“Oh, Gip,” she cried, “this is my only regret in leaving On. I cannot take you with me,” and patting the great noble beast, which had saved her life on two different occasions and the lives of her friends, she turned and mounted her zebra and rode away with tears streaming from her eyes, afraid to look back, fearful of the pitiful look on Gip’s face.
Cautiously they picked their way through the park toward the road to the mountains. Along this road, which was used only for bringing the fodder for the stables, Sedai led them, explaining that it joined the main road leading to the cave a short distance from the city. As soon as they reached the main road they urged on their zebras with all speed, for, turning to look back at the city, they could see torches glittering about rapidly and could hear a confused murmur of sounds which indicated that their escape had been detected. Here and there a steady flame shooting straight into the air, denoted the burning funeral pyres of the day’s victims. Sedai motioned them to stop for a moment, and listening intently, he said:
“We are pursued.”
On they flew again over the hard road, through bits of forest, past the shores of small lakes and over green fields. Far ahead they could see the dark forest on the side of the mountain. Through the gate of the mighty wall they sped, and Sedai dismounted to hastily close and barricade it from the inside. Their pursuers would have to climb the wall, or seek one of the other gates and every moment was precious now. They crossed the bridge and plunged into the woods that intervened between them and the cave. The roar of a lion was heard to the right, but they did not hesitate.
The eastern horizon was growing brighter and brighter, and by the time they had passed the forest, the moon had risen high above the mountains. The rapid gallop of zebras could be heard and looking back, they saw a large body of mounted men struggling at the barricaded gate. Finding the gate impassable, they formed a pyramid and in this way the men reached the top of the wall, and then used ropes to let themselves down into the Hunting Reserve.
Harry first reached the secret door, but strove in vain to find the hidden spring. The pursuers were gaining upon them, and Enola, urging her zebra forward, sprang to the ground and, grasping the lever, pressed hard on it, but the stone door of the cave failed to open. Her heart sank within her. She remembered the last revolution it had made, and the difficulty with which she had rescued Sedai from its stony embrace. Could it be that the mechanism was then injured? The mighty spring broken, perhaps? She reeled for a second, as the dreadful possibility suggested itself to her. Then seizing Harry’s rifle she dashed its butt against the lever and the heavy stone door began to revolve.
Sedai, seizing a heavy branch, struck the zebra upon which Mrs. Graham was riding, and the frightened animal sprang through the opening, followed by the one ridden by Nellie. One after another they were driven through, and as the leaders of the pursuing party dashed into the open glade, Sedai drove the last unmounted zebra through the opening. Springing to the ground, the foremost of the pursuers sought to grasp Sedai, but with a swing of his club about his head, the assailant was laid low, and Sedai disappeared. Through the crack of the door, as it swung shut, came a heart-rending cry of “Enola, Enola,” from the King.
Once more, with pale faces and beating hearts, the explorers stood within the great subterranean cavern, which had so nearly been their tomb, but which now was a place of refuge. The hidden City of On had been discovered, its history and its people were known to them, the object of their journey had been accomplished.
After the party had rested, they took their way across the cave, and with the zebras this was found easy to do. These trained animals easily leaped across the break in the bridge, but when it came to the small entrance at the opposite side of the cave, it was feared that they would have to be left here to die, as the hole was too small for them to pass through. Our friends were greatly grieved to think that they would have to leave these noble beasts to die in such a cruel way, in the cave, but there seemed no other alternative, and they dismounted and passed through the hole, but they had not calculated on the training of these animals, and they had hardly stepped into the open air, when one of the zebras came crawling through on his haunches, and shortly after the others followed him. These had been trained to do this, and our friends now remembered having seen them perform this trick on the night preceding the Day of Resis.
It took them but a short time to reach the village of Umsaga, where they found the carriers still waiting for them, and in a few weeks they were again in Zanzibar, and had no difficulty in getting passage to England, from where they sailed for home.