Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-08-10

tation, and wherever the sun beat down
on q stone we were sure to find q serpent
summing himself We were heading for the
walls Of the temple, but after an hours
work we had not advanced over half q
mile. Mr.. Grant called halt, and we
were sitting on the huge blocks OF stone In
q glade about fifty feet across when some
thing very queer happened. The foliage
was dense enough to throw the glade into
a shadow approaching twilight. Our ears
were suddenly saluted with .groans and
means, as of SOME person in deep distress.
and while we were looking about and at
each other figure came out of the thicket
on the south side and slowly fioated across
the glade 1t looked like human figure,
though draped and muffied, and though it
passed over the ground at about an ordinary
height, the motion was that of floating
along instead of walking. 1t wasn't over
twenty feet from us, and when it disap-
peared into the thicket on the other side
the air was heavy with the odor of a
strange perfume.
Its nothing but trick to scare us OFF,
whispered Grant, after the figure had dis
appeared. eff it comes again everybody
open fire on it!''
We waited in nervous silence for five or
six minutes, when the apparition appeared
again, preceded by the same distressing
noises 1t was scarcely clear of the bushes
when we opened fire, each one of us with a
revolver. 1t floated along as before and at
the same pace, and we got in three shots
apiece before the smoke obscured it.
We've riddled one of them, anyhow
chuckled Grant as we waited for the smoke
to clear; but a minute later, when it had
floated away, the figure was not to be seen.
We had fired point blank at a distance OF
eighteen or twenty feet, and it was absurd
to suppose that all fifteen bullets had
missed.
s'And how do you account for thatr"
asked as felt my hair trying to climb up.
Its one of their conjuring tricks" an
swered the engineer, land was pretty well
worked. I've seen stranger things than
that, however. We had best get out OF
this at once!''
We were hardly off the blocks before q
rock weighing at least twenty pounds
crashed down through the tree tops and
fell where we had been sitting. Ten sec
onds earlier would have resulted in one
death at least. AS we made our way along
1 asked the engineer how such a rock could
have been heaved into the air to fall with
such exactness, but he could not explain.
Instead Of pushing along to the temple we
now made our way to the right to get out
of the ruins, and in a short time were on
the open plain.
The temple is our objective point" eX-
planned Mr. Grant, land it's no use push
ing through those ruins to get there. Well
go down opposite and then strike in. Now
look at that, will you?'
About hundred feet away from us and
right in our course was a bushy topped
tree about thirty feet high. There was
only light air stirring, and yet the top of
the tree was waving to and fro. as if in a
heavy gale. We slowly advanced until we
stood at the foot of the tree. l had expect
ed to see a native up there, but nothing
whatever was in sight. While we stood
there the tree continued its antics. and none
of US was sharp enough to solve the mys-
terry.
Its just a trick to scare us off, said
Mr.. Grant, land We'll see more OF 'em be-
fore we are through. How they do these
things l can't pretend to say, but they are
done for effect and would frighten n native
out of his senses. We must push along and
not mind them"
Opposite the ruins of the temple we en-
tered the thicket again, Mr.. Grant leading,
and the rest following in Indian file. We
had not advanced a hundred feet when we
heard sobs and means from 10th sides OF
us, and one would have sworn that n doz-
en- women were wandering about in dis
tress. The sounds appeared quite close L.
us, but yet we could not detect the pres
ence of human being. All of n sudden, as
we continued to push ahead, the thicket
echoed such screams and shrieks that my
knees gave out and had to clutch a limb
to support me. l expected to be ridiculed
for my exhibit, but the others came to n
halt with serious faces, and the engineer
said:
I'm blessed if the sounds don't give me
a chill, though l know it's all a blooming
trick of the gang to keep us out. There
I,a off he fell in
'sAnd Pm thinking it would be wise
thing to send down for more help" added
Mr.. Grant Good Lordi but see THAR
A block of stone which seemed to be four
feet long a foot thick and three feet wide
was lying in the grass within four feet of
us as we stood in a group. This block
suddenly stood on end, rose into the air
fully six feet, and then fell to the earth
with jar which made things tremble.
tell you simply what five of us saw or
thought we saw. What sort of jugglery
it was don't pretend to say, but it was
juggIery of some sort, of course. Directly
after the stone fell four or five large pieces
of rock came crashing about our ears and
no one hesitated to beat a speedy retreat
I'm not running from their tricks, " said
Grant as we headed for camp, but I'm
satisfied they are a large party and des
perate fellows. They are probably strong
enough to wipe us out, and I'll have up a
company of soldiers to beat the cover"
A messenger was at once dispatched to
Bheeta, which is military post but it
was three days before the soldiers came
up. There were ninety of them, and
though we had heard nothing further
from the treasure hunters while waiting
we felt sure they were still among the
ruins. The troops entered from three diff.
ferent directions, having orders to shoot
down anything they sighted, but the whole
place was beaten up and only one native