CHAPTER X.THE SEALED CHAMBER.
But he did know that he was in the embrace of some underground lake or reservoir of water.
That it was not a river he was assured as there was no current whatever.
Involuntarily he looked about for light.
There was a faint square far above his head. This he knew must be from the aperture through which he had fallen.
Certainly that must have been a fearful distance to have fallen. To have survived that fall seemed a miracle.
But that light was too far away to be of any service.
All upon the surface of the underground lake was Stygian blackness.
“I don’t know where I am, nor if I shall ever get out of here alive,” muttered the young inventor, “but I must try. I will swim as far as I can.”
And this he proceeded to do.
Striking out he forced his way swiftly through the water.
Pausing to rest, he suddenly heard a startling sound near him.
It was a splash in the water.
At first Frank instinctively thought of the presence of some submarine monster, but recollection came to him in time.
“Tony!” he cried; “is that you?”
“Thank God!” was the reply.
Neither could see the other, but they swam side by side in the darkness.
“Thank Heaven, you are alive!” said Frank, sincerely. “I feared you were dead.”
“I am alive,” said Buckden, “but I fear we will never get out of this.”
“Why did you not answer my call?” asked Frank.
“I did not hear it.”
“Is that possible?”
“For some moments after coming to the surface the shock made me deaf.”
“Oh, I see.”
“What sort of a place are we in?”
“I cannot imagine.”
“I pray there is an outlet somewhere. If not, we are done for.”
“That is true,” agreed Frank. “Let us pray for escape.”
The words had barely left his lips, when Frank’s hand struck an object. In a moment his fingers closed upon it.
It was the edge of a stone coping, and quickly he drew himself out of the water upon what seemed like a platform.
It was really the shore of the underground reservoir or lake.
Frank secured a foothold and then turned to Buckden.
“Are you there, Tony?”
“Yes.”
“Give me your hand and I will help you up.”
“All right.”
The next moment Buckden was drawn safely up out of the water.
Both men now stood once more upon terra firma.
“Well, we’re out of the water, anyway,” cried Tony, as he proceeded to wring the water out of his coat.
“Yes.”
“But where in the mischief are we?”
“Give it up.”
All was Stygian darkness about them.
But Frank remembered suddenly that in an inner pocket he had a small pocket lantern.
This was in a water-proof case and consequently had not suffered by the immersion.
There were matches in the same case and Frank lit one on a dry part of the stone coping.
Then he lit the wick of the lantern and the vicinity was dimly illumined.
But the moment Frank turned the rays of the lantern to the rear both gave a wild start.
A frightful object confronted their gaze. At first sight Frank had thought it a living object.
It was a monster dragon with wide open mouth and awful jaws.
But a second glance revealed the fact that it was not animate and could consequently do them no harm.
It was of some peculiar quality of dark colored greenish stone, and was a remarkably life-like representation.
“Jupiter!” exclaimed Buckden, “but that gave me a start.”
“I must confess to the same,” said Frank, with a smile.
“It is a clever imitation of a dragon, isn’t it?”
“Indeed, it is.”
Both adventurers now advanced and began to examine the monster critically.
It was a wonderful bit of workmanship in very truth.
“Indeed!” exclaimed Buckden, “I doubt if our sculptors of the present day could ever equal this.”
“I do not think they could surpass it much.”
“It certainly attests that the ancient inhabitants of Mazendla were a remarkably talented people.”
“Right you are.”
“But the question now is, how are we to get out of this place?”
“Exactly.”
“There certainly must be some other way out besides that through which we came—ah!”
Frank gave a gasping cry and came to a halt.
Just at his feet was a ghastly sight.
It was a heap of bones.
In a promiscuous fashion they were heaped there. Human bones and those of the cayman, a species of crocodile, were there all piled up together.
The two explorers gazed at the spectacle with amazement.
This was the first indication of human remains that they had found thus far.
There were human skulls and the compete skeletons of the crocodiles. A quick comprehension came to Frank.
“I have it!” he cried.
“Well?”
“In my opinion this lake was once the abode of these crocodiles. The ancient rulers placed them there for a certain purpose.”
“What could it have been?”
“Well, supposing a man committed some crime. It may be that he was thrown into this place as a method of punishment, for the crocodiles to tear to pieces.”
“Indeed, I believe you are right, Mr. Reade,” cried Buckden, “but what a number of victims they must have had.”
“For aught we know the bed of this lake may be paved with human skeletons.”
It was a grim, horrible thing to think of.
Both men shivered.
Then Tony reached over to pick up one of the skulls.
The mere motion caused the horrid pile to disintegrate and relapse into a heap of gray dust.
Ages had passed since these bones had been deposited there, as this very action would attest.
“Come away,” said Frank, with a shiver. “Let’s find our way out of here.”
Together they passed by the heap of moldering bones.
A deep, arched passage lay before them. It was not a long one, and suddenly came to an end in a startling manner.
A huge iron gate made of transverse bars confronted them.
It was a ponderous affair, and there were huge bolts to hold it shut.
It did not seem as if they could ever hope to pass through it.
“My soul, we are badly stuck!” cried Tony. “We’ll never get out of here alive, Frank.”
Frank looked aghast.
There seemed no means at command to force the mighty gate.
It certainly seemed an insurmountable barrier. It also seemed the only means of exit from the place.
The two men looked at each other in utter dismay.
What was to be done?
Could they remain here in this place and suffer tamely a death by starvation? Frank was resolute.
“There is just one thing about it,” he declared. “We’ve got to force our way through that gate.”
“Good for you!” cried Tony. “I’m with you!”
“It must be done!”
“But can it be done?”
“I see no reason why not. We will make a valiant effort. It is better than tamely submitting to death.”
“Indeed, much better.”
“Here goes!”
Frank advanced and placed both hands upon one of the iron bars of the gate.
It was thickly encrusted with rust; yet neither looked for the result which followed.
Frank gave the gate a quick, sharp pull. Then he gave a leap backward.
It was just in time.
He was not a moment too soon.
Down came the whole affair in a clanging heap.
If it had struck Frank he might have been seriously injured. But fortunately it did not.
The action of time had rusted hinges and locks, and the gate was just ready to fall.
A great cloud of dust was raised which nearly overwhelmed the two explorers.
They emerged from it completely covered and wheezing and puffing.
“Jupiter!” gasped Tony, “there’s no question about getting out of here now, Frank.”
“No, not if this dust don’t kill us,” replied Frank.
“Whew! it is fearful.”
After a time, however, the dust cloud was dispelled and they emerged all safe.
Then the first impulse was to break through the archway.
This they did and came to a flight of stairs.
Up these they ran at full speed.
Arrived at the top, they were confronted by an astounding fact.
They stood in a small square chamber. So far as they could see there was no door or window or other mode of exit.
Only bare walls of stone were about them upon all sides.
“Well!” exclaimed Frank, in amazement. “What the deuce does this mean?”
“Where are we?”
“Sure enough.”
“Can you see any way out of here?”
“I cannot.”
The two men looked at each other blankly. It was some time before either ventured to speak.
“This is the toughest yet,” said Buckden, finally. “What is your idea, Frank?”
A light broke across the young inventor’s handsome face.
“I have an idea!” he cried.
“What is it?”
Frank went and critically examined the walls of the chamber before he ventured to answer.
“This is a sealed chamber,” he said, finally. “It is sealed that nobody may find the secrets of this underground charnel house.”
“A sealed chamber!” gasped Buckden. “My God! then we are lost, for that is equivalent to being buried alive. Our end has come!”