Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1899-08-18
icopyrieh,. BY RoHEEr BoSSYE's soSsi
CHAPTER XVIII.

/ The Old rogue led me to n meme IN
;he rocky wall. 1t was evidently
natural indentation. I placed a few
,igars in it and bowed to Pele. no
iced that Nimolau wore a smile Of
satisfaction, whether Pele cared for
.he offering or not.
| | wondered how far the farcical side
,f this mystery extended. When ]
lad penetrated further, / learned that
Nimolau had a monopoly OF the sense
of humor existing in tho island of
Lanai. He worked the Temple of the
Glistening Rock for his own purposes,
md was, in his small way, black
mailer. But the realities ] saw furth-
sr on were horrible enough.
''rhe priestess Kaumai is not alone, "
said Nimolau. ''She has with her ten
high priests of Pele, who guard her
from her enemies, aud who do her
bidding. Then there are hundred
priests who prav'to Pele all the time.
Ten of them at time, then ten more,
and so on.
what is that for?' / asked.
"Pele demands 1t. When you reach
the presence of Kaumai, you will be
struck speechless by her great beauty,
but you must not allow her to notice
this. You must kneel and bow your
head. The high-priests are ready to
slay any one not of themselves who
dares look upon her face in any spirit
but that of awe aud worship. They
are very fierce, these priests, and you
must be careful that you do not arouse
them before they know you well. You
will be compelled to prove your faith
to Pele, after which they will regard
you as they do the other priests. Come,
ct us go TO Kaumai.
Nimolau made some mysterious move
nents on the wall with his hands and
evidently pressed spring A door
opened leading into dark passage
He babe me follow him. just inside
the passage was lantern. This he
lighted and started on before me. All
could see was the lantern swinging
along ahead Of me. The floor of the
passage was smooth, so | had no diff
Guilty in following. The passage must
have been long one. judged that
we were at least an hour going through
| it.
Suddenly I saw daylight ahead.
Nimolau set his lantern down, blowing
out the light. Emerging from the
mouth Of tbs passage, found that we
were at the base Of sss-ssAsst~in, sShieh 4
Judging from its appearance and the
surrounding country, had once been
an active volcano. The formation of
the country all around was jagged and
rough. High lodges Of lava-rock formed
INTO fantastic shapes. Caves, mounds
and deep crevices made the place
splendid hiding place for smugglers,
pirates aud other outlaws.
1--WE ascend, " said Nimolau, begin
ning to Chamber up the side of the
mountain.
"This is Kapatoli?' said.
eyes"
The mountain was sparsely covered
with growth of trees and bushes.
These assisted me in my ascent. The
stratum of soil on the lava was not
leep. The volcano had been silent a
great many years. The further up we
got, the less soil there was and theless
vegetable growth.
was weary when we reached the
Top, but Nimolau did not seem to feel
the exertion.
"Oh, your mask is crookedI' he
said. ''The high-priests would slay
you if your mask was crooked
"Then had better straighten it"
said. 'These high-priests are dang
crous."
"Be careful what you say. Come"
He led me down steep, pathless
plain oflava. 1t was easy to go down.
ii would be difficult matter to go up.
We were now in the crater of the
volcano.
We stood on ledge Of rock, per-
haps hundred feet wide. This ex-
tended all the way round the mouth
of the crater. On one side was the
top of the mountain, an even wall
completely surrounding us, for we had
descended probably a hundred feet
into the crater.
On the other side, and occupying
the center Of the mountain, was a
lake. Not lake Of water, but lake
of molten lava. Now and then
rumbling noise could be heard.
s'How long has the lake been hot?"
asked Nimolau.
"Oh, yearl"
Nimolau led me a short distance
around the crater, to spot where the
ledge widened to nearly three hundred
feet. Jutting from the overlapping
mountain was the rude facade Of a
temple, hewn into tho rock and built
out of the same material.
Nimolau shouted at the door.
''Who interrupts the worship Of the
priestsss Kauma?" shouted a voice
inside.
"Nimolau, the guide, with a priest
of Pele, sue ,essor to Lowai, of Oahu,
who is deadl'' replied Nimolau.
The door opened A figure, clothed
and masked like myself, stood there.
Enter, successor to Lowai, and
make known your faith to Pele before
her priestess Kaumai -
Z followed the MASKED figure.
Nimolau turned and left me. felt
sensation of fear and loneliness when
he had gone. Nimolau did not seem
10 belong to this weird, wild scene.
There was suspicion of mockery
about his worship. Here it was real
enough.
In temple, lighted dimly by hole
in its yaulted roof, The hundred priests,
spoken Of by Nimolau, knelt in semi
circles, with bowed heads aud crouch
ing figures, moaning and praying.
Before them, ten high-priests, ar
rayed still more grotesquely, swung
pots Of incense and chsnted weird
songs to Pele.
Upon a throne sat Keuma'.
My eyes fairly bulged when / be,
held this priestess.