Heart of the World by H. Ryder Haggard This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Chapter 6 El Norte Another moment in El Norte had come in strength. First a sudden rush of winds struck the vessel, causing her to shiver, and with a sharp report rending from its fastenings the jib, which had not been furled. This gust went howling by, and after it rolled the storm. To us it seemed that the Santa Maria dived, head first into a huge wave, a level line of white illumined, with lightnings and swept forward by the hurricane, for in an instant a foot of foaming water tore along her deck from stem to stern, sweeping away everything movable upon it, including two Indian sailors. We should have gone with the rest had we not clung with all our strength to the rope coiled about the foremast, but as it was we escaped with a wedding. For a while the ship stood quite still, and it seemed as though she were being pressed into the deep by the weight of water on her decks, but as this fell from her in cataracts she rose again and plowed forward. Fortunately the first burst of the tempest was also the most terrible, and it had not taken her broadside on for the one or two more of such ways would have swamped us. After it had passed shorewards driven by the hurricane wind for a little space there was what by comparison might be called a lull, then the Santa Maria met the full weight of the norther, for a while she forged a head against the shrieking wind and the vast succeeding seas shipping such a quantity of water that presently the captain found it necessary to reduce her engines to half speed, which it was hoped would suffice to give her way without filling her. Now less water came aboard but on the other hand as was soon evident the vessel began to drift towards the point excalango, and from this moment it became clear that only a miracle could save her. For an hour or more the Santa Maria kept up a gallant and unequal fight being constantly pressed backwards by the might of the storm till at length. We could see in the glare of the lightning that the breakers of the point were raging not two hundred paces from her stern. The captain saw them also and made a last effort shifting the vessel's bow a little so that the seas struck her on the port quarter. He gave the order of full steam ahead and once more we drove forward. Before and since that day I have made many voyages across the Gulf of Mexico in all weathers but never have I met with such an experience as that which followed. The ship plunged and strained and rocked lifting now her bow and now her stern high above the waves till it seemed as though she must fall to pieces while water in tons rushed aboard her at every dip which as she righted herself streamed through the broken bulwarks slowly very slowly we were forging away from the point and out into the channel which lies between it and Carmen Island but the effort was too fierce to last. Presently after succession of terrible pitchings one paddle wheel suddenly ceased to thrash the water while the other broke to pieces and a faint cry from below told those on deck that the worn out machinery had collapsed. Now we were in the mid-race or channel through which the boiling current driven by the fury of the gale and the push of the tide tore at a speed of 15 or 16 knots carrying the Santa Maria along with it as a chip of wood is carried down a flooded gutter twice she hurled right round for now that her machinery had gone there was no power to keep her head to the waves and on the second occasion as she lay broadside to them a green sea came aboard of her that swept her decks almost clean taking away with it every boat except the cutter which fortunately was slung upon davits to starboard and out of its reach crouching under shelter of the mast again the three of us clung to our rope nor did we leave to go although the water ground us against the deck covering us for so long that before our heads were clear of it we felt as though our lungs must burst as it chanced what remained of the starboard bulwarks was carried away by the rush allowing the sea to escape or the ship must have foundered at once but it had done its work for the engine room hatchway and the engine light were stove in and the Santa Maria was half full of water before a second sea could strike her her nose swung round and in this position she was washed along the race her deck not standing more than four feet above the level of the waves now from time to time the moon shone out between rifts in the storm clouds revealing a dreadful scene fragments of the little bridge still remained and to them was lashed the large body of the captain in an upright position though as he neither spoke nor stirred we never learned whether he was only paralyzed by terror or had been killed by a blow from the funnel as it fell you will remember my friend that he had ordered the passengers to be battered down and there in the cabin they remained 20 or more of them until the hatchways were stove in then with the exception of one or two who were drowned by the water that poured down upon them they rushed up the companion men and women together for they could no longer stay below and shrieking praying and blaspheming clung to fragments of the bulwarks shrouds of the master anything which they thought could give them protection against the pitiless waves awful were the whales of the women who clad only in their night dresses now put in their bunks for the first time since they entered them in the harbor of veracruz overcome by fear and having no knowledge of the dangers of the deep these poor creatures flung themselves at full length upon the deck striving to keep hold on the slippery boards once one by one they rolled into the ocean as the vessel lurched or were carried away by the seas that pooped her some of the men followed them to their watery grave others more self possessed crept forward attempting to escape the waves that broke over the stern but none made any effort to save them indeed it would have been impossible so to do among those who crawled forward to where we and some of the indian sailors were clinging to the rope that was coiled round the stump of the broken foremast was Don Jose Moreno even in his terror which was great this man could still be ferocious for recognizing the senior he yelled ah Maldonado evil gifted one you call down the northern upon us well at least you shall die with the rest suddenly drawing his long knife he rose to his knees and holding the rope with one hand attempted to drive it into the senior's body with the other doubtless he would have succeeded in his wickedness had not an indian boatswain who was near bent forward and struck him so sharply on the arm with his clenched fist that the knife flew from his hand trying to recover it Don Jose fell face downwards on the deck where he lay making no further effort at aggression afterwards the senior told me such was the horror and the confusion of the scene that at the time he scarcely noticed this incident though every detail came back to him on the morrow and with it a great wonder that even when death was staring them in the face the indians did not forget their promise to watch over our safety meanwhile swept onward by the tide and gale the santa maria waterlogged and sinking rushed swiftly to her doom our last hour was upon us and for a space this knowledge seemed to be numb the mind of the senior strickland who crouched at my side as the wet and the cold had been numbed his body nor was this strange for it seemed terrible to perish this can we do nothing he said to me at length ask the indians if there is any hope putting my face close to the ear of the boast one i spoke to him then shouted back he says that the current is taking us round the point of the island and if the ship weathers it we shall come presently into calmer water where a boat might live if there is one left and it can be launched he thinks however that we must sink when the senior heard this he hid his face in his hands and doubtless began to say his prayers as i did also soon however we ceased even from that effort for we were rounding the point and once more the seas were breaking on and over the vessel's sides for a few minutes there was a turmoil that cannot be described then although the wind still shrieked overhead we felt that we were in water which seemed almost calm to us the ship no longer pitched and rolled she only rocked as she settled before sinking while the moon shining out between the clouds showed that what had been her bulwarks were not more than two or three feet above the level of the sea six indians our three selves don jose who seemed to be senseless and the body of the captain lashed to the broken bridge alone remained of the crew and passengers of the santa maria the rest had been swept away but they are close to us the cutter still hung upon the divots the senior assault and i think he remembered his saying of a few hours before that he would die fighting at least he cried the ship is sinking to the boat quick and running to the center he climbed into her as did i molas and the six indian sailors she was full of water almost to the thwarts which could only be got rid of by pulling out the wooden plug in her bottom happily the boswanan the same man who had struck the knife from the hand of don jose knew where to look for this plug and being a sailor of courage and resource he was able to lose it so that presently the water was pouring from her in a stream thick as a hauser meanwhile urged to it by the hope of escape the other indians were employed in getting out the oars and in loosening the tackles before slipping them together when enough water had run out to allow the boat to swim get the plug back said the senior the vessel is sinking you must bail the rest half a minute more and it was done then at a word from the boswan the sailors lowered away and they had not far to go and we were afloat and better still quite clear of the ship scarcely had they brought the head of the cutter around and pulled three or four strokes when from the deck of the santa maria there came the sound of a man's voice crying for help by the light of the moon we discovered the figure of don jose moreno clinging to the broken bulwarks that now were almost to wash for the love of god come back to me he screamed the oarsman hesitated but the boswan said with an indian oath pull on and let the dog drown it seemed as if don jose heard him at least he raised so piteous a wailing that the senior's heart which was always over tender was touched by it we cannot desert the man he answered put back for him he tried to murder you just now shouted the boswan and if we go near the ship she will take us down with her then he turned to me and asked do you command us to put back lord since the senior will sit i command you i answered we must save the man and take our chance he commands whom we must obey shouted the boswan again put back my brothers sullenly but submissively the indians backed water till they lay almost beneath the counter of the vessel that wallowed in the trough of the swell before she went down on deck clinging to the stays of the master don jose his straight oiled hair beat about his face his gorgeous dress was soaked and disordered save me he yelled hoarsely save me throw yourself into the sea senor and we will pick you up i dare not was the answer come aboard and fetch me does the senior still wish us to stay as the boats when calmly listen you kerr shouted the senior the ship is sinking and will take us with it at the word three give way man now will you come or not one two i come said the mexican and driven to it by despair he cast himself into the sea with difficulty the senior assisted by an indian with a boat hook succeeded in getting hold of him as he was washed past on the swell i confess that i would have no hand in the affair since may i be forgiven the sin my charity was not true enough to make me wish to save this villain there however the matter rested for the present as they could not stop to pull him into the boat for just then the deck of the santa maria burst with a rending sound and she began to go down bodily roe for your life shouted the boswan and they rode dragging don jose and the wake of the cutter down with the santa maria bow first making a hollow in the sea that sucked us backwards toward her for a moment the issue hung doubtful for the whirlpool caused by the vanished vessel was strong and almost engulfed us but in the end the stout arms of the indians conquered and drew our boat clear so soon as this great danger had gone by the sailors with much labor lifted don jose into the cutter where he lay gasping but unharmed then arose the question of what we could possibly do to save our lives we were lying under the lee of karman island which sheltered us somewhat from the fury of the norther and we might either try to land upon this island or to put about and run for the mouth of the usumacinto river there was a third course to keep the boat's head to the seas if that were possible and let her drift till daylight in the end this was what we determined to do indeed while we were discussing the question it was settled for us for suddenly the rain began to fall in torrents blotting out such moonlight as there was and to land in this darkness would have been impossible even if the nature of the beach allowed of it therefore we lay and gave our thoughts and strength to the task of preventing the waves which became more and more formidable as we drifted beyond the shelter of the island from swamping or oversetting us it was a great struggle and had it not been that the heavy rain beat down the seas we could never have lived till morning as it was we must have been swamped many times over but for the staunchness of the boat which fortunately was a new one and the seamen ship and the ceaseless vigilance of the indian bowswain who commanded her for hour after hour he crouched in the bow of the cutter staring through the sheets of rain and the darkness with his hawk like eyes and shouting directions to the crew as he heard or caught sight of a white crested billow rolling down upon us that presently would fling us upwards and sink down into a trough on its furthest side sometimes half filling the boat with water which must be bailed out before the next sea overtook us afterwards the senior told me that knowing it to be the nature of indians to submit to evil rather than to struggle against it he wondered how it came about that these men faced the fight so gallantly instead of throwing down their ores and suffering themselves to be drowned i also was somewhat astonished till presently the matter was explained for once when a larger sea than than those that went before had almost filled us the bowswain called out to his companion be brave my brothers in fear nothing the keeper of the heart is with us and death will flee him to the senior however the this comfort seemed cold since he did not believe that any talisman could save us from the powers of the sky and sea nor indeed did i wet and half frozen as he was his nerve broken by the terrible scenes we had witnessed upon the lost ship and by thoughts of the many who had gone down with her his spirit so he told so he told me failed him at last he gave no outward sign of his inward state indeed he did not follow the example of the mexican who lay in the water at the bottom of the boat groaning weeping and confessing his sins which seemed to be many only he sat still and silent and surrendering surrendered himself to destiny till by degrees his forces mental and bodily deserted him and he sank into a torpor it was little wonder for rarely have shipwrecked men been in a more helpless position the blinding rain the bewildering darkness the roaring wind and sea all combined to destroy us while we drifted in our frail craft we knew not wither as minute after minute of that endless night went by our escape seemed to become more impossible for each took with it something of the strength and mental energy of those who fought so bravely against the doom which overshadowed us for my part i was sure that my hour had come but this did not trouble me over much since my life had not been so happy or successful that i grieved at the thought of losing it more over ever since i became a man it has been my daily endeavor to prepare my mind for death and so to live that i should not have to fear the hour of his coming in truth it seems to me that without such preparation the life of any man who thinks must be one long wretchedness seeing that at the last drive as he may fate will overtake him and that there is no event in our lives which can compare in importance to the inevitable end we live not to escape from death but in order that we may die this is the great issue an object of our existence still death is terrible more especially when we are called upon to wait him hour upon hour amid the horror and turmoil of shipwrecked therefore i was very thankful when having flung my syrapi about the form of my friend at length i also was overcome by cold and exhaustion after a space of time in which the present seemed to fade from me taking with it all fears and hopes of the future and the past alone possessed me people by the dead i sank into unconsciousness or swoon how long i remained in this merciful state of oblivion i do not know but i was roused from it by moloss who shook me and called into my ear with the voice that trembled with cold or joy or both awake awake we are saved saved i said confusedly what from from death in the sea look lord then with much pain for the salt spray had congealed upon my face like frost i opened my eyes to find that the morning was an hour old and though the skies were still leaden we were no longer at sea but floated on the waters of a river wherefore the bar roared behind us where are we i asked in the usa mesinto river thanks be to god answered moloss we have been driven across the bay in the dark and at dawn found ourselves just outside the breakers somehow we passed them safely and there before us is the blessed land i looked at the bank of the river clothed with reeds and grasses and the noble palm trees that grew among them then i looked at my companions the senora strickland lay as though he were dead beneath the syrapi that i had thrown over him his head resting on the thwarts but the mexican don jose was sitting up in the bottom of the boat and staring wildly at the shore as for the indians the men to whom we owed our lives they were utterly worn out two of them appeared to have swooned where they sat and i saw that their hands were bleeding from the friction of the oars the others lay gasping beneath the seats but moloss held the tiller at my side and the boswan still sat upright in the bow where he had faced death for so many dreadful hours say lord he asked turning his face that was hollow with suspense and suffering and white with encrusted salt to speak to me can you row if so take the oars and pull us to the bank while moloss steers for our arms will work no more then i struggled from my seat and with great efforts for every movement caused me pain i pulled the cutter to the bank and as her bow struck against it the sun broke through the thinning clouds so soon as the boat was made fast moloss and i lifted the senior from her and laying him on the bank we removed his clothes so that the sun might play upon his limbs which were blue with cold as the clouds melted and the warmth increased i saw the blood began to creep beneath the whiteness of his skin which was drawn with the wet and wind and rejoiced for now i knew that he did but sleep and that the tide of life was rising in his veins again as in my own while we sat thus warming ourselves in the sunlight some indians appeared belonging to a ranch or village half a league away on learning our misfortunes and who we were these men hurried home to bring us food having first pointed out to us a pool of sweet rain water of which we stood in great need for our throats were dry when they had been gone nearly an hour the senior woke and asked for drink which i gave him in the bailing bowl next he inquired where we were and what had happened to us when i had told him he hid his face in his hands for a while then lifted it and said i am a fool and a bolster Ignatio i said that i would die fighting and it is these men who have fought and saved my life well i swooned like a child i did the same senior i answered only those who are working at the auras could keep their senses for labor warmed them somewhat come to the river and wash for now your clothes are dry again and throwing the syrappy over his shoulders i led him to the water as we climbed down the bank we met the boswan and the senior said holding out his hand to him you are a brave man and you have saved all our lives no senior not i answered the indian you forget that with that with us the keeper of the heart and the heart that has endured so long cannot be lost this we knew and therefore we labored on well assured that our toil would not be in vain i shall soon believe in that talisman of yours myself Ignatio said the senior shrugging his shoulders certainly it did us good service last night then he washed by the time he addressed himself women arrived from the rancho bearing with them baskets laden with tortillas and meal cakes frijoles beans and roast kid and a bottle of good agua ardiente the brandy of this country on these provisions we fell too thankfully and before we had finished our meal the akaldi or a head man of the village presented himself to pay his respects and invite us to his house now i whispered to molas who had some acquaintance with this man to take him apart and discover my rank to him and to learn if perchance he had any tidings of that stranger whom we came to visit the dr zibal bay he nodded and obeyed and after a while i rose and followed him behind some trees where the akaldi who was of our brotherhood greeted me with reverence i have news my lord said molas this man says that he has heard of an old indian and his daughter but this morning one who has traveled down the river told him how some five or six days ago they were both of them seized by don pedro moreno the father of don jose yander and imprisoned at the hacienda of santa cruz where dead or alive they remain now i thought a while then sending for senor james i told him what we had learned but what can this villain want to do with an old indian and his daughter he asked the senior forget said molas that don pedro robbed me of the gold which the doctor gave me and that in my folly i told him from whom it came doubtless he thinks to win the secret of the mine once it was dug in of the mint where it was stamped with the sign of the heart also there is the daughter whom some men might value above all the golden mexico now lord i fear that your journey is fruitless since those who become don pedros guests are apt to stay with him forever that i think we must risk said the senior yes i answered having come so far to find this stranger we cannot turn back now at least we have lived through the worst dangers than those that await us at santa cruz end of chapter six heart of the world by h rider haggard this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libra vox dot org chapter seven the hacienda returning to the place where we had eaten we found the akal day talking with the sailors as to their plans on seeing us the boats went advanced and said that if it was our pleasure he and his companions proposed to rest for a few days at the neighboring rancho then they would row the boat along the coast to compache which they hoped in favorable weather to reach in 60 hours he added that he trusted we would accompany them i answered that we wished for no more of the sea at present and that we intended to pursue our journey to the town of potre rio where we would refit before undertaking an expedition to the ruined cities of yucatán the boatsman said it was well though he was sorry that they could not escort us so far as it was their duty to report the loss of the ship to its owner who lived in compache when we heard this the senior unbuckled the belt of money which he wore about his waist and pouring out half a handful of gold pieces he begged the boatsman to accept of them for a division between himself and his companions all this while don jose was sitting close to us watching everything that passed and i saw his eyes brighten at the site of the belt of gold you are fortunate you are fortunate to have saved so much he said speaking for the first time all that i had has gone down with the ship yes three thousand dollars or more you should have followed our example answered the senior we divided our cash between the three of us and secured it upon our persons though perhaps you were wise after all since such a weight of gold might have been awkward if like you we had been called upon to swim by the way senior what are your plans if you will allow me answered the mexican i will walk with you towards potrario for my home lies on that road would you be offended senior if on behalf of my father i ventured to offer his hospitality to you and your companions to speak plainly don jose said the senior our past experience has not been such as to cause us to desire to have anything more to do with you may i remind you putting aside other matters that last night you attempted to stab me senior answered the man with every sign of contrition if i did this it was because terror and madness possessed me and most humbly do i beg your pardon for the deed and for any angry and foolish words that i may have spoken before it senior you save my life and my heart is filled with gratitude towards you who have thus repaid evil with good i know that you have heard an ill report of my father and to speak truth at times when the liquor is in him he is a bad and violent old man yet he has this virtue that he loves me his son and all those who are kind to me therefore in his name and my own i pray that you will forget the past and accept of our hospitality for some few days or at least until you have recovered from your fatigue and we can furnish you with arms and horses to help you forward on your journey certainly we desire to buy mules and guns answered the senior if you think that your father will be able to supply these we will avail ourselves of your kindness and pass a night or two at his hacienda senior the place is yours and all that it contains don jose answered with much courtesy but as he spoke i saw his eyes gleam with an evil fire doubtless i interrupted for i understand that don Pedro Moreno is famed for his hospitality still in accepting it i venture to ask for a promise of safe conduct but more especially as save for our pistols and knives we are unarmed do you wish to insult me senior don jose asked angrily not in the least senior but i find it a little strange that you who two nights ago refused to sit at meet with a dog of an indian should now be anxious to receive that same dog in your home have i not said that i am sorry for what is past he answered and can a man do more gentlemen if any evil is attempted toward you in my father's house i will answer for it with my life but that is quite sufficient broken the senior especially as in such an event we should most certainly hold you to your bond now tell me how far is the hacienda from this spot well if we started once we should reach it at sundown he answered that is on foot though it is but three hours ride from the house to the mouth of the river then let us go he said in ten minutes later we were on the road before we went however we bade a warm farewell to the sailors and also to the a caldy of the village all of whom were somewhat disturbed on learning that we proposed to sleep at santa cruz the place has an evil name said the alcaldy and it is a house of thieves and smugglers well only last week a cargo that never paid duty went up the river they say that don pedro was fathered by the devil in person oh may the saints protect you from him lord we have business that takes us to this house friend i answered but doubtless it will be easy for you to keep yourself informed of what chances in that neighborhood if we should not appear again within a few days perhaps it may please you to advise the authorities at compache that we are missing the authorities are afraid of don pedro answered the a caldy shaking he said also he bribes them so heavy that they grow blind when they look his way still i will do the best i can be sure of that and as an english is with you it is possible that i may be able to get help if necessary our walk that day was long and hot though we had nothing to carry except the clothes on our backs all our possessions having been lost in the ship at noon we halted and the heat being great ate some food that we had brought with us and slept two hours in the shade which sleep was most grateful for we were weary then we rose and trapped on till at length we came within sight of this hacienda where though i little guest at the time i was fated to spend so many years of my life walking through a large meal or cornfield that in front of the building which is now planted with coffee bushes we reached the gateway and entered the courtyard where we were met by many fierce dogs which rushed upon us from all sides don jose beat back the dogs that knew him and leaving us under the charge of some half breeds he entered the house after a while he returned again and led us through the passages into the dining hall which as you know is the largest room in the hacienda and in former days served as the refractory of the monks several lamps were hung upon its wall for already it grew dark and by their light we saw five or six people gathered round a long table waiting for supper which was being laid by indian girls of these men it is sufficient to say that they were of mixed race and villainous appearance turning from them we look towards the far end of the chamber where a hammock was slung from the beams and the roof in which lay a man whom a handsome girl also an indian was employed in rocking to and fro come and be introduced to my father who expects you said don jose leading the way towards the hammock father here's that brave englishman who saved my life last night and with him the indian gentleman who uh did not wish to save my life as i told you i have offered him hospitality on your behalf feeling sure that they would be welcome here at the sound of his son's voice don paid roll woke or pretended to be awake from his dose and bade the girl see swinging the hammock then he sat up and looked at us he was a short stout man of about 60 years of age so short indeed that although the hammock was slung low his legs did not touch the floor notwithstanding this lack of stature don paid rose appearance was striking with his long carefully brushed white hair gave him a venerable aspect other beauties he had none however for his cheeks were flabby and wrinkled his mouth was cruel and sensuous and his dull eyes which were small half open and protected from the glare of the lamps by spectacles of tinted glass can best be described as horrible like those of a snake looking at him we could well believe that his reputation was not exaggerated for he bore the stamp of evil on his face still he bowed with much curtsy and addressed the senior in Spanish so you are the Englishman who saved my son here from the sinking ship he said in a slow powerful voice peering at us with his fish like eyes from beneath the colored glasses he tells me that you rode back to the tide of the foundering vessel merely in order to fetch him well it was a brave deed and one that I should not have dared myself for I've always found it hard enough to keep my own breath in me without attempting to preserve that of other people but as I have seen several times you Englishmen are peculiar in these matters full hearty indeed senior I'm grateful to you and this house and all within it is at your disposal and that of your companions and he glanced with genuine affection at the coarse beetle-browed man beside him who was gnawing one end of his mustache and staring at us out of the corner of his eyes tell me he added to what do I owe the honor of your presence like to an accident on Pedro the senior answered as it chances the ruins of this ancient land interest me much and I was traveling to Palenque with my Indian friend Don Ignacio when we were so unfortunate as to be wrecked near your hospitable house in our dilemma we accepted the invitation of your son to visit you in the hope that you may be able to sell us some guns and mules ruins in your strict land decidedly you Englishmen are strange what pleasure can you find in hunting about among old walls built by men long dead unless indeed you seek for treasure there for my part I hate the name of ruins for I've always suffered from a presentiment that I shall meet my end among them and that is bad to think bah he spat upon the floor there it comes upon me again suddenly as a fit of egg you well he went on you are lucky to have saved your lives and your money and tomorrow we will see about the things that you desire to buy meanwhile you are travel stained and doubtless will wish to cleanse yourselves before you eat Jose conduct the senior in his Indian friend since he is so fond of his company to their room the abbots chamber supper will be served shortly till then adios girl go with them he added addressing the woman who had been engaged in swinging the hammock water may be wanted in other things the woman bowed and went away and at the door we found her standing lamp and hand to light us down the passage now senior jones you from whom I write my history have so often slept in the abbots chamber in this house that it is needless for me to stop to describe it except for the furniture the room is just as it was in those days then it was empty save for a few chairs a rough washing stand and two truck old bedsteads of American make which were placed at a little distance from each other on either side of the picture of the abbot I fear that you will think this is a poor place after the luxury of Mexico gentlemen said Don Jose but it is our guest chamber the best that we have thank you answered the senior it will do very well though perhaps your visitors suffer sometimes from nightmares and he glanced at the awful and life-sized picture on the south wall of an Indian being burnt at an auto defa while devils hanging above his head dragged the soul from his tortured and expiring body pretty are they not said Don Jose I would have them white washed over but my father likes him you see all the victims are Indians there isn't a white man among them and the old man never could bear Indians well when you are ready you will come to supper you will not lose the way for you can follow the smell of the food and he left the room at one moment I said addressing the girl who was about to accompany him perhaps you will see that our servant and I pointed to Moloss has some meat brought to him here since your masters will not wish him to sit at table see answered the girl whose name was Luisa searching my face with her eyes by this time Don Jose was through the door which the draft pushed to behind him I watched it close then a thought struck me for I remember that among our order there are women associates of the outer circle and I whispered some words and Luisa's ear and made a sign with my hands she started and gave the ancient answer which is taught even to children where to I replied with another sign that of the presence of the heart where she asked glancing at each of us in turn here I answered in drawing out the symbol I held it before her eyes she saw and made obeisance and at that moment we heard Don Jose calling her from the farther side of the door I come she cried and answered then added in a whisper Lord you are in danger in this house I cannot tell you now but if possible I will return the wine is safe but drink no coffee and do not sleep when you lie down search the floor and you will understand the reason I come senior I come and she fled from the room so soon as the girl was gone the senior James went to the door and locked it then he returned and said what does this all mean Ignacio I did not answer but pushing aside one of the beds I searched the floor beneath it it was discolored in several places next I pulled the blankets off the beds and examined the webbing that formed the mattresses to discover that this also was stained though slightly for it had been washed then I said men have died in these beds senior and yonder stains were made by their blood it would seem that the guests of Don Pedro sleep well first they are drugged and then they are murdered and it is for this purpose that we have been lured to this house well we expected nothing else that is a pleasing prospect he answered we are this man's guests surely therefore he will not and he drew his hands across his throat certainly he will senior and it is to this end that we have been brought here by Don Jose if others have been murdered it is not likely that we shall escape since Don Pedro will be sure that an English would not travel without a large sum of money more ever we have a quarrel with the son and know too much about the father again I say that the prospect is a pleasant one answered the senior on the whole it would have been better to be drowned than to live on to be butchered by those villains in this awful place what an end do not despair I answered we are warned in time and therefore I think shall escape by the help of that girl and the other Indians in the place since in an hour every one of them will have learned who we are and be prepared to venture their lives to save us also we came for a purpose knowing our risk now let us make ready and go among these men with a bold face for of this you may be sure that nothing will be attempted till late at night when they think is sleeping have you understood molas yes answered the Indian then watch here or in the outer room till we return and should the girl come learn all you can from her as to the whereabouts of the old doctor and his daughter and other matters for when she knows that you be of the order she will speak have you been recognized by anyone I think not senior when we entered it was too dark for them to see good and then keep out of their way if possible do the best you can with the girl and take note of all that passes farewell when we reached the dining hall nine of the company were already seated at the table impatient for their food but Don Pedro was still sitting in his hammock engaged in earnest conversation with his son Jose of those at the table but one was a white man a lanky withered looking person with a broken nose whose general appearance filled us with disgust the rest were half breeds the refuse of revolutions villains who had escaped the hand of justice and who lived by robbery and murder looking at these outcasts became clear to us that if we once fell into their power we could expect little mercy at their hands for they would think no more of butchering us in cold blood than does a sportsman of shooting a deer when Don Pedro perceived us he slid from the hammock to the ground and taking the senior by the hand he said let me introduce you to my overseer the senior Smith from Texas he is an American and will be glad to meet one who can speak English for not withstanding much practice his Spanish is none of the best the senior bowed and the American desperado spoke to him in English wearing a grin on his face like that of a wicked dog as he did so though I do not know what he said then Don Pedro conducted his guests to a place of honor at the head of the table that beside his own seat well I was led to another table at a little distance where my meat was served to me alone since as an Indian of pure blood I was not thought fit for the company of these crossbred curves Don Jose have been taking his place at the further end of the board with the americano the meal began and an excellent what it was now in the conversation that ensued I took no part except when members of the gang called me to drink wine with them for they desired to make me drunk but while I pretended to be occupied with my meat I thought much and watched more the talk that passed I sat down as I overheard it and as it was reported to me by the senior board dry some more of this burgundy said Don Pedro when the dishes had been removed filling his tumbler for the seventh or eight time it is the right stuff straight from France though it never paid duty and he winked his leaden eye your health senior may you live to do many such brave deeds as that of yesterday when you saved my son from the sea by the way do you know that on board the Santa Maria they said that you had the evil eye and brought her to wreck yes and your long-fraised companion the Indian also indeed I never heard of it before answered the senior with a laugh but it is so our evil eyes shall not trouble you for long as we propose to continue our journey tomorrow nonsense friend nonsense you don't suppose that I believe in that sort of rubbish to you we may say many things that we do not believe just for a joke thus and he raised his voice so that I could hear him at my table your companion there is he not named Ignacio told a story to my disadvantage on board the ship which I am sure that he did not believe and suddenly he stared at me and added insolently is it not so Indian if you seek my opinion Don Pedro I answered leaning forward and speaking very clearly I say that it is unprofitable to repeat words that are said or to remember deeds that are done with if I spoke certain words or if in the past you did certain deeds here beneath your hospitable roof is not the place to recall them quite so Indian quite so you talk like an oracle as Montezuma used to talk to Cortez till the conqueror found a way to teach him plain speaking a great man Cortez he understood how to deal with Indians then he spat upon the floor and having looked down the table spoke to the senior in a somewhat anxious voice tell me he said for your sight is better than mine how many are there present here tonight counting my friend 13 he answered my thoughts of so our host with an oath and it is too late to men matters now well may the saints and they should be thick about a monastery avert the omen I see you think me a fool not at all he replied I'm rather superstitious myself and dislike sitting down 13 to a table so do I so do I senior Strickland listen last time we dined 13 in this room there were two travelers here Americanos friends of Don Smith who were trying to open up a trade in these parts they drank more than was good for them and the end of it was that in the night they quarreled and killed each other yonder in the Abbott's chamber where you were sleeping poor man poor man there was trouble about the matter at the time but Don Smith explained to his countrymen and it came to nothing indeed answered the senior it was strange that two drunken men should kill each other so I say senior in truth for a while I thought that Indians must have got into their rooms and murdered them but it was proved beyond a doubt that this was not so haha they are a wicked people the Indians have seen much of them and I should know now the government wishes to treat them too well our fathers knew better how to deal with them but luckily the arm of the government scarcely reaches no whining Padres or officials come prying about my house though once we had some soldiers and he cursed at the recollection and drank another glass of burgundy I tell you that they are a wicked people he went on the demonos their father's worship still possess them also they are secret and dangerous they are Indians now who know where the vast treasures are buried but they will tell nothing yes and suddenly growing excited under the influence of the strong drink he leaned over and whispered into his guests ear I have one such in the house at this moment an old Laconde that is an unbaptized Indian not that I think him any the worse for that and with him his daughter a woman more beautiful than the knight perhaps if I go on liking you Englishmen I will show her to you tomorrow only then I should have to keep you for you would never go away beautiful yes she is beautiful though a devil at heart I have not dared to let these little ones see her and he winked and nodded toward the villains at the table but Jose is to pay her and her papa a visit tonight and he won't mind her tempers though they frighten me well would you believe it this girl and her old father have the secret of enough treasures to make every man of us here rich as the queen of England how do I know that I know it because I heard it from their own lips but fill your glass and take a cigar and I will tell you the story end of chapter seven heart of the world by H writer Haggard this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org chapter eight the supper and after listen senior if you're interested in old ruins and the Indians you must have heard tales of races living away in the forest country where no white man has set his foot and of their wonderful cities that are said to be full of gold many say that these tales are lies that no such people and no such cities exist they say this because nobody has found them but I for my part have always believed there was something in the story seeing that otherwise it would not have lasted so long well a few months back I heard that a strange old Indian doctor who was said to have traveled from the far interior was dwelling somewhere in the forest together with a woman but where he dwelt exactly I could not learn no indeed and I troubled myself to do so about eight weeks ago however it happened that an Indian being asked for a toll which I charge all passersby yet to recoup me for my expense in making roads in your pated with a little lump of pure gold having a heart stamped on either side of the metal now you may not know though I do that the heart is a sacred symbol among these Indians and has been for many generations for it is to be seen cut upon the walls of their ruins though what it means only Satan their master can tell therefore when I saw the lump of gold with the token on it I asked the Indian whence he had it and he told me readily enough that it came from this old doctor who gave it to him in payment for some food he told me also where I might find him and went upon his way but his heart to being full of deceit he lied as to the place so that I searched in vain well to shorten a long story although to this hour I do not know where the Indian was hiding I set a trap for him and caught him and his daughter too it was a simple one a man in my pay knew another man who visited the doctor in the forest to get medicine from him but who would not reveal his hiding place still my servant drew it out of him thus he sent piteous messages through his friend begging the doctor to come and save the life of his dying child which lay in a house near here and could not be moved the end of it was that the doctor came and his daughter with him yes they walked at night straight to the snare into this very house and your and only discovered their mistake when they found the door locked upon them and that the dying child was none other than your humble servant Don Pedro Moreno I can tell you senior that I laughed till I nearly cried at the sight of their faces when they found out the trick though there was nothing to laugh at in them for the man looking like an old king and the girl like a queen quite different from the Indians in these parts moreover them and they wore two such saroppies as I have never seen made of green feathers fastened to a foundation of linen when the old man found himself caged he asked what it meant and where he was speaking in a dialect so like the Maya tongue that I could understand him quite well I told him that he was to be my guest for a while and with the help of two men who were with me I proceeded to secure him and his daughter in a safe place where at he flew into a fearful rage and cursed all of us most dreadfully and more especially that man who had betrayed him so awful were his curses and the vengeance that he conjured upon us from heaven that my hair stood straight upon my head and as for the man who lured him here under pretense of visiting his child it came about that within two days he died of a sudden sickness bread of his own fears when the second man heard of his companion's death he in turn fled from the place dreading lest a like fate should overtake him and has been heard of no more thus it comes about senior that I alone know where these birds are caged though I hope to introduce my son to them tonight for I dare not trust the others and wish to keep them in the family nor will I let any Indians near them well when they had calmed down a little I spoke to my prisoners through a greeting telling them that I wish to know whence they had obtained those lumps of gold stamped with a heart to which the old man answered that he had no knowledge of any such gold now I was sure that he lied and took refuge in another trick the cell where they were shut up is that in which the old monks in prisons such as were suspected of heresy and others and close to it is a secret place there are many such in this house and your where a spy may be hid and both see and hear all that passes in the cell in this place I ensconced myself and lay there for hours with the rats running over me so anxious was I to get at the truth in the end I was not disappointed for they began to talk a great deal of their conversation I could make nothing of but at length the girl said after examining an old guilt crucifix that hung upon the wall look father here also they have gold it is guilt not gold he answered I know the art of it though with us it is not practiced except to keep from corruption the spears and arrowheads that foulers use upon the lake then he added I wonder what that leaden eyed greedy faced white thief would say if he knew that in a single temple we could show him enough of the metal he covets to fill this place five times over from floor to ceiling hush she said ears may be listening even in these walls let us risk nothing seeing that by seeming to be ignorant alone we can hope to escape well asked the senior eagerly and and what did the zebal bay answer I I think you said the old man's name was zebal bay he added trying to recover the slip zebal bay no I never mentioned that name don Pedro applied suspiciously and with a sudden change of manner he answered nothing at all next morning when I came down to question them the birds had flown it is a pity for otherwise I might have asked the old man if his name is zebal bay I suppose that the Indians had let them out but I could not discover why don Pedro you said just now that they were still in your house did I then I made a mistake as you did about the name this wine is strong it must have gone to my head sometimes it does a weakness and a bad one it is an old tale but they're attended so far as I'm concerned come senior take a cup of coffee it is good thank you no answer the senior I never drink coffee at night it keeps me awake still I beg you to try ours friend we grow it ourselves and proud of its flavor oh it is poison to me I dare not he said but pray tell me to the gentleman whom I have the honor to see at table cultivate your plantations yes yes they cultivate the coffee and the cocoa and other things also when they have a mind I dare say you think them a rough looking lot but they are kind hearted ah so kind hearted feeble as I am they treat me like a father boss senior what is the good of hiding the truth from one of your discernment we do business of all sorts here but the staple of it is smuggling rather than agriculture the trade is not what it was those sharks of customs officers down on the coast there want so much to hold their tongues but still there are a few pickings in the old times when they did not ask questions it was otherwise for then men of pluck were ready for anything from revolution down to the stringing up of a coachload of fat merchants but now is the day of small profits and we must be thankful for whatever trifles providence sends us such as the two Americans who got drunk and killed each other suggested the senior whose tongue was never of the most cautious instantly don Pedro's face changed the sham a genality born of drink went out of it and was replaced by a hard and cunning look I am tired senior he said and you must be also and if you will excuse me I will light another cigar and take a nap in my hammock perhaps you will amuse yourself with the other senior till you wish to go to rest then rising he bowed and walked somewhat unsteadily to the far end of the room when dawn Pedro had retired to his hammock whether the Indian girl Luisa was summoned to swing him to sleep I saw his son Jose and the Texan outcast Smith both of whom like the rest of the company were more or less drunk come to the other senior and ask him to join in a game of cards guessing that their object was to make him show what cash he had about him he also affected to be in liquor and replied noisily that he had lost most of his money in the shipwreck and was more ever too full of wine to play then you must have lost it on the road friend said down Jose for you forget that you made those sailors a present from a belt of gold what you wore about your middle however no gentleman shall be forced to gamble in this house so come and talk while the others have their little game yes that will be better answered the senior and he staggered to an empty chair placed not far from the table at which I remained and was served with spirits and cigars here he sat watching the play which was high although the counters looked innocent enough they were cocoa beans and listened to the conversation of the gamblers in which he joined from time to time the talk was not good to hear for as these wretches grew more drunken they began to boast of their past exploits in various parts of the country one man told how he had kidnapped and tortured an indian who had offended him another how he had murdered a woman of whom he was jealous and a third of the successful robbing of a coachload of travelers and their subsequent butchery by the driving of the coach over the edge of a precipice all these stories however were as milk to brandy compared to those that don smith the americano growing confidential in his cups poured forth one after the other till the senior unable to bear them any longer affected to sink into a tipsy dose all this while I had sat at the little table where my dinner had been served saying nothing for none spoke to me but within hearing of everything that passed there I sat quiet my arms folded on my breast listening attentively to the tales of outrage wrong and murder practiced by these wicked ones upon my countrymen to them I was only a member of a despised and hated race admitted to their company on sufferance in order that I might be robbed and murdered in due course yet in my heart I looked on them with loathing and contempt and felt far above them as the stars while I watched and wondered how long the great god would suffer his work to be outraged by their presence some such thoughts seem to strike others of that company for presently Don Smith called out look at that indian rascal friend he is proud as a turkey cock in springtime why he reminds me of the figure of the king in that ruin where we laid up last year waiting for the senor and her party you remember the senora don't you Jose I can hear her squeaks now he laughed brutally and added come king have a drink gracias senor I answered I have drunk then smoke a cigar oh king gracias senor I do not smoke tonight my lord kachike of all the Indians won't drink and won't smoke said Don Smith so we will offer him incense and taking a plate he filled it with dry tobacco and cigarette paper to which he set fire then he placed the plate on the table before me so the fumes of the tobacco rose into the air about my head there now he looks like a real god said the americano clapping his hands I say Jose let us make a sacrifice to him there is the girl who ran away last week in whom we caught with the dogs no no comrad broken Jose none of your jokes tonight you forget that we have a visitor not but what I should like to sacrifice this old demino of an indian to himself he added in an outburst of drunken fury curse him he insulted me and my father and mother yonder on board the ship and are you going to put up with that from this wooden indian god why if I were in your place by now I would have filled him as full of holes as a toffee roaster just to let the lies out that's what I want to do said Jose gnashing his teeth he has insulted me and threatened me and he ought to pay for it the black faith and drawing a large knife he flourished it in my face I did not shrink from it I did not so much as suffer my eyelids to tremble though the steel flashed within an inch of them for I knew that of once I showed fear he would strike therefore I said calmly you are pleased to jest senior and your jests are somewhat rude by pass them by for I know that you cannot harm me because I'm your guest and those who kill a guest are not gentlemen but murderers which the high-born don Jose Moreno could never be stick the pig Jose said Smith he is insulting you again it will save you trouble afterwards then is Don Jose again advanced upon me with the knife of a sudden the senior sprang up from his chair and stood between us come friend he said a joke is a joke but you're carrying this too far according to your custom and seizing the man by the shoulders he put out all his great strength and swung him back with such force that striking against the long table with his thighs he rolled on to it and over it falling heavily to the ground upon the farther side once he rose cursing with rage by now Don Pedro who had wakened or affected to waken from his sleep thought that the time had come to interfere peace little ones peace he cried sleepily from his hammock remember that the men are guests and cease brawling let them go to bed it is time for them to go to bed and they need rest by tomorrow your differences will be healed up forever I take the hint said the senior with forced gaiety come Ignacio let us sleep off our hosts good wine gentleman sweet dreams to you and he walked across the hall followed by myself at the door I turned my head and looked back every man in the room was watching us intently and it seemed to me that the drunkenness had passed from their faces scared away by sense of some great wickedness about to be worked Don Smith was whispering into the ear of Jose who still held the knife in his hand but the rest were staring at us as people stare at men passing to the scaffold even Don Pedro wide awake now set up in his hammock and peered with his horny eyes while the Indian girl Luisa her hand upon the cord watched our departure with some such face as mourners watch the outbearing of a corpse all this I noted in a moment as I crossed the threshold and went forward down the passage and as I went I shivered for the scene was uncanny and fateful presently we were in the abbots chamber our sleeping place and had locked the door behind us near the wash stand on which burned a single candle set in the neck of a bottle sat Molas his face buried in his hands have they brought you no supper that you look so sad as the senior the woman Luisa gave me to eat he whispered listen lord and you senior Strickland our fears are well founded there is a plot to murder us tonight of this woman is sure for she heard some words passed between Don Pedro and a white man called Smith also she saw one of the half breeds fetch spades from the garden and placed them in readiness which spades are to be used in hollowing our graves beneath this floor now when we heard this our heart sank for it was terrible to think that we were doomed within a few hours to lie beneath the ground where in our living feet we're resting yet if these assassins were determined upon our slaughter our fate seemed certain since that we had only knives wherewith to defend ourselves for though we had saved the pistols and some powder in a flask the damp had reached the latter during the shipwreck so that it could not be relied upon I'm afraid that we have been too venturesome in coming here I said and that unless we can escape at once we must be prepared to pay the price of our folly with our lives do not be downcast lord answered moloss for you have not heard all the tale the woman has shown me a means whereby you can save yourselves from death at any rate for tonight come here and leading us across the room he knelt upon the floor at a spot almost opposite the picture of the abbot and pressed on a panel in the low wainscotting of cedar wood with which the wall was clothed to the height of about three feet the panel slid aside leaving a space barely large enough for a man to pass through this opening we crept one by one and descended four narrow steps to find ourselves in a chamber hollowed out of the foundation of the wall so small that there was only just room for the three of us to stand in it our heads being some inches above the level of the floor here I may tell you senior jones that though I have never shown it to you this place still exists as you may discover by searching the wainscotting for many years I have used it for the safe keeping of papers and valuables there by the way you will find that emerald which I showed you on the first night of our meeting what the purpose of this chamber was in the time of the abbots I do not know and perhaps it is well not to inquire though they also may have used it to store their wealth how can we save ourselves by crouching here like rats in a drain I asked moloss doubtless the secret of the hiding places known to those who live in the house and they will drag us out and butcher us the woman luisa says that it is known to none except herself lord for she declares that not two months ago she discovered it for the first time by accident of the broom with which she was sweeping the floor striking against the springs of the panel now let us come out for a while for it is not yet eleven o'clock and she says that there will be no danger till after midnight has she any plan for our escape I asked she has a plan though she is doubtful of its success when the murderers have been and found us gone they will think either that we are wizards or that we have made our way out of the house and will search no more till dawn meanwhile if she can we shall return and entering the chamber that by the secret entrance will lead us to the chapel when she thinks that we may fly into the forest where is the secret entrance moloss I do not know lord she had no time to tell me but the murderers will come by it she did tell me however that she believes that a man and a woman are imprisoned near the chapel though she knows nothing of them and never visits the place because the indians steam it to be haunted doubtless these two are Zimbabwe and his daughter so that if you live to come so far you may find them there and speak with them why do you say if you live moloss because I think lord that then I shall be already dead at least death waits on me well what do you mean as the senior I will tell you after the woman Luisa had gone I ate food she brought me and drank some wine then I think that I fell asleep for when I awoke the candle had burned out and I was in darkness hastily I turned to search for another candle that I had placed by the bottle and was about to make fire when something drew my eyes causing me to look up this was what I saw at the far end of the chamber enclosed in a film of such pale light as is given by the glow fly stood the figure of a man and that man myself dressed as I am now there I stood surrounded by faint fire and though the face was the face of a dead man yet the hand was not dead for it beckoned towards me through the darkness now I saw and the cold sweat of fear broke out upon me so that I could scarcely light the candle which I held at length however it burned brightly and holding it over my head I walked towards the spot where I had seen the shadow only defined that it was gone or in other words that you had slept off your indigestion said the senior I congratulate you on getting rid of it so soon it is easy to mock answered moloss but that which I have seen I have seen and I know that it pretends my death well so be it I am not yet old but I have lived long enough and now it is time to go may heaven have mercy upon my sins and this let it be after this the senior and I strove to reason him out of his folly but in vain nor in fact was it altogether a folly seeing that moloss was doomed to die upon the morrow though whether the vision that he saw came to warn him of his fate or was but a dream it is not for me to say presently we cease talking of ghosts and omens for we must look to our own bodies and the necessities of the hour some minutes before midnight we extinguish the light and creeping one by one through the hole in the paneling we closed it behind us and took our stand in the little dungeon here the darkness was awful and as the warmth of the wine that we had drunk passed from our veins fears gathered thick upon us and oppressed our souls those hours on the sinking ship had been evil but what were they compared to this deep as was the silence yet there were noises in it strange creaks and flutterings that thrilled our morrows we prayed till we were weary then for my part I tried to doze only to find that at such a time sleep was worse than waking for my imagination peopled it with visions till it seemed to me that all the painted horrors on the walls of the chamber took life and enacted themselves before my eyes I heard the groaning of the martyrs and the cruel jeers of those who watch their agony urged on by the hard-faced abbot whose picture hung above us then the vision changed and I seemed to see the tragedy of the two americans of whose faith the senior had told me and whose blood still stained the floor the darkness opened as it were and I saw the beds on which they were sleeping heavily stalwart men and the prime of life then appeared figures standing over them don pedro don jose and others while from the shadows behind peeped the wicked face of their countrymen don smith the bedclothes were twitched away and once more all was black but in the darkness I heard the sound of blows and groaning of the hurrying feet of murderers and the clinking of bags of money stolen from the dead men now the senior touched me and I woke with a start hark he whispered into my ear I hear men creeping about the room for the love of god be silent I answered ripping his hand end of chapter 8 heart of the world by h writer haggard this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org chapter 9 the duel now we placed our ears against the paneling and listened first we heard the creaks that were loud in the stillness then soft heavy noises such as are made by a cat when it jumps from a height to the ground and a gentle rubbing as of stocking feet upon the floor after this for some seconds came silence that presently was broken by the clink of steel and the sound of heavy blows delivered upon a soft substance with swords and knives the murderers were driving their weapons through the bedclothes thinking that we slept beneath them next we heard whisperings and muttered oaths then a voice don josez said be careful the beds are empty another instant and candles were lit for their light reached us through small peep holes in the panel and by putting our eyes to these we could see what passed in the room there before us we beheld don josez don smith and four of their companions all armed with knives or machetes while framed as it were in the wall in the place that had been occupied by the picture of the abbot stood our host don Pedro holding a candle above his head and glaring with his fish-like eyes into every corner of the room where are they he said where are the wizards find them quick and kill them now the man ran to and fro about the chamber dragging his side to beds and staring at the pictures on the wall as though they expected to see us there they're gone said josez at length that indian Ignatio has conjured them away he is a demonio and not a man and i thought it from the first impossible cried don Pedro who was white with rage and fear the door has been washed ever since they entered it and no living thing could force those bars search search they must be hidden search yourself answered don smith sullenly they're not here perhaps they discovered the trick of the picture and escaped down the passage to the chapel it cannot be said don Pedro again for just now i was in the chapel and saw no signs of them we have some traitor among us who has led them from the house by heaven if i find him out and he uttered a fearful oath shall we bring the dogs as jose and i trembled at his words they might smell their footing full what is the use of dogs in a place where all of you have been tramping answered the father tomorrow at dawn we will try them outside for these men must be found and killed or we are ruined already the authorities suspect suspect us because of the disappearance of the two americanos and they will send soldiers from vericruz to shoot us down for without a doubt this in glass is rich and powerful it is certain that they are not here but perhaps they are hidden elsewhere in the building calm let us search the passages and the roof and he vanished into the wall followed by the others leaving the chamber as dark and silent as it had been before they're coming for a while the danger had passed and we pressed each other's hands and gratitude for to speak or even to whisper we did not dare 10 minutes or more went by when once again we heard sounds and a light appeared in the room born in the hand of don pedro who was accompanied by his son don jose they have vanished said the old man the devil their master knows how well tomorrow we must hunt them out if possible till then nothing can be done you were a fool to bring them here jose have i not told you that no money should tempt me to have more to do with the death of a white man i did it for revenge not money answered jose a nice revenge said his father a revenge that is likely to cost us all our lives even in this country i tell you that if they are not found tomorrow and silenced i shall leave this place and travel into the interior where no law can follow us for i do not wish to be shot down like a dog listen jose bid those rascals to give up the search and go to bed is as useless then do you come quietly to my room and we will visit the indian and his daughter if we are to screw their secret out of them and must be done tonight for like a fool i told that englishman the story when the wine was in me thinking that he would never live to repeat it yes yes it must be tonight for tomorrow we may have to fly but what if the brutes won't speak father we will find means to make them answered the old man with a hideous chuckle but whether they speak or not they must be silenced afterwards and he drew his hand across his throat adding come an hour past while we stood in the hole trembling with excitement hope and fear and then once more we heard footfalls followed presently by the sound of a voice whispering on the farther side of the panel are you there lord the whisper said it is i louisa yes i answered now she touched the spring and opened the panel listen she said they have gone to sleep all of them but before dawn they will be up again to search for you far and wide therefore you must do one of two things lie hid here perhaps for days or take your chance of escape at once how can we escape i asked there is but one way lord through the chapel the door into it is locked but i can show you a place from which the priest used to watch those below and then if you are brave you can drop to the ground beneath for the height is not great once there you can escape into the garden through the window over the altar which is broken as i have seen from without though to do so perhaps you will have to climb upon each other's shoulders then you must fly as swiftly as you can by the light of the moon which has risen the dogs have been gorged and tied up so if the heart is your friend you may yet go unharmed now i spoke to the senior saying although the woman does not know it i think it is likely that we shall find company in this chapel seeing that the indian and his daughter are imprisoned there where don pade ron jose had gone to visit them the risk is great shall we take it yes answered the senior after a moment's thought for it is better to take a risk than to perish by inches in this whole of starvation or perhaps be discovered and murdered in cold blood also we have traveled far and undergone much to find this indian and if we lose our chance of doing so we may get no other what do you say molas i asked i say that the words of the senior are wise also that it matters little to me what we do since whether i turn to left or right death waits for me on my path now one by one we climb through the false panel and by the light of the moon louisa led us across the chamber to the spot between the beds where hangs the picture of the abbot which picture that is painted on a slab of wood proved to be only a cunningly designed door constructed to swing upon a pivot placing her knee on the threshold of the secret door louisa scrambled into the passage beyond when the rest of us stood by her side she closed the panel and bidding us cling to one another and be silent she took me by the hand and guided us through some passages till at length she whispered be cautious now for we come to the place when you must drop into the chapel and there is a stairway to your right we passed the stairway and turned a corner louisa still leading next ancient she staggered back into my arms murmuring mother of heaven the ghosts the ghosts indeed had i not held her she would have fled still grasping her hand i pushed forward to find myself standing in a small recess the one i showed you senior jones that was placed about ten feet above the floor of the chapel and like other places in this house so arranged that the abbot or monk in authority without being seen himself could see and hear all that passed beneath him one thing i am sure that during all the generations that are gone no monk watching here ever saw a stranger sight than that which met my eyes the chancel of the chapel was lit up by shafts a brilliant moonlight that poured through the broken window and by a lamp which stood upon the stone altar within the circle of strong light thrown by this lamp were four people namely don paedron his son don josey an old indian and a girl on either side of the altar then as now rose two carven pillars of sapote wood the tops of which were fashioned into the figures of angels and to these columns the old indian and the woman were tied one to each column their hands being joined together at the back of the pillars in such a manner as to render them absolutely helpless my eyes rested first upon the woman who was nearest to me and seeing her even as she was then disheveled worn with pain and hunger her proud face distorted by agony of mind and impotent rage i no longer wondered that both moloss and don paedron had raved about her beauty she was an indian but such an indian as i had never known before for in color she was almost white and her dark and waving hair hung in masses to her knees her face was oval and small featured and in it shown a pair of wonderful dark blue eyes while the clinging white robe she wore revealed the loveliness of her tall and delicate shape bad as the girl's plight that that of the old man her father who was none other than zebald by we had come to seek seemed even worse as moloss had described him he was thin and very tall with white hair and beard wild and hawk like eyes and aquiline features nor had don paedron spoken more than the truth when he said that he looked like a king his robe had been torn from him leaving him half naked and on his forehead breast and arms were blood and bruises which clearly had been caused by a riding whip that lay broken at his feet it was not difficult to guess who had broken it for in front of the old man breathing heavily and wiping the perspiration from his brow stood don jose this mule won't stir he said to his father in spanish ask the girl it must wake her up to see the old man knocked about then don paedron slipped off the altar rail upon which he had been seated and advancing to the woman he peered at her with his leaden eyes my dear he said to her in the mayan language this sight must grieve you put an end to it then by telling us of that place where so much gold is hidden as with my last breath daughter broken zebal be i command you to say nothing no not if you see them murder me by inches before your eyes silence you dog said don jose striking him across the lips with his hand oh that i were free to avenge you gasped the girl as she strained and tore at the ropes which held her don't be in a hurry my love sneered don jose wait a while and you will have yourself to avenge as well as your father if he won't speak i think we can find a way to make you talk only i do not want to be rough with you unless i am forced to you're too pretty much too pretty the girl shivered gasping with fear and hate and was silent what shall we try him with now he went on addressing don paedron hot steel or cold make up your mind for i'm growing tired well if you won't just hand me that machete will you now friend he said addressing the indian for the last time i ask you to tell us where is that temple full of gold of which you spoke to your daughter in my father's hearing there is no such place white man he answered sullenly indeed friend then will you explain where you found those little ingots which we captured from the indian who'd been visiting you and whence came this machete and he pointed to the weapon in his hand it was a sword of great beauty as i could see even from where we stood made not of steel but of hardened copper and having for a handle a female figure without stretched arms fashioned in solid gold the machete was given to me by a friend said the indian i do not know where he got it really answered hosé with a brutal laugh perhaps you will remember presently here father warm the point of the machete in the lamp will you well i tell our guests how we're going to serve him and his daughter don paedron nodded and taking the sword he held the tip of it over the flame hold hosé's bending forward whispered into the indians ear pointing from time to time to the girl who overcome with faintness or horror had sunk to the ground where she was huddled in a heap half hidden by the masses of her hair are you white man devils said the old man at length with a groan that seemed to burst from the bottom of his heart and is there no law or justice among you not at all friend answered hosé we are good fellows enough but times are hard and we must live as for the rest we don't trouble over much about law these parts and i never heard that unbaptized indian dogs have any right to justice now once more will you guide us to the place once that gold came leaving your daughter here is hostage for our safety never cried the indian better that we too should perish a hundred times than that the ancient secrets of my people should pass to such as you so you have secrets after all father is the sword hot as hosé one minute more sun said the old man quietly turning the point in the flame this was the scene that we witnessed and these were the words that astonished our ears it is time to interfere muttered the senior and placing his hand upon the rail he prepared to drop into the church now a thought struck me and i drew him back to the passage perhaps the door is opened i said are you going in there as the girl louisa certainly i replied we must rescue these people or die with them then seniors farewell i have done all i can for you and now the saints must be your guide for if i am seen they will kill me and i have a child for whose sake i desire to live again farewell and she glided away like a shadow we crept forward down the stair at the foot of it was a little door which as we had hoped stood a jar for a moment we consulted together and then we crawled on through the gloom towards the ring of light about the altar now hosé had the heated sword in his hand look up my dear look up he said to the girl patting her on the cheek i'm about to baptize your excellent father according to the rites of the christian religion by marking him with a cross upon the forehead and he advanced the glowing point of the sword towards the indians face at that instant moloss pinned him from behind causing him to drop the weapon while i did the same office by don pedro holding him so that struggle as he might he could not stir make a sound either of you and you are dead said the senior picking up the machete and placing its hot point against hosé's breast where it slowly burnt its way through his clothes what are we to do with these men he asked kill them as they would have killed us answered moloss or if you fear the task cut loose the old man yonder and let him avenge his own and his daughter's wrongs what say you ignatio i seek no man's blood but for our own safety as well that these wretches should die away with them now don pedro began to bleed inarticulately in his terror and that hero hosé burst into tears and pleaded for his life writhing with pain the while for the point of the sword scorched him you're an english gentleman he groaned you cannot butcher a helpless man as though he were an ox as you tried to butcher us in the chamber yonder us who saved your life answered the senior still you are right i cannot do it because did you say i'm a gentleman moloss loose this dog and if he tries to run put your knife through him hosé moreno you have a sword by your side and i hold one in my hand i will not murder you but we have a quarrel and we will settle it here and now you are mad senior i said do risk your life thus i myself will kill him rather than it should be so will you fight if i loosen you hosé moreno he asked making me to no answer or will you be killed where you stand i will fight he replied good let him free moloss and be ready with your knife i command you i began but already the man was loose and the senior stood waiting for him his back to the door and grasping the indian machete handled with the golden woman now hosé glanced round as though he sought a means of escape but there was none for in front there was a machete and behind there was a knife of moloss for some seconds ten perhaps they stood facing each other in the ring of the lamp light whilst the moonbeams played faintly about their heads we watched in utter silence the indian girl shaking the long hair from her face and leaning forward as far as her bounds would allow that she might see the battle to the death between him who had insulted and tormented her and the noble looking white man who had appeared out of the gloom to bring her deliverance it was a strange scene for the contrast of light and darkness or of good and evil is not greater than was that of these two men and what made it stranger were the place and hour behind them was the half lit emptiness of the deserted chapel before them stood the holy crucifix and the desecrated altar of god and beneath their feet laid the stones of the forgotten dead whose spirits may have were watching them from the shadows as earnestly as did our living eyes yes that midnight scene of death and vengeance enacted in the house of peace was very strange and even now it thrills my blood to think of it from the moment that i saw them fronting each other my fears for the issue vanished victory was written on the calm features of the senior and more especially in his large blue eyes that of a sudden had grown stern as those of an of an avenging angel while the face of hosé told only of baffled fury struggling with bottomless despair he was about to die and the terror of approaching death unnerved him still it was he who struck the first for stepping forward he aimed a desperate blow at the senior's head who springing aside avoided it and in return ran him through the left arm with a cry of pain the mexican sprang back followed by the senior at whom he cut from time to time but without result for every blow was parried now they were within the altar rails and now his back was against one of the carved pillars of sapote wood that to which the girl was tied further he could not fly but stayed there laying about him wildly so that the woman at the other side of the pillar crouched upon the ground to avoid the sweep of his sword then the end came for the senior who was waiting his chance drew suddenly within reach only a step back so that the furious blow aimed at his head struck with a ringing sound upon the marble floor where the mark of it may yet be seen before don hosé whose arm was numbed by the shock could lift the sword again the senior ran in and for the second time thrust with all his strength but now the aim was truer for his machete pierced the mexican through the heart so that he fell down and died there upon the altar step now I must tell you of my own folly that went near to bringing us all to death you'll remember that I was holding Don Pedro and how it came about I know not but in my joy and agitation I slacked my grip so that with a sudden twist he was able to tear himself from my hands and in a twinkling of an eye was gone I bounded after him but too late for as I reached the door it was slammed in my face nor could I open it for on the chapel side was neither key nor handle fly I cried rushing back to the altar he has escaped and will presently be here with the rest the senior had seen and was already engaged in severing with his sword the rope that bound the girl hold moloss cut the cut loose the father now I leapt upon the altar may the sacrilege be forgiven to my need and springing at the stonework of the broken window I made shift to pull myself up with the help of moloss pushing from below seated upon the window ledge I leaned down and catching the Indian Zebalbe by the wrist for he was too stiff to leap with great efforts I dragged him to me and made him drop without fear to the ground which was not more than 10 feet below us next came his daughter then the senior and last of all moloss so that within three minutes from the escape of Don Pedro we stood unhurt outside the chapel among the bushes of the garden where to now I asked for the place was strange to me the girl Maya looked around her then she glanced up at the heavens follow me she said I know a way and started down the garden at a run presently we came to a wall the height of a man beyond which was a thick hedge of aloes over the wall we climbed and through the aloes we braced a path not without doing ourselves some hurt from the thorns were sharp to find ourselves in a millpaw or cornfield here the girl stopped again searching the stars and at that moment we heard the sounds of shouting and looking back saw lights moving to and fro in the hacienda we must go forward or perish I said Don Pedro has aroused his men then she dashed into the millpaw and we followed her there was no path and the corn stalks that stood high above us caught our feet and shook the dew and showers upon our heads till our clothes were filled with water like a sponge still we struggled on one following the other for 15 minutes or more till at length we were clear of the cultivated land and standing on the borders of the forest halt I said where do we run to the road lies to the right and by following it we may reach a town to be arrested as murderers broke in the senior you forget that Jose Moreno is dead at my hands and his father will swear our lives away or that at the best we shall be thrown into prison no no we must hide in the bush sirs said the old indian speaking for the first time I know a secret place in the forest an ancient and ruined building where we may take refuge for a while if we can reach it but first I ask who are you you should know me zibalbe said molask seeing that I am a messenger whom you sent to search for him that you desire to find the lord and keeper of the heart and he pointed to me are you that man asked the indian I am I answered and I have suffered much to find you but now is no time to talk guide us to this hiding place of yours for our danger is great then once more the girl took the lead and we plunged forward into the forest often stumbling and falling in the darkness till the dawn broke in the east and the shoutings of our pursuers died away end of chapter nine