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tumbled into the narrow way, choking it, and the walls
bent inward upon the wreckage. Beneath the blow of a
fragment of the roof, Tarzan staggered back against the
door to the treasure room, his weight pushed it open
and his body rolled inward upon the floor.
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r r
In the great apartment where the treasure lay less
damage was wrought by the earthquake. A few ingots
toppled from the higher tiers, a single piece of the
rocky ceiling splintered off and crashed downward to
the floor, and the walls cracked, though they did not
collapse.
There was but the single shock, no other followed to
complete the damage undertaken by the first. Werper,
thrown to his length by the suddenness and violence of
the disturbance, staggered to his feet when he found
himself unhurt. Groping his way toward the far end of
the chamber, he sought the candle which Tarzan had left
stuck in its own wax upon the protruding end of an
ingot.
By striking numerous matches the Belgian at last found
what he sought, and when, a moment later, the sickly
rays relieved the Stygian darkness about him, he
breathed a nervous sigh of relief, for the impenetrable
gloom had accentuated the terrors of his situation.
As they became accustomed to the light the man turned
his eyes toward the door--his one thought now was of
escape from this frightful tomb--and as he did so he
saw the body of the naked giant lying stretched upon
the floor just within the doorway. Werper drew back in
sudden fear of detection; but a second glance convinced
him that the Englishman was dead. From a great gash in
the man's head a pool of blood had collected upon the
concrete floor.
Quickly, the Belgian leaped over the prostrate form of
his erstwhile host, and without a thought of succor for
the man in whom, for aught he knew, life still
remained, he bolted for the passageway and safety.
But his renewed hopes were soon dashed. Just beyond
the doorway he found the passage completely clogged and
choked by impenetrable masses of shattered rock.
Once more he turned and re-entered the treasure vault.
Taking the candle from its place he commenced a
systematic search of the apartment, nor had he gone far
before he discovered another door in the opposite end
of the room, a door which gave upon creaking hinges to
the weight of his body. Beyond the door lay another
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narrow passageway. Along this Werper made his way,
ascending a flight of stone steps to another corridor
twenty feet above the level of the first. The
flickering candle lighted the way before him, and a
moment later he was thankful for the possession of this
crude and antiquated luminant, which, a few hours
before he might have looked upon with contempt, for it
showed him, just in time, a yawning pit, apparently
terminating the tunnel he was traversing.
Before him was a circular shaft. He held the candle
above it and peered downward. Below him, at a great
distance, he saw the light reflected back from the
surface of a pool of water. He had come upon a well.
He raised the candle above his head and peered across
the black void, and there upon the opposite side he saw
the continuation of the tunnel; but how was he to span
the gulf?
As he stood there measuring the distance to the
opposite side and wondering if he dared venture so
great a leap, there broke suddenly upon his startled
ears a piercing scream which diminished gradually until
it ended in a series of dismal moans. The voice seemed
partly human, yet so hideous that it might well have
emanated from the tortured throat of a lost soul,
writhing in the fires of hell.
The Belgian shuddered and looked fearfully upward,
for the scream had seemed to come from above him.
As he looked he saw an opening far overhead, and a
patch of sky pinked with brilliant stars.
His half-formed intention to call for help was expunged
by the terrifying cry--where such a voice lived, no
human creatures could dwell. He dared not reveal
himself to whatever inhabitants dwelt in the place
above him. He cursed himself for a fool that he had
ever embarked upon such a mission. He wished himself
safely back in the camp of Achmet Zek, and would almost
have embraced an opportunity to give himself up to the
military authorities of the Congo if by so doing he
might be rescued from the frightful predicament in
which he now was.
He listened fearfully, but the cry was not repeated,
and at last spurred to desperate means, he gathered
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r r [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]