Latest / Adventure Books Library / 05 - Baron Trump's Marvellous Underground Journey
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- Chapter five. Up and still up, and through the quarries of the demons, How the cattle kept the trail, and how we came at last upon the brink of the Giant's well. The terraces are safely passed. Beginning of the descent into the well itself. All difficulties overcome we reached the edge of Polyphemus's funnel. Generally speaking, people with very large heads are fitted out by nature with a pair of rather pipe stemy legs. But such was not my case. I was blessed with legs of the sturdiest sort, and found no difficulty in keeping pace with my new four footed friends, who, to my delight, were not long in convincing me that they had been there before. Not for an instant did they halt at any fork in the path, but kept continually on the move, often passing over stretches of ground where there was no trail visible, but coming upon it again with unfailing accuracy. Once only they halted, and that was to slake their thirst at a mountain rill vulgar and I followed their example. It was only too evident to me that they had in mind a certain grazing ground, and were resolved to be satisfied with no other, so I let them have their own way. For as it was still up up up, I felt that it was perfectly safe to follow their lead. At last, the mountain side began to take on quite another character. The gorges grew narrower, and at times overhanging rocks shut out the sunlight almost entirely. We were entering a region of peculiar wildness, of fantastic grandeur. I had often read of what travelers termed the quarries of the demons in the Northern Urals, but never till now had I the faintest notion of what the expression meant. Imagine to yourself the usual look of ruin and devastation around and about a quarry worked by human hands. Then, in your thoughts, conceive every chip to be a block, and every block a mass. Add four times at size to every slab and post and pecument, and then turn a mighty torrent through the place, and roll and twist and lift them up in wild confusion, end on end and on each other. Piled to these wild waters have builded fantastic portals to temples, more fantastic and arched. Wild gorges with roofs of rock, which seemed to hang so lightly that a breath or footfall might bring them down with terrible crash. And then, dear friends, you may succeed in getting a faint idea of the wild and awful grandeur of the scene which now lay spread out before me. Would the cattle that had now led Bulgar and me so safely up the mountain side? Know where to find an entrance to this wilderness of broken rock? And what was more important, still, would they, when once engaged within its winding courts and corridors, its darkened maze of wall and parapet, its streets and plazas roughly paved as if by demon hands, impatient of the task, know how to find their way out again. Dear friends, man has always been too distrustful of his four footed companions. They have much that they might tell us, had they but speech to tell it with. I have often trusted them when it would have seemed fool hearty to you. At never once have I had cause to repent of doing so. So. Vulgar and I, with stout hearts, followed straight after these silent guides. Although I must confess my legs were beginning to feel the terrible strain I had put them to, but I resolved to push on a head at least until we had cleared the demon's quarry, and then to bring my little herd to a halt and pass the rest of the day in the night season in well earned repose. Once within the quarry, however, all sense of fatigue vanished, and my thankful mind entranced and fascinated by the deep silence, The awful grandeur, the mysterious lights and shadows of the place lent me new strength. At length we had traversed this city of silence and gloom, and once again we emerged into the full glory of the afternoon sun. Suddenly, my little drove of cattle, with playful tossing of their heads, broke into a run, Bulgar and I at their heels. However, it was a mad race, But dear friends, when it ended, I took off my fur cap and tossed it high into the air with a wild cry of joy, and Bulgar broke out in a string of yelps and barks. For look, ye, the cattle were grazing away for dear life there in front of me, and as their breath reached my keen nostrils recognized the odor of Juliana's herbs, which she had bound on my hard head. Yes, we stood almost upon the brink of the giant's well, but I was too tired to take another step farther, too tired, in fact, to eat, although I had a stalk of dried fruit in my pockets, and noticed that the nests of the wild fowl were well supplied with eggs. Having unloosened the tackle from the back of the good beast that had carried it up the mountain for me, I threw myself on the ground and was soon fast asleep, with my faithful Bulgar boiled up close against my breast. In the morning, the cattle were nowhere to be seen, but I didn't trouble myself about them, for I knew that old Juliana would be sent up after them the moment they were missed. After a hearty breakfast on half a dozen roasted eggs of the wild fowl with some dried fruit and winter green berries, Vulgar and I advanced to the edge of the Giant's well, or rather to the edge of the vast terraces of rock leading down to it, each of which was from thirty to fifty feet in share height. Before I go any further, dear friends, I must beg you to remember that I am an expert in the use of tackle, there being no not, noose or splice known to a sailor which I didn't have at my fingers ends, in fact not to be wondered at when you take into consideration the thousands of miles which I have traveled on water. Nor would I have you shake your heads and look only half persuaded when I go on describing our descent into the giant's well, For of course you'll be asking yourselves how I succeeded in giving the tackle down when there was no one left at the other end to and tie it. No, then that that was the smallest of my troubles, For as any sailor will tell you, you only need to tie your line in what is known as a fool's knot to one end of which you make fast and mere cord. The moment you have reached the bottom, a sharp tug at the cord unties the fool's knot, and your tackle falls down after you. My method was to lower bulgar down first, and then let myself down after him. In this way we proceeded from parapet to parapet, until at last we stood upon the very edge of the vast well, the existence of which had been so mysteriously hinted at in Don Fome's manuscript. Its mouth was probably fifty feet in width, and by straining my eyes, I satisfied myself of the existence of a shelf of rock on one side as nearly as I could judge, about seventy five feet down. It was a goodly stretch, and would require every foot of my rope. You will not smile, I'm sure when I tell you that I pressed Bulgar to my breast and kissed him fondly before lowering away. He returned my caresses, and by his joyous yelp, gave me to understand that he had perfect faith in his little master. In a few moments I had joined him on this narrow shelf of rock. Below us now was darkness. But think you I hesitated. I knew that my eyes would soon become accustomed to the gloom. And I also knew that when my eyes failed, Bulgar's keener ones were there to help me out. I rigged my tackle now with extra care, for I was really lowering my little brother on a sort of trip of discovery. He was soon out of sight. And then, in spite of my calmness, I drew a quick breath, and my heart started upward a barley corner or so. But harp, his quick, sharp bark comes plainly up to me. It means that he has landed upon a safe shell or ledge. And the next moment my legs encircled the rope and I began to glide noiselessly down in to the stilly depths, his glad voice ringing in my ears. Again and again did I send my wise and watchful little brother down ahead of me, until at last, standing there and looking up, naught remained to me of the mighty outside world, but a bright silver spack, like a tiny ray of light streaming through a pin hole in the curtains of your chamber. But stop, have we reached the bottom of the Giant's well, For with a trial plummet, I find that the walls are no longer sheer. They slope inward and gently too, almost so much so that I hardly need a line to continue my descent. Lighting one of my little tapers. I make my way cautiously around the edge. In half an hour I find myself back at the starting place. The curve to the path has always been the same, while my trial plummet at all times has indicated the same slope to the rocky basin. And then, for the first time, two certain words made use of by that learned master of Master's don fum till then mystery to me stood out before my eyes, as if written with a pen upon those black walls thousands of feet below the great world of light, which I had quitted a few hours before. Those words were Polyphemus's funnel. Yes, there could be no doubt of it. I had reached the bottom of the giant's well. I stood upon the edge of Polyphemus's funnel. End of Chapter five