“I thought so! Look, Seymour! The island of Ayuti!”
“Great Scott! so it is!” gasped the baronet in amazement.
[CHAPTER XXV.]
SEYMOUR’S FALL.
FOR some time the adventurers stood gazing downward from their lofty perch in silence. Beyond the belt of forest they could see a strip of sandy beach, and beyond this again, the sea, its shimmering surface reflecting the rays of the sun like a gigantic mirror. No dwelling was visible save in one place, where, in a forest clearing, a white house stood, plainly discernible in the clear morning air against the dark green of the foliage.
“See,” the scientist cried, “that is the English mission house. Can we but get down, we shall receive a warm welcome from the missionary, Mr. Travers; he is an old friend of mine.”
“You remember the legends which we heard from the natives, Seymour,” he went on, “when we visited this island some years ago, respecting the strange race of white giants which once inhabited this place?”
“Perfectly,” responded the baronet.
“Well, I think our discoveries in the underworld bear out the truth of the stories. Ever since I knew that the subterranean city was called by the same name as this island my brain has been exercised to account for the coincidence. Chenobi’s statement, that there was a passage through a dead fire-mountain, by means of which his people entered this land, gave me a clue to the mystery, and I formed a theory as to the origin of the Ayutis. But I needed proof ere my idea could become fact, and for that I had to wait until the present moment.”
“And your theory is?” questioned Wilson.