Adventure Magazine Cover — page 188: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

792 Haskell stepped into the cave and saw that it was a water-worn causeway into the earth. “You can not pass out this door,” said ’"Nacion, pointing to the two men who guarded it. Haskell made the mental reser- vation that he certainly would do so the first opportunity that was half-way health- ful. The old channel turned and a strong blast of wood-smoke struck him just as a great sight was revealed. Before him opened a huge oblong enclo- sure more than three hundred feet in its greatest dimension, the roof of limestone supported in many places by natural pillars of rock, and in the light of the fires that glowed here and there moved hundreds of men, women, children and dogs. Close at hand was a chasm, and at the bottom roared the underground river. Plainly this had once been its channel on this level, but it had broken through to a new one some fifty feet lower, leaving an ideal place of con- cealment for such a band as this—a band of the wild Mayas of the forest and their runaway peon recruits. Most of them had only rudimentary clothes and no weapons but the crooked henequen knives and the straight woodman’s machetes, and all of these seemed worn. Cries heralded the arrival of the party, and there was a rush from all sides; a wall of gleaming bronze bodies, serried rows of curious dark eyes, formed on either hand ina twinkiing and Haskell found himself noting the difference between this reception and that which would have been accorded in the village of American blanket Indians. On the far side of the big chamber some matted vines and cloths had been combined to make screened chambers and to one of these the engineer was conducted, to find himself in the presence of an old but erect and virile man sitting on a tiger-skin, a flat earthen dish of fat by his side with a lighted wick thrust in it. He was smoking a thick black cheroot and removed it to bow gravely as Haskell entered and his captors retired. “T am Nufiez José, Sefior Haskell, chief of the Itzchen-Maya. I grieve to see you here. My brother was sent to save you from one of our oppressors and lead you to the sea, that you might leave our country, where you have noright. You were told to go, and told that you could not despoil our forest, our last retreat, and yet you would not be warned. Now we must deal with ] Adventure you—not to punish you, for we have no right to do so, but to protect ourselves against you and all men from your country. “You are a prisoner and you can not es- cape. Because of the bravery you have shown, because of the good heart you have shown to our people, you are to be a prisoner until we leave this spot, and then you must die. Wecan not let you go free. We can not be burdened with guarding you. You have brought this on your own head, for you were fully warned. ‘These are the words ofa chief. You will go now, and food will be given you.” While the old man had been speaking, calmly and without feeling, Haskell had thought of a number of things to say, but when he heard his sentence and saw the logic of it from the tribe’s point of view he realized that it would be hopeless to enter into any argument or to make any appeal. The chances were a thousand to one against him, but he must take his respite to find that one chance and, with the words of dis- missal, he bowed gravely and turned to leave the chamber almost as if in a dream, the whole situation seemed so unreal. The curious crowd without had turned away to its own pursuits, it being the time of the preparation of the evening meal, and Haskell stopped to note a woman rolling some beans in a shallow stone mortar with a stone pestie the size of a large grapefruit. “‘Sefior,” said ’Nacion’s voice, “‘it is pray- ed that you follow me.” Threading their way among the merry family groups, the two passed, leaving the illuminated portion of the enclosure behind, until Haskell saw before him against the farther wall more of the screening mats and cloths. Lifting aside the green curtain of one more or less isolated, the mozo bowed in the engineer. In an earthen vessel used as a brazier glowed fresh coals, and on a flat stone at one side were some fresh cakes, the odor of which came pleasantly to his nos- trils. Beside them lay some dried meat, and near by a leaf laden with fruit and a cool dripping olla. Carelessly Haskell noted that at one side was a rude pallet of boughs and twigs woven so as to make an excellent bed, and over it was thrown what seemed a serape in soft colors. Encarnacion stood to attend him and, thrusting aside all thoughts of the evil lines in which he had fallen, he ate heartily. ComicdooksEeo