CHAPTER XXVIII
THE TEMPLE OF TREASURE
"What's that?" fairly yelled the professor.
"We am propelling ourselves in a contiguous direction an' in closeproximity to an elevated portion of th' earth's surface which rises inantiguous proximity t' th' forward part of our present means oflocomotion!" said the colored man in a loud voice.
"Which means there may be a collision," the professor said, as he andthe boys hurried toward the tower.
"Jest what I said," retorted Washington. "What'll I do?"
"Send the ship a little higher," answered Mr. Henderson. "We mustn't hitany mountains."
Washington forced more gas into the holder, and speeded the negativegravity machine up some, so that the _Mermaid_, which was flying ratherlow, ascended until it was in no danger of colliding with the peak whichreared its lofty height just ahead of them.
As the ship sailed slowly over the mountain, Mark gazed down andexclaimed:
"Doesn't that look like the ruins of some building?"
The professor took a pair of field glasses from a rack in the wall andtook a long view.
"It must be the place," he said in a low voice.
"What place?" asked Jack.
"The temple of treasure," was the answer. "Hankos told me it was on topof the highest mountain in the land, and this must be it, for it is theloftiest place we have seen. But we must be careful, for there is dangerdown there."
"What kind?" asked Mark.
"The place was long ago deserted by the giants," Mr. Henderson went on."Ages ago it was one of their storehouses for treasure, but there werewars among themselves, Hankos said, and this part of the country waslaid waste. Savage beasts took up their abode in the temple, and sincethen, in spite of the great size of the giants, they have not dared toventure here. If we brave the animals we may have all the gold anddiamonds we can take away."
"Then for one, I'm willin' t' go down an' begin th' extermination atonce," put in Andy. "I've always wanted t' be rich."
"We must proceed cautiously," the professor said. "We are ill preparedto fight any such beasts as we saw at the big geyser. At the same timethey may have deserted this place. I think we will lower the ship downover the temple, and spend several hours in observation. Then, ifnothing develops, we can enter and see if the treasure is there."
This plan was voted a good one, and the _Mermaid_ after having beensteered directly over the ruined temple, was brought to a halt, andenough gas let out so that it fell to about fifty feet in the air aboveit.
The adventurers began their watch. The afternoon waned and there were nosigns of any beasts in or about the temple.
"I reckon we can take a chance," said Andy, who was anxious to get hishands on some diamonds.
"Better wait until morning," counseled Mr. Henderson. "It will soon bedark, and it doesn't look like a nice place to go stumbling about in bymoonlight."
So, though all but the scientist were anxious, they had to wait untilthe night had passed. Several times Washington got up to see if thetemple had, by any chance, taken wings during the long hours ofdarkness, but each time he found it was still in place.
"Seems laik it'll never come mornin'," he said.
But dawn came at length, and, after a hasty breakfast, preparations toenter the temple were made. Andy loaded his gun for "bear" as heexpressed it, and the boys each took a revolver.
The ship was lowered to as level a place as could be found, and then,seeing that everything was in readiness for a quick departure, theprofessor led the way out of the _Mermaid_.
The entrance to the temple was through a big arched gateway. Some of thestones had fallen down, and the whole structure looked as if it mighttopple over at any moment.
"Go carefully," cautioned Mr. Henderson. "Watch on all sides and upabove. Better let Andy and me go ahead."
The scientist and the old hunter led the way. Through the arch theywent, and emerged into what must at one time have been a magnificentcourtyard. Before them was the temple proper, a vast structure, with anopening through which fifty men might have marched abreast. But thedoors were gone, and the portal was but a black hole.
"I hope there ain't any ghosts in there," said Washington, with ashiver.
"Nonsense!" exclaimed the professor. "There may be things as bad, butthere are no such things as ghosts. Have your gun ready, Andy."
With every sense on the alert, the old hunter advanced. Every one was abit nervous, and, as Mark and Jack afterward admitted, they halfexpected some terrible beast to rush out at them. But nothing of thekind happened, and they went into the interior of the temple.
At first it was so dark they could see nothing. There were vast dimshapes on every side, and from the hollow echo of their footsteps theyjudged the roof must be very high and the structure big in every way.
Then, as their eyes became used to the darkness, they could make out, upfront, something like an altar or pulpit.
"Perhaps that's where they offered up the gold and diamonds as asacrifice to their gods," spoke Mark in a whisper.
"Sacrifice to their gods!" came back a hundred echoes and the sound madeevery one shudder.
"Oh!" said Washington, in a low voice.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" repeated the echoes in voices of thunder.
"Well, this is pleasant," spoke Andy, in his natural tones, and, to thesurprise of all there was no echo. It was only when a person whisperedor spoke low that the sound was heard. After that they talked naturally.
"You stay here, and Andy and I will go up front and see what there is,"said Mr. Henderson. "Be on your guard, and if you hear us coming back ina hurry, run!"
It was with no little feeling of nervousness that the boys, Bill, Tomand Washington watched the two men move off in the darkness. They couldhear their footsteps on the stone flags and could dimly see them.
"They must be almost to the altar by this time," said Mark, after a longpause.
Hardly had he spoken than there came a loud sound from where Mr.Henderson and Andy had gone. It was as if some giant wings were beatingthe air. Then came shrill cries and the voice of the old hunter could beheard calling:
"Kneel down, Professor! Let me get a shot at the brute!"
Those waiting in the rear of the temple huddled closer together. Whatterrible beast could have been aroused?
The next instant the place seemed illuminated as if by a lightningflash, and a sound as of a thousand thunder claps resounded.
"I think I winged him!" cried Andy's voice, and the boys knew he hadfired at something.
Then there came a crash, and from the roof of the old temple a dozenstones toppled off to one side, letting in a flood of colored light.
By this illumination could be seen, flapping through the big spaceoverhead, an enormous bat, as large as three eagles. And, as it flewabout in a circle it gave utterance to shrill cries.
"Bang!" Andy's gun spoke again, and the bat with a louder cry thanbefore, darted through the hole in the roof made by the falling stones,which had been loosened by the concussion from the rifle.
"Come on!" cried the old hunter. "That was the guardian of the treasure!We are safe now!"
Then, in the light which streamed through the broken roof, theadventurers could see, heaped up on a great altar, behind which sat ahorrible graven image, piles of yellow metal, and sparkling stones. Inlittle heaps they were, arranged as if offerings to the terrible god ofthe giants. There were bars and rings of gold, dishes of odd shape, andeven weapons. As for the sparkling stones, they were of many colors, butthe white ones were more plentiful than all the others.
"Gold and diamonds! Diamonds and gold!" murmured the professor. "Thereis the ransom of many kings in this ancient temple."
"Wish I had a big bag!" exclaimed Washington, as he began filling allhis pockets with the precious metal and gems. "If I had a-thought I'dhave brought a dress-suit case!"
"A dress-suit case full of diamonds!" exclaimed Ma
rk.
Then he too, as did all the others, fell to filling his pockets with thewealth spread so lavishly before them. There was the riches of a wholeworld in one place and no one but themselves to take it.
For several minutes no one spoke. The only sound was the rattle of thestones and the clink of gold, and when some of the diamonds dropped onthe floor they did not bother to gather them up. There were too many onthe altar.
"We will be rich for life!" gasped old Andy, who had been poor all hisyears.
"I can't carry any more!" gasped Washington. "I'm goin' back for----"
What he was going back for he never said, for, at that instant,happening to look up at the hole in the roof, he gave a startled cry:
"Here come the terrible bats!"
They all gazed upward. Through the opening they could see a great flockof the awful birds, headed for the temple, and they were led by onewhich seemed to fly with difficulty. It was the guardian of the treasurethat Andy had wounded.
"Quick! We must get out of here!" shouted the old hunter. "They are bigenough and strong enough to tear us all to pieces. Hurry!"
Down the centre of the temple they rushed, and not a moment too soon,for, ere they had passed half way to the entrance, the opening in theroof was darkened by the coming of the bats, and soon the flapping oftheir wings awoke the thundering echoes in the ruined structure, whiletheir shrill cries struck terror to the hearts of the travelers.
Up to the altar circled the bats, and then wheeling they flapped downthe dim aisles toward the adventurers.
"Hurry! Hurry!" shouted Andy, who was in the rear.
He raised his rifle and fired several shots into the midst of theterrible creatures.
A number of the bats were wounded, and the others were so frightened bythe sound of the shots and the flashes of fire that they turned back.This enabled the fleeing ones to gain the entrance to the temple, andsoon they were outside.
"To the ship!" yelled Bill.
"There's little danger now!" called Andy, panting, for the run hadwinded him. "They will hardly attack us in the light!"
And he was right, for, though they could hear the bats flying aboutinside the temple, and uttering their cries, none came outside.
But no one felt like staying near the uncanny structure, and little timewas lost in reaching the _Mermaid_. Then the doors were fastened, andthe ship was sent high up into the air.
"Which way?" asked Jack, when Mr. Henderson told him to go to theconning tower and steer.
"Back to where we first met the giants," replied the professor. "We mustprepare to start for our own earth again soon."
"I've almost forgotten how real sunlight looks," thought Jack, as heheaded the ship around the other way. As he turned the levers a bigdiamond dropped from his pocket and rolled on the floor.
"This will be a good reminder of our trip though," he added.
The travelers, even including Mr. Henderson, were so taken up with theirsuddenly acquired riches that they hardly thought of meals. At theprofessor's suggestion they tied their gold and stones up in smallpackages convenient to carry.
"Better place them where you can grab them in a hurry in case ofaccident," the old scientist went on. "Of course if there should be toobad an accident they would never be of any use to us down here, butwe'll look on the bright side of things."
"Do you anticipate any accident?" asked Jack anxiously.
"No, Oh no," replied Mr. Henderson, but Jack thought the aged man hadsomething weighing on his mind.