and fallen near where he lay in that terrible situation.
He had no sooner seen the weapon than a wild desire to get possession of it filled his mind. If he only had that in his hands he believed he could shoot the jaguar before it could do him harm.
The longer he pondered upon this the stronger became the desire to make the attempt. Failure could not be any worse than that awful suspense, which in all probability must end in death.
Then, as he realized that the jaguar’s mate might return at any moment, he resolved to make the bold venture without more delay.
He was first careful to make himself sure that the brute was still asleep, when he slowly and cautiously raised his hand enough to reach for the carbine, which fortunately lay stock toward him.
Not a sound broke the deathlike stillness of the lonely scene, save the labored breathing of the sleeping jaguar.
Never allowing his gaze to leave the creature, he continued to reach for the firearm until he felt his hand touch the stock.
As complete control as he had maintained over himself so far in the trying ordeal, at this critical moment he so far forgot himself as to draw a long breath--a breath of relief to think that he had something with which to defend himself.
That breath was instantly answered by a terrific growl!
It had awakened the light-sleeping beast, which quickly raised its head, and its whole appearance immediately changed, as it glared furiously around.
It seemed to realize at once that it had been fooled by this human creature within its clutch, and with another growl, louder, fiercer and more startling than any yet, it prepared to spring on its new victim.
But it was no quicker of action than Jack, who knew that his life hung on prompt work. At the same time he lifted the carbine from the ground, he cocked the weapon. At that moment the open jaws of the aroused jaguar were thrust into his face, and the hot breath of the wild creature fanned his cheek. The next instant he ran the muzzle of the firearm into the maddened brute’s throat and pulled the trigger.
A dull report followed, the jaguar’s head was blown into fragments, and Jack knew that his life was saved.
Though he had no more to fear from this jaguar, Jack knew that its mate was likely to return at any moment, and as soon as he had recovered somewhat from the effect of the ordeal through which he had passed, he freed himself from the weight of the pony’s body.
He was glad to find that his limb had not received any serious injury, though it was so paralyzed from lying under the pressure that it was a few minutes before he could stand alone.
But he lost no more time than he could avoid before he left the place, feeling that his situation even then was not pleasant to contemplate. He was not only afoot in the heart of a trackless wilderness, but many miles from the nearest point of civilization.
Half an hour after leaving the scene of the jaguar’s attack, he made a discovery which caused him no little concern.
He had lost his compass.
Realizing the risk of returning to the fatal spot, as well as the uncertainty of finding the lost instrument, he kept on without it, endeavoring to pursue as direct a course as possible.
In this he was unsuccessful, and two days later he was wandering at random through the intricate labyrinths of a Peruvian forest, nearly worn out and disheartened.
Hoping that his shots might be heard by some one who would come to his rescue, he had fired all but the last load of ammunition he had with him, and that charge was in his carbine.
“I might as well discharge that,” he said to himself. “It is my last chance and I might as well take it now as later. It is useless for me to try to find my way out of this wilderness.”
In his desperation he cocked the weapon, and pointing it skyward pulled the trigger.
Loud and long rang out the report on the deep silence of the forest, the distant foothills taking up the sound and flinging it back to the valleys in echoes that repeated the detonation far and wide. As the last sullen sound died away in the distance he leaned against one of the trees, saying half aloud:
“I might as well meet the worst here as anywhere.”
Five, ten, fifteen minutes passed away, and satisfied that his last shot had been fired in vain, Jack started to resume his aimless wanderings, when the sound of footsteps fell upon his ears.
At first he thought it might be some wild beast prowling through the woods, but it was not long before a human figure burst into sight.
There was little of beauty in the youthful stranger who had thus unceremoniously appeared, but Jack had never been so glad to see any one in his life.
At sight of his woebegone countenance the newcomer came to a sudden halt in his impetuous advance, exclaiming in a voice with a peculiar and characteristic nasal twang:
“Consarn ye! who air yeou scrouched down there in that way? Aair yeou the feller who has been wasting ammunition so like a scart peon?”
The speaker’s tone was not unfriendly, and Jack was nearly overjoyed to find that the new-comer was not a Peruvian.
Springing from his seat on a fallen tree, where he had sunk in his respair, he cried in genuine gladness:
“You’re an American!”
“No more’n yeou air!” replied the other, brushing back his long blonde hair from his forehead as he spoke, and looking straight into our hero’s countenance with a pair of deep blue eyes.
Then, when the two had stared upon each other for fully a minute, both burst into a fit of laughter.
“Shoo neow!” exclaimed the Yankee boy, “who air yeou and what air yeou doing here?”
“I might ask the same question of you,” replied Jack. “My name is John North and I come from Banton, Connecticut.
“Bet yeou air called Jack every time. My name is Plummer Plucky, but I’m called Plum for short, though that is all they can make short about me. I hail from New England too, and I’ll bet my dad is hoeing taters in sight of Plymouth Rock.”
“I am lost in this wilderness,” went on Jack. “I hope you can show me the way out.”
“Bet your boots on that. I live, leastways stop, not three hours’ tramp from here, though if yeou had come to-morrer yeou wouldn’t found me here. I have been working on the estancia of Don de Estuaray, the dirtiest, meanest, miserliest, yellowest old Spaniard that ever drew the breath o’ this beautiful country.”
“Evidently you love the Don,” said Jack, with a smile.
“Do I? Do you know what he pays me fer work thet’s enought to kill a man?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea.”
“No more you have. He pays me three dollars and sixty cents a month--think of it--if you can!”
“That’s a small fortune” went on Jack. He rather liked the fellow before him. “I suppose you’ve got a pile saved up in the bank out of it.”
“Think so? Consarn ye, yer ain’t got no right to think so!” And now the other really looked somewhat angry.
“No, I don’t think so,” answered Jack, promptly. “I was only fooling. They don’t pay big wages down here--I’ve found that out--down near the coast, where I worked at starvation wages myself.”
“Wall, I aint jest starved,” said the other youth, somewhat mollified. “I git feed enough--leas’-wise, I take what I want. But it ain’t enough money--no it ain’t--nohow, consarn him anyway!”
Jack had too much at stake to desire a quarrel with his new-found acquaintance, so he hastened to say:
“I hope you will forgive me if I have said anything to offend. I trust we shall be friends.”
Whatever of anger Plum had shown quickly left his honest countenance, and frankly holding out a hand, he said:
“I never pick a quarrel with any one, but I won’t let any one tread on my toes. I reckon we shall be friends.”
The clasp of the hands which followed cemented the firmest friendship of Jack North’s life, an acquaintance which, notwithstanding its inauspicious beginning, was destined to ripen into a heart-felt intimacy.
The hand-shaking over, the twain, Plum leading the way, started in the direction whence the latter had come at the sound of Jack’s carbine. On the way toward the estancia where the former had been working, our hero learned the complete story of his past life; how he had left home to win a fortune and drifted over the world until he was now employed by this Don de Estuaray at the princely sum which had been the crumb of argument between them a few minutes before.
Jack in turn told the other his story, except that part bearing upon the island of treasure, and long before they had reached signs of civilization they had become fast friends.
So favorably impressed was Jack with the appearance of his new-found chum that he proposed that Plum should apply for the position of fireman on the St. Resa railroad, a proposition which met the other boy’s hearty approval the moment he learned the wages he was likely to get His first question was:
“Do yeou s’pose they will have me?”
“Gladly. It isn’t a question of that, but whether you have the sand to stand up in a spot where you are likely to lose your life any minute.”
“Reckon I can stand up where you can, and if I do lay down it will be to stay there. Give me your hand, old feller. I like yeou.”
They were now approaching the estancia of Don de Estuaray, who lived in a pleasant valley several miles from any settlement, and as they advanced Jack could not help noticing the tall growth of a patch of vegetation on their right hand, as they were entering the spacious grounds.
To his wonder he saw cotton plants that reached far above his head and sugar cane which stood like forest trees. Plum Plucky, standing on his shoulders, with Fret Offut, had he been living then and there, on his shoulders, could not have reached the top of the lowest plants!
He saw indigo plants that amazed him for their size, and altogether it was such a sight as he had never seen.
A short distance away he saw a field of oats which reared their heads into the air to a height of more than fifteen feet.
Plum Plucky seeing the look of surprise on his countenance, said:
“Can’t guess what made that stuff grow so? I can tell you. I just brought down some of that funny dirt found in the barren spots on the hills yonder and put a good lot round the roots. It beats all creation how it sends the stuff into the air. The don said I’d kill it all, but I knowed better, for I had seen the wild stuff growing like fun all round the edges of sich places. But it don’t seem to hitch on in the spots themselves. S’pect it’s too stout there.”
Jack at once recalled the accounts he had heard of the nitrate beds on the Peruvian hills, though he did not dream then of the importance of this discovery to him.
Our hero was anxious to get back to Resaca, knowing that his prolonged absence might have already cost him his situation as engineer on the railroad, and as Plum Plucky had fully decided to go with him, they lost no further time in starting for that place.
They found the railroad officials in a fever of excitement.
Believing that Jack had left them and finding no one to take his place, the bush-raiders having grown bolder in their depredations, in their despair, the managers were offering double their previous pay for a man who would dare to undertake the work of getting a train through from St. Resa to de la Pama.
Jack felt unbounded delight upon finding that the pay had been raised to over a hundred dollars a trip, and without any explanation he offered himself for the situation a second time.
He was gladly accepted, with no questions asked while Plum was given the position of fireman at a salary which caused him to look with amazement.
“Well!” he exclaimed, “it’s too good to last.”
“Wait till you meet the bush-raiders,” said Jack.
“I reckon I can take any medicine that you can,” was the answer, and the boy engineer realized that he had filled Fret Offut’s place with a companion of altogether different make-up.
Somewhat to their surprise three trips were made without any molestation from the outlaw band, when the young couple were put to a test few would have the courage to meet.
A party of Peruvian soldiers had been sent out to protect, as far as possible, the road, but upon this run Jack learned at a small station before coming to the stream where the bridge had been repaired, that this squad had been completely routed by the outlaws of the forest, and the victorious raiders were lying in wait for the train.
In this dangerous prospect every passenger left the cars at this place, but the order came for the train to go on if a suitable escort could be raised.
In twenty minutes as many armed men were waiting a start, though, as Jack looked over the motley party, he realized that not one of them would be worth a fig in a fight with the bush-raiders. Worse than that, he felt confident that the majority, if not all, were in league with the outlaws, and when the proper time came would openly join with them in trying to capture the train.
But the station agent, blind to this fact, priding himself upon having done his duty, pompously ordered Jack to proceed on his way.
As if not to be outdone, the conductor who remained with one brakeman, reiterated the command.
“It looks so we were in for it,” said Jack, as he took his post at the lever. “What do you say, Plum, have you the grit to try it?”
“I am with you, Jack, let come what may. See! I have got on a smashing head of steam.”
Without another word Jack pulled the bell-cord, and, throwing the valves wide open, sent the train thundering out of the station along the gleaming track into dangers which the bravest would not have cared to anticipate.
The little crowd at the station waved their hands and gave expression to prolonged cries, as the train thundered away on its perilous run.
Soon beyond the hearing of these outcries the two youths, standing so bravely at their posts, heard no sound save the deep rumbling of the engine and cars, as they sped swiftly on their way through the wilderness.
Jack was the first to speak.
“Fix the fire so you can leave it for a short time if necessary, Plum.”
“Leave it any time, Jack. I wasn’t so green firing as they thought me. Reckon my firing Joe Staples’ old saw-mill didn’t hurt me any for this business.”
“Did you burn it down, Plum, or was it sav--”
“Scat! you know what I mean. But do yeou begin to see anything ahead?”
“I could hardly expect to so soon, for they will be pretty sure to keep out of sight until we are into their trap.”
“Do yeou think they will have a rock on the track?”
“Perhaps some obstruction. I can’t just imagine how they will take us this time.”
“Say, Jack, what do yeou think of ’em fellers on the train?”
The words seemed so much like an echo of his own thoughts that the boy engineer started with surprise at the question.
“I’ll bet yeou,” continued Plum, “they’ll make us more trouble than the fellers in the bushes.”
“Plum Plucky, you just speak my mind. I was thinking how we could best get rid of them.”
“Bully for yeou, Jack North! Tell me what to do and I’m with yeou tooth and nail.”
“In one respect we are fortunate,” said Jack, in a tone which showed that he had been pondering carefully over the matter. “The car they are in is to the extreme rear.”
“You intend to take the freight through if possible?”
“At any cost.”
“Well, then, what does their being in the rear car have to do with our getting the rest through? Looks so they air fixed to help the raiders best so.”
“Why simply--look yonder!” said Jack, pointing suddenly a little to their right in the distance ahead.
Plum Plucky did as he was told.
“What is it, Jack, a big rock?”
“Rock? No! Look over those tree-tops; don’t you see that thin column of smoke rising high into the air and as straight as a church spire?”
“Gosh! yes. What of it? There can’t be much wind.”
“It is a signal of the bush-raiders.”
“S’pose it is?”
The train was now winding through the valley of the Rio Tasma, and the sullen roar of the mountain stream was beginning to be heard above the thunder of the cars, which were rushing along at a rapid rate.
“I am sure of it,” replied Jack, as he continued to watch the ascending smoke, though without neglecting his survey ahead. “What else can it mean?”
“Sure enough.”
“Do you think we have a brakeman we can count on in case of an attack?”
Plum hesitated a moment before replying.
“Not unless it is little Pedro.”
“Just my mind. See! the smoke is dying out. Whatever message they had to make has been made.”
“What do you think it could be?”
“I will tell you what I think. Just before that column appeared we must have been in sight of whoever was on that height, and they gave that as a signal that we were coming.”
“Jack you are nobody’s fool; but couldn’t they hear the sound of the train?”
“Not above the roar of the river if they are on the other side.”
“I didn’t think of that. But what about little Pedro?”
“Only this: In case those chaps in the rear car show signs of being against us we must get rid of them as soon as possible. Do you think you can go back to Pedro?”
“Yes.”
“Well, do so at once and return as soon as you can, for every moment is precious now. Tell Pedro the moment he hears the bell ring to uncouple the rear car. Mind you, only that. He must be there ready at all times until we have passed through the woods. Get back as soon as you can.”
“You can count on that,” and with these words Plum began to climb over the tender toward the line of cars behind.
The bridge of the Rio Tasma was now in plain sight, and Jack’s whole attention was fixed upon the new structure that spanned the rapid stream.
Everything seemed all right there, so he allowed the train to rush on at unabated speed.
There was a wild fascination about this perilous trip that Jack could not shake off. Every moment he expected to run into some unknown danger, and he would not have been surprised to find the bridge suddenly collapsing beneath the train.
But nothing of the kind occurred, and the engine was speedily across the stream.
He was approaching the place where he had so narrowly escaped death from the falling bowlder, and he could not help glancing toward the top of the cliff, as he was carried around the curve.
At that moment the report of a gun rang out sharply on the air, the sound coming from the rear of the train.
Then an answering report came from the depths of the forest ahead!
“The men in the car are signaling to the raiders!” flashed through Jack’s mind, and, simultaneously with the thought, he gave the bell cord a quick jerk.
“If Plum has only got there,” he thought, as he turned his gaze upon the course ahead.
He knew that Plum nor Pedro could not uncouple the car as long as they were climbing the upgrade, but immediately beyond the bend a descent was made into the valley.
He was rapidly approaching the summit, when he made a discovery which sent a thrill of horror through his frame.
Not a hundred yards ahead lay on the right hand rail a huge bowlder!
That the bush-raiders had put it there to wreck the train he had no doubt.
Just then the train gave a sharp lurch, and the reports of firearms pealed above the din of the moving train.
Instantly the bell cord was pulled vigorously three or four times.
Plum Plucky was in trouble.
The firing from the rear increased, but Jack had enough to attend to without giving it a second thought.
Out from the depths of the forest overhanging the track ahead had sprung a score or more of armed men.
Expecting the terrible collision they had planned, they had leaped upon the track in front of the oncoming train, flourishing their weapons and uttering wild yells of triumph.
It was a moment to Jack North which meant all to him. To stop the train was to throw it into the hands of his enemies; to keep on was like rushing into the very jaws of destruction. The commotion still raging at the rear of the train, the exulting fiends in the pathway ahead, and not less the silent but ominous bowlder on the gleaming track foretold the end, let him act as he might.
With that unerring precision of gaze which never failed him, Jack saw that the stone lay at such a place and in such a position that the engine would not strike it squarely, but sidewise, as it swept around the curve. To make it more favorable the obstruction, as has been said, lay on the right, or outside rail.
Had it been on the opposite one all would have been changed to a terrible certainty.
There was no cowcatcher in front, similar to those seen on the engines in this country, but there was a heavy iron fender in its stead, which presented a square defense. This bar would strike the rock below midweight, and in such an oblique manner that he believed the barrier would be hurled from the track without derailing the engine.
Jack understood that he was taking a fearful risk, but with all these favoring circumstances it could not be more disastrous than to stop and to fall easy victims to the bush-raiders and their allies.
These thoughts flashed through his mind and he resolved to keep on at all hazards. Thus he let on all the steam in reserve and stood grimly at his post.
The engine obeyed like a living creature. It gave a mighty plunge forward and dashed upon the ponderous barrier disputing its advance.
The suspense was of brief duration, but Jack’s thoughts flew fast and far. He realized that if the engine failed to clear the track it would be all over with him in a moment.
He was thinking of Jenny when the shock came with a force which fairly lifted the heavy engine! A crash and another shock threw him face downward on the floor of the cab.
He felt that the crisis had been passed and the train was still rushing on. Furious yells--yells that made the wildwoods ring with their intonations--filed his ears, and a volley of bullets whistled around his head.
He looked up and saw the trees rushing past him at a terrific speed.
A backward glance showed him some of the outlaws beside the track, while others were scattered on both side of the rails, where the engine had flung them in heaps.
At the bottom of the valley lay the big bowlder, which had been dislodged and hurled into the depths.
The front of the engine showed the marks of its fearful blow, and he began to realize more fully the awful risk he had taken.
The firing from the rear car had ceased, and wondering what had become of Plum Plucky, he pulled the bell cord once.
A prompt response was given by two violent jerks on the rope, when he knew that Plum was alive and on the train.
He did not have long to wait before he heard some one crawling over the tender, and a moment later his fireman dropped beside him.
“Golly, Jack!” exclaimed Plum, “wasn’t that a squeezer?”
“What have you done?” asked Jack.
“We’ve got ’em!” beginning to execute a dance on the footboard.
“What do you mean? Have you lost your senses?”
“I mean we’ve got the traitors as tight as a squirrel in a box-trap. Some of ’em jumped off and were killed, but we’ve got the most of ’em, and Pedro is holding ’em there fast.”
The train had slowed so the two could talk as they continued on.
“I don’t understand you, Plum,” said Jack, ready to believe almost anything after what he had passed through.
“Well, yeou see I just played a Yankee trick on ’em. Just as I had got back to Pedro, and before I could tell him what to do, some of the men come out of the car, and I see they were going to uncouple it just as you had told me to! By that I knew some trick was up, and before they could tell what had struck ’em I pushed the sinners back into the car and shut the door. No sooner had I done that than I covered ’em with my gun and asked Pedro to help me. In the midst of it there came that awful chuck, when I thought for a minute we’d all gone together. But it was soon over, and Perdo is standing guard over our prisoners. As I said some of ’em jumped off, but I guess they won’t jump ag’in. Do yeou s’pose the trouble is over?”
At first Jack could scarcely believe the other’s story, but he saw that his excited companion was in earnest.
“It was a fearful moment, Plum, and we should be thankful that we came out alive. I think we have learned the raiders a lesson they won’t forget. It will be best to try and get your prisoners to Resaca.”
It would not do to stop the train or even check its speed, as the prisoners would be sure to take advantage of the situation. Thus Jack was obliged to keep a sharp lookout and crowd the old engine on as fast as he could with any degree of safety.
No further adventure befalling them, Jack and Plum at last had the satisfaction of reaching Resaca. Never was there greater surprise in town than when this train came into the station and the true situation became known.
Officers were called to take charge of the prisoners in the car, but as nothing could be proved against them, except what Jack and Plum stated, and as their evidence was immediately discredited, the whole party went free, vowing vengeance against their captors.
Jack saw that, on account of their being foreigners, they had really lost favor by the capture, and he was glad to get clear so easily. After this they ran a week without interference, not a solitary bush-raider having been seen. Evidently the survivors had learned a lesson not to be quickly forgotten.
Of course our hero and Plum received a few praises for their success in getting the train through as they had, but it was evident to both that they could not get full credit for whatever they might do. In fact it was difficult for them to get acknowledgment for doing an ordinary duty.
This was due to the fact that they were foreigners and looked upon with suspicion, no matter what they did.
Jack was not therefore much surprised when one day, as he was stepping upon his engine at St. Resa, to have a bright-buttoned official stop him and motion for another man to take charge of the locomotive.
This new arrival was a Peruvian, and the boy engineer was not long in learning that he was willing to work for twelve pistoles a month. Though smarting under this unfair treatment, Jack offered no objections as he stepped aside. The war with Chili was assuming more alarming proportions, and he foresaw that troublesome times were near at hand.
Plum Plucky, upon finding that he was going to have a new master, jumped down from the cab, exclaiming:
“You can’t have my valuable services if you turn off Jack North!”
This was a turn in affairs the officials had not looked for, but the boys did not stop to listen to their protestations.
Later they learned that the train did not make a run that day.
“Now,” said Plum, as soon as he joined his friend, “I call that about the meanest trick I ever see played on a feller. Of course I wasn’t going to stay to fire for that weazen-faced son of old Piz-arro.”
“It seems too bad you should lose your job on my account, Plum. Particularly when I am more than half glad to lose mine, while you have made a real sacrifice.”
“Oh, carrots! I ain’t any worse off than I was before. But what are you going to do, Jack?”
“I am going to speculating.”
“What!” in amazement.
“Speculating, Plum. I have been thinking several days of a scheme in which I believe there is more money than in running an engine for bush-raiders to run down.”
“I’ll bet you’re going to speculate in that dirt I put round the don’s plants.”
“You got it right the first time, Plum. I--”
“Ginger! going to raise coffee? ’Cause of you air I can give you a pointer.”
“No; you are on the wrong track now. But I have no objection to telling you. Ever since I saw the result of your experiment I have been thinking that the stuff would sell like hot cakes in our own country, in places where the land is worn out and needs some such a stimulant. At any rate I am going to send home a cargo and see what comes of it.”
“Hooray! I see it all now. It may pay, but I doubt it. How air you going to get the stuff there?”
“In the first place I have got to get possession of the article itself, though I do not believe this will be a very expensive undertaking. I have a few dollars I have saved up from my wages, and I think I can borrow some somewhere. I am going to buy one of the nitrate tracts as soon as I can get suited.”
“You can buy a big mine for a hundred dollars, ’cause they’re looked on with disfavor. But after you’ve bought one, what then?”
“I am going to team a cargo to the nearest port and then charter a ship to take it home.”
“You’re smart enough to be a general, Jack North,” and having paid him the highest compliment that he could, according to his estimate, Plum added:
“Say, Jack, I want to drive the team for you.”
“You shall. But, as I am anxious to begin operations, I am going to look for my first purchase.”
“Don de Estuaray is the man you want to see. There is a big bed on his estancia.”
“It seems to me your experiment may have opened his eyes.
“He may catch onto my scheme quicker than some one who has seen nothing of what this nitrate will do.”
“Of course you’re right and I’m a blockhead, as usual. But go ahead and I’ll tag at your heels like a dog.”
Jack’s first move was to get a couple of ponies for himself and Plum to ride. Then the pair, with provisions enough to last several days, set out on their quest.
Taking the direction of what he believed to be the heart of the nitrate region, Jack in a couple of days found several beds which he felt would prove rich fields of speculation.
His prime object was to find a bed which should not be too far removed from the railroad, or at least where its product could be the easiest teamed.
It was during his search one day that he got separated from his companion, in his desire to explore a wider stretch of country, when he quite unexpectedly found himself in the vicinity of his adventure with the jaguars.
The memory of that encounter brought back to his mind the lonely pimento he had seen in the valley on the opposite side of the hilly range, and the story of the hidden treasure filled his thoughts.
“If I could only find that now how it would help me to carry on my speculations.”
Determined to look again on the spot, he climbed the ascent, until for a second time he stood on the height.
Before he had reached this elevated position he had heard a deep rumbling sound in the distance--a sound which seemed like the whirl and rush of angry waters, as if he was approaching a high cataract.
Ere he had gained the extreme top of the elevation, however, this noise suddenly died away, and the calmness of the primeval wilderness lay on the scene as he paused on the summit to gaze into the valley.
Naturally his gaze had turned in that direction, and an exclamation of astonishment left his lips, as he saw that the valley was gone!
The great basin was filled with water, the high hills and mountains forming a mighty rim with a piece of the huge bowl broken away where the gap existed in the elevated range on the north. But another feature of this inland lake had greater interest for him.
Near its centre was a small, barren island, entirely destitute of growth except for a solitary tree standing on its highest point.
The lonely monarch stood stark and stern in all its solitude, with one branch lifted like a skeleton arm pointing toward the north.
“The pimento--the treasure island!” exclaimed Jack with suppressed emotion.
The longer he looked upon the little island and its surroundings the more fully convinced he became that it was the spot described in the paper he had found so singularly on Robinson Crusoe’s island.
When he had recovered somewhat from his glad surprise he urged the pony down the rough descent until the shore of the lake was reached.
“Oh, Don!” he said to the faithful pony, “you must take me to the island,” never dreaming of the effort it would cost.
As he spoke a commotion began in the water at the north end, though that in front of him was still as unruffled as ever. But the pony had barely plunged into the tide before a deep, guttural sound came up from the depths and long lines of foam appeared on the surface.
Nothing daunted by this, Jack continued to urge the animal ahead in spite of its desire to turn back, until they were about midway between the bank which they had left and the island.
The strange noise had increased so that now it completely filled Jack’s ears, while the water was in a fearful state of agitation. It had taken on a peculiar greenish hue, with big flecks of white foam, and here and there were fountains spouting up bright yellow liquid, which rose to the height of from ten to twenty feet.
The youth felt a strong undercurrent, and, finding that he could not reach the island, he tried to get back to the shore he had left.
By this time the pony was struggling helplessly in the mysterious power sucking it downward.
Then, before Jack could clear his feet from the stirrups, so as to look out for himself, he was drawn under the seething waters with his horse!
As Jack felt the swirling waters closing over him, he made greater effort to keep on the surface.
His gallant pony was struggling furiously for the same purpose, but the power pulling them down was irresistible.
A continual roaring filled his ears, and it seemed as if he was being drawn into some infernal region.
In spite of all he could do he was carried downward, until suddenly he felt a terrible shock, as if he had been hurled against some stony surface, and the next he knew he was floating on the water near the north end of the lake, which was then quite tranquil. He had no difficulty in swimming to the nearest point of land.
Scrambling up the precipitous bank he was glad to sink upon the ground for rest.
He was wondering if his pony had perished, when he was gladdened by the sight of the animal on the opposite side of the lake.
Before going to the horse Jack resolved to try to swim out to the island, and as the water had now assumed the calmness which had prevailed at the time he had first seen it, he did not think of further trouble. He had received some bruises from his recent experience, but beyond them he felt little the worse for his adventure.
Removing his outer garments, so as to give greater freedom to his movements, he stepped down to the edge of the dark flood, which was filled with the fine particles of earth it had swallowed.
As calm as the water was then, he had barely touched it with one foot before a shriek, which rang in his ears for a long time afterwards, rang high and far, cut short in its midst by a fearful rush of the aroused flood, and a column was suddenly thrown into the air to the height of a hundred feet!
It was such a terrific, appalling outburst that he hastily clambered back upon the bank, to watch the strange sight. For fully two minutes the waterspout quivered and vibrated in the air, when it collapsed as abruptly as it had appeared.
The water of the lake continued to boil for five minutes, when it began to subside, though bearing traces of agitation for five minutes longer, during which Jack watched it with intense interest.
Still undaunted by this marvelous display, Jack resolved to try a third time to reach the island, selecting a more favorable place for his descent into the water this time.
As no outbreak had immediately followed his entrance into the lake this time, he was beginning to think that the strange phenomenon was over. But he was soon to be undeceived.
All at once, without warning, a dozen columns of water sprang upward, threatening for a moment to drain the lake dry, and among these rushing, writhing pillars Jack was borne into the air.
When the powers subsided he fell back with such a force as to render him almost senseless. The lake was still churned and convulsed by the mighty agency controlling it, and he had a hard fight to reach the shore, where he lay completely exhausted.
Slowly recovering his strength he finally sat up and began to wring the water out of his clothes, deciding to leave the place as soon as he felt able. The water was calm then; though a short time before it had been tossed and whipped into fury by the mysterious element controlling it.
“Were the whole Incas treasure buried on that island it would be safe from the hand of the despoiler,” he said, speaking aloud his thoughts. “But I do not understand it. I am willing to wager that this is the same valley I saw when I was this way before, though it was as dry as a palm leaf then. How calm it is now, but I suppose if I should dare to enter its sacred precinct it would begin again its fearful convulsions.”
As he finished speaking, Jack picked up a small stone and tossed it into the lake. No sooner had it disappeared beneath its dark surface than another column of water shot upward with a sort of hissing that was terrific, and in a moment the whole body was once more undergoing a series of spasms frightful to behold.
Watching it until the outbreak was over, Jack lost no further time in seeking the pony. Then he began to climb the hillside leading from the place.
Upon the crest he paused for a last look, saying:
“It is calm enough now. Sometime I will come again, for I will know its secret if I die for it. There is and must be a natural explanation for all this.”
Finding Plum Plucky waiting anxiously for him at the expected place of meeting, Jack led the way toward civilization, having come to the conclusion to close the trade on one of the nitrate beds he had seen and begin operations as soon as possible.
He said nothing to his companion of his experience in the valley of mystery, partly because the stirring scenes immediately following caused him to put it in the background of his memory for a while.
He was the more anxious to get his first cargo of nitrate off as the war cloud was deepening fast, and not only was Peru and Chili at a state of bitter antagonism, but Bolivia was threatening to mix in the trouble. A three-cornered war, with Southern Peru for its battleground, was anything but what he desired to see.
The next day he bought his first nitrate bed, paying for it forty pistoles, which was considerably more than he had expected, but it was large, and if his plans only worked he believed there was a small fortune in it.
He then hired oxen enough to make two six-ox teams, with suitable wagons to draw the nitrate on, and he engaged the services of half a dozen Peruvians to help in the work of getting out the first loads.
As the bed lay remote from the few beaten paths of the thinly populated country, it would involve considerable hard work and time to get passable roads cut through, so as to be able to draw loads of any size.
“By gosh!” drawled Plum Plucky, as they set out on their work, “I’m going to stand by yeou; but yeou may hang my hat on a scare-crow if I don’t think yeou’ll blow yerself dry.”
“By that I suppose you mean that I shall lose all I am putting into my venture,” said Jack, good-naturedly.
“That’s just what I mean. I’ll bet yeou have got about every dollar yeou have into it now.”
“I have figured up that I shall have about twenty pounds left when I have paid off my help.”
“Say, Jack! I’d like to be there when you get in with yer first load of dirt and see ’em laugh. Don’t s’pose yeou have any dirt in the teown yeou come from.”
“Not dirt that is pure nitrate of soda, and possessing the highest qualities for fertilization of any known compound. Hello! what is up now?”