Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-09-27
CHAPTER XIV Continued

I E1GHTON had seen figures of like char
- acter and workmanship in Bogota, where
they were exhibited as ornaments worn by the
ancient Chibchas. Usually they were said to
have been brought up by divers from the bot
tom Of Lake Guatavita. Hence. there was little
doubt as to the origin and antiquity of the
disk presented to them by the Black Magnet.
But how this disk came to be al the bottom
OF a well In this vast subterranean laby-
rinth was not so easily answered. II this
disk was the much talked of clew to the lost
treasure of the Chibchas, and TO all the other
mysteries that seemed to crop up at every
step the further they went into this cave.
1t was not an easy one TO run down. And
then. Miranda. who had insisted all along
that by following the direction in which they
had been going they were bound to reach the
lake. Numbered upon the answer to the whole
question.
ut is Guatavita :" he said.
OF course, that was ii! Herran and Leigh
ton Easped for a moment as they took in
the idea, and then they agreed that Miranda
was right. Raoul smiled systematically as
they discussed the problem in detail.
well, do you understand 1t now?' he
asked. Have you discovered Guatavita's
secret? ! wish I had known 1t three years
ago :" he added bitterly.
All! I see-I see - shouted the doctor
excitedly. There is the well that come out
at the bottom of the lake. Here is the mag
net that go down there just when the people
throw in all the gold. And then 1t come
back here-and no one know except the king
and his family. So, every year, they take
all the gold of the country. All! they are
very wise leetle fellows, those kings!
Then, if this is true" said Leighton medi-
tatively 'if this well has its outlet at the
bottom Of the lake. and was made and used
secretly to collect. by means of the Black
Magnet. the treasure offered by the people
in the Feast of FL Dorado, today there is no
gold left in Gratavita."
ere &, Jr,;paa ,r oil To-, ur,t,re - IN
marked Raoul. II believe that the emptied
basin would be found to contain nothing
more than a few stray gold ornaments-like
the one you fshed up just now-that failed
to reach the Black Magnet when they were
flung into the lake centuries ago"
Your plans to empty the lake, then. are
useless"
After what l have learned today, added
to what | have long suspected, I should say
quite useless"
But the fabulous amount OF treasure
those deluded people threw into the lake for
centuries-?"
Has all come up here, where we are stand
ing now. caught by the Black Magnet"
He fish very well. this leetle stone" said
Miranda, caressing it fondly. He catch
more, better fish than the whole world"
Where is all that gold today" demanded
Leighton.
All! Where"
Good heavens. What is that? ?"
While Leighton and Raoul were discussing
the old problem of what became OF the Chib-
cha Empires far-famed treasure. the others
had wandered away from the Black Magnet
and were examining some of the strange OBJ
jects In it's immediate vicinity. The more
familiar they became with this portion of
the cave, the more signs they saw in 1t of
human occupation. For one thing, the place
was honeycombed with paths, most of them
radiating from the shaft that sank to the
bottom of Lake Guatavita. These paths led
in different directions but there was no way
of telling whether any or all of them had
been recently used. This question was of
more immediate interest than the one con-
Meeting the cave with the fate of the an
cient Chibchas. If this cave was inhabited
today-if it was the hiding place of a lawless
gang of Bogotanos, for example--it was well
for the explorers to be on their guard. Her
ran was particularly alive to this possibility,
and he was quick to heed, therefore,. Mrs.
Quayle's terrified exclamation, which she re-
peated-
Good heavens, What is that?"
1t was at the head of one of the paths,
running behind the close ranks of stalactites
before which they had found their way from
the large open cave beyond that Mrs. Quayle
stood, her eyes round with excitement, point
ing vaguely at something in front OF her.
But the others could see nothing. Indeed, it
was hard to tell whether she had really seen
anything worth serious investigation. her
chronic nervousness had such an uncomfort
able habit of discovering specters-that did
not exist-in every dark corner. Then. too
clusters of stalactites had a way of taking
on odd, fantastic shapes that might easily
seem TO be alive even to the cool-headed.
But this time there really was substance to
Mrs. Quayle's fancies. She continued TO point
down the pathway of stalaCtites, crying re-
peatedly-
What is that"
We'll, what is it?" demanded Leighton.
The man in the toga! The man in the