“We am propelling ourselves in a contiguous direction an’ in close proximity1 to an elevated portion of th’ earth’s surface which rises in antiguous proximity t’ th’ forward part of our present means of locomotion2!” said the colored man in a loud voice.
“Which means there may be a collision,” the professor said, as he and the boys hurried toward the tower.
“Jest what I said,” retorted Washington. “What’ll I do?”
“Send the ship a little higher,” answered Mr. Henderson. “We mustn’t hit any mountains.”
Washington forced more gas into the holder3, and speeded the negative gravity machine up some, so that the Mermaid4, which was flying rather low, ascended5 until it was in no danger of colliding with the peak which reared its lofty height just ahead of them.
As the ship sailed slowly over the mountain, Mark gazed down and exclaimed:
“Doesn’t that look like the ruins of some building?”
The professor took a pair of field glasses from a rack in the wall and took a long view.
“It must be the place,” he said in a low voice.
“The temple of treasure,” was the answer. “Hankos told me it was on top of the highest mountain in the land, and this must be it, for it is the loftiest place we have seen. But we must be careful, for there is danger down there.”
“What kind?” asked Mark.
“The place was long ago deserted7 by the giants,” Mr. Henderson went on. “Ages ago it was one of their storehouses for treasure, but there were wars among themselves, Hankos said, and this part of the country was laid waste. Savage8 beasts took up their abode9 in the temple, and since then, in spite of the great size of the giants, they have not dared to venture here. If we brave the animals we may have all the gold and diamonds we can take away.”
“Then for one, I’m willin’ t’ go down an’ begin th’ extermination10 at once,” put in Andy. “I’ve always wanted t’ be rich.”
“We must proceed cautiously,” the professor said. “We are ill prepared to fight any such beasts as we saw at the big geyser. At the same time they may have deserted this place. I think we will lower the ship down over the temple, and spend several hours in observation. Then, if nothing develops, we can enter and see if the treasure is there.”
This plan was voted a good one, and the Mermaid after having been steered11 directly over the ruined temple, was brought to a halt, and enough gas let out so that it fell to about fifty feet in the air above it.
The adventurers began their watch. The afternoon waned13 and there were no signs of any beasts in or about the temple.
“I reckon we can take a chance,” said Andy, who was anxious to get his hands on some diamonds.
“Better wait until morning,” counseled Mr. Henderson. “It will soon be dark, and it doesn’t look like a nice place to go stumbling about in by moonlight.”
So, though all but the scientist were anxious, they had to wait until the night had passed. Several times Washington got up to see if the temple had, by any chance, taken wings during the long hours of darkness, but each time he found it was still in place.
“Seems laik it’ll never come mornin’,” he said.
But dawn came at length, and, after a hasty breakfast, preparations to enter the temple were made. Andy loaded his gun for “bear” as he expressed it, and the boys each took a revolver.
The ship was lowered to as level a place as could be found, and then, seeing that everything was in readiness for a quick departure, the professor led the way out of the Mermaid.
The entrance to the temple was through a big arched gateway14. Some of the stones had fallen down, and the whole structure looked as if it might topple over at any moment.
“Go carefully,” cautioned Mr. Henderson. “Watch on all sides and up above. Better let Andy and me go ahead.”
The scientist and the old hunter led the way. Through the arch they went, and emerged into what must at one time have been a magnificent courtyard. Before them was the temple proper, a vast structure, with an opening through which fifty men might have marched abreast15. But the doors were gone, and the portal was but a black hole.
“I hope there ain’t any ghosts in there,” said Washington, with a shiver.
“Nonsense!” exclaimed the professor. “There may be things as bad, but there are no such things as ghosts. Have your gun ready, Andy.”
With every sense on the alert, the old hunter advanced. Every one was a bit nervous, and, as Mark and Jack afterward16 admitted, they half expected some terrible beast to rush out at them. But nothing of the kind happened, and they went into the interior of the temple.
At first it was so dark they could see nothing. There were vast dim shapes on every side, and from the hollow echo of their footsteps they judged the roof must be very high and the structure big in every way.
Then, as their eyes became used to the darkness, they could make out, up front, something like an altar or pulpit.
“Perhaps that’s where they offered up the gold and diamonds as a sacrifice to their gods,” spoke17 Mark in a whisper.
“Oh!” said Washington, in a low voice.
“Oh! Oh! Oh!” repeated the echoes in voices of thunder.
“Well, this is pleasant,” spoke Andy, in his natural tones, and, to the surprise of all there was no echo. It was only when a person whispered or spoke low that the sound was heard. After that they talked naturally.
“You stay here, and Andy and I will go up front and see what there is,” said Mr. Henderson. “Be on your guard, and if you hear us coming back in a hurry, run!”
It was with no little feeling of nervousness that the boys, Bill, Tom and Washington watched the two men move off in the darkness. They could hear their footsteps on the stone flags and could dimly see them.
“They must be almost to the altar by this time,” said Mark, after a long pause.
Hardly had he spoken than there came a loud sound from where Mr. Henderson and Andy had gone. It was as if some giant wings were beating the air. Then came shrill19 cries and the voice of the old hunter could be heard calling:
Those waiting in the rear of the temple huddled21 closer together. What terrible beast could have been aroused?
The next instant the place seemed illuminated22 as if by a lightning flash, and a sound as of a thousand thunder claps resounded23.
“I think I winged him!” cried Andy’s voice, and the boys knew he had fired at something.
Then there came a crash, and from the roof of the old temple a dozen stones toppled off to one side, letting in a flood of colored light.
By this illumination could be seen, flapping through the big space overhead, an enormous bat, as large as three eagles. And, as it flew about in a circle it gave utterance24 to shrill cries.
“Bang!” Andy’s gun spoke again, and the bat with a louder cry than before, darted25 through the hole in the roof made by the falling stones, which had been loosened by the concussion26 from the rifle.
Then, in the light which streamed through the broken roof, the adventurers could see, heaped up on a great altar, behind which sat a horrible graven image, piles of yellow metal, and sparkling stones. In little heaps they were, arranged as if offerings to the terrible god of the giants. There were bars and rings of gold, dishes of odd shape, and even weapons. As for the sparkling stones, they were of many colors, but the white ones were more plentiful28 than all the others.
“Gold and diamonds! Diamonds and gold!” murmured the professor. “There is the ransom29 of many kings in this ancient temple.”
“Wish I had a big bag!” exclaimed Washington, as he began filling all his pockets with the precious metal and gems30. “If I had a-thought I’d have brought a dress-suit case!”
“A dress-suit case full of diamonds!” exclaimed Mark.
Then he too, as did all the others, fell to filling his pockets with the wealth spread so lavishly31 before them. There was the riches of a whole world in one place and no one but themselves to take it.
For several minutes no one spoke. The only sound was the rattle32 of the stones and the clink of gold, and when some of the diamonds dropped on the floor they did not bother to gather them up. There were too many on the altar.
“I can’t carry any more!” gasped Washington. “I’m goin’ back for——”
What he was going back for he never said, for, at that instant, happening to look up at the hole in the roof, he gave a startled cry:
“Here come the terrible bats!”
They all gazed upward. Through the opening they could see a great flock of the awful birds, headed for the temple, and they were led by one which seemed to fly with difficulty. It was the guardian of the treasure that Andy had wounded.
“Quick! We must get out of here!” shouted the old hunter. “They are big enough and strong enough to tear us all to pieces. Hurry!”
Down the centre of the temple they rushed, and not a moment too soon, for, ere they had passed half way to the entrance, the opening in the roof was darkened by the coming of the bats, and soon the flapping of their wings awoke the thundering echoes in the ruined structure, while their shrill cries struck terror to the hearts of the travelers.
Up to the altar circled the bats, and then wheeling they flapped down the dim aisles34 toward the adventurers.
“Hurry! Hurry!” shouted Andy, who was in the rear.
He raised his rifle and fired several shots into the midst of the terrible creatures.
A number of the bats were wounded, and the others were so frightened by the sound of the shots and the flashes of fire that they turned back. This enabled the fleeing ones to gain the entrance to the temple, and soon they were outside.
“To the ship!” yelled Bill.
“There’s little danger now!” called Andy, panting, for the run had winded him. “They will hardly attack us in the light!”
And he was right, for, though they could hear the bats flying about inside the temple, and uttering their cries, none came outside.
But no one felt like staying near the uncanny structure, and little time was lost in reaching the Mermaid. Then the doors were fastened, and the ship was sent high up into the air.
“Back to where we first met the giants,” replied the professor. “We must prepare to start for our own earth again soon.”
“I’ve almost forgotten how real sunlight looks,” thought Jack, as he headed the ship around the other way. As he turned the levers a big diamond dropped from his pocket and rolled on the floor.
The travelers, even including Mr. Henderson, were so taken up with their suddenly acquired riches that they hardly thought of meals. At the professor’s suggestion they tied their gold and stones up in small packages convenient to carry.
“Better place them where you can grab them in a hurry in case of accident,” the old scientist went on. “Of course if there should be too bad an accident they would never be of any use to us down here, but we’ll look on the bright side of things.”
“Do you anticipate any accident?” asked Jack anxiously.
“No, Oh no,” replied Mr. Henderson, but Jack thought the aged37 man had something weighing on his mind.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
proximity
|
|
| n.接近，邻近 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
locomotion
|
|
| n.运动，移动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
holder
|
|
| n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
mermaid
|
|
| n.美人鱼 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
ascended
|
|
| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
jack
|
|
| n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
deserted
|
|
| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
savage
|
|
| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
abode
|
|
| n.住处，住所 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
extermination
|
|
| n.消灭，根绝 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
steered
|
|
| v.驾驶( steer的过去式和过去分词 )；操纵；控制；引导 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
steer
|
|
| vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
waned
|
|
| v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gateway
|
|
| n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
abreast
|
|
| adv.并排地；跟上(时代)的步伐，与…并进地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
afterward
|
|
| adv.后来；以后 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
spoke
|
|
| 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 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
shudder
|
|
| v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
shrill
|
|
| adj.尖声的；刺耳的；v尖叫 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
brute
|
|
| n.野兽，兽性 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
huddled
|
|
| 挤在一起（huddle的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
illuminated
|
|
| adj.被照明的；受启迪的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
resounded
|
|
| v.（指声音等）回荡于某处( resound的过去式和过去分词 )；产生回响；（指某处）回荡着声音 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
utterance
|
|
| n.用言语表达，话语，言语 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
concussion
|
|
| n.脑震荡；震动 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
guardian
|
|
| n.监护人；守卫者，保护者 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
28
plentiful
|
|
| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
29
ransom
|
|
| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
30
gems
|
|
| growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
31
lavishly
|
|
| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
32
rattle
|
|
| v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
33
gasped
|
|
| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
34
aisles
|
|
| n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
35
conning
|
|
| v.诈骗，哄骗( con的现在分词 )；指挥操舵( conn的现在分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
36
reminder
|
|
| n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
37
aged
|
|
| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |