CHAPTER X
QUICK LIGHTS A MATCH
"Here we begin to turn, for this cave is a great circle," said Maquedaover her shoulder.
But Oliver, whom she addressed, had left her side and was engagedin taking observations behind the hunchback's funeral chair with aninstrument which he had produced from his pocket.
She followed him and asked curiously what this thing might be, and whyhe made use of it here.
"We call it a compass," he answered, "and it tells me that beyond uslies the east, where the sun rises; also it shows at what height westand above the sea, that great water which you have never seen, O Childof Kings. Say now, if we could walk through this rock, what should wefind out yonder?"
"The lion-headed idol of the Fung, I have been told," she answered."That which you saw before you blew up the gate of the city Harmac. Buthow far off it may be I do not know, for I cannot see through stone.Friend Adams, help me to refill the lamps, for they burn low, and allthese dead would be ill company in the dark. So at least my peoplethink, since there is not one of them that dares to enter this place.When first we found it only a few years ago and saw the company it held,they fled, and left me to search it alone. Look, yonder are my footstepsin the dust."
So I refilled the shallow hand-lamps, and while I did so Orme tooksome hasty observations of which he jotted down the results in hispocket-book.
"What have you learned?" she asked, when at last he rejoined us somewhatunwillingly, for she had been calling to him to come.
"Not so much as I should have done if you could have given me moretime," he replied, adding in explanation, "Lady, I was brought up asan engineer, that is, one who executes works, and to do so takesmeasurements and makes calculations. For instance, those dead men whohollowed or dressed these caves must have been engineers and no meanones."
"We have such among us now," she said. "They raise dams and make drainsand houses, though not so good as those which were built of old. Butagain I ask--what have you learned, O wise Engineer?"
"Only that here we stand not so very far above the city Harmac, of whichI chanced to take the level, and that behind yonder chair there was,I think, once a passage which has been built up. But be pleased to saynothing of the matter, Lady, and to ask me no more questions at present,as I cannot answer them with certainty."
"I see that you are discreet as well as wise," she replied with somesarcasm. "Well, since I may not be trusted with your counsel, keep it toyourself."
Oliver bowed and obeyed this curt instruction.
Then we began our return journey, passing many more groups of skeletonswhich now we scarcely troubled to look at, perhaps because the heavy airfilled with dust that once had been the flesh of men, was telling onour energies. Only I noticed, or rather the observant Quick called myattention to the fact, that as we went the kings in their chairswere surrounded by fewer and fewer attendants and women, and that theofferings placed at their feet were of an ever-lessening value. Indeed,after we had passed another five or six of them, their murdered retinuesdwindled to a few female skeletons, doubtless those of favourite wiveswho had been singled out for this particular honour.
At length there were none at all, the poor monarchs, who now werecrowded close together, being left to explore the shades alone, adornedmerely with their own jewellery and regalia. Ultimately even these werereplaced by funeral gold-foil ornaments, and the trays of treasure byearthenware jars which appeared to have contained nothing but food andwine, and added to these a few spears and other weapons. The last ofthe occupied chairs, for there were empty ones beyond, contained boneswhich, from their slenderness and the small size of the bracelets amongthem, I saw at once had belonged to a woman who had been sent to thegrave without companions or any offerings at all.
"Doubtless," said Maqueda, when I pointed this out to her, "at that timethe ancients had grown weak and poor, since after so many kings theypermitted a woman to rule over them and had no wealth to waste upon herburial. That may have been after the earthquake, when only a few peoplewere left in Mur before the Abati took possession of it."
"Where, then, are those of your own house buried?" asked Oliver, staringat the empty chairs.
"Oh! not in this place," she answered; "I have told you it wasdiscovered but a few years ago. We rest in tombs outside, and for mypart I will sleep in the simple earth, so that I may live on in grassand flowers, if in no other way. But enough of death and doom. Soon,who can tell how soon? we shall be as these are," and she shuddered."Meanwhile, we breathe, so let us make the best of breath. You have seenyour fee, say, does it content you?"
"What fee?" he asked. "Death, the reward of Life? How can I tell until Ihave passed its gate?"
Here this philosophical discussion was interrupted by the sudden deceaseof Quick's lamp.
"Thought there was something wrong with the blooming thing," said theSergeant, "but couldn't turn it up, as it hasn't got a screw, withoutwhich these old-fashioned colza oils never were no good. Hullo! Doctor,there goes yours," and as he spoke, go it did.
"The wicks!" exclaimed Maqueda, "we forgot to bring new wicks, andwithout them of what use is oil? Come, be swift; we are still far fromthe mouth of this cave, where none except the high priests will dare toseek us," and, taking Oliver by the hand, she began to run, leaving ustwo to follow as best we could.
"Steady, Doctor," said Quick, "steady. In the presence of disastercomrades should always stick together, as it says in the Red-bookpresented by the crown to warrant officers, but paid for out of theirdeferred allowance. Take my arm, Doctor. Ah! I thought so, the morehaste the less speed. Look there," and he pointed to the flying shapesahead, now a long way off, and with only one lamp between them.
Next instant Maqueda turned round holding up this remaining lamp andcalled to us. I saw the faint light gleam upon her beautiful face andglitter down the silver ornaments of her dress. Very wild and strangeshe looked in that huge vault, seen thus for a single moment, then seenno more, for presently where the flame had been was but a red spark, andthen nothing at all.
"Stop still till we come back to you," cried Oliver, "and shout atintervals."
"Yes, sir," said Quick, and instantly let off a fearful yell,which echoed backward and forward across the vault till I was quitebewildered.
"All right, coming," answered Oliver, and his voice sounded so far tothe left that Quick thought it wise to yell again.
To cut a long story short, we next heard him on our right and thenbehind us.
"Can't trust sounds here, sir, echoes are too uncertain," said theSergeant; "but come on, I think I've placed them now," and callingto _them_ not to move, we headed in what we were sure was the rightdirection.
The end of that adventure was that presently I tripped up over askeleton and found myself lying half stunned amidst trays of treasure,affectionately clasping a skull under the impression that it was Quick'sboot.
He hauled me up again somehow, and, as we did not know what to do, wesat down amidst the dead and listened. By now the others were apparentlyso far off that the sound of Oliver's calling only reached us in faint,mysterious notes that came from we knew not whence.
"As, like idiots, we started in such a hurry that we forgot to bring anymatches with us, there is nothing to be done, except wait," I said. "Nodoubt in due course those Abati will get over their fear of ghosts andcome to look for us."
"Wish I could do the same, sir. I didn't mind those deaders in thelight, but the dark's a different matter. Can't you hear them rattlingtheir shanks and talking all round us?"
"Certainly I do hear something," I answered, "but I think it must be theecho of our own voices."
"Well, let us hold our jaw, sir, and perhaps they will hold theirs, forthis kind of conversation ain't nice."
So we were silent, but the strange murmuring still went on, comingapparently from the wall of the cave behind us, and it occurred to methat I had once heard something like it before, though at the time Icould not think where. Afterwards I reme
mbered that it was when, asa boy, I had been taken to see the Whispering Gallery in St. Paul'sCathedral in London.
Half-an-hour or so went by in this fashion, and still there were nosigns of the Abati or of our missing pair. Quick began to fumble amonghis clothes. I asked him what he was doing.
"Can't help thinking I've got a wax match somewhere, Doctor. I rememberfeeling it in one of the pockets of this coat on the day before we leftLondon, and thinking afterwards it wasn't safe to have had it packed ina box marked 'Hold.' Now if only I could find that match, we have gotplenty of torches, for I've stuck to my bundle all through, although Inever thought of them when the lamps were going out."
Having small belief in the Sergeant's match, I made no answer, and thesearch went on till presently I heard him ejaculate:
"By Jingo, here it is, in the lining. Yes, and the head feels all right.Now, Doctor, hold two of the torches toward me; make ready, present,fire!" and he struck the match and applied it to the heads of theresinous torches.
Instantly these blazed up, giving an intense light in that awfuldarkness. By this light, for one moment only, we saw a strange, and notunattractive spectacle. I think I forgot to say that in the centre ofthis vault stood a kind of altar, which until that moment, indeed, Ihad not seen. This altar, which, doubtless, had been used for ceremonialpurposes at the funerals of the ancient Kings, consisted of a plainblock of basalt stone, whereon was cut the symbol of a human eye, thestone being approached by steps and supported upon carved and crouchingsphinxes.
On the lowest of these steps, near enough to enable us to see them quiteclearly, were seated Oliver Orme and Maqueda, Child of Kings. They wereseated very close together; indeed, if I must tell the truth, Oliver'sarm was about Maqueda's waist, her head rested upon his shoulder, andapparently he was engaged in kissing her upon the lips.
"Right about face," hissed the Sergeant, in a tone of command, "and marktime!"
So we right-abouted for a decent period, then, coughing loudly--becauseof the irritant smoke of the torches--advanced to cross the cavern,and by accident stumbled upon our lost companions. I confess that I hadnothing to say, but Quick rose to the occasion nobly.
"Glad to see you, Captain," he said to Oliver. "Was getting very anxiousabout you, sir, until by good luck I found a match in the lining of mycoat. If the Professor had been here he'd have had plenty, which is anargument in favour of continuous smoking, even when ladies are present.Ah! no wonder her Majesty is faint in this hot place, poor young thing.It's lucky you didn't leave hold of her, sir. Do you think you couldmanage to support her, sir, as we ought to be moving. Can't offer to doso myself, as I have lamed my foot with the tooth of a dead king, alsomy arms are full of torches. But if you prefer the Doctor--what do yousay, sir? That you _can_ manage? There is such an echo in this vaultthat it is difficult to hear--very well, let us go on, for these torcheswon't last for ever, and you wouldn't like us to have to spend a wholenight here with the lady in such a delicate condition, would you,especially as those nasty-tempered Abati might say that you had doneit on purpose? Take her Majesty's arm, Doctor, and let us trek. I'll goahead with the torches."
To all this artless harangue Oliver answered not a single word, butglared at us suspiciously over the shape of Maqueda, who apparently hadfainted. Only when I ventured to offer her some professional assistanceshe recovered, and said that she could get on quite well alone, whichmeant upon Orme's arm.
Well, the end of it was that she got on, and so did we, for the torcheslasted until we reached the narrow, sloping passage, and, rounding thecorner, saw the lantern burning in the hole in the wall, after which, ofcourse, things were easy.