CHAPTER XXX.
A STRANGE DISCOVERY.
Guy's explanation of his intentions was received without comment.Presently the colonel said, "You forget that we no longer have a canoe,Chutney. We are prisoners on this island."
"But we have a raft," replied Guy, "and a good one, too. It would bemuch more convenient and comfortable to travel on."
"Suppose we try it," said Forbes. "Anything to get away from thisplace."
"We can't get into a worse hole, that's true," added the colonel. "Ibelieve you are right about the current, Chutney, though it can onlyland us on the edge of some whirlpool."
Sir Arthur was as eager as the rest to get away. He had passed throughso many horrors, he said, that he had become accustomed to them, and itmattered little what the future held in store for him. The raft was dugout from the sand and found to be in perfect condition. It was fastenedtogether with twisted withes of some flexible wood. It was no easy taskto get it into the water, but by all working together, and using theguns and paddles as levers, it was finally pushed into the lake andfloated lightly on the surface.
The rugs, provisions, and what torches remained were carried on board,and with a final look round the island to see that nothing of importancehad been forgotten, they quietly embarked, and Guy, with a shove of thepaddle, sent the raft out on the lake. The object of the journey theyhardly knew themselves. They were leaving behind them a spot associatedwith dreaded memories, and that was all they cared to know.
"Don't do that," said Guy, as Canaris picked up a paddle and began touse it vigorously. "We must drift entirely with the current."
The torch was placed securely in a crevice of the logs, and in a veryshort time it was proved beyond a doubt that some current did exist. Theisland faded slowly from view.
Still reluctant to face their situation they grouped together anddiscussed various things. The Greek gave a long account of his curiouswanderings and adventures. Guy and Melton spoke of their thrillingexperiences in Burma only the previous year, and Colonel Carringtonentertained them with the tale of his participation in the bombardmentof Alexandria in '82.
So the hours passed on, and still they chatted of the outside world,forgetting for the moment the hopelessness of their present situation,the living tomb that had cut them off forever from the light of day.
"This reminds me of something I read a few months ago," said Sir Arthur,who was facing the situation with surprising calmness. "Some personmailed me from London _Blackwood's Monthly_ containing an installment ofa story by the fellow who wrote that deucedly clever book, 'KingSolomon's Wives.' Ah! what was the name now--aw, yes, Haggard--RiderHaggard----"
"Beg pardon, Sir Arthur," interrupted the colonel, "but the title was'King Solomon's Mines,' not his wives."
"Aw, that so, Carrington? Very well; doesn't make much difference.However, the hero of the story was traveling, as we are, on a lake, onlyit was in the open air, and the outlet was slightly beneath the surface.The water ran under a high wall of rock, and sucked the poor fellows andthe canoe under. It would be funny if this lake had the same sort of anarrangement."
"Well, it hasn't," replied the colonel. "We went all around the walls ina canoe, and if any such place as that had been in existence we wouldnot be here now, that's all."
"No, I suppose not," said Sir Arthur. "I'm going to take a nap. Wake meif anything turns up, will you?" And making a pillow of one of therugs, he was soon snoring.
"It will be a mercy if he never wakes," said Chutney in a husky voice."Not much danger of that, however. We have food enough to last us acouple of weeks yet, and unless we take your suggestion, colonel, andtoss it into the lake, we are good for that length of time, I suppose."
"Yes," rejoined the colonel, "unless we get sucked into a whirlpool orthe serpents attack the raft in force."
After that nothing was said for an hour or more. Their fate stared themin the face with all its awful realism.
But even under these circumstances they grew drowsy, and dropped off oneby one among the rugs, except Guy, who declared his intention to stayawake and be on the lookout for any danger that might threaten.
His was a solemn and lonely vigil. He envied his companions their powerto sleep, as the canoe drifted on through the gloom. The torch burnedslowly out, and he replaced it with a fresh one. His loaded rifle laywithin reach, but nothing happened to arouse his fear.
Sad and bitter were the reflections that surged into his mind. As theevents of his life rose up before him with wonderful clearness timepassed unheeded, and at last his brain grew weary, and rolling over onthe rugs he fell instantly into a deep slumber.
Strangely enough he was the first to awake. He had slept a long while,he saw at a glance, for the torch was burnt almost to a cinder. The restwere still sleeping.
"We must have been drifting for at least twelve hours," he said halfaloud. "We should be across the lake by this time."
He picked up a fresh torch and lit it from the expiring flame of theother. As he stuck it in the crevice the glare suddenly revealed a wallof rock a few yards distant, and in a very short time the raft struckthe shore with a harsh rattle that proved the impulse of the currentbeyond a doubt.
The concussion failed to rouse the sleepers, and Guy was hesitatingwhether he ought to do so or not when a faint sound came indistinctly tohis ear.
At first he could scarcely believe the evidence of his own senses. Hefancied it must be a delusion, a buzzing in his ears. The strangest partof it was that the sound actually resembled running water.
He listened a while longer, and then quietly woke the Greek, who sat up,rubbing his eyes.
"Canaris," he whispered, "do you hear anything?"
An interval of silence followed, inexpressibly painful to Guy, and thenthe Greek cried excitedly, "Yes, I hear running water. It comes from theother side of the cliff."
"Then I am not mistaken," was Guy's joyful exclamation. "We both hearit. It can be no delusion."
Then his heart sank as he thought of the wall of rock before them.
"It is the outlet of the river," he said bitterly, "only a few yardsdistant, and it might as well be a thousand miles."
Remembering what Sir Arthur had told them, he looked anxiously at thesurface of the lake, but the water was calm and quiet, and the raft hungmotionless.
"The outlet is far beneath the surface," said Canaris. "You can tellthat by the sound. If it were near the top we would be instantly suckedunder."
Impelled by an irresistible impulse Guy seized the torch and held itabove his head.
"Look! Look!" he cried, in a voice that trembled with excitement. "Thecliff slants at an angle. There are crevices to hold one's hands andfeet. Make no noise, Canaris; don't wake the rest, but help me to reachthat ledge yonder and I will see where this leads."
The cliff slanted indeed, but at an almost imperceptible angle. The rafttilted slightly as Canaris pushed Guy up the face of the rock, but thelatter succeeded in reaching a small ledge six feet above the water.
"All right," he whispered. "I can see plenty of places to catch hold ofbeyond me. Now fasten a torch to one of the paddles, Canaris, and holdit as high as you can."
This was a clever suggestion. The Greek fortunately had a bit of cordabout him, and in a moment the torch was throwing a dull light far upthe rugged slope of the rock.
Guy continued to climb higher and higher, keeping a cool head in spiteof his excitement, and testing well each crevice or projecting ledgebefore trusting his weight to it, and at last, with a throb of joy thatnearly took his strength away, he pulled himself out upon the flatsummit of the rock.
Seventy feet below him was the raft and its occupants, glowing in thetorchlight. Guy crawled forward on his hands and knees, and soon reachedthe verge of the rock on the other side. The running water was belowhim, much farther, indeed, than the level of the lake, but the roar ofthe torrent was loud and distinct to the ear.
He turned and crawled back.
"Canaris," he whi
spered down, "I have reached the top of the cliff.There is running water on the other side. Waken the rest as quickly aspossible, and send some one up with a torch. I forgot to bring one withme."