The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1893-07-13

I Iklapel and De ready at any moment
] Show III the way, ListahF'
. They followed the old man, who held
j D candle aloft. and after journey O.
= perhaps a half hour came 20 stop be-
fore al apparently. solid. wall Of large
: stones. Eric recognized the great slab
] in the center as door similar TO the
one Ikl4pel bad opened when they had
/, inspected the treasure vault. ''' 90 ~
:. They passed through and along the
: passage again until they came upon the
7 treasure house Of Atzlsn, filed 10 over
7 flowing with the accumulated wealth of
i dead, forgotten nations. Even old Listah
2 lost his stoical reserve and burst into as
> tonished EXPLANATIONS. while Jan-ila
~ walked around among the various an
>. Gent. almost priceless relics with open
L reyed and open mout>A | vAnder IL
) was truly a remarkable spectacle. More
= wealth in gold and silver lay there un-
; guarded. UNDECIDED. than the banks Of
J, the entire world could command. Its
, introduction into the commerce of the
United States would .revolut,onize all
l. the markets on earth! Half-yes, one
, eighth-of il was a colossal fortune; the
q wealth that PizaFro, Corteg and their
followers ravished from Peru and Mex
leo was equaled and surpassed by this
! treasure ''''' -''.' % s.''" -
1T is the treasure Of the gods" said
Listah finally. ut belongs to them
| yes, and it belongs to .Quetzalr'. .,.s.....s
1T is not for us at >,iy rate" reioined
Jan-ila. Il would non. know what 10 do
with it if had it, ........ ~. {. =.
4 Nor H. Listah replied, ''but Quetzal
knows. ! would wager, and many Won
derfdl things he could mako for us. For
me one good az, or knife of his wondruus
new metal that he calls iron is worth
all this great pila.',,s.,:,s.l. ..s....-.. $50.
There was strong fascination in the
hoard to Eric. He felt sort of misery
greed creep over him as his eyes roved
I over the mass; the old vases full of gold
I dust, strangely shaped utensils and fur
niture, meaningless trappings OF all
sorts, shapes and sizes aroused his anti
tquarian interest and his cupidity at the
same time. for there were fortunes in
single objects lying there upon the tiled
pavement: relics of the prehistoric past
! that nations would vie with one another
to secure-not for their Intrinsic value
alone, but for their chronological interest.
| A great golden calendar, a circular
disk, with strange obsolete characters
! all over its surface, lay against the wall,
! What prize for a museuml And he
noticed several figures Of ANNA ais, well
modelled in gold. and among them stood
regal elephant with greatly curved
4 tusks. He looked sharply at it, and as
he stared he realized that it was a model
| in miniature Of the extinct mammoth!
"There are pictures OF them in the
sacred books" said Jan-ila when Eric
had pointed out this wonder, "for have
seen them. often. The pictures show
men spearing them and being trampled
| under feet by these same monsters"
They lost more time, but started at
once for the chamber under the temple,
for Eric remembered we'll the way now.
and they reached it in few minutes. |
Nolselessly they entered it.. and the two |
priests reverently, for both had been |
there before on solemn occasions. This
room held the ark of the Attain faith.
Quetzalcoatlsv vessel, and it was sacred |
apartment, into which none but priests
ever ventured. Listah extinguished the
candle as soon as they We're fairly in the
cellarLke chamber. A few narrow shafts
OF light shot through the crevices, but
they could see that the light was dim
and that darkness was rapidly approach
ing. They heard footsteps upon the
light flooring above, but they ceased
moment later. - ''as -''' - =. ~ -14't
They waited a full hour In deep 81
lence. and almost complete darkness:
then Eric reached out. and touching
Jan-ila upon the shoulder drew him 4
close and whispered: ..:,p. esra.. g..
You go up the ladder and lift the
trapdoor silently and carefully. If no
one is in sight, slip out into the room 1
and then outdoors to lind Iklapel. If
he is there, call him softly and tell him
we are here ready to. act. Be very
careful, my boy, land don't get nervous"
Without answering Jan-ila quicklyj
mounted the ladder, and after a mo-
ment s pause cautiously and almost im-j
perceptibiy opened the trapdoor. They |
saw him disappear through it, and i 1
was closed softly. .-.'.. ,.'''. - %.
An hour elapsed. and then Eric went
up, and lifting the trapdoor peered out.
A dark form, and one which he did not i
recognize. sat in the doorway motion
less. Its back was toward him. He
raised the door higher; he could see no:
body In the room. While he stood there
looking upward, he saw the
opening IN the floor above fill up with a
dark object, and he quickly closed the
trapdoor and held his head close under it |
to listen. Not a sound reached him. Int
after a long interval he felt the door
move. He drew away from it and de-
'cended the ladder; A pair of legs an
peared' and then the form of Jan-ila,
whs closed the door after him. He had
'aused no more noise than q serpent in1
Ill this time. Grasping Eric's hand he '
las. ~, 60. 49,. ~ q
"lklapel was upon the roof, and went I
20 him; could have escaped down tbs O
outside pathway, but wished to return b
% you, for you will need me. Aza the I il
sleepy One guards tIklapel; Kurcan is
,onhned in Chalpa's house, and Iklanel G
ears that they will prevail upon him to o
ide with Ghalpa after all. i The peonle / c
ire greatly excited and ready for almost a
lnything. .kulcan's attitude win infiu- v
nee very many, and think it well to b
INFORM him OF your safety. Aza could ii
'e influenced, ] believe, to come over to d
Is and carry word to Kulcan. for he 8,
Auican-Wl!l never weaken if he knows u
'eu are alive. What thinks my wise c.
naster?'' -t..... All ~ "a =. -, h
Enc pondered awhile; ne knew KuI- n
ans weakness and shared Iklapel's t.
ear, yet he dared not depend upon Aza.
tool OF Chalpa's, and one who might
'etray them. He knew that the ,ele-
nent of surprise would be the greatest !,
actor in the next. days work, and he -
esired most of all that Ghalpa should r
emain IN ignorance Of his escape until Is
ne last moment. Many plans came !;
him. Atfirst the thought Of send =
ng Listah Or Jan-ila to Chalpa under r