Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-15
THE IVORY CHILD
Rv r. RIDER HAGGARD
Aytbor Of ..uaric" king so,omons Mines" "Sbc etc
CHAPTER NyI-(Continue'

TIME trees in this forest were huge anu VI
L variety OF cedar but did not grow close,
ly together: also there was Nlr'uaiiS ~,
underground. perhaps for the reason VIC. ~
their dense. spreading tops shut out VIC
light As | saw afterward, botn NunNS
and bouphs were clothed with long gray
moss which even at midday gave the
place n very ghoatly appearance Inc M uMalN
ness beneath those trees was intense lNe'
ally we could not see an lhch peloi1 W.
faces Yet rather than stand snll we
strugRled on Hans leading the way, lor
his Instincts were quicker than ours Inc
steep rise of the ground beneath our iee'
told us that we were going uphlIl' as We
wished to do, and from time to TIME ! coi'-
suited a pocket compass | carried oS WV
light of a match, knowing from preIlous
observations that the top of the Holy mount
lay due north.
Thus for hour after hour we crept up ana
on, occasionally butting into the trunk OF
tree or stumbling over fallen bough pu'
meeting with no other adventures or
obstacles of "A physical kind. OF moral, or
rather mental obstacles there were many
since to all of us the atmosphere OF TINS
forest was as that Of a haunted house, II
may have been the embracing darkness, or
the sough of the night wind among the
boushs and mosses or the sense of the
imminent dangers that we had passed and
that still awaited us. or it may have been
unknown horrors connected with this place
of which some spiritual essence still sur
vived. for without doubt localities preserve
such influences which can be felt by the
sensitive among living things, especially
in favorng conditions of fear and gloom
At any rate | never experienced more subtle
and yet more penetrating terrors than did
upon that night and afterward Ragnall con-
fcssed to me that my case was his own
Black as it was I thought that l saw
apparitions, among them glaring eyes and
that of the elephant Jana standing in front
of me with his trunk raised against the
bole of a cedar. | could have sworn that
saw him, nor was | reassured when Hans
whispered to me below his breath, for here
we did not seem to dare to raise our voices
Look. Baas. Is 1t Jana glowing like hot
iron who stands yonder?"
Don't be a fool" | answered. How can
Jana be here and, if he were here, how could
we see him in the night" But as | said the
word remembered Harut had told us that
Jana had been met with on the Holy Mount
lin the spirit or in the flesh" However this
may be, next instant he was gone and
behed him or his shadow no more. Also
we thought that from time to time we heard
voices speaking all around us, now here,
now there and now In the treetops above
our heads, though what they said we could
not catch or understand.
Thus the long night wore away. Our
progress was very slow, but guided by oc-
casional gllmpses at the compass we never
stopped but twice, once when we found
ourselves apparently surrounded by tree
holes and fallen boughs, and once when we
got into swampy ground. Then we took the
risk of lighting the lantern, and by aid of
it picked our way through these difficult
places. BY degrees the trees grew fewer so
that we could see the stars between their
tops This was a help to US, as knew that
one of them which | had carefully noted,
shone at this season of the year directly
over the cone of the mountain, and we were
enabled to steer thereby.
1t must have been not more than half an
hour before the dawn that Hans, who was
leading-we were pushing our way through
thick bushes at the time-halted hurriedly,
saying
stop, Baas, we are on the edge OF a cliff.
When | thrust my stick forward it stands
on nothing"
Needless to say we pulled up dead and
so remained without stirring an inch for
who could say what might be beyond us?
Ragnall wished to examine the ground with
the lantern. l was about to consent though
doubtfully, when suddenly ] heard voices
murmuring and through the screen of
bushes saw lights moving at little dis
tance, forty feet or more below us. Then
we gave up all idea of making further use
of the lantern and crouched still as mice
in our bushes, waiting for the dawn,
1t came at last. In the east appeared
faint pearly flush that by degrees spread
itself over the whole arch of the sky and
was welcomed by the barking of monkeys
and the call of birds in the depths of the
dew-steeped forest. Next ray from the
unrisen sun, single spear of light shot
suddenly across the sky, and as it appeared,
from the darkness below us arose sound
of chanting, very low and sweet to hear. 1t
died away and for a little while there was
silence broken only by rustling sound like
to that of people taking their seats in
dark theatre Then a woman began to sing
in a beautiful Contralto voice, but in what
language | do not know. for I could catch
nothing of the words, IL these were words
and not only musical notes
l felt Ragnall trembling beside me and
in whisper asked him what was the
matter. He answered. also in whisper:
Il believe that is my wlfes voice"
"If so, 1 beg you to control yourself" I
replied.
Now the skies began to fame and the
light to pour itself into a misty hollow be-
meath us like streams of many-colored gems
into a bowl, driving away the shadows BY
degrees these vanished; by degrees we
saw everything. Below us was an amphi-,
theatre, on the southern wall of which we
were seated, though it was not wall, but a
lava cliff between forty and fifty feet high
which served as a wall. The amptheatre
itself however, almost exactly resembled
those of the ancients which | had seen in
pictures and Ragnall had visited in Italy,
Greece and southern France. 1t was oval
in shape and not very large; perhaps the
fiat space at the bottom may have covered
something over an acre, but all around the
oval ran tiers of seats cut in the lava of
the crater. For, without doubt, this was
the crater of an extinct volcano.
Moreover, in what / will call the arena
stood temple that in Its main outlines,
although small, exactly resembled those
still to be seen in Egypt. There was the
gateway or pylon; there the open outer
court with columns round 1t supporting
reefed cloisters, which, as we ascertained
afterward. were used as dwelling places by
the priests. There beyond and connected
with the first by a short passage was a
second rather smaller court also open TO
the sky, and beyond this again. built like
all the rest OF the temple, OF lava blocks a
reefed erection measuring about twelve feet
square. which 1 guessed at once must be
the sanctuary.
This temple was. as / have said small
but extremely well-proportioned every de-
tail of 1t being in the most excellent taste.
though unornamented by sculpture or
painting. have to add that in front of the
sanctuary door stood large block Of lava.
which concluded was an altar, and In
front of this stone seat and a basin also
Of stone supported upon very low tripod.