When at length the path had been constructed to a distance of about two miles, our hopes and fears increased. How could the exact spot be fixed in that wilderness? Had Captain Jeremy some particular clue, the result of which he kept locked in his breast till the fateful moment? A glance at our leader's resolute face was sufficient. He, at all events, was satisfied with the progress made.
"A man with a mattock!" he exclaimed; and as a seaman ran forward with the required article, he gave the order, "Dig here".
A few heavy strokes, and the implement struck a blackish stratum of soil. Picking up a handful, Captain Jeremy sniffed at it; but even where I was standing I recognized the odour. It smelt of pitch.
"We are hard on the place," the Captain exclaimed; "another twenty yards, lads!"
At length, with an exclamation of triumph, one of the men pushed aside the reeds, and disclosed a scene the like of which I had never seen before. For a space of nearly a hundred yards across, the ground was destitute of verdure, being composed of a bituminous soil. On all sides, save the one by which we had approached, were lofty black rocks, grotesquely shaped as if carved by the hand of man; while facing us was a pinnacle that resembled a human face in profile, about thirty feet in height. A more repulsive caricature could not be imagined. The thick, protruding upper lip, the overhanging eyebrows, and the diabolical grin--'twas the very image in stone of the villainous Ned Slater.
"Where--where?" exclaimed Captain Jeremy, gripping his pistols, for I had unconsciously uttered the miscreant's name.
"Nay," I replied, "not Ned Slater in the flesh, but his features carved in stone. Look at yon rock!"
"Sink me!" muttered the astonished Captain. "Oft have I seen this rock, but never till now have I noticed this resemblance, yet 'tis passing strange."
"Is this the work of man?" I asked of him, as the seamen crowded into the open space and gazed amazedly at the hideous shape.
"'Tis hard to believe it is the hand of Nature," replied Captain Jeremy. "I have seen the like in the temples of the ancient Mexicans, save that here are no traces of the sculptor's tools. I believe 'tis a strange freak of fire, for all around can be seen distinct evidences of volcanic action. This floor is formed of dried pitch, of a like nature to the lake of pitch in the Isle of Trinidad. But we are not here for the purpose of debating upon the origin of these rocks."