Part 21 (1/2)
”Nay,” he muttered at last, ”you know little about such ain that it was the Devil my eyes saice have I looked upon hiood Lord delivered His servant froe of sin, the snares of the fowler Not by carnal weapons of the flesh are we bidden to overco; even as did he of old wrestle with the angel, are we to master the adversary of souls”
”Madame possesses that also,” and I pointed to the rosary at her white throat, ”by which she is able to resist the contamination of evil”
He sniffed disdainfully, his coarse red hair appearing to bristle all over his bullet head
”'T is a foul device designed to rob rily ”I say to you, it was the voice of prayer which caused that foul fiend to fly away to his own The prayer of the righteous availeth much”
”True, friend,” I admitted as he paused for breath, amused to behold a man thus played upon ”If it is a comfort to you, we all confess it was your voice which put an end to the dancing Yet if there is a time for prayer, so there is time also for action, and the latter htfall, we shall meet it no less bravely if we first have food So let us break our fast, and depart from this accursed spot”
It was not a cheerful h tension, and we partookof enjoyment I must except the old Puritan, however, ould have eaten, I believe, had that sa at his elbow Many anxious looks were cast upward at the rock crest, every unwonted sound causing us to start and glance about in nervous terror It see us, and I have felt sincerely asha nervousness before that company Yet had she been in safety I would have provensuperstition reuered by flesh and blood, not by demons of the air, and had never counted n But to be compelled to look into her fair face, to feel constantly the trustful gaze of her brown eyes, knohat would be her certain fate should she fall into savage hands, operated in breaking down all thehtest sound De Noyan barely touched the food placed in front of hi before Cairnes had co the rocks beside the strealances in our direction
”_Mon Dieu_!” he ejaculated at last, ”it is not the nature of a French you, Benteen, bid that gluttonous English aniet away; each moment I a the saht, and, undisturbed by sight or sound, we began a slow advance, cla the narroay, discovering as wecliffs on either side were beco them became apparent We travelled thus upwards of a quarter of anecessarily slohen a dull roar stole gradually upon our hearing Arock, and picking our way cautiously along a narrow slab of stone extending out above the swirling water, we came forth in full view of a vast cliff, with unbroken front extending froed the streanificent leap of fully one hundred and fifty feet It was a scene of rare, roup like a gauzy veil between us and the colureenish-blue water Yet it pleased us little then, for it barred our progress northward as completely as would a hostile ar this barrier was beyond expression We could but stand in silence, gazing upon the broad, i further advance De Noyan was earliest to recover power of speech
”_Le Diable_!” he swore, half unconsciously ”This cursed place is surely damned! Yet it has some consolation to my mind, for that will drive us backward into the lowlands, out of this deht,” I returned gravely enough, not unrelieved ht ”There is no other course open to us We shall be compelled to retrace our steps, and if we desire to reach the open before another night, we need be at it May the good God grant us free passage, with no skulking enemies in a this narrow shelf”
Fortunately, the way proved easier travelling as we proceeded doard, and ere not long in passing beyond our haunted caht Below this spot--which was passed in painful anxiety--we entered into that narrower, gloo directly toward the plain beyond The little river foamed and leaped in deep black waves upon our left, the rocks encroaching so near that ere co a ith extre neither ti the Spaniard's naked rapier in his hand
Suddenly, froht up the rear, his voice sounded so noisily Ihe had been attacked
He stood halted, staring like a deeevery foot of space fro, as by a wall ofwhich we had advanced unhindered the day before It was easy to see froreat fresh scar on the overhanging cliff suh above told the fatal story of its detachment Yet how had it fallen so suddenly and with such deadly accuracy across the path? Was it a strange accident, a caprice of fate, or was it rather the hellish work of design?
None knew at thatinto each others' despairing faces, feeling ere hopeless prisoners doohastly, haunted hell
CHAPTER XX
BACKS TO THE WALL
”This is Indian treachery,” I said decisively,inactive now they have fairly caught us in their trap Let us get back out of this narroay; there may be other loosened rocks where this one came from”
”Back where?”
”To some spot where we can defend ourselves in case of attack These will prove different froes I have ever known if we fail to hear from them as soon as we are ready”
”But,” protested De Noyan, as we scra froet in? Will it not be more likely they will be content to starve us?”
”'Tis not Indian nature to hide in patience after having trapped their victih there is no apparent way out to our eyes, nor time to search for one, yet we may put confidence in this: they never bottled us here without knowing soht coht, then?”
”Either that or a massacre; God knoweth”
”If, friend Benteen,” booal of voice as ever, ”you expect a stand-up battle with the devils, 'tis ment you will find few spots better adapted for defence than yonder--there where the rock juts out so far; 'tis like a sloping roof to protect us from above”