Realizing the truth of this, Dorn settled back in his place to at last fall asleep.
* * * * * * * *
In his accidental prison Johnny Thompson found only one task before him, with plenty of time for its execution. This task was that of examining every niche and cranny of the enclosure which might lead to a means of escape.
“What’s the use?” he exclaimed at last. “One might, perhaps, climb a perpendicular wall. Jean Val Jean in Victor Hugo’s book was credited with that power. But when the walls slant toward you on every side, what chance?”
Once more he sat down. And, because he wished to conserve his meager supply of light, he snapped off the electric torch to sit staring into utter darkness.
What does one think of when he is at the bottom of a dungeon in a strange land? Johnny wondered a while about this. That he was not the first one who had spent hours of solitary darkness in this great fortress he knew well enough. He was not even the first white man. During the reign of Christophe more than one daring soldier of fortune sought adventure in Haiti to find a dungeon instead.
With much time on his hands, Johnny thought of many things. He thought first of the aged Professor and his labor of love for the kindly natives of the valley.
“I wanted to help.” His throat tightened. “The Professor laughed at our search. He said there was no ‘Rope of Gold’. Perhaps he was right. But it was a beautiful dream. Besides, he said it would be a fine experience. Well,” he sighed, “it is an experience.”
For a long time he sat there thinking and the thoughts that came to him were far from happy ones. Then, into his consciousness there came a disturbance. He scarcely knew its cause. Was it a sound? Was it some slight movement close at hand? His hair appeared to rise as he sat there straining in a vain effort to sense the thing that crept in upon him.
In an effort to think clearly, he rested his head back against the wall. Then, like a flash it came to him. Someone was walking up above, yet so soft were the foot-falls that it was necessary for him to sense the jar of them by placing his head against the wall.