CHAPTER XIX AN APE-LIKE BAND
Johnny spent the remainder of that night in the most curious place he hadyet seen in Haiti--at the mouth of a cave. How far back the cave extendedinto the mountain he had no notion. He did know that the night air atthis high altitude was crisp and cool, that his thick bed of mats wascomfortable and the home-woven blankets ample for warmth. This, however,did not at once induce sleep. The day had been too full of adventure andfresh revelation for that.
When he realized that their every act at the Citadel had been watchedthrough the "magic telescope" it gave him a peculiar feeling.
"And yet," he told himself, "we have done nothing but look about. We havenot removed a stone from its place in the ancient walls.
"Well enough that we didn't," he mused. "That little man told me that the'Rope of Gold' has never been at the Citadel. Wonder how he knows."
The natural answer to this question came to him as something of a shock."If a man knows for sure that a thing is not in a certain place and neverhas been there, he needs must know where it has been and where it isnow," he told himself. "And if only he would tell me," he added. "Butthat, of course, is not to be expected."
There were other problems to be studied out. He had been brought to thisspot for a purpose. What could that purpose be? Were these bronze menafraid that he and Curlie would chance upon some of the ancient treasure?Did they propose to break up their search by holding him prisoner? If so,where did this strange white man come in? To this question he could formno answer, so still puzzling over it he fell asleep.
* * * * * * * *
As you know, when Curlie Carson, with his heavily laden donkeys, took thetrail in search of Johnny Thompson, he left his laboratory stripped ofall contents. It was well that he did, for only two hours after he left,a band of blacks, some fifty in number, came scrambling up the trail thatleads to the Citadel. They were led by a black man with a face of suchfierce ugliness as one seldom sees on land or sea.
Arrived at the Citadel, they scattered as if in search of someone. Whentwo of them came upon Curlie's abandoned laboratory they let out a cryand at once the entire band swarmed around them.
Finding the place deserted, they wrecked it, tearing up tables andshelves, even wrenching the door from its hinges.
When one member, keener eyed than the others, discovered Curlie's trailleading away into the hills, the whole band, like a pack of hounds infull cry, went yelling and roaring away after the boy and his donkeys.
What a strange and terrible horde they were. Leaning far forward as theyran they seemed more like a pack of gigantic baboons than men. But woeunto any human being who might fall into their clutches.
As for Curlie Carson, he plodded doggedly on before his burros, pickingout the trail leading the way, steadily and surely, toward Johnny's cave.
* * * * * * * *
On the day that Curlie left the chateau to go in search of Johnny, Dorisand Dot started on an expedition all their own. With imagination fired bydreams of the ancient black queen's treasure, still dreaming of seeingagain that monkey with the diamond ring on his wrist, they proposed tovisit the ruins of the black emperor's palace.
"We'll take Mona," Dot said. "Now that the revolution has been brought toan end there is no danger."
Doris thought of the ugly black foe that Dot and Curlie had seen at thetop of the cliff after the explosion, and experienced a moment ofuneasiness. But so eager was she to begin the search that she was able atonce to cast fears aside.
"It will be a race," she said with a little wild skipping, "a racebetween the boys and ourselves to see who first discovers treasure."
"Yes," laughed Dot, "a race that is likely to end with a draw. Everybodyloses." Despite this dire prophecy, they departed in high spirits and eretwilight came found themselves camping within the shadows of theimpressive stone steps that had once led to a palace of such magnificenceand grandeur as no other black ruler has known.
"To think," Doris told herself as two hours later she lay beneath theblankets awaiting sleep, "that up those steps in days long gone by onepassed gorgeously attired dukes and earls with their women all aglitterwith jewels. And now here we are, just two girls and one old black woman,all alone with all the ruined magnificence. Here we are andto-morrow--Oh, you glorious to-morrow!"
To-morrow they would explore the mysterious pile of brick and stone thathad once been a king's palace.
"Treasure," she whispered. "That magic word treasure. There was treasureaplenty here in those all but forgotten days. Who knows but it lieshidden away here still? Who knows--"
Her thoughts broke short off. There had come a faint scratching soundfrom the palm fronds above her.
"Blackbird. Some old blackbird," she told herself. She was not quitesatisfied with this. A tropical blackbird, she remembered, was alwaystalking to himself and fluttering in and out among the branches. Thething troubled her. It was night and the jungle was new to her. Shethought of snakes. Snakes, she remembered, glided about in trees. She hadseen a picture of a huge one hanging over a limb.
"But everyone says there are no dangerous creatures in the Haitianjungle, not even snakes," she reassured herself. She settled back in herplace. The rustling for the time had ceased. "Just some bird," she toldherself once more.
Her right hand went to her left wrist. There something gave forth ajingling sound. Doris was not given to wearing jewelry. Notwithstandingthis, before starting on this trip she had surprised her companions byputting on her three bracelets and even borrowing two others from Dot.Dot hadn't asked why she wanted to wear them, but she had wondered aboutit. They were on her wrist still.
"Seems sort of foolish," she told herself. "I'm glad I brought themthough, for you really never can tell. They say that monkeys travel far.And if we found him it really might work. And if--Why! What was that?"Something had hit her hand.
"It was thrown or dropped," she told herself, now quite genuinelyalarmed. "Who could have done that?"
"Perhaps," she thought as her heart gave a leap, "there are natives aboutthese ruins." She thought of the black face the others had seen at thetop of the cliff by Deception Bay. With an unsteady hand she drew aflashlight from her pocket. Having snapped it on, she set its circle oflight searching for the thing that had struck her hand. A half minute ofthis, then she gave forth a low chuckle.
"Only some creature shucking a cocoanut up there," she told herself.
The next instant her face was quite serious. "If it were the monkey; ifit only could be the jeweled monkey." Her heart raced.
Directing the ray of light upward she was just in time to catch sight ofa pair of small eyes peering down at her. The next instant they weregone.
"It _was_ a monkey!" she told herself with a quick intake of breath. "Itwas! It was!"
"But then," she told herself more soberly, "there may be many tamemonkeys in the hills who have turned wild. I have heard of three."
For a long time she kept the light playing upon the fronds of the palm,but all to no purpose. She saw nothing more of the creature who hadshowered her with cocoanut shucks. At last, as her rebellious eyelidsgrew heavy, she crept up to a place beside her pal and fell asleep. Buteven in her sleep she dreamed of palatial halls, soft carpets, gleamingchandeliers and of diamonds worn by black ladies dressed for state.