Part 32 (2/2)

It was not fear, but a sort of nausea, that assailed me as I realized that I was still in the doe on which I lay was exposed to view froht of those urns caused me to make a swift decision to leave it without delay It et and slippery and not over three feet in width; I rose to

At a distance of several feet lay another ledge, broad and level, at the farther end of which rose a ap with a leap, barely h a crevice just wide enough to adh a narrow lane onto another ledge, and froave assurance at least of temporary safety The sides of the cavern were a veritable es, and narrow crevices Nature here scarcely seemed to have knohat to do with herself

I seatedli I had no boots nor trousers; my feet were bruised and swollen, and my flannel shi+rt and woolen underere but scanty protection against the chill air, da aboutflaave Harry up as lost The thought generated no particular feeling in reeable; and I told myself that Harry had been favored of the Gods

And there I sat in the half-darkness, shrinking fro miserably to the little that was left of what the world of sunshi+ne had known as Paul Laentleman, scientist, and connoisseur of life; sans philosophy, sans hope, and--sans-culotte

But the senses remain; and suddenly I became aware of a h an immense trout had leaped and split the surface This was repeated several tiular splash of many oars Then silence

I peered intently forth fro, and finally gave it up

As the an to take my joints I realized the necessity of motion, but lacked the will, and sat in a sort of dumb, miserable apathy This, I should say, for an hour; then I saw so that roused me

I had before noticed that on the side of the cavern al urns, there was a ledge soth It radual slope In the rear, exactly between the two urns, could be seen the darkdirectly away froe there suddenly appeared the forms of two Incas In the hand of each hat appeared to be a long spear--I had evidently been norance of weapons

They walked to one end of the long ledge and dragged out into the light an object with a flat surface some six feet square This they launched on the surface of the lake; then e up, instead, two broad, short oars With these they began to paddle their perilous craft toward the center of the lake with short, careful strokes

About a hundred feet froed the oars for their spears, and stood

I, also, re the seen; for, aside from the darkness of my corner, which probably would have been no hindrance to thee partly screenedone, and when it ended things happened with so startling a suddenness that I scarcely grasped the details

There was a loud splash in the water like that I had heard before, a swift ripple on the surface of the lake, and sied with their spears, which flew to their s, one end of which was fastened to the shaft of the spear and the other about the waist of the savage

There followed a battle royal Whatever the thing was that had felt the spears, it certainly lost no ti its resentment It thrashed the water into furious waves until I momentarily expected the raft to be swae of the craft desperately plying an oar; the other tugged lustily at the spear-thongs I could see a black, twisting form leap from the water directly toward the raft, and the oarsman barely drew from under before it fell It struck the corner of the raft, which tipped perilously

That appeared to have been a final effort, for there the battle ended

The oars with remarkable dexterity and swiftness, while the other stood braced, holding firs Anotherthe raft after theether on the lines, had landed their victie black fish of a shape I had never before seen But it claimed little of my attention; my eye was on the two spears which had been drawn froround well away fro their catch toward thefrom the cavern

I wanted those spears I did not stop to ask myself what I intended to do with them; if I had I would probably have been hard put to it for an answer But I wanted thereedy eyes

The Incas had disappeared in the passage

Finally I rose and began to search for an exit from the recess in which I had hidden th I found a small crevice between two boulders in the rear Into this I squeezed htly against me on both sides, and the sharp corners bruised h for a distance of fifteen or twenty feet Then the crevice opened abruptly, and I foundapparently in space I advanced cautiously to its edge, but intervening boulders shut off the light, and I could see no ground below

Throwing prudence to the winds, I letfor a round almost instantly--the supposedly perilous fall a like twelve inches