The Secret of the Earth

by Charles Willing Beale

"Be quick!" I called to Torrence, speaking for the first time. But he turned upon me a face pale with horror and said:

"I can go no further!"

It was what I was dreading. The cliff above was smooth and slaty, offering not the slightest projection for a foothold. And there we hung in mid-air, listening to the rabble pouring on behind. Death seemed inevitable, for we had nearly reached the top, and could not have survived a fall to the jagged rocks below, to say nothing of dropping into the teeth of the enemy.

How long we hung thus it is impossible to say, but it seemed like an eternity, and I remember looking at Torrence's boots tucked in each side of his belt and observing that the one upon the right was not as well secured as the other, and wondering if he would lose it. Then an angel's hand seemed suddenly let down from heaven, as I saw for the first time the limb of a tree, which hung over the cliff in line with my brother's head. He had not seen it, so intently were his eyes fixed upon the rock, but I now called out loudly for him to grasp it. Even this was no easy task, the bough being several feet above his head, and it required all the nerve he possessed to jump into the air from his precarious foothold and seize it.

I trembled, and every nerve in my body quivered as he leaped upward. I sickened, and felt the earth give way beneath me, but at the same instant I saw that he had caught the limb with one hand and was swinging clear of the rock. Would he be able to draw himself up? Yes, there he was struggling along the bough with both legs and arms, and in another instant the top was reached. It was now an easy matter to bend the limb down for me. But the men were close upon us.

"Run for your life!" cried Torrence; and although exhausted, we ran as we had never run before, with shouts of "Kyah! Kyah!" resounding in our ears. I stumbled; I fell; but picked myself up again, and rushed ahead with "Kyah! Te Kyah!" creeping closer and closer behind me. I did not dare to look, but felt as if an army were rushing upon us with every creature in it shouting "Kyah! Te Kyah!" The panting of the men grew louder; still I felt that we might cope with the vanguard, if we gained the air ship first, although conscious that the race would be a severe one. Moreover, in those few seconds of intervening time I calculated every chance, and weighed to a nicety how much of our advantage would be lost in boarding the vessel, hauling in the ladder, and getting under weigh. The ship had always responded promptly to the touch of the button, but now I was full of the gravest misgivings, knowing that the slightest hitch would undo us. A horrible sinking seized me when I saw a large body of men approaching from the opposite direction, and observed that the leaders were nearly as close to the vessel as we were. They had climbed the cliff from the other side, and were now rushing through the timber frantically. I redoubled my efforts. The air ship looked as if it were a mile away, judging from the difficulty of crossing the intervening space, but I knew it was not thirty yards. Another instant I had a vision of Torrence bounding over the side and disappearing within, and how it was done I scarcely know, but I was tumbling down beside him, and then came the swing of the great hull beneath me and I knew that we were safe.

As soon as we had the strength we pulled in the ladder and closed the taffrail, and then looked down upon the enemy. They had gathered in great force, and we estimated there were more than a hundred.

It was impossible to guess what they wanted, but there was that which bespoke a deeper emotion than mere curiosity. Had we violated any statute of their municipality in sailing unsolicited above their palace walls? We were sure we had committed no other offence. It was a strange picture they made, assembled upon that mountain ledge, in such brilliant clothing and magnificent jewels, and the pow-wowing and jabbering that ensued was delirious. They constantly pointed up at us, evidently anxious to communicate, though ignorant of how to do so. We were suspended about fifty feet above their heads, but concluded to come a little nearer the ground, at which they gave unmistakable signs of pleasure, and motioned us to descend all the way. This, of course, we would not do, but made every effort to understand what was desired. Gradually it began to dawn upon us that they were anxious for our return to the city; the signals were pleading and imperative for our immediate departure, and could not be misinterpreted, though it was impossible to guess why we were wanted there.

"It can do no harm to return," said Torrence. "It cannot be more than twenty-five or thirty miles. We can run back in an hour or less and find out what is the matter."

I agreed with him, and when we signalled our intention, they were wild with delight. One thing more they begged; it was that we allow one of their number to go with us. So far as we could judge this request was simply that we might have one capable of explaining their demands. After a consultation we decided that the man, if carefully watched, could not possibly harm us or the ship, and we consented, if a way could be found to take him on board without landing. With this end in view we came within about twenty feet of the ground and dropped a line overboard, signalling that if he wished to come he must climb the rope. This seemed satisfactory, and the most gorgeous specimen in the crowd approached for the honor. Above the waist he wore but little clothing, but about his neck was a triple necklace of dazzling stones of such unmistakable genuineness and splendor that, had it been in our world, its value would have been inestimable.