Part 22 (2/2)

With a feeling of awe, the boys moved forward over its hard surface.

They had to stoop continually to avoid branches and the tangled vines and briers had often to be cut away, but their progress was easier and far more rapid than it would have been through the forest itself.

They had proceeded perhaps a quarter of a mile when the road ended suddenly at the base of another wall. A break in the wall told of an ancient gateway but the gate itself was gone, probably rotted into dust by the pa.s.sage of time.

The boys pushed through the gap and stopped short with a cry of wonder.

Before them lay an inclosure of perhaps two acres, and in its center stood a half dozen buildings of stone, all in a fair state of preservation. Near the building closest to the boys, a sparkling little spring gushed forth and flowed away down a gentle incline towards a corner of the wall.

”Someone must be living here,” Walter cried, ”see, there are no trees or vines growing here.”

But Charley stooped and scratched away the dead leaves blown in from the trees of the forest. ”As I suspected,” he said, after a moment's inspection, ”this enclosure is paved like the road. My, what workmen those fellows that did this job must have been for their work to continue so perfect down to this day! I tell you this thing makes me feel creepy, Walt.”

”And me too,” agreed his chum. ”Instead of solving a mystery, we have discovered a greater one.”

But the young hunters were not the kind of boys to remain long under a superst.i.tious dread, and they were soon approaching the buildings before them.

The first building was the largest of the group. It was constructed entirely of stone and had been little hurt by the pa.s.sage of time. Its doors and windows had, of course, rotted away, but otherwise it appeared uninjured. Pa.s.sing through the arched doorway the boys found themselves in a large apartment divided into two by a stone part.i.tion.

Small holes here and there in the walls left little doubt as to the character of the building.

”It was their strong house or fort,” Charley declared, as he gazed around. ”Here was where they used to gather when danger threatened.

The other buildings are no doubt dwelling-houses where they lived in time of peace. You take one side and I will take the other and we will search this one over carefully.”

But although the boys searched closely they could discover nothing to tell them who had been the builders of this little city in the swamp.

By the time they had completed their search of the larger building, it was nearly noon and they sat down in the shade in the great arched doorway and ate the lunch they had brought with them.

CHAPTER XXIV.

MORE SURPRISES.

”What do you make of it, Charley?” Walter inquired, as he munched away at his fish and yams.

”The roads, walls, and these buildings were undoubtedly built by the Spaniards,” said his chum, decidedly. ”I have seen lots of their work in St. Augustine, and the West Indian islands, and there is no mistaking its character. They are the greatest road-builders since the Romans.”

”But history contains no mention of such a place as this,” Walter objected.

”Yet here it is, history or no history,” Charley replied. ”Perhaps all the voyages of gentlemen adventurers following Columbus were not known to the historians of the time. Perhaps this place may have been built by a detachment of De Soto's expedition. We must bear in mind that Florida was long the favorite land amongst the Spaniards. From the small number of buildings, I should say that this place was very likely built by a comparatively small party, using, no doubt, the Indians for slaves.”

”And the slaves at last destroyed their masters,” Walter suggested.

”I am not so sure about that,” replied his chum. ”I expected to find bones in the fort but we discovered none. Perhaps the builders abandoned this place even after going to so much trouble to fortify it.”

”Maybe we can find something to throw light upon it in the other buildings,” Walter remarked. ”While you are finis.h.i.+ng your dinner, I am going to see where that spring goes to.”

Walter followed the little rivulet to where it disappeared in a small gully under a corner of the wall. Climbing the stones the lad dropped down lightly on the other side.

Charley finished his lunch, washed his hands at the spring, and resuming his seat in the doorway, leaned back upon one of the great pillars to wait for his chum. The air was soft and warm and the noises of the swamp stole to the tired lad's ears with a gentle lulling sound.

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