CHAPTER XXIX.THE DEATH-TRAP.
“Light a torch,” said Mr. Bruce, as he saw the stone door slowly slide into place.
One hideous head of a native stooped and looked under the lowering door, and shaking a torch in his hand, dodged back as if afraid of being charged upon by the prisoners. The door fell to its place and a torch was lighted at Mr. Bruce’s command, and an inspection of their quarters was made. This did not take long, for the chamber was only about twenty feet square; the ceiling was about the height of that in the hall or passage. Try as they would they could discover no other opening, nor any opening now, for the stone fitted the doorway so perfectly, that not even a crack was left to show where this had been.
“We are in for it,” said Harry.
“Yes,” said Mr. Bruce, “and it looks very much as if we were here for good, for there is no opening that I can see at all, and all our energy and strength would be wasted in trying to dig our way out.”
“We must make an effort of some kind,” said Mr. Graham, “so let us consider the matter for a moment.”
They all stopped, and putting their wits to work, tried to devise some means for escape. When they realized that they were not only entombed in a room cut out of the solid rock, but this rock, hundreds of feet beneath the surface, the thought was not verycheering; but they were not the ones to give up without a struggle. They had stood for some moments thinking over their unpleasant position, and trying to formulate some plan of procedure, when Onrai, who was probably the most helpless of the number, began sniffing the air as if he had detected some foreign substance in it.
“Can you not smell something strange?” said Onrai.
They all drew in a deep breath. Yes, there was something; a nasty odor, which they had not noticed before, and it was getting plainer each moment. They looked about them, but could see nothing.
“It may be the torch,” said Mr. Graham.
“No, it is a different smell from that, but we must extinguish the torch or the smoke will soon suffocate us, if this other smell does not,” and saying this, Mr. Bruce blew out the torch. But that fearful smell, what could it be? In a short time their eyes began to smart.
“It is smoke of some kind,” said Harry, “and I am going to find out from where it is coming.”
He relighted the torch, and for a moment the men could hardly see, so thick had the smoke become in those few minutes.
“It is stifling,” said Mr. Bruce. “Can you see where it comes from?”
Harry, who had the torch and who was looking for the source of this new danger, examined every nook and corner, but could find no hole or opening. The smoke was getting thicker each moment, and the men were gasping for breath; it would only take a very few minutes of this to kill them all; still there seemedto be no avenue of escape. These natives had shown great cunning in thus allowing them to get into the chamber, imprisoning them and choke them to death with smoke.
Mr. Bruce took the torch from Harry and started inspecting himself. He was staggering about the room half-blinded and choked by the smoke, when the torch fell from his hands, and falling to the floor went out. He stooped to pick it up again, when he felt a draft near the floor; he hurriedly relit the torch and placed it near the floor; he had to get down onto his knees and bend close to the floor before he could see, and there, coming in a great broad stream, he saw the smoke coming through a crack about an inch in width, and five feet in length. The crack ran with the floor, and Mr. Bruce at once came to the conclusion that another stone door must be at this point, and it had been lifted to leave a space for the smoke’s entrance.
“Come quickly,” he called to the others, not knowing but that they had already succumbed to the fearful smoke, as he could not see them. They had been leaning against the opposite wall, fighting off that fearful suffocation, when they heard Mr. Bruce’s voice.
“Hurry, pull yourselves together and help me, and we may escape. Who has the spear? Bring it here.”
Harry, who had been holding on to the spear, using it for support, staggered towards Mr. Bruce, and handed it to him mechanically.
“Brace up there, men,” he again called out, and they shuffled towards him almost falling. “Now, get your fingers into that crack, and lift, lift for your lives, for it is our only chance. I will work the spear under and hold all you can get. Now.”
The men seemed to realize that there was a chance to escape, no matter how faint a one, so making a despairing effort to overcome the suffocation, which was parching their throats and bursting their heads, placed their fingers in the cracks, and lifted. They strained every nerve, stretched every muscle, and look, it was raising. Yes, the huge stone was moving; now it was an inch higher, and now two inches higher, and then there was a space of a foot under the door, but the wider became the space the more smoke poured in, and the men were almost ready to drop the fearful weight and fall over unconscious. Mr. Bruce realizing this, broke the handle of the spear, and placed this under the stone just as the men fell exhausted.
This act of his, if delayed one second longer, would have cost them their lives, for he had barely gotten it under the huge stone when the men dropped. The solid straight piece of bone held the stone, however, but would he have strength to pull the three men through the opening; and would there not be a body of their would-be murderers on the opposite side to fight him back? He had no time to spend in conjectures, however, so catching Harry by the feet he pulled him to the hole; he rolled him through and then Mr. Graham, but when it came to Onrai, he had to roll the man over and over, his body being too heavy to move in any other way. And he was fast giving out himself, but he must not do so before he got him and his friends on the other side of the hole. Getting Onrai to the opening and pushing him through, and then crawling through himself, he looked about him for the generator of this fearful smoke. Groping his way about, he stumbled over a large stone brazier inwhich was a powdered substance, and it was this which was smoldering and making a dense smoke. Taking his water-skin from his back, he quickly poured its contents over the smoldering coals and extinguished them. He was nearly fainting and he felt that he must soon give up; his eyes were nearly blinded, he was choking and his head was bursting; he was fast losing his senses, but he staggered about the room, and finally found an open archway. Through this he plunged, falling to the floor, but the air was pure here and a cooling breeze was blowing through the apartment, and it was this draught probably, which had forced the smoke through the crack. Mr. Bruce lay still for a moment in the refreshing air, but realizing that his three friends were still in the stifling smoke and unable to help themselves, he again picked himself up, and by rolling them over and over succeeded in getting them all in the outer chamber or corridor.
But where were the natives? Mr. Bruce had not seen or heard them since leaving the death-trap, and he could not account for their absence. But he felt very thankful for their not having interfered with him, for if they had it would have been all over with him and his friends. He had his companions in the pure air now, and unstrapping the water-bag from Harry’s back, he bathed their faces and poured some down each parched throat. He worked hard with them, and at last brought them all around; but they were not able to do much walking for a while, so while they were recruiting, Mr. Bruce took the torch and reconnoitered. They seemed to be in another corridor, somewhat wider than the other, but about the same height.
Mr. Bruce, after following this for some distance, returned to his companions and made his report.
“What had we better do?” asked Mr. Graham. “Turn back or go on?”
“I say, go on,” said Mr. Bruce, “but if you think the risk is too great and wish to return, we will do so; what do you say, Onrai?”
“I know not what to say,” said Onrai, “but if you would like to proceed, I am willing. I am afraid, though, I should be nothing but a hindrance to you.”
“No, no, Onrai, you must not say that,” said Harry. “Such an ordeal as we have just passed through is enough to make any man go under; any man but Mr. Bruce, and he is a wonder. How did you do it, Mr. Bruce?”
“By pure force of will,” said Mr. Bruce. “I felt like giving up several times, I can tell you; but a man can do a good deal, I believe, when his life and the lives of his friends depend on it. But don’t let us talk of that now. The question is, shall we retreat or advance?”
“Advance, I should say,” said Harry, “what do you say, father?”
“I am willing; but before we run into a trap again, rather let us retreat.”
“Agreed,” said Mr. Bruce.
They now rose, and stretching their legs and taking another drink of water, they advanced cautiously down the corridor; not knowing what moment their escape might be detected and the natives of this hellhole be after them again. They had not long to remainin suspense, when suddenly into the corridor rushed a mob of howling naked natives, making straight for them.