The Africans were employed in cooking and other rough domestic or menial
services, and sometimes all of them were taken down to the shore of the
bay, where they saw small vessels, and they were employed in carrying
goods from one of these to another, and were also obliged to carry
provisions and heavy kegs up the ravine to the houses of the wicked men.
The one whom he had brought with him, Maka said, had that day escaped
from his captors. One of the Rackbirds, whom in some way the negro had
offended, had sworn to kill him before night, and feeling sure that this
threat would be carried out, the poor fellow had determined to run away,
no matter what the consequences. He had chosen the way by the ocean, in
order that he might jump in and drown himself if he found that he was
likely to be overtaken, but apparently his escape had not yet been
discovered.

Maka was going on to tell something more about the wicked men, when
the captain interrupted him. "Can this friend of yours speak
English?" he asked.

"Only one, two words," replied Maka.

"Ask him if he knows the name of that band of men."

"Yes," said Maka, presently, "he know, but he no can speak it."

"Are they called the Rackbirds?" asked Captain Horn.

The shivering negro had been listening attentively, and now half rose and
nodded his head violently, and then began to speak rapidly in African.

"Yes," said Maka, "he says that is name they are called."

At this moment Ralph appeared upon the scene, and the second African,
whose name was something like Mok, sprang to his feet as if he were about
to flee for his life. But as there was no place to flee to, except into
the water or into the arms of Ralph, he stood still, trembling. A few
feet to the left the shelf ended in a precipitous rock, and on the right,
as has been said, it gradually descended into the water, the space on
which the party stood not being more than twenty feet long and five or
six feet wide. When he saw Ralph, the captain suddenly stopped the
question he was about to ask, and said in an undertone to Maka:

"Not a word to the boy. I will tell."

"Oh," cried Ralph, "you do not know what a lively couple there is out
there. I found that my sister and Mrs. Cliff had made up their minds that
they would perish in about two days, and Mrs. Cliff had been making her
will with a lead-pencil, and now they are just as high up as they were
low down before. They would not let me come to get them some water,
though I kept telling them they never tasted anything like it in their
whole lives, because they wanted to hear everything about everything. My
sister will be wild to come to this lake before long, even if Mrs. Cliff
does not care to try it. And when you are ready to come to them, and
bring Maka, they want to know who that other colored man is, and how Maka
happened to find him. I truly believe their curiosity goes ahead of their
thirst." And so saying he went down to the lake to fill a pail he had
brought with him.

The captain told Ralph to hurry back to the ladies, and that he would be
there in a few minutes. Captain Horn knew a great deal about the
Rackbirds. They were a band of desperadoes, many of them outlaws and
criminals. They had all come down from the isthmus, to which they had
been attracted by the great canal works, and after committing various
outrages and crimes, they had managed to get away without being shot or
hung. Captain Horn had frequently heard of them in the past year or two,
and it was generally supposed that they had some sort of rendezvous or
refuge on this coast, but there had been no effort made to seek them out.
He had frequently heard of crimes committed by them at points along the
coast, which showed that they had in their possession some sort of
vessel. At one time, when he had stopped at Lima, he had heard that there
was talk of the government's sending out a police or military expedition
against these outlaws, but he had never known of anything of the sort
being done.

Everything that, from time to time, had been told Captain Horn about
the Rackbirds showed that they surpassed in cruelty and utter vileness
any other bandits, or even savages, of whom he had ever heard. Among
other news, he had been told that the former leader of the band, which
was supposed to be composed of men of many nationalities, was a French
Canadian, who had been murdered by his companions because, while robbing
a plantation in the interior,--they had frequently been known to cross
the desert and the mountains,--he had forborne to kill an old man
because as the trembling graybeard looked up at him he had reminded him
of his father. Some of the leading demons of the band determined that
they could not have such a fool as this for their leader, and he was
killed while asleep.

Now the band was headed by a Spaniard, whose fiendishness was of a
sufficiently high order to satisfy the most exacting of his fellows.
These and other bits of news about the Rackbirds had been told by one of
the band who had escaped to Panama after the murder of the captain,
fearing that his own talents for baseness did not reach the average
necessary for a Rackbird.

When he had made his landing from the wreck, Captain Horn never gave a
thought to the existence of this band of scoundrels. In fact, he had
supposed, when he had thought of the matter, that their rendezvous must
be far south of this point.

But now, standing on that shelf of rock, with his eyes fixed on the water
without seeing it, he knew that the abode of this gang of wretches was
within a comparatively short distance of this spot in which he and his
companions had taken refuge, and he knew, too, that there was every
reason to suppose that some of them would soon be in pursuit of the negro
who had run away.

Suddenly another dreadful thought struck him. Wild beasts, indeed!

He turned quickly to Maka. "Does that man know anything about Davis and
the two sailors? Were they killed?" he asked.

Maka shook his head and said that he had already asked his companion that
question, but Mok had said that he did not know. All he knew was that
those wicked men killed everybody they could kill.

The captain shut his teeth tightly together. "That was it," he said. "I
could not see how it could be jaguars, although I could think of nothing
else. But these bloodthirsty human beasts! I see it now." He moved toward
the passage. "If that dirty wretch had not run away," he thought, "we
might have stayed undiscovered here until a vessel came. But they will
track his footsteps upon the sand--they are bound to do that."




CHAPTER VI

THREE WILD BEASTS


When the captain joined the two ladies and the boy, who were impatiently
waiting for him on the plateau, he had made up his mind to tell them the
bad news. Terrible as was the necessity, it could not be helped. It was
very hard for him to meet those three radiant faces, and to hear them
talk about the water that had been discovered.

"Now," said Mrs. Cliff, "I see no reason why we should not live here in
peace and comfort until Mr. Rynders chooses to come back for us. And I
have been thinking, captain, that if somebody--and I am sure Ralph would
be very good at it--could catch some fish, it would help out very much.
We are getting a little short of meat, but as for the other things, we
have enough to last for days and days. But we won't talk of that now. We
want to hear where that other colored man came from. Just look at him as
he sits there with Maka by those embers. One might think he would shiver
himself to pieces. Was he cast ashore from a wreck?"

The captain stood silent for a moment, and then, briefly but plainly, and
glossing over the horrors of the situation as much as he could, he told
them about the Rackbirds. Not one of the little party interrupted the
captain's story, but their faces grew paler and paler as he proceeded.

When he had finished, Mrs. Cliff burst into tears. "Captain," she cried,
"let us take the boat and row away from this dreadful place. We should
not lose a minute. Let us go now!"

But the captain shook his head. "That would not do," he said. "On this
open sea they could easily see us. They have boats, and could row much
faster than we could."

"Then," exclaimed the excited woman, "we could turn over the boat, and
all sink to the bottom together."

To this the captain made no answer. "You must all get inside as quickly
as you can," he said. "Maka, you and that other fellow carry in
everything that has been left out here. Be quick. Go up, Ralph, and take
the flag down, and then run in."

When the others had entered the narrow passage, the captain followed.
Fortunately, he had two guns, each double-barrelled, and if but a few of
the Rackbirds came in pursuit of the escaped negro, he might be a match
for them in that narrow passage.

Shortly after the party had retired within the rocks, Miss Markham came
to the captain, who was standing at the door of the first apartment.
"Captain Horn," said she, "Mrs. Cliff is in a state of nervous fear, and
I have been trying to quiet her. Can you say anything that might give her
a little courage? Do you really think there is any chance of our escape
from this new danger?"

"Yes," said the captain, "there is a chance. Rynders may come back
before the Rackbirds discover us, and even if two or three of them
find out our retreat, I may be able to dispose of them, and thus give
us a little more time. That is our only ground of hope. Those men are
bound to come here sooner or later, and everything depends upon the
return of Rynders."

"But," urged Miss Markham, "perhaps they may not come so far as this
to look for the runaway. The waves may have washed out his footsteps
upon the sand. There may be no reason why they should come up to
this plateau."

The captain smiled a very sombre smile. "If any of them should come this
way," he said, "it is possible that they might not think it worth while
to cease their search along the beach and come up to this particular
spot, were it not that our boat is down there. That is the same thing as
if we had put out a sign to tell them where we are. The boat is hauled up
on shore, but they could not fail to see it."

"Captain," said Miss Markham, "do you think those Rackbirds killed the
three sailors?"

"I am very much afraid of it," he answered. "If they did, they must have
known that these poor fellows were survivors of a shipwreck, and I
suppose they stole up behind them and shot them down or stabbed them. If
that were so, I wonder why they have not sooner been this way, looking
for the wreck, or, at least, for other unfortunates who may have reached
shore. I suppose, if they are making this sort of a search, they went
southward. But all that, of course, depends upon whether they really saw
Davis and the two other men. If they did not, they could have no reason
for supposing there were any shipwrecked people on the coast."

"But that thought is of no use to us," said Miss Markham, her eyes upon
the ground, "for, of course, they will be coming after the black man.
Captain," she continued quickly, "is there anything I can do? I can
fire a gun."

He looked at her for a moment. "That will not be necessary," he said.
"But there is something you can do. Have you a pistol?"

"Yes," said she, "I have. I put it in my pocket as soon as I came into
the cave. Here it is."

The captain took the pistol from her hands and examined it. "Five
chambers," he said, "all charged. Be very careful of it,"--handing it
back to her. "I will put your brother and Mrs. Cliff in your charge. At
the slightest hint of danger, you must keep together in the middle room.
I will stand between you and the rascals as long as I can, but if I am
killed, you must do what you think best."

"I will," said she, and she put the pistol back in her pocket.

The captain was very much encouraged by the brave talk of this young
woman, and it really seemed as if he now had some one to stand by him,
some one with whom he could even consult.

"I have carefully examined this cavern," said the captain, after a
moment's pause, "and there are only two ways by which those men could
possibly get in. You need not be afraid that any one can scramble down
the walls of that farthest apartment. That could not be done, though they
might be able to fire upon any one in it. But in the middle room you
will be perfectly secure from gunshots. I shall keep Maka on guard a
little back from the entrance to the passage. He will lie on the ground,
and can hear footsteps long before they reach us. It is barely possible
that some of them might enter by the great cleft in the cave on the other
side of the lake, but in that case they would have to swim across, and I
shall station that new African on the ledge of which you have heard, and
if he sees any of them coming in that direction, I know he will give very
quick warning. I hardly think, though, that they would trust themselves
to be picked off while swimming."

"And you?" said she.

"Oh, I shall keep my eyes on all points," said he, "as far as I can. I
begin to feel a spirit of fight rising up within me. If I thought I could
keep them off until Rynders gets here, I almost wish they would then
come. I would like to kill a lot of them."

"Suppose," said Edna Markham, after a moment's reflection, "that they
should see Mr. Rynders coming back, and should attack him."

"I hardly think they would do that," replied the captain. "He will
probably come in a good-sized vessel, and I don't think they are the kind
of men for open battle. They are midnight sneaks and assassins. Now, I
advise all of you to go and get something to eat. It would be better for
us not to try to do any cooking, and so make a smoke."

The captain did not wish to talk any more. Miss Markham's last remark had
put a new fear into his mind. Suppose the Rackbirds had lured Rynders and
his men on shore? Those sailors had but few arms among them. They had
not thought, when they left, that there would be any necessity for
defence against their fellow-beings.

When Edna Markham told Mrs. Cliff what the captain had said about their
chances, and what he intended to do for their protection, the older woman
brightened up a good deal.

"I have great faith in the captain," she declared, "and if he thinks it
is worth while to make a fight, I believe he will make a good one. If
they should be firing, and Mr. Rynders is approaching the coast, even if
it should be night, he would lose no time in getting to us."

Toward the close of that afternoon three wild beasts came around the
point of the bluff and made their way northward along the beach. They
were ferocious creatures with shaggy hair and beards. Two of them carried
guns, and each of them had a knife in his belt. When they came to a broad
bit of beach above the reach of the waves, they were very much surprised
at some footsteps they saw. They were the tracks of two men, instead of
those of the one they were looking for. This discovery made them very
cautious. They were eager to kill the escaped African before he got far
enough away to give information of their retreat, for they knew not at
what time an armed force in search of them might approach the coast. But
they were very wary about running into danger. There was somebody with
that black fellow--somebody who wore boots.

After a time they came to the boat. The minute they saw this, each
miscreant crouched suddenly upon the sand, and, with cocked guns, they
listened. Then, hearing nothing, they carefully examined the boat. It
was empty--there were not even oars in it.

Looking about them, they saw a hollow behind some rocks. To this they
ran, crouching close to the ground, and there they sat and consulted.

It was between two and three o'clock the next morning that Maka's eyes,
which had not closed for more than twenty hours, refused to keep open any
longer, and with his head on the hard, rocky ground of the passage in
which he lay, the poor African slept soundly. On the shelf at the edge of
the lake, the other African, Mok, sat crouched on his heels, his eyes
wide open. Whether he was asleep or not it would have been difficult to
determine, but if any one had appeared in the great cleft on the other
side of the lake, he would have sprung to his feet with a yell--his fear
of the Rackbirds was always awake.

Inside the first apartment was Captain Horn, fast asleep, his two guns by
his side. He had kept watch until an hour before, but Ralph had insisted
upon taking his turn, and, as the captain knew he could not keep awake
always, he allowed the boy to take a short watch. But now Ralph was
leaning back against one of the walls, snoring evenly and steadily. In
the next room sat Edna Markham, wide awake. She knew of the arrangement
made with Ralph, and she knew the boy's healthy, sleepy nature, so that
when he went on watch she went on watch.

Outside of the cave were three wild beasts. One of them was crouching on
the farther end of the plateau. Another, on the lower ground a little
below, stood, gun in hand, and barely visible in the starlight. A third,
barefooted, and in garments dingy as the night, and armed only with a
knife, crept softly toward the entrance of the cave. There he stopped
and listened. He could plainly hear the breathing of the sleepers. He
tried to separate these sounds one from another, so that he should be
able to determine how many persons were sleeping inside, but this he
could not do. Then his cat-like eyes, becoming more and more accustomed
to the darkness within the entrance, saw the round head of Maka close
upon the ground.

The soul of the listening fiend laughed within him. "Pretty watchers they
are," he said to himself. "Not three hours after midnight, and they are
all snoring!" Then, as stealthily and as slowly as he had come, he
slipped away, and joining the others, they all glided through the
darkness down to the beach, and then set off at their best speed back to
their rendezvous.

After they had discovered that there were people in the cave, they had
not thought of entering. They were not fully armed, and they did not
know how many persons were inside. But they knew one thing, and that was
that these shipwrecked people--for that was what they must be--kept a
very poor watch, and if the whole band came on the following night, the
affair would probably be settled with but very little trouble, no matter
how large the party in the cave might be. It was not necessary to look
any further for the escaped negro. Of course, he had been picked up by
these people.

The three beasts reached their camp about daybreak, and everybody was
soon awakened and the tale was told.

"It is a comfort," said the leader, lighting the stump of a black pipe
which he thrust under his great mustache, and speaking in his native
tongue, which some of them understood, and others did not, "to know that
to-night's work is all cut out for us. Now we can take it easy to-day,
and rest our bones. The order of the day is to keep close. No straggling,
nor wandering. Keep those four niggers up in the pigeonhole. We will do
our own cooking to-day, for we can't afford to run after any more of
them. Lucky the fellow who got away can't speak English, for he can't
tell anything about us, any more than if he was an ape. So snooze to-day,
if you want to. I will give you work to do for to-night."




CHAPTER VII

GONE!


That morning, when the party in the cavern had had their breakfast, with
some hot tea made on a spiritlamp which Mrs. Cliff had brought, and had
looked cautiously out at the sunlit landscape, and the sea beyond,
without seeing any signs or hearing any sound of wicked men, there came
a feeling of relief. There was, indeed, no great ground for such a
feeling, but as the Rackbirds had not come the day before nor during the
night, perhaps they would not come at all. It might be they did not care
whether the black man ran away or not. But Captain Horn did not relax
his precautions. He would take no chances, and would keep up a watch day
and night.

When, on the night before, the time had come for Ralph's watch to end,
his sister had awakened him, and when the captain, in his turn, was
aroused, he had not known that it was not the boy who had kept watch
during his sleep.

In the course of the morning Mrs. Cliff and Edna, having been filled
with an intense desire to see the wonderful subterranean lake, had been
helped over the rocky barrier, and had stood at the edge of the water,
looking over to where it was lighted by the great chasm in the side of
the rocks, and endeavoring to peer into the solemn, cavernous distance
into which it extended on the right. Edna said nothing, but stood
gazing at the wonderful scene--the dark, mysterious waters before her,
the arched cavern above her, and the picture of the bright sky and the
tops of the distant mountains, framed by the sides of the great opening
which stretched itself upward like a cathedral window on the other side
of the lake.

"It frightens me," said Mrs. Cliff. "To be sure, this water was our
salvation, for we should have been dead by this time, pirates or no
pirates, if we had not found it. But it is terrifying, for all that. We
do not know how far it stretches out into the blackness, and we do not
know how far down it goes. It may be thousands of feet deep, for all we
know. Don't go so near the edge, Ralph. It makes me shudder."

When the little party had returned to the cavern, the captain and the two
ladies had a long talk about the lake. They all agreed that the existence
of this great reservoir of water was sufficient to account for the
greenness and fertility of the little plateau outside. Even if no
considerable amount of water trickled through the cracks in the rocks,
the moisture which arose from the surface of the water found its way out
into the surrounding atmosphere, and had nourished the bushes and vines.

For some time they discussed their new-found water-supply, and they were
all glad to have something to think about and talk about besides the
great danger which overhung them.

"If it could only have been the lake without the Rackbirds," said
Mrs. Cliff.

"Let us consider that that is the state of the case," remarked Edna. "We
have the lake, and so far we have not had any Rackbirds."

It was now nearly noon, and the captain looked around for Ralph, but did
not see him. He went to search for him, and finding that the boy had not
passed Maka, who was on watch, he concluded he must have gone to the
lake. There was no reason why the restless youth should not seek to
enliven his captivity by change of scene, but Captain Horn felt unwilling
to have any one in his charge out of sight for any length of time, so he
went to look for Ralph.

He found no one on the rocky shelf. As there had been little reason to
expect a water attack at this hour, Mok had been relieved from guard for
a meal and a nap. But as Ralph was not here, where could he be? A second
glance, however, showed the captain the boy's clothes lying close by,
against the upright side of the rock, and at that moment he heard a cry.
His eyes flashed out toward the sound. There on the other side of the
water, sitting on a bit of projecting rock not far from the great opening
in the cave, he saw Ralph. At first the captain stood dumb with
amazement, and he was just about to call out, when Ralph shouted again.

"I swam over," he said, "but I can't get back. I've got the cramps.
Can't you make some sort of a raft, and come over to me! The water's
awfully cold."

Raft, indeed! There was no material or time for anything of the kind. If
the boy dropped off that bit of rock, he would be drowned, and the
captain did not hesitate a moment. Throwing aside his jacket and slipping
off his shoes, he let himself down into the water and struck out in
Ralph's direction. The water was, indeed, very cold, but the captain was
a strong swimmer, and it would not take him very long to cross the lake
at this point, where its width was not much more than a hundred feet. As
he neared the other side he did not make immediately for Ralph. He
thought it would be wise to rest a little before attempting to take the
boy back, and so he made for another point of rock, a little nearer the
opening, urging the boy, as he neared him, to sit firmly and keep up a
good heart.

"All right," said Ralph. "I see what you are after. That is a
better place than this, and if you land there I think I can
scramble over to you."

"Don't move," said the captain. "Sit where you are until I tell you
what to do."

The captain had not made more than two or three strokes after speaking
when his right hand struck against something hard, just below the surface
of the water. He involuntarily grasped it. It was immovable, and it felt
like a tree, a few inches in diameter, standing perpendicularly in the
lake. Wondering what this could be, he took hold of it with his other
hand, and finding that it supported him, he let his feet drop, when, to
his surprise, he found that they rested on something with a rounded
surface, and the idea instantly came into his mind that it was a
submerged tree, the trunk lying horizontally, from which this upright
branch projected. This might be as good a resting-place as the rock to
which he had been going, and standing on it, with his head well out of
the water, he turned to speak to Ralph. At that moment his feet slipped
from the slimy object on which he stood, and he fell backward into the
water, still grasping, however, his upright support. But this did not
remain upright more than an instant, but yielded to his weight, and the
end of it which he held went down with him. As he sank, the captain, in
his first bewilderment, did not loosen his grasp upon what had been his
support, and which still prevented him from sinking rapidly. But in a
moment his senses came to him, he let go, and a few downward strokes
brought him to the surface of the water. Then he struck out for the point
of rock for which he had been aiming, and he was soon mounted upon it.

"Hi!" shouted Ralph, who had been so frightened by the captain's sudden
sinking that he nearly fell off his narrow seat, "I thought something had
pulled you down."

The captain did not explain. He was spluttering a little after his
involuntary dive, and he wanted to get back as soon as possible, and so
wasted no breath in words. In a few minutes he felt himself ready for the
return trip, and getting into the water, he swam to Ralph. Following the
directions given him, the boy let himself down into the water behind the
captain, and placed his hands upon the latter's hips, firmly grasping the
waistband of his trousers. Then urging the boy not to change his
position, nor attempt to take hold of him in any other way, the captain
struck out across the lake, Ralph easily floating behind him.

When they stood upon the shelf on the other side, and Ralph, having
rubbed himself down with the captain's jacket, put on his clothes,
Captain Horn rather sternly inquired of him how he came to do such a
foolish and wicked thing as to run the risk of drowning himself in the
lake at a time when his sister and his friends had already trouble enough
on their minds.

Ralph was sorry, of course, that the captain had to come after him, and
get himself wet, but he explained that he wanted to do something for the
good of the party, and it had struck him that it would be a very sensible
thing to investigate the opening on the other side of the lake. If he
could get out of that great gap, he might find some way of climbing out
over the top of the rocks and get to the place where his flag was, and
then, if he saw Mr. Rynders coming, he could wave it. It would be a great
thing if the people in the vessel which they all expected should see that
flag the moment they came in sight of the coast. They might get to shore
an hour or two sooner than if they had not seen it.

"If the cramp in this leg had kept off five minutes longer," he said, "I
would have reached that big hole, and then, if I could have climbed over
the top of the rocks, I could have come down on the other side to the
front door, and asked Maka to get me my clothes, so I would not have had
to swim back at all."

"That will do," said the captain. "And now that you are dressed, you can
go inside and get me that woollen shirt and trousers that I use for a
pillow, for I must take off these wet things."

When the boy came back with the clothes, the captain told him that he
need not say anything to his sister or Mrs. Cliff about the great danger
he had been in, but before he had finished his injunction Ralph
interrupted him.

"Oh, I have told them that already," said he. "They wanted to know where
I had been, and it did not take a minute to tell them what a splendid
swimmer you are, and how you came over after me without taking as much as
two seconds to think about it. And I let them know, too, that it was a
mighty dangerous thing for you to do. If I had been one of those fellows
who were not used to the water, and who would grab hold of any one who
came to save them, we might both have gone to the bottom together."

The captain smiled grimly. "It is hard to get ahead of a boy," he said
to himself.

It was late that afternoon when Captain Horn, with Ralph and the two
ladies, were standing on the rocks in the inner apartment, trying to
persuade themselves that they were having a cosey cup of tea together,
when suddenly a scrambling sound of footsteps was heard, and Maka dashed
through the two adjoining apartments and appeared before them. Instantly
the captain was on his feet, his gun, which had been lying beside him, in
his hand. Up sprang the others, mute, with surprise and fear on their
faces. Maka, who was in a state of great excitement, and seemed unable to
speak, gasped out the one word, "Gone!"

"What do you mean?" cried the captain.

Maka ran back toward the passage, and pointed inward. Instantly the
captain conjectured what he meant. Mok, the second African, had been
stationed to watch the lake approach, and he had deserted! Now the hot
thought flashed upon the captain that the rascal had been a spy. The
Rackbirds had known that there were shipwrecked people in these caves.
How could they help knowing it, if they had killed Davis and the others?
But, cowardly hounds as they were, they had been afraid to attack the
place until they knew how many people were in it, what arms they had, and
in what way the place could best be assailed. This Mok had found out
everything. If the boy could swim across the lake, that black man could
do it, and he had gone out through the cleft, and was probably now making
his report to the gang.

All this flashed through the captain's brain in a few seconds. He set his
teeth together. He was ashamed that he had allowed himself to be so
tricked. That African, probably one of the gang, and able to speak
English, should have been kept a prisoner. What a fool he had been to
treat the black-hearted and black-bodied wretch as one of themselves, and
actually to put him on guard!

Of course, it was of no use to go to look for him, and the captain had
put down his gun, and was just about to turn to speak to the others, when
Maka seized him by the coat. The negro seemed wildly excited and still
unable to speak. But it was plain that he wanted the captain to follow
him along the passage. There was no use in asking questions, and the
captain followed, and behind him came Ralph, Edna, and Mrs. Cliff.

Maka was about to climb over the rocky partition which divided the
passage, but the captain stopped him. "Stay here," said he, "and watch
the passage. I will see what is the matter over there." And then he and
Ralph jumped over and hurried to the lake. As they came out on the little
platform of rock, on which the evening light, coming through the great;
cleft, still rendered objects visible, they saw Mok crouching on his
heels, his eyes wide open as usual.

The captain was stupefied. That African not gone! If it were not he,
who had gone?

Then the captain felt a tight clutch upon his arm, and Ralph pulled
him around. Casting eyes outward, the captain saw that it was the lake
that had gone!

As he and Ralph stood there, stupefied and staring, they saw, by the dim
light which came through the opening on the other side of the cavern, a
great empty rocky basin. The bottom of this, some fifteen or twenty feet
below them, wet and shining, with pools of water here and there, was
plainly visible in the space between them and the open cleft, but farther
on all was dark. There was every reason to suppose, however, that all the
water had gone from the lake. Why or how this had happened, they did not
even ask themselves. They simply stood and stared.

In a few minutes they were joined by Edna, who had become so anxious at
their absence and silence that she had clambered over the wall, and came
running to them. By the time she reached them it was much darker than
when they had arrived, but she could see that the lake had gone. That
was enough.

"What do you suppose it means?" she said presently. "Are we over
some awful subterranean cavern in which things sink out of sight in
an instant?"

"It is absolutely unaccountable," said the captain. "But we must go back
to Mrs. Cliff. I hear her calling. And if Maka has come to his senses,
perhaps he can tell us something."

But Maka had very little to tell. To the captain's questions he could
only say that a little while before, Mok had come running to him, and
told him that, being thirsty, he had gone down to the edge of the lake to
get a drink, and found that there was no water, only a great hole, and
then he had run to tell Maka, and when Maka had gone back with him, so
greatly surprised that he had deserted his post without thinking about
it, he found that what Mok had said was true, and that there was nothing
there but a great black hole. Mok must have been asleep when the water
went away, but it was gone, and that was all he knew about it.

There was something so weird and mysterious about this absolute and
sudden disappearance of this great body of water that Mrs. Cliff became
very nervous and frightened.

"This is a temple of the devil," she said, "and that is his face outside.
You do not know what may happen next. This rocky floor on which we stand
may give way, and we may all go down into unknown depths. I can't think
of staying here another minute. It is dark now. Let us slip away down to
the beach, and take the boat, and row away from this horrible region
where human devils and every other kind seem to own the country."

"Oh, no," said the captain, "we can't consider such wild schemes as that.
I have been thinking that perhaps there may be some sort of a tide in
this lake, and in the morning we may find the water just as it was. And,
at any rate, it has not entirely deserted us, for in these pools at the
bottom we can find water enough for us to drink."

"I suppose I would not mind such things so much," said Mrs. Cliff, "if
they happened out of doors. But being shut up in this cave with magical
lakes, and expecting every minute to see a lot of bloodthirsty pirates
bursting in upon us, is enough to shake the nerves of anybody."

"Captain," said Ralph, "I suppose you will not now object to letting me
go in the morning to explore that opening. I can walk across the bottom
of the lake without any danger, you know."

"Don't you try to do anything of the kind," said the captain, "without my
permission."

"No, indeed!" exclaimed Mrs. Cliff. "Supposing the water were to suddenly
rise just as you were half-way across. Now that I think of it, there are
springs and bodies of water which rise and fall this way, some of them in
our own Western country, but none of them are as large as this. What if
it should rise in the night and flood the cave while we are asleep?"

"Why, dear Mrs. Cliff," said Edna, "I am not afraid of the water's rising
or of the earth's sinking. Don't let us frighten ourselves with
imaginations like that. Perhaps there may not even be any real thing to
be afraid of, but if there should be, let us keep courage for that."

The disappearance of the lake gave the captain an uneasiness of which the
others had not thought. He saw it would be comparatively easy for the
Rackbirds to gain access to the place through the cleft in the eastern
wall of the lake cavern. If they should discover that aperture, the
cavern might be attacked from the rear and the front at the same time,
and then the captain feared his guns would not much avail.

Of course, during the darkness which would soon prevail there was no
reason to expect a rear attack, and the captain satisfied himself with
leaving Mok at his former post, with instructions to give the alarm if
he heard the slightest sound, and put Maka, as before, in the outer
passage. As for himself, he took an early nap in the evening, because
at the very first break of dawn it would be necessary for him to be on
the alert.

He did not know how much he had depended upon the lake as a barrier of
defence, but now that it had gone, he felt that the dangers which
threatened them from the Rackbirds were doubled.




CHAPTER VIII

THE ALARM


It was still dark when the captain woke, and he struck a match to look at
his watch. It was three o'clock.

"Is that you, captain?" said a voice from the next room. "Is it time for
you to begin watch again?"

"Yes," said the captain, "it is about time. How do you happen to be
awake, Miss Markham? Ralph! I believe the boy is snoring."

"Of course he is," said Edna, speaking in a low voice. "We cannot expect
such a boy to keep awake, and so I have been on watch. It was easy enough
for me to keep my eyes open."

"It is too bad," said the captain, and then, listening for a moment, he
said: "I truly believe that Maka is snoring, too, and as for that black
fellow over there, I suspect that he sleeps all the time. Miss Markham,
you have been the only person awake."

"Why shouldn't I be?" said she. "I am sure that a woman is just as good
as a man for keeping watch."

"If they should come," thought the captain, as he again sat in the dark,
"I must not try to fight them in the passage. That would have been my
best chance, but now some of them might pick me off from behind. No, I
must fight them in this chamber. I can put everybody else in the middle
apartment. Perhaps before to-morrow night it might be well to bring some
of those loose rocks here and build a barricade. I wish I had thought of
that before."

The captain sat and listened and thought. His listening brought him no
return, and his thinking brought him too much. The most mournful ideas of
what might happen if more than two or three of the desperadoes attacked
the place crowded into his mind. If they came, they came to rob, and they
were men who left behind them no living witnesses of their whereabouts or
their crimes. And if two or three should come, and be repulsed, it would
not be long before the rest would arrive. In fact, the only real hope
they had was founded on the early return of Rynders--that is, if Rynders
and his men were living.

The captain waited and listened, but nothing came but daylight. As
soon as he was able to discern objects outside the opening on the
plateau, he awoke Maka, and, leaving him on guard, he made his way to
the lake cavern.

Here the light was beginning to come freely through the chasm which faced
nearly east. Mok was sitting with his eyes open, and showed that he was
alive by a little grunt when the captain approached. If there were such a
thing here as a subterranean tide, it had not risen. There was no water
where the lake had been.

Gazing across the empty basin, the captain felt a strong desire to go
over, climb up to the opening, and discover whether or not the cavern
was accessible on that side. It would be very important for him to know
this, and it would not take long for him to make an investigation. One
side of the rocky shelf which has been before mentioned sloped down to
the lake, and the captain was just about to descend this when he heard a
cry from the passage, and, at the same moment, a shout from Mok which
seemed to be in answer to it. Instantly the captain turned and dashed
into the passage, and, leaping over the barrier, found Maka standing near
the entrance.

As soon as the negro saw him, he began to beckon wildly for him to come
on. But there was no need now of keeping quiet and beckoning. The first
shout had aroused everybody inside, and the two ladies and Ralph were
already in the passage. The captain, however, made them keep back, while
he and Maka, on their hands and knees, crawled toward the outer opening.
From this point one could see over the plateau, and the uneven ground
beyond, down to the beach and the sea; but there was still so little
light upon this western slope that at first the captain could not see
anything noticeable in the direction in which Maka was pointing. But in a
few moments his mariner eyes asserted themselves, and he saw some black
spots on the strip of beach, which seemed to move. Then he knew they were
moving, and moving toward him--coming up to the cave! They were men!

"Sit here," said the captain to Maka, and then, with his gun in his hand,
he rushed back to the rest of the party.

"They seem to be coming," said he, speaking as calmly as he could, "but
we have discovered them in good time, and I shall have some shots at
them before they reach here. Let us hope that they will never get here at
all. You two," said he to Mrs. Cliff and Ralph, "are to be under command
of Miss Markham. You must do exactly what she tells you to." Then,
turning to Edna, he said, "You have your pistol ready?"

"Yes," said she, "I am ready."

Without another word, the captain took his other gun and all his
ammunition, and went back into the passage. Here he found Mok, who had
come to see what was the matter. Motioning the negro to go back to his
post, the captain, with his loaded guns, went again to the entrance.
Looking out, he could now plainly see the men. There were four of them.
It was lighter down toward the sea, for the rocks still threw a heavy
shadow over the plateau. The sight sent a thrill of brave excitement
through the captain.

"If they come in squads of four," thought he, "I may be a match for them.
They can't see me, and I can see them. If I could trust Maka to load a
gun, I would have a better chance, but if I could pick off two, or even
one, that might stop the others and give me time to reload. Come on, you
black-hearted scoundrels," he muttered through his teeth, as he knelt
outside the cave, one gun partly raised, and the other on the ground
beside him. "If I could only know that none of your band could come in at
that hole in the back of the cave, I'd call the odds even."

The dawn grew brighter, and the four men drew nearer. They came slowly,
one considerably ahead of the others. Two or three times they stopped and
appeared to be consulting, and then again moved slowly forward straight
toward the plateau.

When the leading man was nearly within gunshot, the captain's face began
to burn, and his pulses to throb hard and fast.

"The sooner I pick off the head one," he thought, "the better chance I
have at the others."

He brought his gun to his shoulder, and was slowly lowering the barrel to
the line of aim, when suddenly something like a great black beast rushed
past him, pushing up his arm and nearly toppling him over. It came from
the cave, and in a second it was out on the plateau. Then it gave a leap
upward, and rushed down toward the sea. Utterly astounded, the captain
steadied himself and turned to Maka.

"What was that?" he exclaimed.

The African was on his feet, his body bent forward, his eyes peering out
into the distance.

"Mok!" said he. "Look! Look!"

It was Mok who had rushed out of the cave. He was running toward the four
men. He reached them, he threw up his arms, he sprang upon the first man.
Then he left him, and jumped upon the others. Then Maka gave a little cry
and sprang forward, but in the same instant the captain seized him.

"Stop!" he cried. "What is it?"

The African shouted: "Mok's people! Mok knowed them. Look!
Look--see! Mok!"

The party was now near enough and the day was bright enough for the
captain to see that on the lower ground beyond the plateau there were
five black men in a state of mad excitement. He could hear them jabbering
away at a great rate. So far as he could discover, they were all
unarmed, and as they stood there gesticulating, the captain might have
shot them down in a bunch, if he had chosen.

"Go," said he to Maka, "go down there and see what it all means."

The captain now stepped back into the passage. He could see Miss Markham
and Ralph peering out of the doorway of the first compartment.

"There does not seem to be any danger so far," said he. "Some more
Africans have turned up. Maka has gone to meet them. We shall find out
about them in a few minutes," and he turned back to the entrance.

He saw that the six black fellows were coming toward him, and, as he had
thought, they carried no guns.




CHAPTER IX

AN AMAZING NARRATION


When the captain had gone out again into the open air, he was followed by
the rest of the party, for, if there were no danger, they all wanted to
see what was to be seen. What they saw was a party of six black men on
the plateau, Maka in the lead. There could be no doubt that the newcomers
were the remainder of the party of Africans who had been enslaved by the
Rackbirds, and the desire of the captain and his companions to know how
they had got away, and what news they brought, was most intense.

Maka now hurried forward, leading one of the strangers. "Great things
they tell," said he. "This Cheditafa. He speak English good as me. He
tell you."

"The first thing I want," cried the captain, "is some news of those
Rackbirds. Have they found we are here? Will they be coming after these
men, or have they gone off somewhere else? Tell me this, and be quick."

"Oh, yes," cried Maka, "they found out we here. But Cheditafa tell
you--he tell you everything. Great things!"

"Very well, then," said the captain. "Let him begin and be quick
about it."

The appearance of Cheditafa was quite as miserable as that of poor Mok,
but his countenance was much more intelligent, and his English, although
very much broken, was better even than Maka's, and he was able to make
himself perfectly understood. He spoke briefly, and this is the substance
of his story:

About the middle of the afternoon of the day before, a wonderful thing
happened. The Rackbirds had had their dinner, which they had cooked
themselves, and they were all lying down in their huts or in the shadows
of the rocks, either asleep, or smoking and telling stories. Cheditafa
knew why they were resting. The Rackbirds had no idea that he understood
English, for he had been careful to keep this fact from them after he
found out what sort of men they were,--and this knowledge had come very
soon to him,--and they spoke freely before him. He had heard some of the
men who had been out looking for Mok, and who had come back early that
morning, tell about some shipwrecked people in a cave up the coast, and
had heard all the plans which had been made for the attack upon them
during the night. He also knew why he and his fellows had been cooped up
in the cave in the rock in which they lived, all that day, and had not
been allowed to come down and do any work.

They were lying huddled in their little cave, feeling very hungry and
miserable, and whispering together,--for if they spoke out or made any
noise, one of the men below would be likely to fire a load of shot at
them,--when suddenly a strange thing happened.

They heard a great roar like a thousand bulls, which came from the
higher part of the ravine, and peeping out, they saw what seemed like a
wall of rock stretching across the little valley. But in a second they
saw it was not rock--it was water, and before they could take two breaths
it had reached them. Then it passed on, and they saw only the surface of
a furious and raging stream, the waves curling and dashing over each
other, and reaching almost up to the floor of their cave.

They were so frightened that they pressed back as far as they could get,
and even tried to climb up the sides of the rocky cavity, so fearful were
they that the water would dash in upon them. But the raging flood roared
and surged outside, and none of it came into their cave. Then the sound
of it became not quite so loud, and grew less and less. But still
Cheditafa and his companions were so frightened and so startled by this
awful thing, happening so suddenly, as if it had been magic, that it was
some time--he did not know how long--before they lifted their faces from
the rocks against which they were pressing them.

Then Cheditafa crept forward and looked out. The great waves and the
roaring water were gone. There was no water to be seen, except the brook
which always ran at the bottom of the ravine, and which now seemed not
very much bigger than it had been that morning.

But the little brook was all there was in the ravine, except the bare
rocks, wet and glistening. There were no huts, no Rackbirds, nothing.
Even the vines and bushes which had been growing up the sides of the
stream were all gone. Not a weed, not a stick, not a clod of earth, was
left--nothing but a great, rocky ravine, washed bare and clean.

Edna Markham stepped suddenly forward and seized the captain by the arm.
"It was the lake," she cried. "The lake swept down that ravine!"

"Yes," said the captain, "it must have been. But listen--let us hear
more. Go on," he said to Cheditafa, who proceeded to tell how he and his
companions looked out for a long time, but they saw nor heard nothing of
any living creature. It would be easy enough for anybody to come back up
the ravine, but nobody came.

They had now grown so hungry that they could have almost eaten each
other. They felt they must get out of the cave and go to look for food.
It would be better to be shot than to sit there and starve.