CHAPTER IV. WHERE THE STAIRS LED TO.
Leo Malvern caught but a fleeting glance at the man and dog as theyrushed down the stairs in the base of the obelisk.
But what was the stranger fleeing from?
The swamp explorers glanced around them to find out.
The next moment they learned to their full satisfaction.
In the little clearing, a few yards beyond them, a balloon suddenlysettled.
There was but one occupant of the basket, or car, and he was astern-visaged man of perhaps forty-two.
It was evident that he had not yet seen our friends, for, as theballoon, which was now about half collapsed, settled upon the earth, hesprang from the basket and rushed in the direction taken by the man anddog.
A sudden thought came in Dick Vincey’s head.
“Hide--quick!” he whispered to his companions. “He will most likelyenter the opening and go on down.”
In the twinkling of an eye all hands sprang to the other side of theobelisk and concealed themselves in a thicket.
They were not a moment too soon. The next instant the man who had sostrangely landed in that wild spot rushed up to the base of the obeliskand came to an abrupt halt.
An exclamation of surprise left his lips as he beheld the opening inthe stone shaft.
“By heavens!” he exclaimed, loud enough for the swamp explorers tohear; “Reginald Lacy, you shall not escape me, even if I have to followyou into the very center of the earth!”
Then he boldly entered the doorway and began descending the stone steps.
Five minutes later our friends made their way to the entrance again andlistened for some sound.
But they could hear nothing.
“I am going to make a suggestion,” suddenly said Leo.
“What is it?” asked his cousin.
“Let us go down the steps and see what has become of those who havealready gone down.”
“Agreed!” exclaimed the professor, who was ready for anything.
“Oh! for de good Lor’ sakes! don’t go down dere. De debbil am dere,suah!” whined Lucky, in a frightened manner.
“Keep still, coon, and don’t git skeered. We may as well go as far andsee as much as we kin, since we have got ter this dod-rotted country.I, for one, are satisfied to go down them steps.”
The Yankee gave a contemptuous glance at the darky as he spoke, andthen nodded for Leo to lead on.
Dick had not passed his opinion on the question yet, but that he wasperfectly willing need scarcely be said.
But at the same time it occurred to him that they ought to take somesort of a light with them.
They had left their supplies at the point where they had been compelledto use the ax in the thicket.
Dick hastened to the spot and got a small lantern, which was all thatwas left of three that they had brought along with them.
When he reached the obelisk again his companions had already enteredthe doorway, and were waiting for him on the steps.
It was but the work of a moment to strike a match and light thelantern; and then the boy followed them down into the place beyond.
Down they went, for at least a hundred steps, and the end of the flightwas not reached yet.
Another hundred, and still it appeared the same.
“I wonder how many miles we have got ter go afore we git ter therbottom?” said the Yankee.
“Have patience, Martin,” replied Prof. Easy. “We are on the eve of agreat discovery--mark my word for it!”
“Humph! I heerd ye say that same thing a good many times before. But,by the great boots in ther haymow, I stepped on somethin’ alive jistthen!”
“A ground hog!” exclaimed Dick, holding up the lantern. “How in thunderdid it ever get there, I wonder?”
“If it can live in here, I am sure we can a little longer. Let usproceed,” returned the professor, quietly.
Once more they began descending the steps.
During all this time they had not heard the least sound from those whohad preceded them.
Probably one hundred and fifty steps more were descended, and then theyreached a wide passage.
“Come,” said Leo, leading the way. “We have struck level traveling atlast.”
The swamp explorers had not proceeded over three hundred yards, beforethey saw daylight ahead.
It seemed rather strange that it should be daylight, but it was,nevertheless.
With all possible speed they hastened along the passage.
Two hundred yards more and a wonderful sight met their gaze.
They were emerging into a vast tract of country many feet below theearth’s crust.
In front of them was the beginning of a long crack, which extended acouple of miles or more, and all along the edges of this the waterstreamed down in the form of a cascade of unlimited extent.
The sunlight came in through the crack, which was probably a quarter ofa mile in width, and lighted up the place.
All sorts of vegetation flourished on the place beneath the openingabove; but beyond this our friends could perceive nothing on accountof the falling water and the mist arising from the streams in which itfell.
“Wonderful!” exclaimed the professor.
“Darned if it ain’t wonderful,” assented Haypole.
“Who ever imagined that such a place as this existed?” said Leo.
“We are now under the great Everglades of Florida. It remains for us tofind out what sort of place it is,” spoke up Dick Vincey.
“I agree with you there,” returned Prof. Easy. “Come, let us be moving.It is strange what has become of the man and dog and their pursuer.”
They stepped off to the left, and kept walking until they emerged fromthe mist, which seemed to settle back on either side of the opening.
As they left it behind them they saw that only a sort of twilightprevailed in and about the underground place.
Then a startling thing occurred.
A body of men suddenly appeared from the numerous galleries, to be seenon their left, and rushed toward them.
There must have been fully a hundred of them, and all were attiredin long gowns of some dark-colored material, and were barefooted andwithout any head covering.
The strange horde had the appearance of Turks, both in manner and looks.
The moment Leo and Dick beheld them, they placed their rifles to theirshoulders.
Their action was quickly followed by their companions, and then Leoexclaimed:
“Halt! We mean you no harm!”
But the command was entirely disregarded. The crowd of men rushed atthem with a quicker pace, if possible, brandishing spears and bows andarrows.
When within about fifty feet of the intruders, they came to a suddenhalt and sent a flight of arrows at them.
One of these found lodgment in the fleshy part of Martin Haypole’s leg,and another went through the crown of the professor’s hat.
Leo and Dick thought it high time for them to act.
Dropping to their knees, they began firing into the ranks of thequeerly attired strangers.
Crack! crack!
The reports rang out in rapid succession, and at almost every shot aman fell.
At first they seemed to be staggered and amazed, but they soon ralliedand answered the rifle shots, by another flight of arrows.
It now behooved our friends to look for a place of cover.
A few yards distant was the mouth of a gallery or passage, and at thecommand of Leo Malvern they rushed for this with all possible speed.
The inhabitants of the underground place came after them with all theirmight, uttering, for the first time, loud yells of triumph.
“Hurry up!” cried Dick; “if we can reach the mouth of that passagewe’ll give ’em fits.”
The arrows kept flying all around them, and Lucky, the darky, waswounded in the arm.
A minute more and the spot was reached in safety.
“Now!” exclaimed Leo, “give it to them! Everybody
fire as fast as hecan.”
The next instant five rifles began sending a veritable hailstorm ofbullets.
Down went seven or eight of the savage barbarians, as the professorchose to term them, and several more began hopping about like mad fromthe wounds they had received.
Leo expected to see them turn and flee now, since he and his companionshad reached a place where they could most likely hold their own.
But no! They kept on shooting their arrows, which, by the way, did ourfriends not the least bit of harm, as they had crouched behind a hugebowlder.
But in spite of the determined stand our friends made, they were doomedto defeat.
Suddenly they heard a pattering of feet behind them, and, on turning,beheld a crowd of the savages coming through the passage.
They were between two fires!