The Secret of the Earth

by Charles Willing Beale

On and on I crept, until at last, overcome with terror at the thought of my position, and the probable fate which awaited me, I sank down upon the floor, almost wishing that I had perished in the plain below. As I sat there brooding over our misfortunes, a strange odor was wafted through the passage, which I recognized at once as belonging to those gigantic birds of the desert.

XXII.

The peculiar odor alluded to grew more intense, until it became almost insupportable. I got up and stumbled on, hoping to escape it, and find an outlet to the open air, wondering at the same time if the alley led to a nest, or general rendezvous of these extraordinary creatures. The passage I was following was not only crooked, but in places it inclined upward, leading me to look for an opening above. The darkness was intense, and perhaps I felt it the more from the fact that there had been no night since the last great headland of Europe had faded from our view.

I could form no idea of the distance I had groveled along this black, noisome rift, when a flickering light greeted my eyes ahead which filled me with joy, although it was evidently not the light of day; still it relieved the awful sensation of having been trapped alive in a tomb of solid rock. The light approached slowly; evidently it was a long way off when first observed, and the reflection on the walls was all I was able to see for quite a time, but at last I heard approaching footsteps. There was a sharp angle ahead, and upon turning it, I found myself face to face with a human being bearing a torch. We stood for a second staring at each other. The man, if man it were, was tall, gaunt, with copper-colored skin, painted and gilded in geometrical designs, and with white hair that fell about his face and neck. He wore a crimson paletot which hung from his shoulders without belt or girdle. He was nearly a head the taller, and as I stood watching him in the flickering light of the flambeau, I was chilled, subdued, humbled, realizing that I was in the presence of a being whose powers I could not fathom. Without a word he turned, and with majestic wave of firebrand, motioned me to follow. I did as I was bid, knowing nothing else, and together we threaded the subterranean passage in its upward trend.

We struggled on up the incline, which ended in a vaulted chamber, where were standing vessels of water, and a quantity of peculiar-looking food upon a marble slab. In a corner was a pile of mats, doubtless intended for a bed. The walls were rough as if blasted from the living rock. About forty feet above my head was an opening through which the blessed daylight entered. My attendant left without a word, closing the heavy stone portal behind him.

Finding myself alone, I began to investigate the surroundings with a view of escape. It would have been useless to return as I had come, for even had my chamber door been open, the other end of the passage was closed against me; but the man had fastened the great stone portal after him; it was immovable in its stone socket. I was sealed up alive in a vault whose only opening was far above my head. How to reach that outlet was now what most concerned me.

Here I again observed the peculiar odor of those gigantic birds; if it became much stronger I thought it would stifle me. Examining the walls of my prison I found them in many places rough enough to afford a lodgment, huge blocks, projecting into the apartment; but the height was great, and I dared not attempt climbing to the opening above unless sure of finding a passable way to the top. The outlet was not directly in the apex of the roof, but upon one side, near the spring of the arch. The light was dim, and it was some time before I had fully mastered the bearings, but after a careful search I discovered in a remote corner a regular ledge of projecting rock, which appeared to go all the way to the ceiling. Indeed it looked as if it might have been used as a stairway to communicate with the roof. I lost no time in trying this, feeling uncertain as to what fate awaited me. And so, with the little barrel still upon my back, commenced the ascent immediately. As I had thought, it led without difficulty to the aperture, and I begun to congratulate myself with the thought that there was no intention of making me a prisoner after all, when so easy a way had been provided for my escape.

But this idea was quickly dispelled on finding myself upon the top of this lofty formation, which fell away upon every side in great chasms, and awful rifts, impossible to cross or descend with any means at my disposal. It was clear enough why there had been no effort to prevent my emerging here.

Far out over the desert the atmosphere still quivered in the dreadful heat, but even at this tremendous elevation I could see nothing of the air ship. Was it too small an object to be recognized so far away, or was it hid by the undulations of the sand; or, could it be possible, no, I could not believe it was possible, but still the thought would come to me, that Torrence had repaired the damage, and sailed away alone to continue the exploration by himself? I am sure such a conception would never have entered my mind were it not for the awful strain I had been subjected to.

Wandering across my prison roof I looked down into one of the great abysses beneath, a kind of natural courtyard, and beheld there a scene that interested me, and explained the presence of the odor, so often observed. Half a dozen of these gigantic birds were stalking about in this inclosure, and while I looked a man came among them bearing a barrel, the counterpart of the one I possessed. Going to the nearest, he fastened the vessel about its neck, and immediately after it flew up directly past where I stood, and out over the desert. Suddenly it flashed upon me that I might have fallen upon some strange monastery, where the Fathers dispatched birds instead of dogs to rescue those lost upon the plain below. It was merely a thought; I had no way of proving it, and give it for what it is worth. But even the thought was a comfort to my harried soul.