CHAPTER XX.
“How know you that it was a gold mine?†inquired Piñone, visibly surprised at Topsie’s exclamation.
“Because, Piñone,†answered the girl, “by your descriptions we recognise the place. It was this mine that we visited with the old man of the Andes, and it was there he died. He lies buried in the bank of flowers which you mentioned, and where you found the little raft. You remember when we rejoined you in the Andes, two years ago, and all we told you? Well, that is the very river up which I and my brother voyaged.â€
“Wonderful!†mused the Indian; “the medicine of the great Gualichu is inscrutable. Ay, truly it was a gold mine, stacked with piles of the precious stuff. When I and Cuastral perceived how this cave terminated, we determined to enter and explore it, and to see if by any chance there was an outlet of escape from within it. On bringing the raft up to the opening, we found that the river ran in part of the way, and the cave was dark save for a small blue light at the end. We made our raft safe to some creepers andentered, whereupon the queen Trauco sent forth an angry trumpet note from above. In entering we stepped up to our chiripas in water, but as we advanced it grew shallower and shallower, and soon barely covered our feet. We made towards the blue light at the far end, which, on reaching, turned out to come from a huge, wide fissure in the roof of the cave, which opened into two separate compartments, one on the right, the other on the left. To reach this latter, we had to follow the stream of water issuing from the cave, and suddenly came upon the river’s source. A huge deep pool lay in the centre of this compartment, fed from a mountain torrent that came dashing from the rocks above with sullen roar; and all around the pool lay lumps of gold, some big, some small, in thousands and thousands. But why describe it? Have not your eyes feasted already on those wonders? With feelings of mixed astonishment and awe we gave ourselves up to a thorough search of the cave, examining every nook and corner, to see if escape was possible without detection from the Traucos. We were busily employed in this work, when above the roar of the cataract a strange rumbling made itself heard. We paused and listened. The rumbling increased, and quickly developed into a crashing sound, as if the trees of the forest were being uprooted and hurled below with terrific violence. Outside we could hear the shrieking wind and hissing rain, and we knew that a frightful tornado had burst upon us. We were congratulating ourselves upon being safely protected from its fury, and were peering into a small cave-like aperture in the rock, when a grindingsound above our heads made us look upwards. As I did so, the blood froze in my veins, but I retained sufficient presence of mind to seize my father and push him into the little cave which we had been examining, and to follow him myself with as much speed as possible. Only just in time, though, as a huge rock came crashing down upon the spot whereon a second before we had been standing. For a few minutes we were too dazed by the danger from which we had escaped, to notice that we stood in a situation of extreme peril, in comparison with which death would indeed have been preferable. But it quickly dawned upon us, as we saw all exit from our place of refuge barred by the huge rock which had fallen in front of the cavelet’s mouth. Then, indeed, the whole horror of our position faced us as does the grinning skull of the dead, and we felt that we were doomed. Here we should die of slow hunger and thirst, with food not a stone’s throw away, with the sound of rushing water in our ears, and with tons of gold before us.
“Ah, it was terrible! In those hours of suffering my father’s raven hair turned grey.
“As if to mock us, the huge rock had fallen in such a way, that its sides were jammed against protruding masses of stone either way, and a wide gap opened from below on the outer side, large enough to admit of a big man’s head and shoulders. But on our side the rock rounded to the ground, leaving an aperture only large enough to admit one’s hand and arm. Above, too, the uneven formation of the fallen block enabled us to look out and see the outer cave, but that was all.
“Our position was enough to turn the coolest brain mad. Nothing could save us but herculean strength from outside, which could raise the rock sufficiently high to enable us to crawl under. Strong men with thick bars might have accomplished this. Alas! we were far away from human help.
“In this moment of agony I bethought me of the Trauco queen and her followers who watched outside, and for the first time felt myself longing for her presence. If she could but behold our plight, I argued to myself, she would assuredly come to our aid.
“And thus we remained for many hours, my father half stupefied with the magnitude of our misfortune, while I paced our narrow prison in an agony of suffering and mental pain. I had given up hope; I was contemplating the wisdom of a self-imposed death, for had we not our knives still by us?
“A vigorous cooing awoke me suddenly from my painful thoughts. The blood rushed to my face with a great joy. It was the Trauco queen, surrounded by her followers, who had traced us to our prison, and who would assuredly devise some method of rescue.
“I cried out for joy, clapped my hands together, and did all I could to attract her attention to our whereabouts. In this I was successful, and a minute later she stood without the barrier that confined us.
“The Traucos, in spite of the soft fur on their faces, have expressive features. Looking through one of the upper outlets, I could see the Trauco queen’s face pucker with anxiety and perplexity. She laid her hands upon the fallen rock and tried to move it, but asit budged not so much as a hair’s breadth, she at once perceived the magnitude of the weight before her, and turned to her followers. I saw her point to it, then to the hollow below, then move her arms up and down, as though lifting a great weight. The other Traucos cooed, but shook their heads gravely; she stamped her foot, and gave vent to a low trumpet note, at the same time waving her arm. Thereupon the other Traucos bowed submissively and retired.
“When they were gone the queen stretched out her arms towards me and cooed piteously, and I could see tears large as crystals glittering in her splendid eyes. I never saw them look so soft and gentle before, and for the first time the truth flashed across me that this strange creature loved me. Ah, poor thing! she was soon to prove it, and thus more than ever convince me of the humanity of the Trauco nature.
“At length the other Traucos returned, bearing enormously thick poles, roughly hewn from the pinewood tree, whose wood is like iron, and whose resisting powers are remarkable. I at once understood that the queen’s idea was to raise the rock from below in such a manner as to enable us to crawl out from beneath. Knowing the wonderful strength of these Traucos, I rejoiced greatly, feeling sure now that our freedom at least was certain, and I aroused Cuastral to share in my joy. But he only shook his head.
“The hopes which had flooded me were soon, however, doomed to be shattered. One after the other the massive poles were inserted, and the rock slightly raised, but each time it sought its level again at theexpense of the inserted pole, which its weight snapped asunder.
“In vain fresh poles were procured, and further attempts made to liberate us with no greater success than the first. It soon became apparent that even this powerfully resisting wood was not proof against the enormous weight it had to bear.
“Then the queen moaned piteously, and wrung her hands, presenting a moving picture of real grief. A thought seemed suddenly to strike her, for she pointed to the hollow in the rock, and made signs to the other Traucos, moving her shoulders up and down. Apparently the proposal horrified them, for they cooed piteously, and appeared to reason vigorously against it. The queen, however, was not to be convinced, and shook her head imperiously. I can see her still as I saw her then, tall and majestic, indeed a queen of power and strength amongst her fellows, a born ruler and leader. She turned once more towards me, her white teeth showing as she smiled gently. There was a look of intense yearning in her dark eyes, which seemed to speak the feelings of her heart. I do not think I read their meaning wrongly in the light of what followed.
“She knelt down and crawled into the outer aperture, and then across my brain flashed the magnitude of this wild creature’s self-sacrifice. With the herculean strength with which Nature had endowed her, I perceived that she was going to raise the rock on her back and shoulders, thus enabling Cuastral and I to creep forth to freedom, yet assuredly at the expense of her own life.
“‘Quick Cuastral,’ I cried, as I heard the breath of this splendid creature come quick and fast under the influence of enormous exertion. I remember well how I saw the great rock heave up, and the head and shoulders of the queen show themselves on our side. She was gasping for breath, and the sinews in her arms stood out like ropes. There was not a second to be lost. Any moment her strength might succumb and in the act of passing to freedom we should have been crushed to death. Like drowning men clutching at rescue, we threw ourselves down and crawled through the opening to the outer cave, Cuastral first, I following.
“I sprung to my feet, but as I did so my heart sank, and a pain passed through it, as though a poisoned arrow had transfixed it. For I heard a shriek, so sad, so despairing, and so pathetic, that it almost deprived me of my senses. It was the first human note I had heard for many a day.
“Tremblingly I turned, dreading to look on what I felt had taken place. It was even so. The Trauco queen had used the last physical power which she possessed to save my life, but in doing so had succumbed to her brave, unselfish act. Crushed beneath the huge lump of rock, she lay motionless, the piercing, heart-rending cry having been her last.
“The sight unnerved me, and I burst into tears. In that moment, much as I loved thee, Aniwee, I would have given my life to have restored hers to the Trauco queen. Unavailing. She was dead, and her last act had been one of magnificent heroism.
“The other Traucos seemed overcome with terror, staring vacantly at the crushed and motionless body of their great queen. No sooner had they recovered, than they seized us, and led us hastily from the cave. They put us on the raft, and we paddled down stream to where the other one was moored, exchanging on to it, but taking the smaller one in tow. And thence we drifted on, until several days later we reached the caves, whence we had effected our escape. From there we proceeded on our journey to the Trauco village, and were at once hurried up to our hut and kept in strict confinement. After this we were never allowed to go out at large, save under the strict guard of several Traucos, and the inhabitants seemed to regard us with horror. We could only divine that in their thoughts, they attributed to us the death of the queen.
“A new chief had evidently been chosen in her place, for he dwelt in her hut, and carried out all the duties which she had formerly undertaken. And many days later, several of the Traucos took us on a raft, and we floated down the river, passing the White Traucos, and travelling on day after day. At length we quitted the raft, and journeyed on foot through the forest, until we arrived at the spot whence we made our last escape.â€