Across the Cameroons Part 27

On the spur of the moment he s.n.a.t.c.hed his revolver, levelled it, and fired.

There was a prolonged, piercing shriek, as a dark ma.s.s, blacker than the shadows, sprang high into the air.

Harry lay quite still; fear at last possessed him. The loud report of his revolver was still singing in his ears; and, before silence reigned again, it was as if the whole place, even the very walls, were possessed of life.

Dark shadows were moving everywhere. All about the boy were yellow, staring eyes, that dilated and grew smaller in the darkness. And then Harry became conscious of a fierce, growling sound.

As far as he was able to make out, this proceeded from the largest pair of eyes, immediately before him. And it was this that gave him the first inkling as to the solution of the mystery: he had crept into a den of savage beasts.

The largest pair of eyes drew nearer, and suddenly dropped lower, almost to the level of the ground. The brute was about to spring.

There was a snarl. As quick as lightning Harry sprang aside.

The great beast collided with the wall with such force that the roof--or as much of it as remained--came down with a crash upon the ground, and Harry found himself buried in a ma.s.s of debris and dust.

He tried to move, but found he was unable to do so. A heavy beam lay across his chest. With the exception of his head and shoulders he was buried in the wreckage.

As the dust cleared, the place became illumined by the moons.h.i.+ne. On the sudden disappearance of the roof, the light from without had been admitted to the darkened chamber. At once Harry was able to see quite distinctly, and the sight that he beheld was sufficiently alarming to shake the nerves of even the strongest man.

Pinned to the ground, unable to move, he found himself in the midst of a family of leopards. Quite near to him, also half buried in the wreckage, lay the beast that he had shot--evidently the father of the family. Six cubs, half-grown, growled and snarled on the other side of the chamber, and in front of them, her white fangs gleaming in the moonlight, was the mother leopard, fiercely guarding her young.

It was she who had hurled herself at the wall, who had brought down the roof, and who now snarled repeatedly at the boy. It was apparent that the sudden collapse of the building had given the animal a fright. Twice she made as if she would advance, and twice drew back towards her young.

Harry was not able to fire again. The hand which held his revolver was pinned down beneath the fallen beam. He could not move his eyes from the leopard. At the same time, the brute feared to advance.

A sharp jet of fire--it seemed not two paces from the boy's face--a loud report, and the leopard rose upon its hind legs, rampant, terrible and glorious, fighting the air with its fore feet as if in the throes of a struggle with an invisible, all-powerful foe.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LEOPARD ROSE UPON ITS HIND LEGS, RAMPANT, TERRIBLE, AND GLORIOUS]

Then the brute came down and lay quite still, shot through the brain by a bullet from Jim Braid's rifle.

Quick upon Jim's heels, through the narrow opening in the wall, came the two guides, Cortes leading the way.

"Are you hurt?" asked Jim.

"No," said Harry. "I am not hurt. But get me out of this; I can't move."

With quick hands they lifted the beams and rafters that pinned the boy to the ground, and, a moment after, Harry was on his feet.

The young leopards gathered together in a corner of the chamber. Then, one after the other, they sprang over the ruined wall like cats, and disappeared into the night.

"The sheikh!" cried Fernando. "Where is he?"

"I have not seen him," answered Harry.

"He came here to-day," said Cortes, "and pitched his camp. Look here, what's that?"

He pointed to the ground, where lay something that was white as snow. It was a bone.

The two boys drew back in horror. Fernando was undismayed. He calmly picked up the bone and examined it in the moonlight.

"This is the s.h.i.+n-bone of a camel," said he. "Moreover, of a camel that was killed to-day. As my brother says, the Black Dog was here."

"See this!" cried Cortes. "The ground is charred. It was here he lit his fire."

All four searched the chamber. Besides the s.h.i.+n-bone, they found other evidence that could not be disputed: four hoofs and a piece of the Arab's white flowing robe.

"Has the man been killed?" cried Jim.

"It seems that that is so."

"But the Sunstone!" Harry exclaimed.

"This evidence," said Fernando, "is indisputable. The Black Dog came here by day, pitched his camp, and lit his fire. When his fire burned out he fell asleep. He had had no sleep for forty-eight hours, and must have been exhausted. It was whilst he was asleep that the leopards entered. It seems I have been robbed of my revenge."

Harry looked at the man.

"So you think," said he, "that the sheikh is dead?"

Fernando pointed to the strip of the Arab's clothes, and shrugged his shoulders. "At all events," said he, "the camel he purchased in the village fell a prey to the leopards."

"But," exclaimed Harry, "how could the camel have got here. We were obliged to crawl in on hand and knees."

Fernando laughed.

"The leopards slew the camel outside," said he. "They tore it to pieces, which they dragged in here to play with. Have you never watched a cat?"

"Then," cried Harry, "the Sunstone has been lost!"

"Have patience," said Fernando. "We may find it yet. We will get out of this place and wait for dawn. When the daylight comes we will search the ruins. There is no need as yet to despair."

This advice was good. They went out together, leaving by way of the little archway half-hidden by the cactus plant. On the sand of the desert they lay down side by side, and, whilst one acted as sentry, the others slept.

As soon as the sun began to rise in the east, Fernando rose to his feet.

"Come," said he, "we will search."

They looked everywhere. Under the palm-trees, the sand was all disturbed where the eight leopards had flung themselves upon the camel.

Around the trunk of one of the trees was a rope which had been gnawed in half. In the inner chamber of the temple no further evidence was forthcoming, and this was in part due to the fact that the ground was covered with the wreckage of the roof. It was the younger guide who discovered in the outer chamber a drop of blood upon the stones.

The man evidently considered that he had found a clue of great importance; but to the two boys it seemed quite obvious that this was the blood of the camel that had been dragged piecemeal through the narrow opening.

"No," said Cortes, shaking his head. "These are small drops of blood.

It is possible the Black Dog is still alive."

At that he turned upon his heel and set off at a jog-trot across the plain. When he was a long way off, they saw him waving his arms frantically, in the highest state of excitement.