CHAPTER XXXVII.IN THE CRATER.
They jumped back in affright, as the great rock rushed through the air and half buried itself in the soft earth before them. They looked from one to the other, as if seeking an explanation of this new surprise, but none could answer. They could not suppose for a moment that the rock had been broken from the great cliff, for the surface of these was so smooth, nothing could come from this source. They looked above them, but the air was so full of the ashes and dust, they could not penetrate it over a hundred feet. They hurriedly moved away from such a dangerous position, taking the bear and deer with them.
“Where could this rock have come from?” asked Harry.
It puzzled them to answer this question, and they kept their gaze fastened on the cliff above, hoping to see the wind change for a moment, and the cloud of smoke blown from them long enough to see the top. After waiting for some time, the cloudy atmosphere did break for a moment, and far up, so high that they looked like pigmies on top of the cliff, they saw a numberof negroes, their bodies half hanging over the edge.
“Ah! the mystery is solved,” exclaimed Mr. Bruce. “They are probably the same band which we drove from here last night.”
“Yes, and now we can feel assured that there is a way to reach the summit. Look out!” said Harry, as he saw the negroes start another large stone from the summit.
Down it came dangerously near to the party, and they decided to go back to the old position of the morning, for there they would be out of the way of these falling stones, and they could also drive back any of the negroes if they again tried to return. Back they trudged, taking a part of the deer and bear meat with them, and upon reaching the old stand, and while looking around, they saw, not far away from them, a monstrous tree, which had probably been blown from the summit of the cliffs by the storm. A fire was soon built and the meat roasted and eaten, after which they laid down for a night’s sleep, their day having profited them little but experiences which might do them some good in the near future. They had learned that there was a way to the summit of the cliff, and the finding of this way was to be the work of the morrow. The night was passed as comfortably as could be, on the fearfully hard bed of stone and earth, and early in the morning they were astir again, and after a meal of the roasted venison, they all started for the small pathway in the crevice.
They soon reached this, and falling into single file, with Mr. Bruce in the lead, they kept up the march for a couple of hours, when they were well into theheart of the cliff. No other footpath had yet been reached by which they could gain the summit.
“I think,” said Mr. Bruce to Mr. Graham, who was following him, “that we will have to walk right through this mountain, and on to the end of the crevice, when we can turn and climb the cliff from the back, which I expect to find of easy ascent.”
“I quite agree with you,” said Mr. Graham. “It is quite certain that there could be no way of reaching the summit from this crevice; at least, not at this point.”
“It has taken a powerful stirring up of the internal fires to cause this fearful crack,” said Mr. Bruce.
“Yes,” said Mr. Graham, “and that volcano looks as if it might throw out something more than dust and ashes very soon.”
“That it will, and sooner than we will want it to,” replied Mr. Bruce. “We are treading dangerous ground, and we cannot tell what moment we may be overtaken by a flow of molten lava, or a greater shower of ashes, such as buried Pompeii.”
“But,” said Mr. Graham, “if we stop to think of such things, we will not do a great deal of exploring.”
“No,” said Mr. Bruce, “but it is always best to bear these things in mind, and be ready at any moment to meet them as well as we can under the circumstances. But I can scarcely see my way here. Were any torches brought along?”
“Yes, the attendants have torches,” said Mr. Graham.
It was true; at this point the crevice was so deep one might think it was night, so dark had it grown. The torch was lighted, and Mr. Bruce, taking it, theyall again took up the march. But from this point the path began to widen and ascend, until they were not only again in the sunlight but two could walk abreast, and a little further, and the path had widened until four and five men could walk abreast. The path ascended gradually, so gradually that it was not difficult to climb, and in a short while it ran out even with the surface.
This was a great and pleasant surprise to the explorers, for they had expected to have to tramp much farther before getting out of the hole. They looked about them and saw that they were on the side of a lofty mountain, the cliff opposite being but a precipitous side of the same mountain. This side was very fertile and wooded with great trees almost to its summit.
Below them lay a verdant valley stretching on and on as far as the eye could reach. Onrai looked on in wonderment at this unexpected sight. He had, and so had his people, been led to believe that the world ended at the cliffs, that beyond these was naught but space. He could not have told, had he been asked, how this land ended or how it must look to see no land or water beyond, nothing but that infinite space. It had never occurred to him to think of this himself, but if it had, he would have immediately banished the thought as being perfectly absurd. He had been told that the end was there, and that was enough; it couldn’t be different, and as to how the end might look, that didn’t matter at all. So this was a wonderful sight to him, all this land as far as he could see, covered with verdure and with occasional streams of water running through it. So much like his own fertilecountry, that he might have supposed that he had turned in some magical way on his tramp through the mountains, and was now looking upon that Land of On. If this picture, which stretched out before him, was real and not a dream, as he was almost led to believe, then what of those teachings which declared that their land was the only land, and that their people were the only people. The very foundation of this teaching was shaken when this idea was exploded. He turned and looked at his companions, and then at the great landscape which opened out before him. The attendants were no less surprised at the strange scene, but none of them made any comments.
Turning and looking far up the mountain or volcano, they could now see a round cap at the summit, and out of this poured the fearful smoke. The wind was favorable for the ascent, for it was blowing the smoke over the Land of On, and they could climb without being hampered by the falling ashes.
“We are extremely lucky so far,” said Mr. Graham.
“Yes, and the ascent looks easy enough,” rejoined Mr. Bruce.
“It may prove otherwise before we reach the summit, though,” said Mr. Graham.
“Well,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must get at it, for we should get back to On to-day, if possible.”
“How different are the mountains on this side,” said Mr. Graham.
“They are different, yes,” said Mr. Bruce. “One would hardly suppose that beyond they are so precipitous. The whole Land of On must have been the immense crater of some mighty volcano, at some prehistoric period.”
“It is hard to tell,” said Mr. Graham. “In my estimation it has been at some remote age a vast inland sea.”
“Either explanation might fit,” said Mr. Bruce. “But let us start. We are losing valuable time.”
Turning toward Onrai they saw him still standing wrapped in deep thought, with the attendants standing near, also looking at that great expanse of field, forest, river and lake before them, with wondering faces.
“Come,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must start. From the summit you can get a better view both of this and your own country. And now we must hasten to reach that summit.”
“You do not seem surprised at the great expanse of land beyond the cliffs,” said Onrai to Mr. Bruce.
“No, I am not surprised,” replied Mr. Bruce, “because I knew that it existed before we ever came to you.”
“And you did not tell me?” inquired Onrai.
“And why should I tell you, Onrai,” asked Mr. Bruce. “Have you not a beautiful country with everything that heart could wish for? Were you not happy there in your belief, and could the knowledge of the fallacy of the teachings which has helped to make you happy make you any happier? You would not have thanked me for such information and I would advise you now, as I have before, to try and forget that you have seen these things.”
“That I can never do,” said Onrai. “But they may never have any great impression on me, further than in making me disbelieve that part of the teachingswhich relates to the end of our world. I cannot believe that any longer, of course.”
“No,” said Mr. Bruce, “but you can refrain from speaking of it, and you can make it a punishable offense for any of these attendants, who have also witnessed these scenes, to ever speak of it; and in this way it will soon be forgotten, and the next generation will go on in blissful ignorance of the existence of the land beyond the cliff. It will be better, will it not?”
“I think so,” answered Onrai.
They were now ascending the mountain, the ascent for a way being very gradual, but as they proceeded further the ascent became steeper and more rugged. No trace of negroes were seen, but our friends knew that the negroes seen the day before on the summit, must be somewhere near. They had probably ascended the mountain in order to get a sight, if possible, of that land from which they had been driven, and in thus doing they had spied those who had driven them from it, and had immediately conceived the idea of hurling the great stones in their midst, and may be, by so doing, kill all, thus giving them an open sesame into the coveted country. They had villages near this point, according to Sedai, and if our friends should fall in with any of these tribes, there would very evidently be more bloodshed, for they were the intruders now and the African negro considers this a sacrilege. Nothing is so sacred to him as his country, and they will fight for this quicker than they will for their wives.
But nothing was seen of these, and no trace was found of a beaten path which might indicate that they lived as high as this on the mountain, or that theyvisited this altitude very frequently. The verdure grew thinner as they ascended, and great hunks of lava were now cropping through the surface soil. The cloud of smoke grew more ominous as they neared it, and looked like a huge umbrella spread, and with the handle resting on the summit of the mountain. The party were getting very close to the summit now, and low rumblings could be heard far beneath the surface; hissing noises were also heard, like that made by water striking hot coals.
At last, after considerable tortuous climbing, they stood at the base of a rugged cliff, which was not more than a hundred feet in height; this was seamed and rough as if it had been thrown up hundreds and may be thousands of years before by an overflow of lava, which, upon cooling, had left this wall about the crater. Following about the base of this for some distance, a place was at last discerned where an ascent might be made, and after hard work and much slipping backward, and three or four narrow escapes from instant death by falling into one of the crevices, the summit was reached. The sight which here met their gaze was forboding, to say the least. They were standing on the top of a wall not more than ten feet thick at this point, and as near as they could guess about one and a half miles long, running about a deep hole or crater, one hundred feet deep. Looking down into this they could see the black smoke issuing from great crevices in the flooring. As it came from these crevices, it was lurid with the glow of the hot fires which was its cause. These crevices were numerous and in places our friends could almost look into them, and into the bright fires burning farbeneath. After much discussion on the matter, it was determined to try and get down to the floor of this fiery hole which might so soon be filled with molten lava. A place was found where the descent could be made easily and the party started. As they descended, the foul smoke would be blown about them occasionally, almost choking them with its density, but the bottom was reached and they started to cross it in order to get to the opposite side, from which they could look into the Land of On. The flooring was found to be warm and really hot in places, and so crumbling beneath their feet that it was almost impossible to walk. Several of the great crevices were approached, but the smoke would drive them back before they could reach the edge and look into the depths. Most of these crevices were narrow and ran from east to west, but when the centre of the crater was reached a great hole was found, probably the true mouth of the crater. The rumbling here was very distinct and the hissing very plain. The party tried to reach the edge of this wall but was again fought off by the dense smoke. They had passed this and were nearer to the opposite side of the crater, when an unusual loud rumbling was heard and a great crack suddenly opened before them, the shock throwing them off their feet, prostrating them on the ground. Mr. Bruce fell so near this new crevice that his head leaned far over the side, and for a moment it looked as if he would roll into the fearful hole. But he soon recovered himself, and rolling over and over he put a safe distance between himself and the crevice before he ventured to rise to his feet.
When they had all recovered from this surprise andfear and had again regained their feet, they approached the crevice and peered into its black depths. Down, down, down it seemed to open, into the very bowels of the earth, and at the bottom they could see a molten mass, boiling, and seething, and hissing, but just for a moment and then the scene was hidden by the black smoke which came pouring up from it.
“Come,” said Mr. Bruce, “we must get out of this.”
The party then hurried as fast as they could to the opposite side of the crater to where the wall was several hundred feet thick, ending on the opposite side in the cliff. A long look was taken at the beautiful Land of On and then the retreat was ordered. They now followed the top of the wall of the crater until they had come to the place where they had ascended this, and then, with but very little difficulty, reached the sloping side and hurriedly descended. It was growing late and already the sun was throwing long shadows over the mountain side.
They had several miles of the strange footpath to cover yet through the dark crevice. They began to feel anxious and hurried still faster as they neared the bottom. The sun sank into the distant valley as they reached the crevice. They were hurriedly following the side of this, looking for a beginning of the footpath, when they heard a loud yell as if from a hundred throats, and looking down they saw a great crowd of black demons holding the end of the footpath.