The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-12

tain, and we readily allowed him the
leadership. Yet | fancicd something
dangerous in his eyes. and | reinelnber
that after | was in bed | arose and
boiled my door. What il the dream
were not q dream? Ay, what if we
/, should find that treasure! And then
my drea~u maddened me, and ] tossed
till the sun came over the mountain
top-th. mountain, perhaps, Of the cave
of the river
We started ont after breakfast. stealth
lily, as ii we We're on Somc thievish, er-
rad. The manner of thieves seemed to
fall to us easily.
At first the search promised well, for
the old road by the monastery was a
marvellous piece OF engineering for its
day and time. Nature, so forceful in
Mexico after al the years, had not de-
stroyed mans work. SO anxiosly we
followed that splendid and forgotten
way which reminded one of nothing so
much as of an old Roman road, such as
You may see along the Mediterranean
or the Adriatic. Countless treasure per-
haps had been dragged over it in the old
days before the mine to which it led
l?ad been abandoned. Yes, it told of
old interests, old passions. On we went
doggedly. through the thick growth, no
one Of us with a word, mutely following
DOrden's lead. Two hours must have
passed-the growth made it tediOusly
slow-before at last We saw the high
projecting rock. Yes, the rock then eX-
listed. My heart beat uproariously, and
| knew how my companions felt from
the pallor even Borden displayed, From
the western SIDE, at the center Of the
rocks base, he began to pace.
One. two
Fenton and l followed. Yes, there
was the sheer face Of the cliff, and the
thick trees and bushes at its foot. We
stumbled on over the layers Of rOtting
trunks and leaves. A snake, so deadly
in Sonora. ran out before him, vet Dor
den persisted, and again we were IA
vored, for we came directly, with scarce
ly an error, on the opening. Borden
had brought a machete, and now
proceeded to cut the pushes away, and
then we heard a low, distant rumble,
as of subdued thunder.
''The river Fenton cried at this re-
peated evidence. But what we saw was
more encouraging. For the cave stopp-
ed at about 20 feet. It was walled by
masonry. lichen covered. \ hundred
wriggling creatures were on the surface.
But here was. indeed. what Miguel San
VS. Ntrti [" 1uI - liz " ItAI hti
promiSed: and there was the iron door,
rusted and discolored. so that we Won
dered if. indeed. it would answer to the
pressure on the upper left hand corner;
wondered if in all the years the treas
IRE had not been AIKEN. Again it was
Borden making the trial. while we stood
waiting. The rOad to riches-tO the cave
of Santos a~varice-seemed easy, indeed.
Jhe air that swept our faces was sin
gularlv fresh and sweet. due to the wa
tiers that we heard now in a deafeninc
roar. Then the rush Of air seemed to
stop. Borden had no difficulty in light
ing the candle which gave q feeble glare
in the vast place.
Careful" he said, as he advanced:
and we saw we We're on the edge of n
vast precipice. with the undistinguish-
able mass of the roaring river far. far
below. We all three turned about. our
faces blanching. And then a strange
thing occurred. A pale white light be-
gan to he diffused. l could not account
for it then: though now I understand
that the shifting sun had reached some
opening along the course of that under
ground river. 1t was 4 vast stream. in
deed: 4 sheer fall of many hundred feet
as We now We're able to soc. The far
thor shore We could not tell in that ha,f
lsht-now it had become almost like
early twili@ht: hut it seemed to mo as
broad as the Hudson. Whence aid =
come? and whittier were those waters
carried in their mad whirl? Bnt 7 was
INTERRUPTED by Dordpn's crv. He WIS
nolnting toward Il projecting cliff. which
hung ont for over the wafer. II was
approached by a narrow neck. so that +