The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1897-12-16
HEART OF THE WORLD.
by II. RIDER HAGGHRD.
a by
10 an
CHAPTER ".
TUE LEGEND or THE HEART

were aDie TO stand upright and hight
our candles. Now there was no doubt
that we were in the tunnel of an old
mine. rudely-dug shaft that turned
this way and that as it followed the
windings of the ore body.
Along this tunnel We went for thirty
or forty PAGES. creeping over the fallen
| bOwldcrs and twisting ourselves be-
tween the brown stalactitcs that in the
course of ages had formed upon the
roof and loor, till presently we reached
an obstacle that barred our further
progress huge mass of rock, which at
some tine or other had fallen from the
ROOF of the tunnel and blocked it. [
| looked al it and said:
Now, sSnor. | think that we shall
have to go back You remember the
writing tolls ms that this mine. al
| though so rich, was unsafe because of
tae rcstcnness Of the rock. Doubtless
they pr0Fpod it in the old days, but
the tiinbers have decayed long ago"
Yes, he answered, Eve can do moth
ing here without help, and, Ignatio. |
don't like the look of the roof; it is full
of era clSs.r
As these last words left his lips n
piece of stone, the size of a child's
head, fell from above almost at his
feet.
Speak softly" l whispered, 1.-THE
ring of your voice is bringing down
the roof"
Then ! stopped to pick up the fallen
stone thinking that it might show ore,
and, MS | did so, my hand touched
something sharp, which L lifted and
held to the candle. 1t was the jaw
bone OF man, yellow with age and de-
cayed by damp. | showed it to the
senor and. kneeling down, we ex-
amlned the bed OF the tunnel together
and not uselcssly, for there we found
the remainder of the skull and some
fragments of an arm-bone, but the rest
of the skeleton Law under the great
bowlder in front of us.
HE was coming out of the mine
when the rock fell upon him, poor fell
low" whispered the senior. Look
here" and he pointed TO little heap of
something that CLEANED in the candle
light.
1t was free gold, six or seven ounces
OF IT., almost pure, and for the most
part in small nuggets that once were
contained in bag which had long since
rottcd away.
Doubtless, after the mine was closed,
some Aztec, who knew it's secret, had
made practice of working there for
his own benefit, till one day as he was
coming out the rock fell upon him and
crushed him, leaving his spirit to haunt
the place forever.
There is no doubt about the mine
being rich, whispered the senior; but,
al the same, l think that we had bet
ter get ont of it. | hear odd noises and
rumblings which brighten me. Come,
lgnatio." and he turned to lead the wav
towards the opening.
Two PAGES further | saw him strike
his shin against piece of rock that
,tood up six on eight inches from the
door bed OF the tunnel, and the pain of
The blow was so sharp that, forgetting
where he was, he called out loudly.
1tncf
sound above me as of something being
torn, and lol | lay upon my face on
thc rock, and upon me rested a huge
mass of stone.
say that il rested upon me, but this
is not altogether true, for, had it been
so, that stone would have killed me at
once as a beetle is killed be-
Meath the foot OF "A man, instead of talk
,ng more than Internationally years to
10 1t. The greater part Of its weight
was boz ne by the piece of rock against
which the senior had struck his leg, a
point OF the fallen bowldcr only press
ing into my back and grinding me
lgainst the ground. Now we were in
iarizncss, for the senior had lecn
knocked down also and his candle ex-
1nguished, and, in The midst of my tor
lures II came into my mind that | must
be dead.
Presently, however, heard his voice.
saying; ignatio, do you live, Ignatio2H
NOW L thought for a moment and
even in my pain | remembered that
more of the roof would surely rive
ere long, and that If my friend STAYED
here he must die with me NOTHING
sould save me; | was doomed to q SLOW
'eath beneath the stone; and yet if |
old him this l knew that he would not
90. Therefore | answered as strongly
Is | could.
Ely, senior, | am safe, and do but
stay TO light n candle. | will follow
you"
you are lying to me- he answered;
your voice comes from the level of the |
iloor. And as he spoke | heard the
scratching sound of a match.
SO soon as he fonnd his candle and
NJ II, he lSnelt down and looked at me. |
Then he looked ut the roof above, and /
Following his glance with difficulty | |
saw that next to the hole whence the /
powder had fallen hung a huge block |
OF stone, that trembled like a leaf |
whenever he moved or spoke, sur I
rounded by great cracks from which /
water dropped.
For the love of God. hyl" | whis- |
pered. In few hours it will be over
with me. and You cannot help me. am |
a dead man; do not stop here to share
my fate"
For moment he seemed to hesitate;
then his courage came back to him, and /
ne answered hoarsely:
We entered this place together,
friend, and we will go out together, or
not at all. You must be fixed by the
rock and not crushed. or you would
not speak OF living for hours. Let me
look, and he lay upon his breast and
MANNED the fallen rock by the light
Of the candle. THANK Godi their, is
hope he said at last. the bo,vlacr
rests upon the ground and upon the
stone against which L struck my lcg,
tor only one point of it is fixed in Your
back. Do you think that anything is
broken, Ignatio?"
II cannot say, senior. my pain great
and am being slowly crushed TO death;
but believe that as vet my bones are
whole. Fly, senior, | beg OF you"
Il Will not he answered. sullcnlv.
II am going TO roll this rock of vou.|
Then, lifting with all his great
strength, he strove to move the stone.
but without avail, for it was bsvond
he power of mortal man to stir it. and
Ill the while the black mass troubled
lbove his head