Under the Chilian Flag Part 18

Then began a fight most grim and terrible. The Bolivians outnumbered their a.s.sailants by about four to one, but the latter had the advantage of a complete surprise, and they mowed down the savage guerillas by the score. There was a pa.s.sage leading from the gate to the interior of the fort, but this was soon very nearly choked with dead and wounded. Jim therefore rallied his men for another charge before the way should be quite closed, and, with a cheer, his brave fellows forced a pa.s.sage through for themselves, cutting down all who opposed them. So completely were the outlaws taken by surprise that many of them had not found time to arm themselves, and were therefore slaughtered like so many sheep. The promise of success, on the other hand, spurred the Chilians on to still further effort, and in another ten minutes they had struck such terror into the hearts of the defenders of the stronghold that the guerillas flung down their arms and cried for quarter; and thus at last the tide of death was stopped.

The guerillas were then disarmed and imprisoned in batches in the prison cells which they had so carefully prepared for others, while their arms were collected and destroyed, and the fort was in the hands of the Chilians. The terror of the surrounding country had been brought to nothing at last, and there would be no more savage raids and midnight ma.s.sacres.

A messenger was at once dispatched to La Paz to acquaint the Government with the fact of the capture and downfall of the guerilla band, with a request that a body of Bolivian troops might be dispatched to take charge of the prisoners. Jim determined, however, not to hand over the fort, although it was situated in Bolivian territory, until he should receive definite instructions so to do from headquarters; for he did not know what new boundaries Chili proposed to arrange as the limits to the country which she had acquired by conquest from the two republics; and he thought it more than probable that his Government would decide to retain the fort, since it occupied such a very commanding position.

He therefore in due time handed over the eight hundred prisoners--the rest of the band having been killed--to the Bolivian troops; who immediately returned with them to La Paz. Meanwhile Jim repaired the fort sufficiently to provide accommodation for his own troops, with whom he temporarily garrisoned the place. Then he sent a messenger on horseback to Arica to report the success which had been obtained, and to ask for instructions as to what he was to do with the fort.

Meanwhile the young Englishman made up his mind that he was in for at least a fortnight's sojourn in the fort, or until such time as his messenger should return from Arica; and he began to cast about for some means by which to while the time away.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

THE FULFILMENT OF THE PROPHECY.

"Well, Jose, what do you make of it, eh? Why, surely, man, there is nothing in it to frighten you, is there?"

So spoke Jim Douglas to his Indian guide one morning, three or four days after the messenger had been dispatched to Arica. The Englishman had found the time hanging somewhat heavily on his hands up there in that lonely mountain fortress; and therefore, having nothing better to do, he had brought out the roll of parchment which he had found in the tunnel at Sorata, and had set himself to the task of deciphering its meaning.

Failing entirely, however, to make any sense out of it, yet somehow convinced that the doc.u.ment was of some importance, he had called Jose into the tent and asked him whether his knowledge of the various native dialects was sufficient to enable him to translate it.

The effect of the sight of the doc.u.ment upon Jose had been peculiar, to say the least of it. The moment that his eyes had fallen upon the parchment, his face had turned that peculiar greyish tint which a dark skin takes on in lieu of pallor; his hands had trembled with excitement or some other emotion, and his whole demeanour had been so strange as to call forth the exclamation from Jim above recorded.

The Indian made no reply for several seconds, but sat gazing at the doc.u.ment with eyes that seemed to threaten every moment to start out of his head. Then he turned the parchment over and over in his hands, holding it tenderly, even reverently, as though it were some extremely precious or sacred thing. Finally he pulled himself together, and, in a voice trembling with emotion, replied: "No-o, senor; there is nothing in this doc.u.ment to frighten me, but--but--. You have no idea at all, senor," he continued, after a lengthy pause, "what this writing refers to?"

"No, of course I have not," answered Douglas, somewhat impatiently. "If I knew the contents I should not be under the necessity to ask you to translate them, should I?"

"Pardon me, senor; I spoke foolishly," replied Jose.

"Let the senor, however, listen to me while I recount a few facts to him. He will then see, perhaps, why I have been so utterly astonished at the sight of this doc.u.ment. Long ages ago--ay, long before the _conquistadores_ appeared in Peru--we Indians worked the silver and gold mines, which, as you know, abound in this country; and we also gathered enormous quant.i.ties of precious stones from the river-beds for the purpose of adorning the person of the Inca, our lord, and those of his n.o.bles whom he deigned to favour, as well as for the adornment of the temple and of the royal palace. By the time, then, that Pizarro and his horde of robbers overran the land, there were millions upon millions of dollars-worth of precious metals and precious stones in the possession of the Inca and his n.o.bles. You have heard of the ransom which Pizarro exacted from Atahualpa; how a large room was twice filled with gold, to the value of fifteen millions of your pounds? Well, the Spaniards themselves knew that that ransom was but a small fraction of the enormous wealth which we Peruvians possessed; but they did _not_ know, as we did, how very small a fraction it was. We had not time enough to secrete all our treasure, for the arrival of the Spaniards was unexpected; but we hid away an enormous quant.i.ty of gold, silver, and jewels. Some of it has been lost; irretrievably, I fear, through the sudden death of the men to whom the secret of its hiding-place had been entrusted. But we Peruvians still know the whereabout of a good deal of that vast h.o.a.rd which is being kept for the time when a new Inca shall arise who shall set himself at the head of our armies and sweep the invaders of our land into the sea. All our preparations are made; we only await the arrival of the man. And this doc.u.ment, into possession of which you have so strangely come, relates to the burial of one of these h.o.a.rds, and tells the secret of its hiding-place, as also the means whereby that hiding-place may be found.

"That is why I was so greatly overcome with amazement when you showed me the paper, senor. _I_ am one of the descendants of the ancient Peruvian race; and, since this doc.u.ment is written in the secret character used by the Incas, I can read it, and I can say, now, where this treasure is located!"

"Phew!" whistled Jim, "that's a strange story, and no mistake. I did not think when I brought that doc.u.ment away that it would prove of quite so much importance and value; although, to be sure, there were several small gold and silver images buried with it."

"Images!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Jose excitedly; "where are they, where are they, oh, my preserver? If you really have the signs in your possession, then I-- Show me them, senor, show me them, I pray you."

Thus exhorted, Jim dived into the chest which he had brought with him to accommodate his belongings, and produced the little images which he had found in the tunnel at Sorata. Jose fell upon his knees before them in a perfect ecstasy of mingled reverence and delight, turning them over and over in his hands, and speaking to them as though they were, in very truth, alive. Then presently he recovered himself and, placing Jim's hand upon his head in token of submission, he said in a trembling voice:

"Oh, my deliverer, it was prophesied of old that the man who possessed those figures should also possess the treasure; for that man would be destined to do great things for the benefit of our race. But in addition to this, you have found the doc.u.ment; there can be no doubt, therefore, that you, my master, are the man who is destined to receive this great treasure, for all the signs point that way. I am willing, therefore, to translate this writing to you, senor, and to show you the way to the place where the treasure is hidden, so that you may obtain possession of it."

"By Jove!" exclaimed Douglas, leaning back in his chair and wiping his forehead, "this is the most extraordinary affair that I have ever come across; and--let me think! what was it that old Inca witch-woman told me about treasure being in store for me? Ah yes! I remember. She said that one day I should come into possession of great wealth; that it was still hidden in the ground, but that the secret of its hiding-place should one day be revealed to me. _Caramba_! It really seems as though the Inca's prophecy is about to come true. Now, Jose," he went on, aloud; "this is a very curious tale indeed. I hope you are not playing any tricks with me.

"Senor, you saved my life, only a few days ago," replied the Indian; "is it likely that I should deceive the man who rescued me from a horrible death? Besides, the treasure is situated only a very short distance from here--about a day's journey--so your Excellency can easily prove whether I am telling the truth or not by accompanying me to the place, and seeing the treasure with your own eyes."

"H'm!" said Jim, "yes; that is of course the most satisfactory way of proving the matter. My messenger cannot possibly return for eight or ten days yet, so I should have plenty of time to make the journey. I can leave the fort in charge of Lieutenant Munoz, as there is really nothing in the way of duty to keep me here. Yes, I think that will be best. Very well, Jose," continued the Englishman, "we will start early to-morrow morning; and you shall show me the way to this wonderful treasure-house of which you speak. You had better not talk too much, however, about the matter whereon we shall be engaged; for there is no need to excite an undue amount of curiosity about our movements. Make all the necessary preparations to-day,--you will of course know what we ought to take with us for the expedition,--and I will let it be understood that I am setting out for a hunt of two or three days'

duration. We can make an early start, travel during the day, encamp on the spot for the night, and start work on the second day, returning here on the third. That ought to give us enough time to do what we have to do, ought it not?"

"Plenty of time, Excellency," returned the Indian. "And the senor need not be afraid that I shall disclose the secret of our journey. You had better take a rifle with you, senor, and let me take one, too; for it is just possible that we might be obliged to defend the treasure after we have secured it."

Jose then went away to make his preparations, while Jim remained in his tent thinking over the very curious train of incidents which had led up to that of this morning. Later in the day he sent for Munoz and handed the command over to the lieutenant during his absence, giving him instructions how to act in any eventuality which was in the least likely to arise; and the next morning, just before daybreak, he set off in company with the Indian for the spot where the Inca's treasure was a.s.serted to be concealed. Two mules had been loaded with provisions, a tent, cooking utensils, blankets, etcetera, and in the middle of the blankets had been concealed a couple of picks and the same number of shovels. Jim and the Indian each carried an ordinary army rifle slung over his shoulder, and had a bandolier of cartridges strapped round his waist, so that they were well prepared for whatever might befall.

The treasure was buried, said Jose, in a cave in the side of a ravine, at a spot about twenty miles north-eastward of Coroico, and the road thither was a difficult and dangerous one to travel, consisting as it did, for the most part, of a narrow path just wide enough for one man-- or a mule--to pa.s.s, and skirting the edge of tremendous abysses whose bottoms could not be seen because of the mists which veiled them. Many a time they came to portions of the cliff-path which were so narrow that Jim thought it would be impossible to get any farther, but they managed it somehow; the mules stepping along as though they had been used to that kind of road all their lives, as, indeed, they very probably had.

For some hours the two treasure-seekers continued to ascend, the scenery growing more and more gloomy, and the country more and more barren, until, at mid-day, they reached the summit of the pa.s.s and began to descend. Then the character of the scenery rapidly changed; they left the region of bare rock and entered upon that of the forests, leaving that in turn for the lower lands and the region of tropical foliage, with deep ravines crossed by frail bridges made of rattan and light branches.

It was just becoming dusk when Jose threw up his hand as a sign for the little cavalcade to halt. He then took a careful look round him, observing the formation and appearance of the surrounding country; then he made a long and close scrutiny of the doc.u.ment, which they had, of course, brought with them, and a frown of perplexity made its appearance between Jose's eyes.

"What's the matter, _mi amigo_?" demanded Jim, noticing the look.

"Well, senor," replied Jose, "this paper says that from here one should be able to see, close at hand, a large pinnacle of rock in the shape of a pyramid. It is from that pinnacle that the bearings of the treasure- cave are to be taken and--and I can see no such rock anywhere about here."

"That is awkward," said Douglas. "Does the paper say whether it was a big or small column of rock?"

"It says that it is about the height of two men, Excellency," replied the Indian.

"Oh, then, we may very easily find it hidden away somewhere among this thick brushwood," replied Jim. And sure enough, they found the rock, after an hour's search, during which it had become almost dark, completely covered with a thick growth of tropical foliage. They were able to do nothing further that night, the light having completely gone by the time that the rock was finally identified; so they camped out where they were, and began the search again the next morning.

From the rock Jose now carefully paced off certain distances; and, by ten o'clock in the forenoon he announced that he had discovered the spot where the treasure lay. At their feet ran a stream, the approach to which had been made by way of a gentle gra.s.sy slope. But the opposite side of the torrent was nothing more than a sheer wall of rock some hundreds of feet in height, and it seemed to Jim as though they had reached the uttermost confines of the world. They had come so far, but it was manifestly impossible to go any farther. However, it was not necessary to do so; for, on the opposite side of the stream Jim saw, when Jose pointed it out to him, a black, round opening which, said the Indian, was the mouth of the treasure-cavern.

Douglas thought that it would have been impossible to secure a better hiding-place; for the approach to the spot was difficult, and beset with many dangers. And had any one arrived at the bank of the stream whereon the two men then stood they would never have guessed that the little inconspicuous hole on the opposite side was the entrance to a chamber wherein was contained the ransom of, not of one, but many kings.

The stream, though swift-flowing, was shallow, and the adventurers had little difficulty in getting across; whereupon they found themselves standing on a narrow ledge of black rock, while, four feet above their heads, was the lower edge of the hole, which proved to be much larger than it had appeared from the other side. It was the work of a few seconds only for Jim to mount on the Indian's shoulders and secure a foothold in the mouth of the cave, after which he a.s.sisted Jose to climb up.

As soon as they were inside, Jose seemed to be overcome with awe at the idea of standing on such sacred ground; but Jim had no such feelings, and kindling a torch, he bade the Indian lead the way. The latter soon recovered his equanimity, and, after they had hauled up the picks and shovels, led the way into the interior of the cave, which widened out as they receded from the entrance, until it a.s.sumed enormous dimensions, the light of the torch being quite insufficient to disclose the boundaries of the cavern. And now they began to meet with traces of a former civilisation. Along the rock walls were ranged stone images of the Incas and their wives, and at the feet of each figure was to be seen a large package wrapped in raw-hide, and secured with strips of the same material. These packages, Jose said, contained gold bricks; and Jim quickly proved the truth of the statement by slitting open one or two with his hunting-knife.

It was, however, toward a row of huge chests, ten in number, that the Indian led Jim, telling him that the real treasure was contained in them. Although strong, they were quickly broken open by well-directed blows of the pickaxes; and upon the lids being raised there burst upon Jim's eyes such a vision of wealth that he was positively dazed by the immensity of it. The particular chest which he opened was full, from bottom to top, of solid gold ingots, black with age on the surface, but showing the dull red metallic l.u.s.tre of gold when sc.r.a.ped with a knife.

There must have been half a million pounds' worth of it, Jim guessed, in that one chest alone--and there were nine others! The two men then opened a second box, at random, and this chest contained all manner of gold and silver ornaments, of the most exquisitely delicate and intricate workmans.h.i.+p. Cups, necklaces, finger-rings, clasps, sword- hilts, and breast-plates, the latter studded with rough, uncut jewels of enormous size, filled the chest to the very brim, and took away Jim's breath with the magnificence and lavish abundance of it all. The other cases were each opened in turn, disclosing to their astounded eyes the veritable treasure of the Incas; and Jim immediately saw that the removal of such a vast acc.u.mulation of wealth must necessarily occupy a considerable time, and that the treasure would have to be conveyed away piecemeal on mule-back. He therefore selected from the h.o.a.rd of uncut jewels as many of the finest as he believed that he and Jose could conveniently carry, wrapped them up in two parcels, and, giving one to Jose to carry, took charge of the other himself. This done, the two men closed up the chests and left the cavern, returning to the spot where they had camped on the previous nigh. During the long silent hours while Jose was asleep, Jim kept guard over the spoil which he had already secured, and made plans for removing the rest of the treasure.

He decided to dispose of the whole of the jewels--or, rather, as many of them as he might find necessary--and with the money thus obtained fit out an expedition to the cavern, to bring away the remainder of the spoil; but while he was wondering how he could elude the watchfulness of the Bolivian authorities--who would pounce upon the whole if they should get to hear of its existence--he fell asleep, and it was nearly eleven o'clock when he awoke the next morning.

The two men then secured the gems to their persons, and started off on their toilsome journey back to the fort, which they safely reached two days later, utterly worn-out with the fatigues which they had undergone.

Jim was so completely exhausted that he spent the whole of the day after their return upon his narrow camp-bed; but by the following morning he was quite rested, and burning with impatience for his messenger to return, so that he might the sooner get back to civilisation and prepare for the expedition to the treasure-cavern.

It was some days, however, before the soldier returned, having ridden hard night and day to deliver Jim's report and to return with orders to the young commander. They were to the effect that Douglas was to leave half his force in the fort--which the Chilians had decided to hold for the present--and to return with the remaining half to Arica as soon as possible. He therefore set off with his reduced company upon the following morning, Jose insisting upon accompanying him, and reached Arica a week later, reporting his arrival at the military headquarters there, where he was complimented upon the success with which he had carried out his little campaign against the guerillas, and where he received his promotion to the rank of major, as had been promised him by Admiral Riveros in the event of his bringing the expedition to a satisfactory conclusion.

There is very little more to tell, for by the time that Douglas returned to Arica the war was practically over, and as peace negotiations were already in progress hostilities had ceased almost everywhere. A fortnight later the treaty was signed whereby Bolivia ceded the whole of her sea-coast to Chili, and Peru was forced to give up 250 miles of hers to the conquering Republic. The Peruvian navy had been utterly destroyed, with the exception of one or two worthless s.h.i.+ps; the Bolivian armies had been cut to pieces, and the allies had been obliged to bow the knee to Chili, which had everywhere been victorious.

As the fighting was now all over Jim resigned his position in the Chilian army and went to Valparaiso, where he eventually disposed of his jewels for the very handsome sum of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, which was very much more than he had any idea they would fetch, yet considerably less than they were actually worth. He then made a journey into the mountains, accompanied only by Jose and a small escort, in order properly to survey the place where the treasure-cave was situated before he led the expedition there for the purpose of recovering the remainder of the gold and jewels. But to his utter consternation he found, when he reached the locality, that an earthquake had recently occurred which had changed the whole character of the surroundings!

He was, however, at length able to locate the spot where the cavern had been, and he took such elaborate and complete bearings of it that he felt sure he would one day, when things had quieted down a little, be able to get at the chests again and despoil them of their contents. But for the moment he had as much money as he actually needed; so, returning from Coroico, he bought an estate in a lovely spot near Quinteros Bay, and settled down comfortably there, with Jose as his faithful henchman.

Jim has never married, although he is now getting somewhat on in years.

He says he is quite contented and happy with his horses, his dogs, and Jose, who has never left his master's side for a whole day since that eventful night when Jim rescued him from the guerillas.

For ten long years Jim lived in that house near Quinteros, which he named "Casa Coroico"; and then the Chilian revolutionary war broke out, and he again took up his commission as major, and fought in the ranks of the Congressionalists. How he fared in that campaign is, however, another story; as also is that of his subsequent adventures in quest of the Inca's treasure which was lost during the earthquake. Douglas is now a man of nearly fifty years of age; but he declares that he is in the very prime of life; and, if you care to visit him in his magnificent house overlooking the sea, there is nothing that will give him greater pleasure, you will find, than to talk to you about the wild days of '79-'81, when he fought against the Peruvians. Every particular of this campaign he remembers as precisely as though it had occurred but yesterday; and he will yarn for hours together about Prat, Condell, Lynch, Simpson, Williams, and all the rest of them; men of English descent for the most part, who had adopted Chili as their home and country, and who helped to make the Republic what she now is, a credit to herself and to them, and a worthy protege of that greater country across the sea from which sprang the n.o.ble and gallant gentlemen who raised Chili to the position of first of the South American Republics.