"In th" fust place, I has some three hundred dollars in gold in this here leather belt "bout my waist. Never had less in it since a "sperience I had forty year ago. Fer weapins we is "bout equal. Now I figgers this way; it will take us "bout a week to learn what we has gotter learn "bout the coast beyond those hills afore we takes chances on crossin" "em. We can git this information at th" same time we is doin" what we can to locate th" girl, though I ain"t reckonin" on seein" her till we reaches th" lake. We can pick up our outfit and our grub at th" same time."
Wilson broke in.
"I don"t like the scheme, Stubbs. I want to get to work and find the girl before she gets over the hills. It"s too hard a trip for her--it might kill her. She"s weak now, but that brute wouldn"t care. If----"
"Slow! Slow, m" son. Yer blood is hot, but sometimes th" short course is th" longest. If we wastes a week doin" nothin" but thet, we wastes another perhaps arter we had found they has started. If we makes ourselves sure of our course to th" treasure, we makes sure of our course to th" girl. Thet is th" only _sure_ thing, an" when ye"ve gut big things at stake it"s better ter be sure than quick."
"I suppose you are right."
""Nother thing, m" son, "cordin" to my notions this ain"t goin" ter be a partic"laly healthy place fer "Mericans in a day er two. Now thet they have bamboozled the Queen (an" she herself is as squar" a little woman as ever lived) inter gittin" Danbury outer th" city, an" now thet the fight is won fer "em, an" now thet th" boys we brought is about ter raise h.e.l.l (as they certainly is), Otaballo ain"t goneter be squeamish "bout removin" quiet like and safe everyone who bothers him.
In three days we might not be able to git out long "nuff to git tergether an outfit er ask any questions. There"s a whole lot "bout thet map o" yourn thet we wanter understan" afore we starts, as I looks at it."
"There is some sense in that."
"It"s a simple proposition; does ye want ter gamble on losin" both chances fer th" sake of savin" a week, or does yer wanter make sure of one fer the double treasure--gold and girl?"
"I"d give every penny of the treasure to get the girl in my grip once again."
"Ye"ve gotter git yer treasure fust afore ye can even do thet."
"I know it. I"m powerless as things are. If there is a treasure there and we can get it, we"ll have something to work with. If I had the money now, I"d have fifty men on his track, and I"d post a hundred along the trail to the lake to intercept him."
"If ye"d had the treasure, likely "nuff ye wouldn"t have started. But ye ain"t gut it an" ye is a long, long way from gettin" it. But if ye don"t divide yer intrests, we is goin" ter git it, an" arter that we is goin" ter git th" girl, if she"s anywhere atop th" earth."
"I believe you, Stubbs," answered Wilson, with renewed enthusiasm.
"And I believe that with you we can do it. We"ll make a bargain now; share and share alike every cent we find. Give me your hand on it."
Stubbs reached his big hand across the table and the two men shook.
"Now," he said, "we"ll have a bite to eat and a mouthful to drink and begin work."
During the next week they followed one faint clue after another, but none of them led to anything. Wilson managed to secure the names of many men who knew Sorez well and succeeded in finding some of them; but to no purpose. He visited every hotel and tavern in the city, all the railroad and steamship offices, but received not a word of information that was of any service. The two had disappeared as effectually as though they had dropped from the earth.
At the advice of Stubbs he kept out of sight as much as possible. The two had found a decent place to board and met here each night, again separating in the morning, each to pursue his own errands.
Both men heard plenty of fresh stories concerning the treasure in the mountains. Rumors of this hidden gold had reached the grandfathers of the present generation and had since been handed down as fact. The story had been strongly enough believed to inspire several expeditions among the natives themselves within the last twenty years, and also among foreigners who traded here. But the information upon which they proceeded had always been of the vaguest so that it had come to be looked upon as a fool"s quest.
The three hundred dollars was sufficient with careful buying to secure what the two men needed. Stubbs attended to all these details. They wished to make themselves as nearly as possible independent of the country, so that they could take any route which seemed to be advisable without the necessity of keeping near a base of supplies. So they purchased a large quant.i.ty of tinned goods; beef, condensed milk, and soup. Sugar, coffee, chocolate, flour, and salt made up the burden of the remainder. They also took a supply of coca leaves, which is a native stimulant enabling one to withstand the strain of incredible hardships.
Each of them secured a good Winchester. They were able to procure what ammunition they needed. A good hunting knife completed the armament of each.
For clothing they wore on their feet stout mountain shoes and carried a lighter pair in their kits. They had khaki suits and flannel shirts, with wide Panama sombreros. At the last moment Stubbs thought to add two picks, a shovel, and a hundred feet or more of stout rope. Wilson had made a copy of the map with the directions, and each man wore it attached to a stout cord about his neck and beneath his clothing.
It was in the early morning of August 21 that the two finally left Bogova, with a train of six burros loaded with provisions and supplies for a three months" camping trip, and a native guide.
CHAPTER XIX
_The Spider and the Fly_
The sun came warmly out of a clear sky as they filed out of the sleeping town. To the natives and the guide they pa.s.sed readily enough as American prospectors and so excited no great amount of interest.
The first stage of their journey was as pleasant as a holiday excursion. Their course lay through the wooded foothills which lie between the sh.o.r.e and the barren desert. The Cordilleras majestic, white capped, impressive, are, nevertheless, veritable hogs. They drink up all the moisture and corral all the winds from this small strip which lies at their feet. Scarcely once in a year do they spare a drop of rain for these lower planes. And so within sight of their white summits lies this stretch of utter desolation.
It was not until the end of the first day"s journey that they reached this barren waste. To the Spanish looters this strip of burning white, so oddly located, must have seemed a barrier placed by Nature to protect her stores of gold beyond. But it doubtless only spurred them on. They pa.s.sed this dead level in a day and a half of suffocating plodding, and so reached the second lap of their journey.
The trail lies broad and smooth along the lower ranges, for, even neglected as it has been for centuries, it still stands a tribute to the marvelous skill of those early engineers. The two men trudged on side by side climbing ever higher in a clean, bracing atmosphere. It would have been plodding work to any who had lesser things at stake, but as it was the days pa.s.sed almost as in a dream. With each step, Wilson felt his feet growing lighter. There was a firmness about his mouth and a gladness in his eyes which had not been there until now.
On the third day they reached the highest point of the trail and started down. Both men had felt the effects of the thin air during the last twelve hours and so the descent came as a welcome relief. They camped that night among trees and in an atmosphere that relieved their tired lungs. They also built the first fire they had lighted since the start and enjoyed a hot meal of coffee and toasted porksc.r.a.ps. They found the steep downward trail to be about as difficult as the upward one, as they were forced to brace themselves at every step. By night they had come to the wooded slopes of the table-lands below, supported by the mighty b.u.t.tresses of the Andes. It was a fair land in which they found themselves--a land which, save for the vista of snow-capped summits and the lesser volcanic peaks, might have pa.s.sed for a fertile Northern scene. It was at about sunset that they stopped and Gaspar, the guide, pointed to a spindle lava top against the sky.
"Up there," he informed them, "is the lake of Guadiva. Some say it is there that the great treasure lies."
"So? What treasure?" asked Stubbs, innocently.
"The treasure of the Gilded G.o.d which these people worship."
Stubbs listened once again to the story which he had already heard a dozen times. But it came with fresh interest when told within sight of its setting. Then he stared at it until the dark blotted it out. And after that he lighted his pipe and stared at where he had last seen it. Below them a few fires burned in the darkness showing through the windows of the adobe huts.
The next morning they dismissed their guide, as it would be impossible to use him further without revealing the object of their journey. Both Stubbs and Wilson were anxious to push forward to the lake without delay and resolved to reach if possible their goal by night. They figured that as the crow flies it could not be more than twenty-five miles distant. The trail was direct and well enough marked and finally brought them to the village of Soma which is within eight miles of the base of the cone. Here, for the first time since they started, they had a glimpse of the natives. As they entered the small village of adobe huts they were surrounded by a group of the beardless brown men.
In a few minutes their number had increased till they formed a complete circle some ten men deep. They did not seem unfriendly, but as they stood there chattering among themselves they made no motion to open a path for the travelers. They were ordinarily a peaceful people--these of the valley of the Jaula--and certainly in appearance looked harmless enough. Yet there was no doubt but what now they had deliberately blocked the path of these two.
Wilson looked to Stubbs.
"What does this mean?"
"Looks as though we had been brought to anchor. D" ye know "nuff Spanish to say "Howdy" to "em?"
"Perhaps a few presents would talk better?"
"Too many of "em. Try your parley-vous."
"Might move ahead a bit first and see what happens."
"Then get a grip on your gun, m" boy."
"No," objected Wilson, sharply. "You"d have a fight in a minute. Move ahead as though we did not suspect we were checked."
He flicked the haunches of the leading burro and the patient animal started automatically. But soon his nose reached the breast of an impa.s.sive brown man. Wilson stepped forward.
"Greeting," he said in Spanish.
He received no response.
"Greetings to the chief. Gifts for the chief," he persisted.
The eyes of the little man in front of him blinked back with no inkling of what lay behind them. It was clear that this was a preconceived, concerted movement. It looked more serious. But Stubbs called cheerily to him: