Queen Sheba's Ring: Chapter 12

Chapter 12

THE DEN OF LIONS

We returned to the others and told them everything that we had learned
from Shadrach.

"What's your plan, Sergeant?" asked Oliver when he had heard. "Tell me,
for I have none; my head is muddled."

"This, Captain, for what it is worth; that I should go down through the
hole that Cat here speaks of, and get into the den. Then when they let
down the Professor, if they do, and pull up the gates, that I should
keep back the lions with my rifle while he bolts to the ladder which is
ready for him, and I follow if I can."

"Capital," said Orme, "but you can't go alone. I'll come too."

"And I also," I said.

"What schemes do you make?" asked Maqueda eagerly, for, of course, she
could not understand our talk.

We explained.

"What, my friend," she said to Oliver reproachfully, "would you risk
your life again to-night? Surely it is tempting the goodness of God."

"It would be tempting the goodness of God much more if I left my friend
to be eaten by lions, Lady," he answered.

Then followed much discussions. In the end it was agreed that we should
descend to the level of the den, if this were possible; that Oliver and
Quick should go down into the den with Japhet, who instantly volunteered
to accompany them, and that I, with some of the Mountaineers, should
stop in the mouth of the hole as a reserve to cover their retreat from
the lions. I pleaded to be allowed to take a more active part, but of
this they would not hear, saying with some truth, that I was by far the
best shot of the three, and could do much more to help them from above,
if, as was hoped, the moon should shine brightly.

But I knew they really meant that I was too old to be of service in such
an adventure as this. Also they desired to keep me out of risk.

Then came the question as to who should descend the last tunnel to the
place of operations. Oliver wished Maqueda to return to the top of the
cliff and wait there, but she said at once that she could not think of
attempting the ascent without our aid; also that she was determined to
see the end of the matter. Even Joshua would not go; I think, that being
an unpopular character among them, he distrusted the Mountaineers, whose
duty it would have been to escort him.

It was suggested that he should remain where he was until we returned,
if we did return, but this idea commended itself to him still less than
the other. Indeed he pointed out with much truth what we had overlooked,
namely, that now the Fung knew of the passage and were quite capable
of playing our own game, that is, of throwing a bridge across from the
sphinx's tail and attempting the storm of Mur.

"And then what should I do if they found me here alone?" he added
pathetically.

Maqueda answered that she was sure she did not know, but that meanwhile
it might be wise to block the mouth of the tunnel by which we had
reached the plateau in such a fashion that it could not easily be
forced.

"Yes," answered Oliver, "and if we ever get out of this, to blow the
shaft in and make sure that it cannot be used."

"That shaft might be useful, Captain," said Quick doubtfully.

"There is a better way, Sergeant, if we want to mine under the sphinx;
I mean through the Tomb of Kings. I took the levels roughly, and the end
of it can't be far off. Anyhow, this shaft is of no more use to us now
that the Fung have found it out."

Then we set to work to fill in the mouth of the passage with such loose
stones as we could find. It was a difficult business, but in the end the
Mountaineers made a very fair job of it under our direction, piling the
rocks in such a fashion that they could scarcely be cleared away in any
short time without the aid of explosives.

While this work was going on, Japhet, Shadrach, and the Sergeant in
charge of him, undertook to explore the last shaft which led down to the
level of the den. To our relief, just as we had finished building up
the hole, they returned with the news that now after they had removed a
fallen stone or two it was quite practicable with the aid of ropes and
ladders.

So, in the same order as before, we commenced its passage, and in about
half-an-hour, for it was under three hundred feet in depth, arrived
safely at the foot. Here we found a bat-haunted place like a room that
evidently had been hollowed out by man. As Shadrach had said, at its
eastern extremity was a large, oblong boulder, so balanced that if even
one person pushed on either of its ends it swung around, leaving on
each side a passage large enough to allow a man to walk through in a
crouching attitude.

Very silently we propped open this prim�val door and looked out. Now the
full moon was up, and her brilliant light had begun to flood the gulf.
By it we saw a dense shadow, that reached from the ground to three
hundred feet or so above us. This we knew to be that thrown by the
flanks of the gigantic sphinx which projected beyond the mountain of
stone whereon it rested, those flanks whence, according to Shadrach,
Higgs would be lowered in a food-basket. In this shadow and on either
side of it, covering a space of quite a hundred yards square, lay the
feeding-den, whence arose a sickly and horrible odour such as is common
to any place frequented by cats, mingled with the more pungent smell of
decaying flesh.

This darksome den was surrounded on three sides by precipices, and on
the fourth, that toward the east, enclosed by a wall or barrier of rock
pierced with several gates made of bars of metal, or so we judged by the
light that flowed through them.

From beyond this eastern wall came dreadful sounds of roars, snarls, and
whimperings. Evidently there the sacred lions had their home.

Only one more thing need be mentioned. On the rock floor almost
immediately beneath us lay remains which, from their torn clothes and
hair, we knew must be human. As somebody explained, I think it was
Shadrach, they were those of the man whom Orme had shot upon the tail of
the sphinx, and of his companions who had been tilted off the ladder.

For awhile we gazed at this horrible hole in silence. Then Oliver took
out his watch, which was a repeater, and struck it.

"Higgs told me," he said, "that he was to be thrown to the lions two
hours after moonrise, which is within fifteen minutes or so. Sergeant, I
think we had better be getting ready."

"Yes, Captain," answered Quick; "but everything is quite ready,
including those brutes, to judge by the noise they make, excepting
perhaps Samuel Quick, who never felt less ready for anything in his
life. Now then, Pussy, run out that ladder. Here's your rifle, Captain,
and six reload clips of cartridges, five hollow-nosed bullets in each.
You'll never want more than that, and it's no use carrying extra weight.
In your right-hand pocket, Captain, don't forget. I've the same in mine.
Doctor, here's a pile for you; laid upon that stone. If you lie there,
you'll have a good light and rest for your elbow, and at this range
ought to make very pretty shooting, even in the moonlight. Best keep
your pistol on the safe, Captain; at least, I'm doing so, as we might
get a fall, and these new-fangled weapons are very hair-triggered.
Here's Japhet ready, too, so give us your marching orders, sir, and we
will go to business; the Doctor will translate to Japhet."

"We descend the ladder," said Orme, "and advance about fifty paces into
the shadow, where we can see without being seen; where also, according
to Shadrach, the food-basket is let down. There we shall stand and await
the arrival of this basket. If it contains the Professor, he whom the
Fung and the Abati know as Black Windows, Japhet, you are to seize him
and lead, or if necessary carry, him to the ladder, up which some of the
mountaineers must be ready to help him. Your duty, Sergeant, and mine,
also that of the Doctor firing from above, will be to keep off the lions
as best we can, should any lions appear, retreating as we fire. If the
brutes get one of us he must be left, since it is foolish that both
lives should be sacrificed needlessly. For the rest, you, Sergeant,
and you, Japhet, must be guided by circumstances and act upon your own
discretion. Do not wait for special orders from me which I may not be
able to give. Now, come on. If we do not return, Adams, you will see the
Child of Kings safely up the shafts and conduct her to Mur. Good-bye,
Lady."

"Good-bye," answered Maqueda in a brave voice; I could not see her
face in the darkness. "Presently, I am sure, you will return with your
brother."

Just then Joshua broke in:

"I will not be outdone in courage by these Gentiles," he said. "Lacking
their terrible weapons, I cannot advance into the den, but I will
descend and guard the foot of the ladder."

"Very well, sir," answered Orme in an astonished voice, "glad to have
your company, I am sure. Only remember that you must be quick in going
up it again, since hungry lions are active, and let all take notice that
we are not responsible for anything that may happen to you."

"Surely you had better stop where you are, my uncle," remarked Maqueda.

"To be mocked by you for ever after, my niece. No, I go to face the
lions," and very slowly he crept through the hole and began to descend
the ladder. Indeed, when Quick followed after an interval he found
him only half-way down, and had to hurry his movements by accidentally
treading on his fingers.

A minute or two later, peeping over the edge, I saw that they were all
in the den, that is, except Joshua, who had reascended the ladder to the
height of about six feet, and stood on it face outward, holding to the
rock on either side with his hands as though he had been crucified.
Fearing lest he should be seen there, even in the shadow, I suggested to
Maqueda that she should order him either to go down, or to return, which
she did vigorously, but without effect. So in the end we left him alone.

Meanwhile the three had vanished into the shadow of the sphinx, and we
could see nothing of them. The great round moon rose higher and higher,
flooding the rest of the charnel-house with light, and, save for an
occasional roar or whimper from the lions beyond the wall, the silence
was intense. Now I could make out the metal gates in this wall, and even
dark and stealthy forms which passed and repassed beyond their bars.
Then I made out something else also, the figures of men gathering on the
top of the wall, though whence they came I knew not. By degrees their
number increased till there were hundreds of them, for the wall was
broad as a roadway.

Evidently these were spectators, come to witness the ceremony of
sacrifice.

"Prince," I whispered to Joshua, "you must get down off the ladder or
you will betray us all. Nay, it is too late to come up here again, for
already the moonlight strikes just above your head. Go down, or we will
cast the ladder loose and let you fall."

So he went down and hid himself among some ferns and bushes where we
saw no more of him for a while, and, to tell the truth, forgot his
existence.

Far, far above us, from the back of the idol I suppose, came a faint
sound of solemn chanting. It sank, and we heard shouts. Then suddenly
it swelled again. Now Maqueda, who knelt near me, touched my arm and
pointed to the shadow which gradually was becoming infiltrated with the
moonlight flowing into it from either side. I looked, and high in
the air, perhaps two hundred feet from the ground, saw something dark
descending slowly. Doubtless it was the basket containing Higgs, and
whether by coincidence or no, at this moment the lions on the farther
side of the wall burst into peal upon peal of terrific roaring. Perhaps
their sentries watching at the gate saw or smelt the familiar basket,
and communicated the intelligence to their fellows.

Slowly, slowly it descended, till it was within a few feet of the
ground, when it began to sway backward and forward like a pendulum, at
each swing covering a wider arc. Presently, when it hung over the edge
of the shadow that was nearest to us, it was let down with a run and
overset, and out of it, looking very small in those vast surroundings
and that mysterious light, rolled the figure of a man. Although at
that distance we could see little of him, accident assured us of his
identity, for as he rolled the hat he wore fell from him, and I knew
it at once for Higgs's sun-helmet. He rose from the ground, limped very
slowly and painfully after the helmet, picked it up, and proceeded to
use it to dust his knees. At this moment there was a clanking sound.

"Oh! they lift the gates!" murmured Maqueda.

Then followed more sounds, this time of wild beasts raging for their
prey, and of other human beasts shrieking with excitement on the wall
above. The Professor turned and saw. For a moment he seemed about to
run, then changed his mind, clapped the helmet on his head, folded his
arms and stood still, reminding me in some curious way, perhaps, because
of the shortness of his thick figure, of a picture I had seen of the
great Napoleon contemplating a disaster.

To describe what followed is extremely difficult, for we watched not
one but several simultaneous scenes. For instance, there were the lions,
which did not behave as might have been expected. I thought that they
would rush through the doors and bound upon the victim, but whether it
was because they had already been fed that afternoon or because they
thought that a single human being was not worth the trouble, they acted
differently.

Through the open gates they came, in two indolent yellow lines, male
lions, female lions, half-grown lions, cub lions that cuffed each other
in play, in all perhaps fifty or sixty of them. Of these only two or
three looked towards the Professor, for none of them ran or galloped,
while the rest spread over the den, some of them vanishing into the
shadow at the edge of the surrounding cliff where the moonlight could
not reach.

Here one of them, at any rate, must have travelled fast enough, for it
seemed only a few seconds later that we heard a terrific yell beneath
us, and craning over the rock I saw the Prince Joshua running up the
ladder more swiftly than ever did any London lamplighter when I was a
boy.

But quickly as he came, the long, thin, sinuous thing beneath came
quicker. It reared itself on its hind legs, it stretched up a great
paw--I can see the gleaming claws in it now--and struck or hooked at
poor Joshua. The paw caught him in the small of the back, and seemed
to pin him against the ladder. Then it was drawn slowly downward,
and heaven! how Joshua howled. Up came the other paw to repeat the
operation, when, stretching myself outward and downward, with an Abati
holding me by the ankles, I managed to shoot the beast through the
head so that it fell all of a heap, taking with it a large portion of
Joshua's nether garments.

A few seconds later he was among us, and tumbled groaning into a corner,
where he lay in charge of some of the mountaineers, for I had no time to
attend to him just then.

When the smoke cleared at length, I saw that Japhet had reached Higgs,
and was gesticulating to him to run, while two lions, a male and a
female, stood at a little distance, regarding the pair in an interested
fashion. Higgs, after some brief words of explanation, pointed to his
knee. Evidently he was lamed and could not run. Japhet, rising to the
occasion, pointed to his back, and bent down. Higgs flung himself upon
it, and was hitched up like a sack of flour. The pair began to advance
toward the ladder, Japhet carrying Higgs as one schoolboy carries
another.

The lion sat down like a great dog, watching this strange proceeding
with mild interest, but the lioness, filled with feminine curiosity,
followed sniffing at Higgs, who looked over his shoulder. Taking off his
battered helmet, he threw it at the beast, hitting her on the head.
She growled, then seized the helmet, playing with it for a moment as
a kitten does with a ball of wool, and next instant, finding it
unsatisfying, uttered a short and savage roar, ran forward, and crouched
to spring, lashing her tail. I could not fire, because a bullet that
would hit her must first pass through Japhet and Higgs.

But, just when I thought that the end had come, a rifle went off in the
shadow and she rolled over, kicking and biting the rock. Thereon the
indolent male lion seemed to awake, and sprang, not at the men, but at
the wounded lioness, and a hellish fight ensued, of which the details
and end were lost in a mist of dust and flying hair.

The crowd upon the wall, becoming alive to the real situation, began to
scream in indignant excitement which quickly communicated itself to
the less savage beasts. These set up a terrible roaring, and ran about,
keeping for the most part to the shadows, while Japhet and his burden
made slow but steady progress toward the ladder.

Then from the gloom beneath the hind-quarters of the sphinx rose a
sound of rapid firing, and presently Orme and Quick emerged into the
moonlight, followed by a number of angry lions that advanced in short
rushes. Evidently the pair had kept their heads, and were acting on a
plan.

One of them emptied his rifle at the pursuing beasts, while the other
ran back a few paces, thrusting in a fresh clip of cartridges as he
went. Then he began to fire, and his companion in turn retreated behind
him. In this way they knocked over a number of lions, for the range was
too short for them to miss often, and the expanding bullets did their
work very well, paralyzing even when they did not kill. I also opened
fire over their heads, and, although in that uncertain light the
majority of my shots did no damage, the others disposed of several
animals which I saw were becoming dangerous.

So things went on until all four, that is, Japhet with Higgs upon
his back, and Orme and Quick, were within twenty paces of the ladder,
although separated from each other by perhaps half the length of a
cricket pitch. We thought that they were safe, and shouted in our joy,
while the hundreds of spectators on the wall who fortunately dared not
descend into the den because of the lions, which are undiscriminating
beasts, yelled with rage at the imminent rescue of the sacrifice.

Then of a sudden the position changed. From every quarter fresh lions
seemed to arrive, ringing the men round and clearly bent on slaughter,
although the shouting and the sound of firearms, which they had never
heard before, frightened them and made them cautious.

A half-grown cub rushed in and knocked over Japhet and Higgs. I fired
and hit it in the flank. It bit savagely at its wound, then sprang on to
the prostrate pair, and stood over them growling, but in such pain that
it forgot to kill them. The ring of beasts closed in--we could see their
yellow eyes glowing in the gloom. Orme and Quick might have got through
by the help of their rifles, but they could not leave the others. The
dreadful climax seemed at hand.

"Follow me," said Maqueda, who all this while had watched panting at my
side, and rose to run to the ladder. I thrust her back.

"Nay," I shouted. "Follow me, Abati! Shall a woman lead you?"

Of how I descended that ladder I have no recollection, nor do I in the
least know how the Mountaineers came after me, but I think that the most
of them rolled and scrambled down the thirty feet of rock. At least, to
their honour be it said, they did come, yelling like demons and waving
long knives in their hands.

The effect of our sudden arrival from above was extraordinary. Scared
by the rush and the noise, the lions gave way, then bolted in every
direction, the wounded cub, which could not, or would not move, being
stabbed to death where it stood over Higgs and Japhet.

Five minutes more and all of us were safe in the mouth of the tunnel.

That was how we rescued Higgs from the den of the sacred lions which
guarded the idol of the Fung.

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