In the tiger's lair

by Leo E. Miller

Stanley’s first official act was to order the instant release of the other prisoners who had been condemned to die with them. Next, he instructed the commander of the troops to capture Quizquiz and Villac Umu, and to bring them to him, unharmed. After that he commanded that preparations for the return to the city be made at once, and that the journey begin early the following morning. Soncco was appointed counsellor, and to him they intrusted the management of all civic affairs, the important ones, however, to be brought to Stanley’s attention before action was taken. Upon reaching the capitol he would take up everything in detail and consider what was best for the future. In the meantime work was to be resumed by the inhabitants, and the laws administered exactly as they were before. This done, every one was dismissed excepting only Soncco and the servants of the royal quarters.

“You will dispose with all formalities while in our presence,” Stanley instructed the aged amauta. “No crawling or bowing or taking off your shoes. We will conduct things on strictly business basis. Talk freely. We depend on you to help us.”

To the former Soncco reluctantly agreed, for was not a king entitled to homage? The latter he would do with pleasure.

“Now let’s take a walk,” Ted suggested. “I am eager to see how much damage that dynamite did to the wall. I didn’t think it would do more than tear a hole in it, but it sounded as if the whole thing fell down.”

They went out of the spacious tent and looked in the direction of the great wall that had been erected to shut off the lower from the upper and larger end of the valley. That end of the massive structure that joined the natural stone escarpment of the mountains had fallen to the ground; there was a gap that appeared to be fully fifty yards wide. But that was not the more surprising result of the explosion. A broad rent had been torn in the mountainside itself.

The two gazed in astonishment.

“That hundred pounds of dynamite could never have done all that damage,” Ted commented, much puzzled by the scene of devastation. “But I am glad to see that there is a hole in the slope, because that means that we will have an easy passage into the outer world.”

“That is just what I was thinking. What the jar of the explosion did was to cause a landslide, and the whole upper precipice tumbled down. Look at the huge pile of rocks! The avalanche carried the stones of the wall with it, and that accounts for the destruction of such a large section.”

“To-morrow, after the people leave, let’s go over there for a good look at it. We can catch up with the procession later. And perhaps we had better examine the airplane, too. It is standing there exactly as we left it. I guess they were afraid to touch it.”

“Yes, let’s do those things to-morrow. We have had enough for to-day. I am wobbly and all in a muddle, and cannot realize yet all that has happened to us. So I am in favor of getting something to eat, and then going straight to bed.”