Evening star., 1926-11-21
Treasure Filled Chamber Under Yucatan Jungle

that should not drop down the hole
suddenly IL the boys could prevent 1t,
% I turned. my entire attention to the
void beneath me.
BY feeling the tape hicks as the
lantern rested ON the bottom of the
pit, I found the depth was almost ex.
actly 50 feet. BY swinging my body
and the tape with the lantern at the
end like q pendulum. I ascertained
that the cavity was bottle shaped and
about 20 feet wide at the bottom.
also asceftained that II was quite dry.
the air pure In it, and the ventila-
tfon perfect. This seemed to be all the
data necessary for the moment, so I
had the boys pull me back to terra
frn1a.
Early the next morning we hast
ened toward the mound and with US
went stout ropes. block and tackle,
shovels, and all the necessary tools
for six men.
We slid down the rope into the
shaft and then made our way down
the stairway into the funnel-shaped
chamber. Here we fixed strong
post and attached to It double block
and tackle, with the several neces-
sary ropes, 90 that all Of us could
safely descend and ascend the nifty
foot bottle, beyond the small, dark
-orifice.
with lighted miners lamp on my
head and my Davy lamp preceding
me by ten feet, / placed my foot
in q moose In one Of the ropes, swung
myself through the orifice. and hung
over the pit. Between my teeth was
my sharp hunting knife. which / al
ways carry In this fashion In entering
a subterrenean reservoir.
My plans were wsll made. and 1t
was my Intention to be lowered slow
~, that | might study these grim
walls as ! descended. I had gone
I began to turn and whirl in the air
like q dancing dervish. with the diff
ference that the dervish whirls on
solid ground, to the prayerful cries
Of his brethren. and he can stop when
he wishes, while I whirled In mid
air in darkness and silence, like some
dead, celestial sphere and as power
less TO stop.
In our. haste, we had forgotten to
take the kinks out of the new ropes
we were using, and my rope was
avenging itself by beginning to un-
kink a. my weight was felt on its
twisted strands. For few seconds
7 could do nothing but hang on diz-
rope had caught and jammed In the
block, serving as a brake. and had
entirely checked my downward
progress.
Suddenly a coll of rope from above
fell loosely on my shoulders and
aroused me to my danger. The men
above. not knowing what was going
on below in the darkness, were stead.
lily paying out the rope, and II the
choked block became suddenly free,
there was nothing to prevent my fall
ing headlong through that terrible
blackness to whatever was below.
r. 4 4
IHURRIEDLY looping the rope ar
= best / could, to insure my present
safety, / yelled to the men above. and
a voice came down to me. sounding
thick and fat in that black space.
"what Is 1t. master7''N the voice
said
Listen" replied, as steadily az
could. do exactly as tell you, FOL
my life II at staker'
I'VE win do 1t. MASTER answered
the voice.
Haul up the slack Of rope until
tell you to STOP
II hear you, MASTER and the
snakelike coils began to recede, to
grow small, and finally to disappear
The slack had been taken up. What
now, MASTER" came the voice, and !
knew from the tension In 1t that the
sight OF the slack rope had told its
own story.
Send me down Manuel and Jose. z
cThey were the lightest and most agile
OF the rnen.l / had no more than
spoken before they came sliding down
the other ropes, and shortly l was
descending as slowly ana carefully as
I had planned to do, until the pilot
light OF the lamp touched ground be
meath me, standing as firmly erect as
though placed by unseen hands.
glanced at the two men beside me on