Evening star., 1925-01-10
The Ark of the Covenant
A Story of Mystery and Adventure
BY VICTOR MCCLURE
Copyright. 1874. by Harper 4 Brothers.

work down the west side of the scar.
For a space the going was heavy,
but after a little the underground
began to be less dense. The plateau
seemed to be about kilometer wide,
perhaps more, so with the heavy go
ing at the start of our crossing the
journey looked like taking us about
half an hour. l wanted to clear the
thing up, get back to the Merlin,
and be in Maracaibo by nightfall. 1t
was now long past noon. somewhere
about half-paSt l, and the heat was
oppressive. We had to make our way
back over the rde outcrop, climb the
bluff, and find our trail through the
forest to the lake above and the Mer-
lin. My suspicion had died down.
The whole place was so desolate and
lonely, SO silent, that to think We
were somewhere in the neighborhood
of the raiders lair seemed too far
fetched. | was anxious to be on the
chase again.
Danny, however, had some idea in
his head. He was plugging along by
my side with an alertness and keen
ness that | was at a loss to account
for, so after a long spell of silence
my curiosity got the better of me. l
turned to my friend and stopped him.
Come, old man. l said. "Out with
it. What's in your mind?"
Honest, Jimmy" he said, II don't
know. I'm just lump of suspicion
that rhodolite, you see. I've got it
sort of mixed up with radium-"
You mean---?"
Yes. Confound it, Jimmy, We've
got to account for all that radium
somehow
L gazed at him for a second or two
"All right, Dan" l said. Lets go
hue ~ irs i,,
we're too far away from the Merlin
to be comfortable"
We went on. 1 now caught more
than touch of Dannys excitement
and alertness. We were pressing
south, a little westward, when sud
denly we caught a CLEAN of some
thing high and white among the
grey-green of the foliage. and to-
ward this CLEAN we cautiously
threaded our way. Presently We
were near enough to see that the
whitish CLEAN came from a number
of conical stone spikes standing high
among the bushes.
"Sinter cones" whispered Dan,
like those of Hammam Meskoutine
in Tunis."
"Dried-up hot spring."
Yes. A gradual crystalline pre-
cipitation building up into a hollow
cone"
Mighty queer plateau. DAN
''It is a mighty queer plateau, Jim
N.Y." he interrupted. Just take a
look at the peak of that middle cone.
What would you say that simmer
ing haze was?"
Heat. by hockey. It's a kind of
chimney"
Gimme leg up. Jimmy" whis-
pered Dan, "and let's see what kind
of heat"
We trampled through the under
growth to the side of the middle cone,
and then 1 helped Dan to climb up to
the top. He put his head close to the
mouth and shifted cautiously. Then
he turned round and down to me with
a face livid with excitement.
"Oil-burning, Jimmy"
l let him slide to the ground.
Don't you see what it means,
Jimmy" he cried. There's some
thing doing underground, It's the
smell of petroleum! BY Christopher,
Jimmy, / believe we've tracked them"
Exactly" said a familiar voice be-
hind us. Put up your hands,
Messrs. James Boon and Company!
We rather expected you'd be drop
ping in one day
We turned in a hurry, to find our
selves looking down the muzzles of
three rifles projecting from the
bushes. Then behind a pistol In front
of US the bushes parted. A big man
rose up to his full height, still COW
erfng US. 1t was Comdr. Seton,