Evidently the tunnel sloped upwards6 very sharply, for he was standing7 on the brow of a precipice8 cut into three steps, which, taken together, may have measured some three hundred feet in height, and, so far as he could see, it was utterly9 impossible to descend4 any of these cliffs without the aid of ropes. Nor could he continue his investigations10 over a wide area, for about four hundred paces to the left of the opening to the subterranean11 passage — whereof, by the way, he was very careful to note the exact position — the mountain pushed out a snowy shoulder, with declivities so precipitous that he dared not trust himself on them.
Then he tried the right-hand side, but with no better luck, for here he was stopped by a yawning rift12 in the rock. Now Otter sat down and considered the situation.
The day was still young, and he knew that it would be foolish to attempt escape from the pool before dark. In front of him the mountain rose steeply till, so far as he could judge, it reached a pass which lay some two miles off, at the base of that main peak, on whose snows the priests had watched the breaking of the dawn. Part of this declivity13 was covered with blocks of green ice, but here and there appeared patches of earth, on which grew stunted14 trees, shrubs15, and even grass and flowers. Being very hungry, it occurred to Otter that he might find edible16 roots among this scanty17 vegetation.
With this hope he began to climb the slope, to be rewarded in due course by the discovery of a vegetable that he recognised, for it was the same which had been offered to him on the occasion of his unlucky outbreak that had resulted in the casting away of the rubies18.
With this poor food the dwarf19 filled himself, and having found a bough20 that made him an excellent staff, he continued his climb, desiring to see what there might be on the other side of the neck.
Arriving there without any great difficulty, Otter stood astonished, although he was not much given to the study of scenery. Below him lay the City of the Mist, with its shining belt of rivers that, fed from the inexhaustible mountain snows, meandered21 across the vast plains — now no longer hidden in mist — which they had trodden on their journey. Above his head the mighty22 peak towered thousands of feet into the air, till it ended in a summit shaped like a human finger pointing eternally to the heavens. Before him the scene was even stranger, made up as it was of snowy fields broken by ridges23 of black rock, and laid one beneath the other like white sails drying upon the slopes of a sandhill.
Gradually, as the eye travelled downward, these snow-fields grew fewer and fewer, till at last they vanished altogether, and their place was taken, first by stretches of grass-land, and finally, at the foot of the mountain, by what seemed to be a rich and level country interspersed24 with clumps25 of bush and forest trees.
The first of these patches of snow lay within five furlongs of where the dwarf stood, but several hundred feet below him.
Between the neck of the pass and this snow stretched a mighty rift or chasm26, with sides so sheer that no goat could have kept a footing on them. Yet this gulf27 was not without its bridge, for a rock wall rose from the bottom of the chasm, forming the bed of a glacier which spanned it from side to side. In some places the wall was comparatively level and in others it showed descents sharp as those of a waterfall. This remarkable28 bridge of ice — that varied29 from a hundred paces to a few yards in width — was bordered on either side by the most fearful precipices30; while, just where its fall was sheerest and its width narrowest, it seemed to spring across a space of nothingness, like the arch of a bridge thrown from bank to bank of a river. Indeed, at this point its line became so attenuated31 that in the glittering sunlight Otter was doubtful whether it was not broken through for a distance of some yards.
Being of an inquiring mind, the dwarf decided32 to satisfy himself upon the matter. All around him lay slabs33 of rock, some of which were worn perfectly34 smooth and to the thinness of a tombstone, by centuries of polishing in the iron jaws35 of glaciers36. Selecting one of these of convenient size, Otter approached the edge of the bridge, pushing the stone before him over the frozen snow. Here the ice was perfect, except for a slight hoar-frost that covered it, for the action of the wind prevented the snow from gathering37 on the bridge, and whenever the sun was strong enough to melt its surface, it froze again at night, so that no slide upon a parish pond could have been more slippery or free from inequalities.
Otter gave his stone a push, and away it went, sometimes swiftly and sometimes at a trifling38 speed, according to the nature of the angle down which it passed, leaving a bright green ribbon upon the ice in its wake, whence it swept the hoar-frost as it sped. Once or twice he thought that it was going to stop, but it never did stop. At length it approached the steepest and narrowest part of the descent, down which the stone rushed with fearful velocity39.
“Now I shall see whether the bridge is broken,” thought Otter; and just then the rock, travelling like an arrow, came to that portion of the glacier where, for a width difficult to estimate, it stretched unsupported over space, and measured only some few feet across. On it flew, then seemed to leap into the air, and once more sped forward till it reached the further slope of snow, up which it travelled for a distance, and stopped, appearing, even to Otter’s keen sight, no larger than a midge upon a table-cloth.
“Now, if a man had been seated on that stone he might have passed this bridge in safety,” said Otter to himself; “yet it is one that few would care to travel, unless sure death were behind them.”
Then he determined40 on a second trial, and selecting another and somewhat lighter41 stone, he sent it upon its journey. It followed precisely42 the same course as its predecessor43, but when it came to the knife-blade of the bridge it vanished.
“I am sorry for that stone,” thought Otter, “for doubtless it, that has been whole for many years, is at this moment only little pieces.”
A third time he repeated his experiment, choosing the heaviest rock that he could move. This messenger also leaped into the air at the narrowest portion of the bridge, then passed on in safety to the slope of snow beyond.
“A strange place,” thought Otter; “and I pray that it may never be my lot to ride one of those stone horses.”
Then he turned down the mountain again, for the afternoon was advancing. When he reached the entrance to the river-bed sunset was at hand. For a while he sat watching the fading light and eating some more roots which he had gathered. Now he crawled into the passage and commenced his darksome journey towards the home of the dead Water Dweller44, though what he was to do when he got there he did not know. No accident befell him, and in due course he arrived safely in the den5, his journey being much facilitated by the staff he bore, which enabled him to feel his way like a blind man.
Creeping to the edge of the pool he listened to its turmoil45, for the shadows were gathering so fast that, with some ghostlike shapes of foam46 excepted, he could not even see the surface of the water.
“If I go in there how can I get out again?” Otter thought sadly. “After all, perhaps I should have done better to return while it was still light, for then, by the help of my staff and the rope, I might have made shift to climb the overhanging ledge47 of rock, but to try this now were madness. I will go back and sit in the cave with the ghosts of the god and his dead till the morning comes again, though I do not crave48 their company.”
So he retreated a few paces and sat in silence near the tail of the dead Crocodile. After a while loneliness took hold of him; he tried to sleep and could not, for it seemed to Otter that he saw eyes staring at him from the depths of the cave, and heard dead men whispering to each other tales of their dreadful ends. Moment by moment his fears grew upon him, for Otter was very superstitious49. Now he fancied that he could distinguish the head of the reptile50 limned51 in fire and resting on the edge of the rock as he had seen it that morning.
“Doubtless,” he thought, “this monster is a devil and has come to life again to be revenged upon me. Wow! I liked him better when he was in the flesh than now that he has turned himself to fire.” Then to comfort himself he began to talk aloud saying:
“Otter, unlucky that you are, why did you not die at once instead of living on to be tormented52 by ghosts? Perhaps your master, the Baas, whom alone you love, is dead already and waits for you to come to serve him. You are very tired; say now, Otter, would it not be well if you took that rope which is about your middle and hanged yourself? Thus you too would become a ghost and be able to do battle with them in their own fashion,” and he groaned53 loudly.
Then of a sudden he grew fearful indeed, the short wool stood up upon his head, his teeth chattered54, and, as he said afterwards, his very nose seemed to grow cold with terror. For as he sat he heard, or seemed to hear, a voice speaking to him from the air, and that voice his master’s.
“Otter, Otter,” said the voice.
He made no answer, he was too frightened.
“Otter, is that you?” whispered the voice again.
Then he spoke55. “Yes, Baas, it is I. I know that you are dead and call me. Give me one minute till I can undo56 my rope, and I will kill myself and come to you.”
“Thank you, Otter,” said the voice with a ghastly attempt at a laugh, “but if it is all the same, I would much rather that you came alive.”
“Yes, Baas, and I too would rather stop alive, but being alive how can I join you who are dead?”
“You fool, I am not dead,” said Leonard.
“Then, Baas, how is it that you speak out of the air? Come near to me that I may touch you and be comforted.”
“I cannot, Otter; I am bound and in a prison above you. There is a hole in the floor, and if you have a rope, as I heard you say, perhaps you could climb up to me.”
Now the dwarf began to understand. Rising, he stretched the long staff he had brought with him high above his head, and found to his delight that he could touch the roof of the cave. Presently the point of the staff ceased to press upon the rock.
“Is the place here, Baas?” said Otter.
“It is here, but you must throw the stick up like a spear through the hole, for I am tied, and cannot put out my hand to take it.”
“Stay awhile, Baas; first I must make the line fast to it.”
“Good, but be swift, for I am in danger.”
Hurriedly Otter undid57 the hide rope from about his middle, knotting it securely to the centre of the stick. Then some five feet below the stick he made a loop large enough for a man to place his foot in, and having ascertained58 the exact situation of the opening in the roof of the cave, he hurled59 the staff upwards and jerked at the line.
“It is fixed,” whispered Leonard from above. “Now come up if you can.”
The dwarf required no second invitation. Seizing the rope as high as he could reach above his head, he began to drag himself up hand over hand — no easy task, for the hide cord was thin, and cut his fingers and his right leg, round which he had twisted it to get a better purchase. Presently, however, he succeeded in setting his foot in the loop he had prepared, when he found that his head and shoulders were in the hole, and that by reaching upwards he could grasp the staff which lay across it. The rest was easy, and within half a minute he lay gasping60 at his master’s side.
“Have you a knife, Otter?”
“Yes, Baas, my small one, the big ones are down there; I will tell you that story by and by.”
“Never mind the story now, Otter. My hands are tied behind my back. Feel for the lashings and cut them, then give me the knife that I may free my legs.”
Otter obeyed, and presently Leonard rose and stretched himself with a sigh of relief.
“Where is the Shepherdess, Baas?”
“There, in the next cell. They separated me from her, and since then I have been dangled61 by the legs over that hole bound and gagged, I think in order to persuade her to consent to something or other by the sight of my danger, for doubtless she was placed where she could see all. Then they left me, and I managed to spit out the gag, but I could not undo the cords. I expect that they will soon be back again.”
“Then had we not better fly, Baas? I have found a passage that leads to the mountains.”
“How can we fly and leave the Shepherdess, Otter? Since I have been held down the hole, only two men have visited me from time to time, for they think me helpless. Let us seize these men when they come in and take their knives, for we are unarmed. Then we can think; also we shall have their keys.”
“Yes, Baas, we may do that. You take the staff; it is stout62.”
“And what will you use?” asked Leonard.
“Fear not, Baas. Do these men bear lights?”
“Yes.”
“Then in two minutes I will make me a weapon.”
And, untying63 the hide rope from the stick, he began to fumble64 with it busily.
“Now I am ready, Baas,” he said presently. “Where shall we stand?”
“Here,” answered Leonard, leading him to the door. “We will crouch65 in the shadow, one on either side of this door, and when the priests have entered and closed it, and begin to look round for me, then we can spring upon them. Only, Otter, there must be no bungling66 and no noise.”
“I think that there will be none, Baas; they will be too frightened to cry at first, and after that they will become dumb.”
“Otter,” whispered Leonard, as they stood in the dark, “did you kill the Water–Dweller?”
“Yes, yes, Baas,” he chuckled67 in answer. “I caught him with the hook that I made ready. But he did not die easily, Baas, and if I had not been able to swim well he would have drowned me.”
“I heard something of it from Nam,” said Leonard. “You are a wonderful fellow, Otter.”
“Oh, Baas! it was no valour of mine; when I saw his eyes I was horribly afraid, only I thought how gladly you would have attacked him had you been there, and what a coward you would hold me, could you have seen me shivering like a little girl before a big lizard68, and these thoughts gave me courage.”
“Oh, that is all very well!” replied Leonard, and suddenly added, “Hush! be ready!”
As he spoke the door opened, and two great priests came through it, one of them bearing a candle. He who bore the light turned to shut the door, for he suspected nothing. Then, at one and the same instant, Leonard, emerging from the shadow, dealt the first priest a blow upon the head with his staff, which stunned69 if it did not kill him, for he fell like an ox beneath the pole-axe, while Otter, standing where he was, dexterously70 cast his hide rope about the throat of the second man, and drew the noose71 tight with a jerk that brought him to the earth.
In twenty seconds it was all over. The men, who were the same that had held Leonard suspended in the oubliette, lay senseless or dead, and the dwarf and his master were engaged in possessing themselves of their knives and keys by the light of the candle, which, though it had fallen to the ground, fortunately remained burning.
“That was well done, Otter,” said Leonard, “and I am not ashamed to have done it, for these devils kicked me when I was bound. Now we are armed, and have the keys. What next?”
Just then Otter sprang to his feet, crying, “Look out, Baas; here are more.”
Leonard glanced up to see, and behold72! the second door in the cell was opened, and through it came Juanna, Olfan, Nam, Soa, and three other men.
For a moment there was silence; till one of the captains cried out, “See! Jal the god has come back, and already he claims his victims!” And he pointed73 to the two priests.
Then followed a scene of confusion, for even Olfan and Nam were amazed at what seemed to them little short of a miracle, while Leonard and Juanna had eyes for each other only, and the three captains stared at Otter like men who think they see a ghost.
But one person in that company kept her head, and that person was Soa. The captain who guarded her had loosed his hold; silently she slunk back into the shadows, and, unseen of any, vanished through the doorway74 by which she had been led in. A minute passed, and Otter, thinking that he heard a noise without that door of the cell whereby the two priests had entered, which had been left ajar, went to it and tried to open it. Just then, also, Olfan missed Soa.
“Where is the woman, Nam’s daughter?” he cried.
“It seems that she has escaped and shut us in, King,” answered Otter, calmly.
Followed by the others, Olfan sprang first to the door of the cell where they were, and then through the connecting passage to that of Juanna’s prison. It was true, both were closed.
“It matters nothing, here are the keys,” said Leonard.
“They will not avail us, Deliverer,” answered Olfan, “for these doors are made fast without by bars of stone thicker than my arm. Now this woman has gone to rouse the college of the priests, who will presently come to kill us like caged rats.”
“Quick!” said Leonard, “waste no time, we must break down the doors.”
“Yes, Deliverer,” said Nam mockingly; “batter them in with your fists, cut through the stone-work with your spears; surely they are as nothing to your strength!”
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1
glacier
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| n.冰川，冰河 | |
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otter
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| n.水獭 | |
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descending
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| n. 下行 adj. 下降的 | |
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descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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den
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| n.兽穴；秘密地方；安静的小房间，私室 | |
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upwards
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| adv.向上，在更高处...以上 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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precipice
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| n.悬崖，危急的处境 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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investigations
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| （正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究 | |
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subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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rift
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| n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入 | |
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declivity
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| n.下坡，倾斜面 | |
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stunted
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| adj.矮小的；发育迟缓的 | |
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shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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edible
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| n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的 | |
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scanty
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| adj.缺乏的，仅有的，节省的，狭小的，不够的 | |
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rubies
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| 红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色 | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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bough
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| n.大树枝，主枝 | |
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meandered
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| （指溪流、河流等）蜿蜒而流( meander的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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clumps
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| n.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的名词复数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声v.（树、灌木、植物等的）丛、簇( clump的第三人称单数 )；（土、泥等）团；块；笨重的脚步声 | |
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chasm
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| n.深坑，断层，裂口，大分岐，利害冲突 | |
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gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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precipices
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| n.悬崖，峭壁( precipice的名词复数 ) | |
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attenuated
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| v.（使）变细( attenuate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）变薄；（使）变小；减弱 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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jaws
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| n.口部；嘴 | |
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glaciers
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| 冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 ) | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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trifling
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| adj.微不足道的；没什么价值的 | |
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velocity
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| n.速度，速率 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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predecessor
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| n.前辈，前任 | |
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dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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turmoil
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| n.骚乱，混乱，动乱 | |
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foam
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| v./n.泡沫，起泡沫 | |
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ledge
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| n.壁架，架状突出物；岩架，岩礁 | |
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crave
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| vt.渴望得到，迫切需要，恳求，请求 | |
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superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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50
reptile
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| n.爬行动物；两栖动物 | |
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51
limned
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| v.画( limn的过去式和过去分词 )；勾画；描写；描述 | |
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52
tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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53
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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54
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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55
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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56
undo
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| vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销 | |
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57
Undid
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| v. 解开, 复原 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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gasping
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| adj. 气喘的, 痉挛的 动词gasp的现在分词 | |
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61
dangled
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| 悬吊着( dangle的过去式和过去分词 )； 摆动不定； 用某事物诱惑…； 吊胃口 | |
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63
untying
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| untie的现在分词 | |
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fumble
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| vi.笨拙地用手摸、弄、接等，摸索 | |
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crouch
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| v.蹲伏，蜷缩，低头弯腰；n.蹲伏 | |
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bungling
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| adj.笨拙的，粗劣的v.搞糟，完不成( bungle的现在分词 )；笨手笨脚地做；失败；完不成 | |
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chuckled
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| 轻声地笑( chuckle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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lizard
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| n.蜥蜴，壁虎 | |
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stunned
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| adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词 | |
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dexterously
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| adv.巧妙地，敏捷地 | |
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noose
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| n.绳套，绞索（刑）；v.用套索捉；使落入圈套；处以绞刑 | |
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behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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doorway
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| n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径 | |
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