The boys did not answer for some time. Here was wealth; more, probably, than either had ever dreamed of; but it was of no earthly use to them.
They must, of course, preserve it. They had discovered it, and under all the laws were ent.i.tled to possession.
"Well, have we gotten together all the gold and silver and precious stones? Just imagine us as buccaneers! Owners of an island we haven"t conquered, and possessors of a fortune without working for it!" and the Professor laughed at the thought of it. The boys, too, laughed, but when they looked over at the ghastly skeletons, the joy was suddenly checked.
The Professor saw the reason. "Isn"t this a sermon? You have become acquainted with it early in life; some learn it very late, and others never get the lesson. Riches; death! Possessors of every material thing that earth can give, and the grave beyond it! The unfortunates there had all this, but their skeletons have stood guard over it for a century or more."
The Professor still smiled, but the boys were very grave. It was, indeed, an impressive lesson.
"Why are you so quiet? Are you mourning for them?" Then, without waiting for more gloomy feelings, he continued: "How high above the mouth of the cave do you think we are?"
This sudden change in the tone of the Professor was almost startling to them. How indifferent! It appeared almost like desecration.
"I have no idea," was Harry"s faltering reply. He looked around to a.s.sure himself that it was not all a dream. The sudden acquisition of what appeared to be an immense store of wealth, the ghastly relics below, seemed to stun him.
"Have you a reason for wanting to know how high up we are?" asked George when he had partially recovered.
"You wanted to know a little while ago how the smoke in the cavern might affect them. Haven"t you noticed a perceptible movement in the atmosphere since we entered the chamber?"
The boys started and stared at him. Could it be that the cave had an outlet in the hills?
"Was that the reason you suggested we should make a circuit around the chamber after we entered it?"
"Yes; and I know where the outlet is."
"And does that explain why the pirates made their home at this end?"
"Undoubtedly; and what will be still more interesting information is, that the opening is within sight of the cataract."
Could anything be more exciting than this information?
"I now see the reason why you always wanted to come back to the cave.
Did you suspect this when we first entered the cave?"
"No; but I had an idea we should find this after we made our second trip."
"What did you see?"
"Nothing but what Harry brought to me."
"What was that?" both exclaimed, eagerly.
"The slab of carbonate which Harry brought me for the marking tablet, and on which we made the chart of the cave."
"What did you find on it?"
"If you will recall, I brought it with me. It is now in the boat." Harry dashed down to the boat and brought it back, turning it over and over on the way.
The slab referred to was about two inches thick, a foot long, and probably ten inches wide, a little irregular in formation.
"When we returned home that evening, after the trip referred to, I took the slab and transferred the chart we had made to a board. In doing so, I noticed that the lime had been chipped away from one side, but that did not cause me to make any investigation at the time.
"Some days afterwards I again took it up, and could see plainly through the carbonate what appeared to be the shadows of some characters, and it at once occurred to me that, owing to the sunlight and the comparatively dry atmosphere in which it had been kept after its removal, that the lime would turn or change its color, but the lime on this background did not change in the same degree where the characters had been placed, and when we get into the sunlight you will be able to see just what I saw."
Looking at the slab, there was nothing to indicate any characters imprinted in it.
"Where is the opening, Professor?"
"Come here; directly below where we found the first skeleton; keep the light back in the recess; there; now look to the left and see that small streak of light about ten feet from the floor."
George could restrain himself no longer, but rushed forward. As he crossed a slightly elevated obstruction, his foot caught on a spur and he pitched forward. Harry, who was following, saw him fall. George, slightly stunned, had raised himself partly as Harry came up. When Harry saw him he was arising from a nest of bones which showed the remains of two more pirates, the two skulls lying close together, directly behind the little ridge over which George had fallen.
"Here are some more of them," cried Harry, as the Professor came up.
"What a fight they must have had!"
The outlet at this point was fully eight feet wide, and without the lights it was still too dark to distinguish anything. George"s light had been extinguished in the fall, but Harry"s lamp was still available, and all were eager now to find the outlet. Harry now led the way, and within seventy-five feet, at a p.r.o.nounced angle in the throat of the cave, he recognized the first real glimmer of sunlight.
"See the steps here!" was his cry. And beyond, as plainly formed as though cut a year ago, instead of a century, were steps leading up to a contracted opening, partly hidden by shrubbery.
When Harry emerged from the opening, the first sight that met his gaze, after he had fully recovered the use of his eyes, was their home, not a thousand feet away. George brushed his way out, and he stood there, not knowing whether to run or to shout or to cry. Every emotion appealed to the boys for mastery. All previous experiences during the past year paled into insignificance in comparison with the hour just spent in the pirates" lair.
The opening from which they left the cavern was on the side of a hill, not particularly steep, formed by projecting strata of limestone, in the clefts of which vegetation grew, and at a distance the rocks could be seen only at intervals on account of the shrubbery. No one could possibly suspect an opening into the walls anywhere along the hillside.
The outlet was not more than twenty feet from the rather level ground, which sloped off toward the west and in the direction of Cataract River.
They sat there silently for a time, but evidently the Professor was not disposed to allow too much time for reflections which he knew must be gloomy to the boys" impressionable minds.
"What are you thinking about, boys? Have you had enough excitement for one day?"
George was the first to reply: "I have been thinking about what we ought to do with the gold."
"Why the gold? I have been thinking of the boat."
"Do you think we ought to leave the gold there? Isn"t that of more importance than the boat?"
"I do not think so, George; we can use the boat to good advantage, but where can you utilize the gold?"
"But why would it not be a good idea to get it out and take it over to the Cataract?"
"I should advise against that very strongly."
"What are your reasons?"
"Suppose we should be attacked at the Cataract and find the home untenable; this place would be a safe retreat, and we should, in any event, have our treasure here in safety. It has been secure for the last century or so. I think it will keep for a few months more."
"It had never occurred to me that we could use this place for such a purpose. That is a capital idea. And did you have this in mind all along, Professor?"
"Yes."
After a time, when the subjects had been fully discussed, it was decided to try to bring the boat out by the new entrance, and after making all the measurements, ample room was found for this. They returned and carried and dragged it to the opening, and after some labor it was finally pushed through the opening, and when the ropes were attached it was lowered down the hillside, and dragged to a position where it could be taken by the team.