soul," solemnly rejoined Carleton. "Can it be that the superstitions of the ancients, in relation to a world of beings in the centre of the earth had any foundation in reality?" "I do not know," said the pedler. "After this, if I live to enter the sweet world again, I shall believe every legend I have ever read of superhuman visitations to men, however improbable they may seem to others." Again the wild strain rose, wilder, sadder, more unearthly than before. "For God's sake, let us inquire into this!" said Carleton, with a dilating eye, as he resolutely strode forward in the direction of the unearthly sounds. "Stop, Guy, for Heaven's sake!" exclaimed the pedler, seizing the young officer by the arm. It may show the extent of the awe and excitement to which the young officer was wrought up, that he did not, for an instant, observe the singularity of the fact that the stranger by his side had called him by his Christian name, a singularity of which the pedler himself was instantly conscious, judging by the crimson which rushed over the pallid hue of his face. But he saw that Carleton had not observed it, and with a flitting smile, he dropped the young man's arm. "It was through this passage that the strains came," said Carleton, turning into the narrowest of the chasms, "and the cause cannot be far off. You are not unwilling to follow me?" No," said the pedler; nevertheless, it was with trembling and hesitating steps that he, with the negro, who had been busy packing up his knapsack, followed him into the narrow crevasse. The way led, with many angular turnings, down abrupt descents and up steep acclivities, each turn evidently bringing them nearer and nearer to the cause of the unearthly music, which, alternately rising and falling, now pierced them with its shrill and lengthened cadences and now grew so faint and far as to be scarcely perceptible. At length, it seemed to be directly over their heads. They raised their torches, endeavoring to cast their light up the chasm; but it could only penetrate a little distance, revealing only the naked sides of the rock, while still the strains seemed to mock them with their wild and exultant melody. "It must be the wind, striking some flexible objects. There must be an outlet above our heads. Take the torches, Josh, and go back beyond the last turn, that I may see if we cannot discern daylight.” The negro obeyed; and no sooner had the torchlight disappeared, than Carleton saw that his surmise was right. Sheer up the narrow chasm, full five hundred feet above their heads, gleamed a slender line of daylight, and along its length, as the two gazed intently, they perceived huge vines stretching below the opening, over which swept the wind, waking them to music, as if they had been the strings of some colossal lyre. It is wonderful!" said the pedler, with a great sigh of relief. "I am glad we have discovered the cause of what seemed so strange a phenomenon; for, little inclined to superstition as I am, had it been left unexplained, I think I should have remembered it as a supernatural warning all my days." "It would have been only natural; for surely, the proudest philosopher might be pardoned for yielding to superstitious fancies under so peculiar circumstances. Hear it again! How unearthly the strains are! yet not half so much so as when wailing and echoing through the distant labyrinths where we first heard them. Then they were infinitely wild and awful.” "They were, indeed! I doubt if the world can offer a situation so calculated to thrill one with dread and superstition." "But now that this is explained," said Carleton, "it is time to return, once more, to the difficulties of our position. How are we to make our way out of these caverns, far down, as we are, in the bowels of the earth? Look up! You can absolutely see a star, distinctly, though it cannot be more than noonday. This chasm, five hundred feet in depth, or more, acts like an immense telescope. will be something also to remember, if we ever get out into the world again, as we shall not, unless we move on." This Carleton called to the negro to return with the torches, and he immediately made his appearance with a huge slice of venison in his hand, he having taken advantage of the pause to finish his interrupted dinner. "We soon get out uv dis yar, massa," said he, his spirits having evidently risen under the influence of his dinner. “I reckon we'm pretty nigh trou." "I hope so, Josh; at any rate, we'll not give up. We have certainly one encouraging sign," he continued, turning to the pedler," the fact that the wind, to produce this music which has so much alarmed us, must have an entrance somewhere among these labyrinthian passages. It could not sweep down the chasm; it evidently enters below and rushes upward. I wish we could only feel it; then we should know that it entered on a level with, or below us. And now let us take a little of this wine, and start." Each drank a small cup of the wine which Carleton poured out, and they proceeded. "I have every hope of finding a place of exit, since I have strengthened myself with this wine and the bread and venison we have eaten," said the pedler, laughing, displaying, as he did so, an even set of teeth of dazzling whiteness. "It is surprising how brave one is after a good din ner. If I were a general, my men should always feast before fighting.' "That is the true philosophy," said Carleton; "and I consider that we are now ready to encounter all the gnomes and uncanny beings this mountain contains. It is best to follow this chasm, as the wind that makes our music without doubt finds its way through here." Their path, for some distance, presented no new feature, and they pressed on as rapidly as possible, hope growing with every rod of distance they left behind them. Carleton, as for some hours past, still led the way, and it began, at length, to seem to him that the chasm was contracting in width, an impression that was soon confirmed by the fact that he could touch the walls on either hand. He felt uneasy, but made no remark, thinking it might widen again. A sud den turn, however, revealed the startling fact that the walls approached so close to each other as to be absolutely impassable, not more than eight or ten inches intervening between them; and through this narrow passage, the wind swept with a velocity which at once extinguished their torches. They were now in impenetrable darkness, a darkness that could be felt, buried a hundred fathoms deep in the bowels of the earth, at an impassable point, and without the means of rekindling their torches (for not one of them was provided with matches). It was a fearful position. "Good God! what shall we do now?" exclaimed Carleton. A quick, low, gasping sob at his elbow and a shaking hand upon his arm told the terror of the pedler. The negro manifested a self-possession and courage that were not to have been looked for. Oh, lors, massa," said he, " wese hard up, sar; but I reckons de Lord can show us de way out uv dis yere, sar, ef wese ony tells him de fix we's in, sar; " and he dropped on his knees, bursting into a fervent prayer that rung through the chasm. Oh, massa God, ef ye's ever want to help poor niggers out uv der troubles, jis' 'trive sum way to git us out uv dis yere fix now. Oh, massa Lord, don't wait too long, fur it's awful dark yere! Amen." The negro rose from his knees. "I reckon wese find de way now, sar," said he, with a voice full of confidence. "Jis' wait a bit, till de light comes." You have done well, my friend, to turn to Him who alone can aid us now; but he will take his own time," said the pedler, solemnly, his clear, low voice thrilling Carleton with that peculiar feeling he had several times that day experienced. "We must turn back," said the latter, gently; "and let us all keep close together, that we may not be separated. We will walk while we can, and may God direct our steps!" They walked carefully, the rugged path offering many obstacles which several times nearly threw them down. It was They had all mechanically retained their torches, and the precious little splinter of wood, upon which so much depended, was drawn carefully against the rock, and instantly a tiny blue flame appeared, flickered for an instant, then blazed cheerily up. Carleton's torch was instantly held over the little flame, and with a joy impossible to describe, the wanderers saw it gradually creep along the resinous pine until the whole end was in a blaze. Until then, they had hardly breathed, and they now lighted the other torches and looked in one another's faces, unable, for some moments, to speak, but revealing, by their expression, a gratitude they only can appreciate who have been suddenly rescued from almost certain death. "I know'd de Lord ud fine out some way to save us," said the black, devotedly. "He ollis do dat ar when we axes him." "You are right, Josh," said Carleton ; "and we all thank Him with our whole hearts. I had not the slightest idea that I had the match in my pocket. God be thanked for the boon!" "I tink God put him dar, sar," said the negro. The pedler did not speak; but Carleton knew by his bowed head and tremulous lips, that he felt more than words could express. The fact that they had to retrace their steps for two or three miles along the narrow chasm, until they should reach the last cavern, in order to take one of the other passages, seemed as nothing now in their eyes, and they went on with elastic steps. They, however, soon made the discovery that several branches, leading off at acute angles, which they had not observed in going out, occurred on both sides of the chasm. They paused a moment to consult, and determined to enter one of them, which seemed somewhat wider than the others, and follow it as long as they could. They turned into it, and after going on for two or three hundred yards, they found it to grow wider and wider, finally terminating in a chamber of considerable size and of a new appearance. The walls were of black marble, smooth and shining and very regular, but gloomy and dark, their torches diffusing their light but a very short distance. They stopped to examine the rocks. ton. "We have left the earlier formations, and are evidently approaching the exterior of the mountain. This marble is one of the latest formations." Fresh hope sprung up in the bosoms of the wanderers at this cheering promise; and they entered the chasm opposite to the one they were leaving, determined to pursue as straight a course as possible. They went on and on, the path sometimes descending and sometimes level. New rooms appeared, until they had passed through four of the same character as the last. Each had several outlets, leading off in different directions; but they carefully selected that having the same general course as the one last followed. After walking in this chasm several miles, as they computed, finding very little variation from a dead level, they struck off into a low, narrow passage which had a gradual descent. Soon, to their consternation, it began to drop very suddenly, seeming, as they projected the light of their torches down the declivity, like an endless flight of stairs of irregular sizes. They determined, however, to go on, to turn back being more terrible still. Their descent now required the utmost care and exertion. Sometimes stepping down from crag to crag, sometimes forced to let themselves down perpendicular descents by their hands, they were becoming weak and exhausted. "Good God! this must end in some way before very much longer," said Carle ton, as, panting and moist with perspira- Carleton shuddered; but resolutely putting aside the frightful suggestion, determined to look on a brighter side, seeing well that they had all need of courage and hope to enable them to still persevere in their efforts to save themselves. "I do not apprehend that," said he, with a forced cheerfulness. "Thus far, there has been no dampness. See! these walls are quite dry, which could not be the case were there a reservoir of water below. No; I still adhere to the opinion that the external air finds a constant passage through these chasms, and that we shall soon emerge from our dreadful dungeon into the blessed daylight. What say you, Josh?” "I trusts in de Lord, sar. I aint gwine to gub up my b'lief in him, sar. Lors, massa, doesn't yer 'member how he tuk car ob de prophet in de lion's den? Didn't I ask him to tuk car' we, sar, and does yer s'pose he aint gwine to pay no 'tention to dat ar prayer, wun we jis got out de lion's den weselves too? No, sar; I doesn't b'lieve dat ar, no way!" "You are right, my good fellow," said the pedler, lifting up his face again. "It would be a shame for us to have less faith than you; and now that I am rested a little, I feel a strong confidence that we are not to be left to die in these dreary caverns. So if you please, Captain Carleton, we will go on again." The faith of the little company was about to be rewarded; for scarcely had they proceeded twenty rods further when, laying his hand on a ledge to steady himself, the pedler suddenly exclaimed, "What is this? It feels like a cluster of beans!" fell upon the object, revealing a little cluster of beans, ghastly in their paleness, as plants will be which have never basked in the light of day, but fresh and full of life. O good Father, I thank thee!" said the pedler, bursting into a passion of tears that told how great the strain upon his heart had been. It would be in vain to attempt to depict the joy and gratitude of the little party at the certainty that this little plant gave them that they were now not very far from the outlet of the caverns, through which they had been wandering for nearly twelve hours, with so little real probability of ever finding the way out of the intricate labyrinth, or beholding the face of day again. It was expressed in various ways suited to the character of each, the negro devoutly maintaining that he know'd Massa God would show 'em de way out uv dat ar!" As soon they had recovered sufficient composure, the party again started on the journey now evidently near its termination, the pedler carefully lifting the roots of the little signal-plant from the ledge. "This is my beacon-star, and I shall always preserve it," said he. They had continued their difficult descent but a few rods further, when the chasin made an abrupt turn, and Carleton, who led the way, thought he perceived, like a star far down in a deep well, a faint glimmer of daylight. On putting his torch behind him, it proved to be real. Daylight actually shone faintly in, but far away in an oblique direction, hundreds of feet below them. It was like the polar star to a lost voyager. Down they plunged, heeding little that their path was jagged and rough and their perpendicular descents often of frightful depths, clutching the craggy points with their hands, and dropping sometimes into unknown abysses from which they were obliged to climb up again, but all the while rapidly approaching the point of light which every moment grew larger and brighter. At length they reached it. It was a low, narrow aperture, the passage they The next instant, the light of the torch had been following turning abruptly to the left and leading away into utter darkness! They crawled out into this aperture, and found it to terminate on a shelf about three feet in width, half-way up the wall of a wide chamber, into which the light came from two directions, from a narrow fissure near its roof and from an entrance on the floor nearly opposite where they were. They held down their torches and saw that the floor was only twelve feet below them. Making their way carefully to the edge of the shelf, they found secure clutching-places for their hands, when, working their way over, they let themselves down, and in a moment were on the floor. They looked up the wall down which they had dropped, but the aperture was completely invisible, -hidden by the projecting shelf. Curiously enough, this cavern in which they now found themselves gave evidence of being at least a temporary lurkingplace for human beings, probably guerrillas. A few culinary utensils of the coarsest, rudest character lay disorderedly scattered about, two or three bearskins hung on projections of the wall, a pile of cedar branches lay not far from the outlet, and nearer still to the opening was a heap of light ashes and a few extinguished brands evidently of no very distant origin. "We are still among the haunts of the guerrillas," said Carleton, after the little party had stood for two or three minutes looking about them. opening, a long passage scarcely three feet high by six wide, and having crawled through it, they found themselves in a narrow ravine whose perpendicular walls, hundreds of feet high, enclosed them behind, before, and on their right hand. But the blue sky was over their heads, and trees of grand proportions shivered their green leaves in the fading sunlight,, whose last rays were shining brightly on' the lofty summits of the rocks before them. They were, then, on the east side of the mountain. They had entered it on the west, having been travelling twelve hours and passed completely through it. A swift little stream was running along at the bottom of the ravine toward the north. "This stream leads somewhere," said Carleton, "and I do not know any better way than to follow it. This really looks as if it were made for our grave, so inaccessible on all sides does it seem; but where this stream finds an outlet we may." As they turned to follow the noisy little torrent, they looked back, but not a trace of the hole through which they had left the mountain could they discern. "Are we in magic land?" said the pedler, gazing on the blank rock in surprise. "The opening of the cave is van ished!" "I think you will find an easy explanation of that, if you notice that steep declivity down which we slid as we emerged from the rock," said Carleton, smiling at his companion's apparent terror. "The opening is hid by the projectshelf on to which we stepped as we came out." "Yes," replied the pedler with a deep breath; "but it is evident not those occupying the cavern we first entered. In fact, there is not the least reason to sup-ing pose that the dreadful chasms through which we have been wandering for certainly thirty miles or more are known to any one but ourselves. Thank God! thank God! who guided us safely through them!" A great shudder shook him as he remembered their perilous journey, and he clutched at the arm of Carleton. "Let us hasten out!" said the latter, catching something of the panic. "The guerrillas may find us any moment. We are not safe until we have left this place far behind us." They made their way quickly to the "True," laughed the pedler; "we are not bewitched yet, I see. But now, how are we to find our way back to your camp?"" 66 Oh, de good Lord'll show us de way, sar," interposed the negro, full of confidence. Nebber yer fear, massa, de good Lord's on de track; he'll show us de way!" "You are right!" said Carleton, who was becoming more and more impressed with the devout faith of the negro; "and so let us set out without fear!" (To be continued.) |