*CHAPTER XXIX*
*The Heart of the Hill*
Trackers--Voices--Into the Open--Waiting for Dawn--Demons--GreaterLove--Choke Damp--Found--A Rusty Chain--From the Depths--Explanations
The moonlight and the frost, which Jack had been disposed to regard ashindrances, were now all in his favour. The moon threw just sufficientlight to enable him to avoid obstacles and to see the impressions offootsteps in the mud, which the frost had suddenly hardened. Bendinglow, he was at first unable to distinguish, among the many footprints infront of the hut, the large one for which he was so intently looking;but a little distance away he had no difficulty in picking out twoseparate trails of the enormous foot, one approaching the hut, the otherreceding from it. It was the latter that must be followed, and with HiLo at his side Jack walked as quickly as possible over the glisteningtrack.
Every now and then the traces disappeared, for whenever the moonlightwas obstructed by a cloud, a hut, or a tree, it was impossible to seeclearly enough to distinguish them. Then it was that Hi Lo provedhimself invaluable, and made Jack thankful he had not refused the boy'srequest. It was he, as a rule, who succeeded in finding the lost trail;scouting ahead like a sleuth-hound, he seemed to be able to see in thedark.
The way led steeply uphill. It was hard and rough going, following anarrow road probably used for the haulage of timber. Under the thincoating of ice the mud was deep, and at times their feet sank up to theankle. The little hamlet of log huts was soon left behind; they cameinto a clearing dotted with the low stumps of trees; here, evidently,had been felled the timber of which the huts were built. Then theypassed into a densely wooded clump, through which in the darkness theyhad to grope their way. Once or twice Jack ventured to light a match;this being the sheltered side of the hill, there was no wind, and duringthe few moments of feeble light Hi Lo could assure himself that they hadnot lost the trail. Crossing more rapidly another open stretch, theyentered a still thicker and darker patch of wood. When, after goingsome distance into this, Jack again struck a match, the boy, peering onhands and knees, declared that the footprints were no longer visible.They must needs go back to pick up the trail, far more difficult todistinguish in these forest depths than in the open. The search tooktime; anxiety was all the while tearing at Jack's heart-strings, but heschooled himself to patience. At last they came again upon the hugefootprint with which they had now grown familiar. Lighting thecandle-end, Jack traced the mark for a few yards on the upward path;then, together with the other footprints, it suddenly disappeared.
"What in the world are we to do?" whispered Jack.
The forest was dense on each side of the path. At the few points in thecourse of their journey where a gap let through the moonlight, they hadseen extraordinary effects, the trees seeming to have been tossed aboutby giants, lying at all angles against the trunks that had arrestedtheir fall. But the path had been cleared of these obstructions, for ifnot removed, the waleshnik, as the fallen timber is called, would soonblock up any forest road in Sakhalin.
Groping about, Hi Lo at length discovered, to the right of the mainpath, a fallen tree that concealed a narrower track, made by men, butapparently no longer in use, and partially overgrown. For some time thekeen little fellow's search failed to find the footprint, but at last,at a break in the undergrowth, he pounced upon it. The man with the bigfeet had evidently passed this way. Jack struck up the path; it wassteeper now, and blocked at many points by trees that had been allowedto remain where they fell; but it was fairly broad, and at one time musthave been as important and as frequently used as the path they had justleft. Here and there they came to a clearing--the work of fire;blackened stumps standing grim and gaunt in the moonlight. Then on intothe forest beyond, picking their way by touch rather than sight, barkingtheir shins and rasping their elbows against obstacles they were unableto avoid.
The air was pervaded by the musty smell of decayed vegetation. It wassilent as the grave save when a quick rustle told of some wild beastscurrying away into the thicket. Suddenly Hi Lo stopped, putting hishand on Jack's arm.
"What is it?" murmured Jack.
The boy instantly clapped his hand upon his master's mouth, and pulledhim from the path through a mass of tangled undergrowth. They were atthe edge of a small clearing. Through the still air Jack could now hearvoices ahead; then came the faint glimmer of a light; and soon, as theycrouched breathless behind a friendly trunk, two figures appeared on thefarther side of the clearing, coming towards them, one carrying alantern. The men's voices were low; even in this remote spot they weredoubtless mindful that it is illegal to be abroad after dark. Jack heldhis breath as they passed within two yards of him. He caught a few wordsin Russian.
"How long do you think?"
"About three or four days--unless they can eat coal!"
Then a hoarse chuckle.
The voices receded; the light died away; the men were gone. One of themwas tall and broad, a son of Anak: clearly the owner of the giant foot.
His heart thumping against his ribs, Jack waited until he thought allwas safe; then with Hi Lo he recommenced his climb up the wooded hill.He had no doubt that these men, whose voices the boy had fortunatelyheard in time, were concerned in the disappearance of his father and thecount. But what had been done with them? Were it not for the evidencesof the struggle Jack would have been tempted to suppose that the menwere in league with the two prisoners, conniving at or assisting theirescape. But the state of the hut belied any such thought.
It was some time before he ventured to strike another match in order tomake sure that he was still on the track; the merest glimmer seen frombelow might lead to disaster. When at last he thought it safe to do so,he saw clear indications of the recent passage of several feet. Hehurried on at the greatest speed the difficult path and the darknessallowed, and after some twenty minutes emerged upon a kind of table-landabove the bay. He remembered seeing it from the junk--a huge terrace inthe hills, sloping gradually upward, and after about a mile ending inanother steep incline. The road was here more easy to follow; therewere no fallen trees; it was the so-called tundra of Sakhalin. Thetrees were not so thick: through gaps in them he caught glimpses of thesea, silvery in the moonlight; and he thought of the fair girl waitingin the junk, now doubtless in an agony of apprehension regarding herfather's fate.
The two pressed on. By and by they came to the steeper ascent. It wasnecessary once more to verify the trail. Fearful lest a gleam shouldgive the alarm below, Jack took off his hat and struck a match withinit. There were the footsteps, going up and down the hill, which was not,like the slope below, covered with trees. Indeed, during the last fewhundred yards the two searchers had stumbled over sleepers, rails, andother things indicating a railroad either abandoned or in course ofconstruction. Once they came full upon an upturned truck; a littlebeyond, upon a coil of wire rope. Jack stopped more than once toexamine these impediments, always careful to conceal his light; and heconcluded that they were rather the relics of a railway than materialfor a new line. He was still wondering what had tempted Russianenterprise to construct and then to abandon a railway in this spot, soremote and difficult of access, when the explanation came suddenly. Hefound himself among the outworks of a deserted coal-mine. The groundwas littered with timber, dross, rusty tools; the path had come to anend; and Jack stopped abruptly, at a loss what to do.
It was hopeless in the darkness to attempt to explore the workings, forhe had no doubt now that his father and Count Walewski had been broughthere and left in some remote part of the mine, to perish of starvation.He saw through the villainous scheme. "About three or four days--unlessthey can eat coal!"--the words were now explained. What the motive washe could not guess. The conspirators had shrunk from murdering theirvictims outright; but when starvation had done its work they would nodoubt come upon the scene, discover the dead bodies, and claim thereward which the governor would probably have offered for ne
ws of thefugitives.
The matches were used up; it would be dangerous to attempt to trace outa route in thick darkness. All that could be done was to wait for thedawn. What that might bring forth who could tell? With morning lightthe prisoners would certainly be missed, and a hue and cry would beraised. Even if the plot were the work of officials, still a searchwould be made. In that case it would be perfunctory; while if they wereinnocent undoubtedly they would scour the country all round thesettlement. There would be little to guide them. The main path fromthe hut was largely used; many tracks crossed and recrossed on it; andif the night's frost was succeeded by a thaw, as was almost certain, thefootprints would become mere puddles and give no clue.
Jack and the boy made themselves as comfortable as possible in theshelter of an overhanging cliff; but the hours till dawn seemed to creepalong. Jack's thoughts dwelt in turn on the prisoners and their fate,and on Gabriele waiting in the junk. She was dressed in Chineseclothes, but would she escape undetected when the vessels in the baywere searched in the morning? Jack was tempted to send Hi Lo back, sothat she might be warned; but second thoughts counselled him to waituntil daylight. He might then at least let her know whether the countwas alive or dead.
There was no sleep that night for either Jack or Hi Lo. As soon as itwas light enough to see the ground they resumed their search. Almostimmediately Jack understood why they had failed to pick up the trail thenight before. The party had climbed on to a ledge of bare rock a fewfeet above the ground, and on this their boots had left no mark. But alittle farther up the hill the track could be distinguished. It leddirectly towards a dark opening in the cliff--one of the galleries ofthe deserted mine.
As they approached the opening, Hi Lo began to shake with fear. A mineto an unsophisticated Chinaman is a terrible thing. He believes thatthe delving of the earth lets loose innumerable demons, enraged at thedisturbance of their homes. So strong is this belief that mining isactually forbidden by law, though the law is now fast becoming a deadletter. Hi Lo knew nothing of western progress, and he implored Jack toturn aside from this black tunnel into the earth. Jack did not laugh atthe boy's fears; he told him to remain at the entrance and give warningif anyone approached. Then he stepped into the mouth of the gallery.
He had already concluded that the mine consisted of galleries, not ofshafts. The outcrop of coal was visible in the side of the hill. Hetherefore had no fear of coming unexpectedly upon a pit. But he gropedhis way along with great caution; the truck rails had not been removedfrom the floor of the gallery. The air was pure; he felt indeed aslight draught, which pointed to the existence of an outlet of some kindin the direction in which he was going. After proceeding for a fewminutes he was brought to an abrupt halt by a solid wall of rock infront. Feeling each side of the gallery, he found that the passagebranched off to right and left. Which turning should he take? He stoodin indecision; in the darkness there was nothing to guide his choice.Then it occurred to him to shout. If his father and the count were inthe mine, they were doubtless alone: they would hear his call, though itwere inaudible outside. He gave a halloo, and listened; he heardnothing but the sound rumbling along the passages. He shouted again;there was an answering cry behind him; then the patter of footstepshurrying, stumbling along towards him. Facing round, he raised his fistto fell an enemy; but a small form cannoned against him, and a boy'svoice uttered a gasping yell. It was Hi Lo. Hearing the shout, he hadunhesitatingly plunged into the blackness. Anxious as the moment was,Jack admired the spirit of the little fellow, who, to come to hisassistance, had braved dangers none the less terrifying because sopurely imaginary.
"Well done!" said Jack, patting his arm. "Now run back and wait for me.I'm all right here."
"My no can do," said Hi Lo decisively. "My stay-lo long-side masta.Big piecee debbils this-side; my helpum masta fightey; my no can lunwailo."
"Very well. Keep close."
Again and again he shouted, always without response. Then at a venturehe turned into the right-hand passage. After a few yards he felt Hi Lo'shold on his tunic relax. The boy had fallen to the ground. Hastilystooping he picked him up, almost falling as he breathed the lowerstratum of air, and staggered with his burden to the main gallery. Hehad but just reached it when he himself was overcome and sank to thefloor. He did not lose consciousness, but his head buzzed and swam, andhe felt a horrid nausea. When he was somewhat recovered, he carried HiLo back to the entrance, and was relieved to find that in the open airthe boy quickly regained consciousness. But he could not expose thelittle fellow again to such peril; bidding him remain at the spot, andon no account to follow, he plunged once more into the darkness.
This time he turned into the left-hand passage, and found that it slopedrapidly upward. Before long he was brought up by a similar obstacle;the gallery again divided. He felt a slight current of air strikeagainst him from the left-hand side; in that direction he continued togrope along. If the words he had overheard meant anything, they meantthat the prisoners might be expected to survive for a few days. As thatwould be impossible in the foul air of the unventilated passages, hecould not be wrong in pressing forward wherever he could breathe. Againhe shouted; again there was no reply but a series of echoes. But movingon again, and listening intently, he fancied he heard a low continuousrumbling ahead; this could not be an echo. The sound grew stronger ashe advanced; in a few moments he understood its cause; it wasunmistakably the sound of falling water. Stepping now with stillgreater caution, he soon became aware that he was within a few yards ofthe waterfall; the sound seemed to rise from beneath his feet. He threwhimself on his face and crawled forward--and the floor ended; he was onthe verge of a precipice.
With a shudder and a long breath he drew back. For some distance he hadnoticed that the walls of the passage suggested to the touch stonerather than coal. They were hard as flint, and the roof was so low thathe had to bend almost double. Apparently it was a prospector's gallery,not a real working. He wished he had a match; in the current of airthat he now clearly felt, there was little risk of explosion fromfire-damp. But his box was empty. He understood that the sound of thewaterfall must hitherto have smothered his shouts; but if he hallooednow he might be heard, if there was anyone within hearing. Making a bellof his hands he uttered a shrill coo-ee. It gave him a kind of shockwhen, apparently from only a few feet below him, there came an answeringcall.
"Is that you, Father?"
"Yes. For heaven's sake be careful, Jack. It is a sheer drop. Wait amoment."
Mr. Brown struck a match. Jack peered over the edge. There, somefifteen feet below, on a broad ledge of rock sprayed by the waterfallthat plunged past it into a dark abyss, stood his father and CountWalewski. The rock above them was perpendicular and smooth; on eitherside of them the ledge rounded inwards; in front of them yawned theunfathomable gulf. As he looked, the match went out, and with thereturn of complete darkness a feeling of terror seized upon him; hislimbs shook, his skin broke into a cold sweat.
"Are you there, old boy?"
"Yes."
"You've no matches, I suppose?"
"No, but--of course, I've a candle-end." Jack was pulling himselftogether. "Do you think you could pitch up your box, Father?"
"I can try. I'll strike a match; the count will hold it so that I canget an aim."
Both spoke in a loud tone, to be heard above the splash and roar of thefall. Count Walewski held the lighted match aloft; Jack stretchedhimself to the edge of the precipice; his father, retreating a few feetalong the ledge, took careful aim, and tossed the box of matches gentlyinto Jack's outstretched hands. In a moment the scene was faintlyillumined.
"You see how we stand, Jack; can you get us up?"
"You were let down by a rope?"
"Yes; they took it away with them."
Jack remembered the coil of wire-rope he had noticed at the entrance tothe mine. It had no doubt been formerly used for hauling the trucks.
"Wait a few mi
nutes, Father. I'm going to see what I can do."
"Blow the candle out; there isn't much of it left."
Again the scene was in darkness. Jack hurried back along the passage,and found Hi Lo at the entrance. Together they retraced their steps tothe spot where the coil of wire lay. As Jack feared, it was too heavyto carry; it proved too thick to break. Wasting no time here, he sentHi Lo in one direction while he went in another to search for any strayrope that would be long enough for his purpose. He came to atumble-down hut which from its contents he guessed had been theforeman's tool-house. Rummaging about among its rubbish, he found achain some ten yards long, rusty, but quite strong enough to bear aman's weight. In a corner stood a broken sledge-hammer; and among aheap of bolts, clamps, and miscellaneous old iron he came upon severaliron wedges such as are used for breaking hard ground and rock. Withthese they hurried back to the waterfall. Lighting the candle again,Jack, now in complete possession of his faculties, saw that the ledge onwhich his father and Count Walewski stood was at the base of a cavern.By the feeble glimmer he drove two of the wedges into the floor of thepassage. Then he quickly attached one end of the chain to them andlowered the other end. In this Mr. Brown made a loop, which he tested.
"The Count first," he shouted.
The poor old nobleman, who was ten years his elder, and older than hisyears through the sufferings he had endured, sat in the loop and clungto the chain with his thin feeble hands. Hi Lo coiled the chain roundthe wedges to prevent an accident, and Jack, steadily hauling on thechain, brought the Count--a very light weight--to the edge of theprecipice. Then he firmly secured the chain to the wedges, and, hishands being now free, lifted the Pole over the brink. The old man,broken down by his terrible experiences and exhausted from lack of food,was at first helpless; but when he had recovered from the terror of hisascent, all three hauled on the chain, and succeeded in drawing Mr.Brown up.
"Thank God!" he said, as he gripped Jack's hand.
The Count murmured a feeble but heartfelt "Amen!"
"Let us get away from the noise of the waterfall," said Jack. "Then wecan talk over the next step. Please God, we'll get you clear away yet,Father."
They withdrew for some distance into the passage, and sat down. In afew words Mr. Brown explained what had happened: how on the previousevening, when they had been reading in their hut, they had beensurprised and overpowered by two ruffianly posselentsys and forced toaccompany their captors up the hill path. The men were unknown to Mr.Brown; he could only explain their action by supposing that the plot torescue him and Count Walewski had been discovered.
"How did you find us out, Jack?"
"We tracked the fellows by the footprint of one of them; or rather Hi Lodid; he has done me many a good turn since you disappeared, Father; I'lltell you the whole story when you are safe."
"What are we to do, Jack?"
"It won't be safe to leave here before night. If we did, we should besure to run up against one of the search parties that are probably outby this time."
"You're right. I can manage to hold out, I think; but I'm afraid forCount Walewski. He's not so strong as I am; we've both been withoutfood for more than twelve hours."
"My go fetchee chow-chow," said Hi Lo instantly.
Jack looked dubiously at the boy. Was it safe? he wondered. Hi Lopleaded so earnestly to be allowed to go that Jack at last consented.
"Be very careful," he said. "When you get out of the mine, go aroundabout way to the shore. If you get there safely you'll be able toreach the junk. Tell Mademoiselle that we hope to see her to-night, andbring just enough food to keep us going until then. Be as quick as youcan, boy, and hide if you see anybody on the way."
"Allo lightee, masta; my lun chop-chop; no piecee Lusski catchee Hi Lo,no fea'!"
And he slipped away.