CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
THE PURSUIT.
"I'll go down again, sir," said Cyril, when the colonel had turned back,and he had tried to make him understand the nature of the place, as faras he had been able to make out.
But the colonel shook his head.
"We must go back, and try to reach the stream where it flows out, myboy," he said. "We can do no good here.--Come, Manning, and fetch themules."
John Manning stared, and seemed as if he could not understand.
"The mules, sir--go back and find the stream? What about the Indians,if they are coming on?" The colonel had forgotten their pursuers. "Themules," he said then; and he led the way on into the mist, Cyrilfollowing him wonderingly along the continuation of the rocky shelf forabout a hundred yards, and glancing back from time to time to see thatJohn Manning was close behind, untying the knots of the hide ropes as hecame.
Every step took them nearer to the great waterfall, and in the dim lightCyril now made out that the path was wider; but all at once it seemed toend in front of a gleaming sheet of water reaching from the thick mistbelow right up to where the rock-walls appeared to give place to thespray-clouded sky. And there, just before them, all huddled together,stood the mules, ready to turn toward them as they approached.
"They brought me as far as this last night," said the colonel, "and thenstopped. No wonder, poor brutes, they would go no farther; and I waslost in the darkness, and dared not turn back. I stood with them tilldaybreak, hoping you all were safe, and then--"
Cyril uttered a wild cry of joy, one which made itself heard by all, fora bare-headed misty figure, whose presence they had not been aware of asit followed them, suddenly caught the colonel's arm, placed its lips tohis ear, and cried:
"Quick, father--the Indians; they're coming down the valley fast."
In the face of such news as Perry bore, there was no time to askquestions about his escape, but as the colonel grasped the boy's arm,trembling the while with excitement, his heart throbbing with joy, hecried:
"How far away?"
"Not half a mile. I could see them coming down the valley."
"This way," said the colonel promptly, and he supplemented his wordswith gestures, as, still holding his son's arm tightly, he led them onthrough the mist of fine spray inward toward where the mules werestanding together. And now as they approached the fall, a great deal ofthe horror caused by the darkness and noise passed away, for the mistgrew opalescent from the sunshine far above, and though progress lookedterribly perilous, they could see the extent of their danger, and therewas no mystery of hidden peril, no constant dread of unknown chasmswaiting to engulf them at their next stride.
For they knew now that they were in one of Nature's wildest and grandestrifts, where a goodly-sized river, after tearing its way along theprofound depths of a narrow gorge, had reached a spot where by someearthquake convulsion this gorge had suddenly, as it were, broken intwo. One part had dropped several hundred feet, forming a profoundchasm into which the water from above leaped in one great glisteningwave, smooth as so much gleaming glass, to be broken up into spray as itreached the jagged rocks below, and there eddy and foam in what wasundoubtedly a huge basin, from which the mist arose, while the brokenwater swept on down into the valley to join the little stream by whoseside they had come.
The leading mule threw up its head as the colonel approached, and itsparted teeth and drawn-back lips suggested that it was whinnying awelcome or a demand for food. But the great fall before them, and theknowledge that at any time the Indians might appear from out of thedense mist and commence their attack, gave the colonel eyes for only onething, and that a way out of what seemed to be a perfect _cul de sac_.
The deafening roar, of course, prevented all consultation, and the mistadded to the confusion; but these had their advantages for thefugitives, veiling their actions from their pursuers, and preventing anysound made by the mules from being heard.
And as Cyril watched their leader's actions, and then caught anencouraging look from John Manning, who gave his head a jerk in thecolonel's direction, as if to say: "It's all right, he'll find his wayout," the boy felt in better spirits. The terrors of the night weregone; they were all there safe, and there was the possibility of theIndians feeling as much in awe of the terrible chasm as they hadthemselves, and hence shrinking from making their way through the mist,and giving them the credit of going on down the valley by the greaterstream which issued from beneath the falls.
Cyril's thoughts were many, and in the reaction from the terribledespair from which he had suffered, he was ready to accept anythingshort of the marvellous; and consequently he was in nowise surprised onseeing their leader go right on into the darkness, peering here andthere, and the leading mule follow him and Perry, the rest getting inmotion directly, and going on into the mist till the last haddisappeared.
Just then John Manning, who had turned to look back, wiping the moisturefrom his face, clapped Cyril on the shoulder, and placed his lips closeto the boy's ear.
"Can't see 'em coming. This'll scare 'em from following. They'll thinknobody but mad folk would ever come along here. I say, he's found a waybehind the fall."
But John Manning was wrong.
They followed the direction taken by the last mule, together steppingcautiously onward through the mist, for the rugged shelf they were onwas dripping with moisture, and felt slippery beneath their feet, whileto their left there was the huge body of water always gliding down intothe spray which eddied up to meet it. Then, to their intenseastonishment, they stepped right out of the dense, clinging mist, whichhid everything, into a clear atmosphere. It was quite in twilight thatthey stood, but the falling water brought with it a cool current of air;and as they both stopped for a moment to gaze and wonder, there to theirleft was the great fall rushing down clear of the rock behind, andleaving plenty of room for any one to pass through to the other side,beneath the water, had the shelf been continued there; but it passedround to their right, as if Nature had made a natural staircase,zigzagging up the side of the gorge; and there, some distance abovethem, were the colonel and Perry, mounting slowly after the leadingmule, which showed no hesitation about proceeding now that it was day.
John Manning nodded, and they followed up and up the giddy path, nowleaving the fall some distance behind, now approaching it again, butalways near enough to be terribly impressed by the vast curve ofgleaming black water, which, as they rose higher, could be plainly seenplunging down into what appeared to them as a dark grey cloud.
From time to time the colonel looked back and waved his hand, stoppingat last at a spot where the natural track curved suddenly round a sharppoint of rock. The mules followed one by one, their heads right down,and their feet carefully planted at every step, till the last had goneround; and then in turn Cyril and John Manning climbed up, and beforepassing the sharp rock, stopped to gaze down into the vast rift up whoseside they had mounted so far.
From this point the whole of the wild zigzag was visible right to wherethe grey veil of mist shut off the level shelf where they had passed thenight, and John Manning's lips had just parted to utter some words aboutthe horrible nature of the place, when Cyril started back and jerked hisgarment, to make him follow suit.
The old soldier was keenly alive to danger, and dropping upon his knees,he joined Cyril in cautiously looking over the edge of the rocks theyhad just ascended, softly bringing the muzzle of his piece to bear uponwhat he saw.
For, as he gazed down, there in the gloom, not two hundred yards away asan arrow would fly, but at a distance which it had taken them nearlyhalf an hour to climb by the gradual ascent, was the figure of an Indianstanding out just clear of the mist, and peering cautiously about, as ifsearching every rock and crevice around.
The next minute another had joined him, coming out of the mistcautiously, and with the tentative motion of one who was on strangeground.
Then came another and another, with their figures looking huge and
grotesque as they stood in the mist, and then suddenly shrinking intothe stature as of dwarfs, as soon as they were clear.
One by one they came on, till there were at least thirty collectedtogether, and all gazing about cautiously, as if in dread.
As Cyril knew from his own experience, they could only converse withdifficulty, so that he was not surprised to see that one of them, whoappeared to be the leader, was gesticulating and pointing here andthere, and finally upward toward where the two fugitives were watchingevery act.
But, as the boy watched the Indians keenly, it was very evident thatthey were far from confident, and he soon decided that they were as muchpanic-stricken by the horror of the place as he and his friends had beenovernight. At last, though after a great deal of pointing upward andhesitation, it seemed as if they were all reluctantly about to continuethe pursuit, for their leader took a few steps forward and waved themon.
But they did not stir, save to crowd together a little more and presstoward the wall of rock, away from the fall.
"They don't like it," whispered John Manning, for it was becomingpossible, where they lay, to make a few words audible without shouting."Strikes me they're so scared, that if we were to send one of these bigpieces of rock rolling down, they'd beat a retreat."
"Look, look!" whispered Cyril.
"I am," said John Manning, for all at once a couple more of the Indianssuddenly appeared from out of the mist, in whom they recognised Diegoand his fellow-guide, the former holding something in his hand which hewas showing to all in turn with a great deal of gesticulation,accompanied by eager pointings down into the depths below the fall, andback through the mist.
"What's he got there?" whispered John Manning. "Something to eat? Hewants them to go back."
"I know," said Cyril so loudly that his companion caught his arm. "It'sPerry's cap."
"What!" cried the old soldier. "I know how it is. They've found itsomewhere down the stream, where it had been washed, and he's sayingthat we must all have tumbled in there and been swept away."
This appeared to be a very likely interpretation, for, with a greatdisplay of eagerness, the men hurried back through the mist till allwere gone.
"Let's make haste on and overtake them," said Cyril eagerly. "I want toask Perry where he left his cap."
"And he'll tell you, sir, that he didn't leave it anywhere, but had ittook away by the water."
"Are they in sight?" said the colonel, bending down over them. "Youwere quite right. This is an excellent place to keep them back. Yes,"he continued, on hearing the surmises of the two watchers, "that must beit, and they have gone back to follow the stream."
He led the way again, and they followed to where Perry was anxiouslylooking back, as the mules steadily went on higher and higher up thegloomy gorge, where the great stream was hurrying and foaming alongtoward where it would make its plunge; while the thunderous roar of thefall was rapidly dying away, shut out, as it now was, by curve aftercurve of the valley.
The place was black and forbidding enough, but as they got on anothermile or two, their journey was brightened by the glow upon the ridgesand slopes on high where the sun reached, and the grassy sides of thelower mountains looked delightful after their long experience of black,dripping stone.
Many a look back was given as they went on higher and higher, every steptaking them more into the mighty range, and fortunately due west; and,weary as they all were, intense was the longing to hurry their steps.But that last was impossible. They were dependent upon the mules fortheir supply of food, and the cautious animals only had one pace, andthis regulated their masters'.
At last, when utterly exhausted, a halt was called just at a sharp turnin the gorge, where water could be reached, and the rocks sheltered themand the mules from pursuers; while they gave them the opportunity ofscanning the narrow way for nearly a mile, so that if a watch was kept,it was impossible for them to be taken by surprise.
There was some stunted herbage too, here, upon which, as soon as theyhad drunk, the mules began to browse. But no load was removed, armswere ready for an attack, and the only mule that was lightened was theone that bore the provisions.
And now Perry was questioned more closely about his escape, and Cyrilheard it from his lips for the first time.