by Various
_They tilted her rudders and dove to the abysm below._]
The Sunken Empire
_By H. Thompson Rich_
Concerning the strange adventures of Professor Stevens with the Antillians on the floors of the mysterious Sargasso Sea.
"Then you really expect to find the lost continent of Atlantis,Professor?"
Martin Stevens lifted his bearded face sternly to the reporter who wasinterviewing him in his study aboard the torpedo-submarine _Nereid_, acraft of his own invention, as she lay moored at her Brooklyn wharf,on an afternoon in October.
"My dear young man," he said, "I am not even going to look for it."
The aspiring journalist--Larry Hunter by name--was properly abashed.
"But I thought," he insisted nevertheless, "that you said you weregoing to explore the ocean floor under the Sargasso Sea?"
"And so I did." Professor Stevens admitted, a smile moving that graybeard now and his blue eyes twinkling merrily. "But the Sargasso, anarea almost equal to Europe, covers other land as well--land of farmore recent submergence than Atlantis, which foundered in 9564 B. C.,according to Plato. What I am going to look for is this newer lostcontinent, or island rather--namely, the great island of Antillia, ofwhich the West Indies remain above water to-day."
"Antillia?" queried Larry Hunter, wonderingly. "I never heard of it."
Again the professor regarded his interviewer sternly.
"There are many things you have never heard of, young man," he toldhim. "Antillia may be termed the missing link between Atlantis andAmerica. It was there that Atlantean culture survived after theappalling catastrophe that wiped out the Atlantean homeland, with itsseventy million inhabitants, and it was in the colonies the Antilliansestablished in Mexico and Peru, that their own culture in turnsurvived, after Antillia too had sunk."
"My Lord! You don't mean to say the Mayas and Incas originated on thatisland of Antillia?"
"No, I mean to say they originated on the continent of Atlantis, andthat Antillia was the stepping stone to the New World, where theybuilt the strange pyramids we find smothered in the jungle--even asthousands of years before the Atlanteans established colonies in Egyptand founded the earliest dynasties of pyramid-building Pharaohs."
* * * * *
Larry was pushing his pencil furiously.
"Whew!" he gasped. "Some story, Professor!"
"To the general public, perhaps," was the reply. "But to scholars ofantiquity, these postulates are pretty well known and pretty wellaccepted. It remains but to get concrete evidence, in order to provethem to the world at large--and that is the object of my expedition."
More hurried scribbling, then:
"But, say--why don't you go direct to Atlantis and get the real dope?"
"Because that continent foundered so long ago that it is doubtful ifany evidence would have withstood the ravages of time," ProfessorStevens explained, "whereas Antillia went down no earlier than 200 B.C., archaeologists agree."
"That answers my question," declared Larry, his admiration for thisdoughty graybeard rising momentarily. "And now, Professor, I wonder ifyou'd be willing to say a few words about this craft of yours?"
"Cheerfully, if you think it would interest anyone. What would youcare to have me say?"
"Well, in the first place, what does the name _Nereid_ mean?"
"Sea-nymph. The derivation is from the Latin and Greek, meaningdaughter of the sea-god Nereus. Appropriate, don't you think?"
"Swell. And why do you call it a torpedo-submarine? How does it differfrom the common or navy variety?"
* * * * *
Professor Stevens smiled. It was like asking what was the differencebetween the sun and the moon, when about the only point of resemblancethey had was that they were both round. Nevertheless, he enumeratedsome of the major modifications he had developed.
Among them, perhaps the most radical, was its motive power, which wasproduced by what he called a vacuo-turbine--a device that sucked inthe water at the snout of the craft and expelled it at the tail, atthe time purifying a certain amount for drinking purposes andextracting sufficient oxygen to maintain a healthful atmosphere whilerunning submerged.
Then, the structure of the _Nereid_ was unique, he explained,permitting it to attain depths where the pressure would crush anordinary submarine, while mechanical eyes on the television principleafforded a view in all directions, and locks enabling them to leavethe craft at will and explore the sea-bottom were provided.
This latter feat they would accomplish in special suits, designed onthe same pneumatic principle as the torpedo itself and capable ofsustaining sufficient inflation to resist whatever pressures might beencountered, as well as being equipped with vibratory sending andreceiving apparatus, for maintaining communication with those leftaboard.
* * * * *
All these things and more Professor Stevens outlined, as Larry'spencil flew, admitting that he had spent the past ten years and thebest part of his private fortune in developing his plans.
"But you'll get it all back, won't you? Aren't there all sorts ofSpanish galleons and pirate barques laden with gold supposed to bedown there?"
"Undoubtedly," was the calm reply. "But I am not on a treasure hunt,young man. If I find one single sign of former life, I shall be amplyrewarded."
Whereupon the young reporter regarded the subject of his interviewwith fresh admiration, not unmingled with wonder. In his own hecticworld, people had no such scorn of gold. Gee, he'd sure like to goalong! The professor could have his old statues or whatever he waslooking for. As for himself, he'd fill up his pockets with Spanishdoubloons and pieces of eight!
Larry was snapped out of his trance by a light knock on the door,which opened to admit a radiant girl in creamy knickers and greencardigan.
"May I come in, daddy?" she inquired, hesitating, as she saw he wasnot alone.
"You seem to be in already, my dear," the professor told her, risingfrom his desk and stepping forward.
Then, turning to Larry, who had also risen, he said:
"Mr. Hunter, this is my daughter, Diane, who is also my secretary."
"I am pleased to meet you, Miss Stevens," said Larry, taking her hand.
And he meant it--for almost anyone would have been pleased to meetDiane, with her tawny gold hair, warm olive cheeks and eyes bluer eventhan her father's and just as twinkling, just as intelligent.
"She will accompany the expedition and take stenographic notes ofeverything we observe," added her father, to Larry's amazement.
"What?" he declared. "You mean to say that--that--"
"Of course he means to say that I'm going, if that's what you mean tosay, Mr. Hunter," Diane assured him. "Can you think of any good reasonwhy I shouldn't go, when girls are flying around the world andeverything else?"
Even had Larry been able to think of any good reason, he wouldn't havementioned it. But as a matter of fact, he had shifted quite abruptlyto an entirely different line of thought. Diane, he wasthinking--Diana, goddess of the chase, the huntress! And himself,Larry Hunter--the hunter and the huntress!
Gee, but he'd like to go! What an adventure, hunting around togetheron the bottom of the ocean!
* * * * *
What a wild dream, rather, he concluded when his senses returned. Forafter all, he was only a reporter, fated to write about other people'sadventures, not to participate in them. So he put away his pad andpencil and prepared to leave.
But at the door he paused.
"Oh, yes--one more question. When are you planning to leave,Professor?"
At that, Martin Stevens and his daughter exchanged a swift glance.Then, with a smile, Diane said:
"I see no reason why we shouldn't tell him, daddy."
"But we didn't tell the reporters from the other papers, my dear,"protested her father.
"Then suppose we give Mr. Hunter the exclusive sto
ry," she said,transferring her smile to Larry now. "It will be what you call a--ascoop. Isn't that it?"
"That's it."
She caught her father's acquiescing nod. "Then here's your scoop, Mr.Hunter. We leave to-night."
To-night! This was indeed a scoop! If he hurried, he could catch thelate afternoon editions with it.
"I--I certainly thank you, Miss Stevens!" he exclaimed. "That'll makethe front page!"
As he grasped the door-knob, he added, turning to her father:
"And I want to thank you too, Professor--and wish you good luck!"
Then, with a hasty handshake, and a last smile of gratitude for Diane,he flung open the door and departed, unconscious that two young blueeyes followed his broad shoulders wistfully till they disappeared fromview.
* * * * *
But Larry was unaware that he had made a favorable impression onDiane. He felt it was the reverse. As he headed toward the subway,that vivid blond goddess of the chase was uppermost in his thoughts.
Soon she'd be off in the _Nereid_, bound for the mysterious regionsunder the Sargasso Sea, while in a few moments he'd be in the subway,bound under the prosaic East River for New York.
No--damned if he would!
Suddenly, with a wild inspiration, the young reporter altered hiscourse, dove into the nearest phone booth and got his city editor onthe wire.
Scoop? This was just the first installment. He'd get a scoop thatwould fill a book!
And his city editor tacitly O. K.'d the idea.
With the result that when the _Nereid_ drew away from her wharf thatnight, on the start of her unparalleled voyage, Larry Hunter was astowaway.
* * * * *
The place where he had succeeded in secreting himself was a smallstoreroom far aft, on one of the lower decks. There he huddled in thedarkness, while the slow hours wore away, hearing only the low hum ofthe craft's vacuo-turbine and the flux of water running through her.
From the way she rolled and pitched, he judged she was stillproceeding along on the surface.
Having eaten before he came aboard, he felt no hunger, but the closeair and the dark quarters brought drowsiness. He slept.
When he awoke it was still dark, of course, but a glance at hisluminous wrist-watch told him it was morning now. And the fact thatthe rolling and pitching had ceased made him believe they were nowrunning submerged.
The urge for breakfast asserting itself, Larry drew a bar of chocolatefrom his pocket and munched on it. But this was scanty fare for ahealthy young six-footer, accustomed to a liberal portion of ham andeggs. Furthermore, the lack of coffee made him realize that he wasgetting decidedly thirsty. The air, moreover, was getting pretty bad.
"All in all, this hole wasn't exactly intended for a bedroom!" hereflected with a wry smile.
Taking a chance, he opened the door a crack and sat there impatiently,while the interminable minutes ticked off.
The _Nereid's_ turbine was humming now with a high, vibrant note thatindicated they must be knocking off the knots at a lively clip. Hewondered how far out they were, and how far down.
Lord, there'd be a riot when he showed up! He wanted to wait till theywere far enough on their way so it would be too much trouble to turnaround and put him ashore.
But by noon his powers of endurance were exhausted. Flinging open thedoor, he stepped out into the corridor, followed it to a companionwayand mounted the ladder to the deck above.
There he was assailed by a familiar and welcome odor--food!
Trailing it to its origin, he came to a pair of swinging doors at theend of a cork-paved passage. Beyond, he saw on peering through, wasthe mess-room, and there at the table, among a number of uniformedofficers, sat Professor Stevens and Diane.
A last moment Larry stood there, looking in on them. Then, drawing adeep breath, he pushed wide the swinging doors and entered with acheery:
"Good morning, folks! Hope I'm not too late for lunch!"
* * * * *
Varying degrees of surprise greeted this dramatic appearance. Theofficers stared, Diane gasped, her father leaped to has feet with acry.
"That reporter! Why--why, what are you doing here, young man?"
"Just representing the press."
Larry tried to make it sound nonchalant but he was finding itdifficult to bear up under this barrage of disapprovingeyes--particularly two very young, very blue ones.
"So that is the way you reward us for giving you an exclusive story,is it?" Professor Stevens' voice was scathing. "A representative ofthe press! A stowaway, rather--and as such you will be treated!"
He turned to one of his officers.
"Report to Captain Petersen that we have a stowaway aboard and orderhim to put about at once."
He turned to another.
"See that Mr. Hunter is taken below and locked up. When we reach NewYork, he will be handed over to the police."
"But daddy!" protested Diane, as they rose to comply, her eyessoftening now. "We shouldn't be too severe with Mr. Hunter. After all,he is probably doing only what his paper ordered him to."
* * * * *
Gratefully Larry turned toward his defender. But he couldn't let thatpass.
"No, I'm acting only on my own initiative," he said. "No one told meto come."
For he couldn't get his city editor involved, and after all it was hisown idea.
"You see!" declared Professor Stevens. "He admits it is his own doing.It is clear he has exceeded his authority, therefore, and deserves nosympathy."
"But can't you let me stay, now that I'm here?" urged Larry. "I knowsomething about boats. I'll serve as a member of the crew--anything."
"Impossible. We have a full complement. You would be more of ahindrance than a help. Besides, I do not care to have the possibleresults of this expedition blared before the public."
"I'll write nothing you do not approve."
"I have no time to edit your writings, young man. My own, will occupyme sufficiently. So it is useless. You are only wasting yourbreath--and mine."
He motioned for his officers to carry out his orders.
But before they could move to do so, in strode a lean, middle-agedNorwegian Larry sensed must be Captain Petersen himself, and on hisweathered face was an expression of such gravity that it was obviousto everyone something serious had happened.
* * * * *
Ignoring Larry, after one brief look of inquiry that was answered byProfessor Stevens, he reported swiftly what he had to say.
While cruising full speed at forty fathoms, with kite-aerial out,their wireless operator had received a radio warning to turn back.Answering on its call-length, he had demanded to know the sender andthe reason for the message, but the information had been declined, thewarning merely being repeated.
"Was it a land station or a ship at sea?" asked the professor.
"Evidently the latter," was the reply. "By our radio range-finder, wedetermined the position at approximately latitude 27, longitude 65."
"But that, Captain, is in the very area we are headed for."
"And that, Professor, makes it all the more singular."
"But--well, well! This is indeed peculiar! And I had been on the pointof turning back with our impetuous young stowaway. What would yousuggest, sir?"
Captain Petersen meditated, while Larry held his breath.
"To turn back," he said at length, in his clear, precise English,"would in my opinion be to give the laugh to someone whose sense ofhumor is already too well developed."
"Exactly!" agreed Professor Stevens, as Larry relaxed in relief."Whoever this practical joker is, we will show him he is wasting histalents--even though it means carrying a supernumerary for the rest ofthe voyage."
"Well spoken!" said the captain. "But as far as that is concerned, Ithink I can keep Mr. Hunter occupied."
"Then take him, and welcom
e!"
Whereupon, still elated but now somewhat uneasy, Larry accompaniedCaptain Petersen from the mess-room; started to, that is. But at aglance of sympathy from Diane, he dared call out:
"Say--hold on, folks! I haven't had lunch yet!"
* * * * *
When young Larry Hunter reported to the captain of the _Nereid_, afterthis necessary meal, he found that the craft had returned to thesurface.
Assigned a pair of powerful binoculars, he was ordered to stand watchin the conning-tower and survey the horizon in every direction, in aneffort to sight the vessel that had sent out that mysterious radio,but though he cast his good brown eyes diligently through those stronglenses, he saw not so much as a smoke tuft upon the broad, gray-bluesurface of the hazy Atlantic.
Gradually, however, as the afternoon wore away, something else came inview. Masses of brownish seaweed, supported by small, berry-likebladders, began drifting by. Far apart at first, they began gettingmore and more dense, till at last, with a thrill, he realized thatthey were drawing into that strange area known as the Sargasso Sea.
Shortly after this realization dawned, he was ordered below, and asthe tropic sun was sinking over that eery floating tombstone, whichaccording to Professor Stevens marked a nation's grave, the _Nereid_submerged.
Down she slid, a hundred fathoms or more, on a long, even glide thattook her deep under that veiling brown blanket.
* * * * *
In the navigating room now, Larry stood with the captain, theprofessor and Diane, studying an illuminated panel on which appeared across of five squares, like a box opened out.
The central square reproduced the scene below, while those to left andright depicted it from port and starboard, and those to front and rearrevealed the forward and aft aspects of the panorama, thus affording aclear view in every direction.
This, then, was the television device Professor Stevens had referredto the previous afternoon, its mechanical eyes enabling then to searchevery square inch of those mysterious depths, as they cruised along.
It was the central square that occupied their attention chiefly,however, as they stood studying the panel. While the othersrepresented merely an unbroken vista of greenish water, this oneshowed the sea floor as clearly as though they had been peering downinto a shallow lagoon through a glass-bottomed boat, though it musthave been a quarter of a mile below their cruising level.
A wonderful and fearsome sight it was to Larry: like something seen ina nightmare--a fantastic desert waste of rocks and dunes, with hereand there a yawning chasm whose ominous depths their ray failed topenetrate, and now and then a jutting plateau that would appear on theforward square and cause Captain Petersen to elevate their bowsharply.
But more thrilling than this was their first glimpse of a sunkenship--a Spanish galleon, beyond a doubt!
There she lay, grotesquely on her side, half rotted, half buried inthe sand, but still discernible. And to Larry's wildly racingimagination, a flood of gold and jewels seemed to pour from her ruinedcoffers.
* * * * *
Turning to Diane, he saw that her eyes too were flashing with intenseexcitement.
"Say!" he exclaimed. "Why don't we stop and look her over? There maybe a fortune down there!"
Professor Stevens promptly vetoed the suggestion, however.
"I must remind you, young man," he said severely, "that this is not atreasure hunt."
Whereupon Larry subsided; outwardly, at least. But when presently thecentral square revealed another and then another sunken ship, it wasall he could do to contain himself.
Now, suddenly, Diane cried out:
"Oh, daddy, look! There's a modern ship! A--a freighter, isn't it?"
"A collier, I would say," was her father's calm reply. "Rather a largeone, too. _Cyclops_, possibly. She disappeared some years ago, enroute from the Barbados to Norfolk. Or possibly it is any one of adozen other steel vessels that have vanished from these seas in recenttimes. The area of the Sargasso, my dear, is known as 'The Port ofMissing Ships.'"
"But couldn't we drop down and make sure which ship it is?" shepleaded, voicing the very thought Larry had been struggling tosuppress.
At the professor's reply, however, he was glad he had kept quiet.
"We could, of course," was his gentle though firm rebuke, "but if westopped to solve the mystery of every sunken ship we shall probablysee during this cruise, we would have time for nothing else.Nevertheless, my dear, you may take a short memorandum of the locationand circumstances, in the present instance."
Whereupon he dictated briefly, while Larry devoted his attention oncemore to the central square.
* * * * *
Suddenly, beyond a dark pit that seemed to reach down into the verybowels of the earth, rose an abrupt plateau--and on one of its nearerelevations, almost directly under then, loomed a monumental four-sidedmound.
"Say--hold on!" called Larry. "Look at that, Professor! Isn't that abuilding of some kind?"
Martin Stevens looked up, glanced skeptically toward the panel. Butone glimpse at what that central square revealed, and his skepticismvanished.
"A building?" he cried in triumph. "A building indeed! It is apyramid, young man!"
"Good Lord!"
"Oh, daddy! Really?"
"Beyond a doubt! And look--there are two other similar structures,only smaller!"
Struggling for calm, he turned to Captain Petersen, who had taken hiseyes from the forward square and was peering down as well upon thosesingular mounds.
"Stop! Descend!" was his exultant command. "This is my proof! We havediscovered Antillia!"
* * * * *
Swiftly the _Nereid_ dropped to that submerged plateau.
In five minutes, her keel was resting evenly on the smooth sand besidethe largest of the three pyramids.
Professor Stevens then announced that he would make a preliminaryinvestigation of the site at once.
"For, otherwise, I for one would be quite unable to sleep tonight!"declared the graybeard, with a boyish chuckle.
He added that Diane would accompany him.
At this latter announcement, Larry's heart sank. He had hoped againsthope that he might be invited along with them.
But once again his champion came to his aid.
"We really ought to let Mr. Hunter come with us, daddy, don't youthink?" she urged, noting his disappointment. "After all, it was hewho made the discovery."
"Very true," said her father, "but I had not thought it necessary foranyone to accompany us. In the event anyone does, Captain Petersenshould have that honor."
But this honor the captain declined.
"If you don't mind, sir, I'd prefer to stay with the ship," he said,quietly. "I haven't forgotten that radio warning."
"But surely you don't think anyone can molest us down here?" scoffedthe professor.
"No, but I'd prefer to stay with the ship just the same, sir, if youdon't mind."
"Very well"--with a touch of pique. "Then you may come along if youcare to, Mr. Hunter."
If he cared to!
"Thanks, Professor!" he said with a grateful look toward Diane. "I'dbe keen to!"
* * * * *
So he accompanied them below, where they donned theirpressure-suits--rubber affairs rather less cumbersome than ordinarydeep-sea diving gear, reinforced with steel wire and provided withthick glass goggles and powerful searchlights, in addition to theirvibratory communication apparatus and other devices that wereexplained to Larry.
When he had mastered their operation, which was rendered simple byreason of the fact that they were so nearly automatic, the triostepped into a lock on the floor of the ship and Professor Stevensordered them to couple their suits to air-valve connections on thewall, at the same time admitting water by opening another valve.
Swiftly the lock flooded, while
their suits inflated.
"All right?" came his vibratory query.
"Right!" they both answered.
"Then stand by for the heavy pressure."
Wider now he opened the water-valve, letting the ocean in, while atthe same time their suits continued inflating through their air-valveconnections.
To his surprise, Larry found himself no more inconvenienced by thepressure than he had been from the moment the submarine dove to itspresent depth. Indeed, most of the air that was coming into his suitwas filling the reinforced space between its inner and outer layers,much as the _Nereid_ held air under pressure between her two thickshells.
"All right now?" called out the professor's vibrator.
"Right!" they called back again.
"Then uncouple your air-valve connections and make ready."
They did so; and he likewise.
Then, advancing to a massive door like that of a vault, he flung backits powerful clamps, dragged it open--and there beyond, its pressureequaled by that within the lock, loomed the black tide of the oceanbottom.
* * * * *
Awed by this solemn sight, tingling with a sense of unparalleledadventure, Larry stood there a moment, peering out over the thresholdof that untrodden world.
Then he followed Diane and her father into its beckoning mystery....
Their searchlights cutting bright segments into the dark, theyproceeded toward the vast mound that towered ahead, pushing through aweird realm of phosphorescent fish and other marine creatures.
As they neared it, any possible doubt that it was in fact a pyramidvanished. Corroded by the action of salt water and covered with theincrustations of centuries, it nevertheless presented unmistakableevidence of human construction, rising in steps of massive masonry toa summit shadowy in the murk above.
As Larry stood gazing upon that mighty proof that this submergedplateau had once stood forth proudly above the sea, he realized thathe was a party to one of the most profound discoveries of the ages.What a furore this would make when he reported it back to his New Yorkpaper!
But New York seemed remote indeed, now. Would they ever get back? Whatif anything went wrong with their pressure-suits--or if they shouldbecome lost?
He glanced back uneasily, but there gleamed the reassuring lights ofthe _Nereid_, not a quarter of a mile away.
Diane and her father were now rounding a corner of the pyramid and hefollowed them, his momentary twinge of anxiety gone.
* * * * *
For some moments, Professor Stevens prowled about without comment,examining the huge basal blocks of the structure and glancing up itssloping sides.
"You see, I was right!" he declared at length. "This is not only aman-made edifice but a true pyramid, embodying the same architecturalprinciples as the Mayan and Egyptian forms. We see before us thevisible evidence of a sunken empire--the missing link between Atlantisand America."
No comments greeted this profound announcement and the professorcontinued:
"This structure appears to be similar in dimensions with that of thepyramid of Xochicalco, in Mexico, which in turn approximates that ofthe "Sacred Hill" of Atlantis, mentioned by Plato, and which was theprototype of both the Egyptian and Mayan forms. It was here theAntillians, as the Atlanteans had taught them to do, worshipped theirgrim gods and performed the human sacrifices they thought necessary toappease them. And it was here, too, if I am not mistaken, that--"
Suddenly his vibratory discourse was broken into by a sharp signalfrom the submarine:
"Pardon interruption! Hurry back! We are attacked!"
At this, the trio stood rigid.
"Captain Petersen! Captain Petersen!" Larry heard the professor call."Speak up! Give details! What has happened?"
But an ominous silence greeted the query.
Another moment they stood there, thoroughly dismayed now. Then camethe professor's swift command:
"Follow me--quickly!"
He was already in motion, retracing his steps as fast as his bulkysuit would permit. But as he rounded the corner of the pyramid, theysaw him pause, stand staring. And as they drew up, they in turnpaused; stood staring, too.
With sinking hearts, they saw that the _Nereid_ was gone.
* * * * *
Stunned by this disaster, they stood facing one another--three lonehuman beings, on the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, their sole means ofsalvation gone.
Professor Stevens was the first to speak.
"This is unbelievable!" he said. "I cannot credit it. We must havelost our senses."
"Or our bearings!" added Diane, more hopefully. "Suppose we lookaround the other side."
As for Larry, a darker suspicion flashed through his mind. CaptainPetersen! Had he seized his opportunity and led the crew to mutiny, inthe hope of converting the expedition into a treasure hunt? Was thatthe reason he had been so willing to remain behind?
He kept his suspicion to himself, however, and accompanied Diane andher father on a complete circuit of the pyramid; but, as he feared,there was no sign of the _Nereid_ anywhere. The craft had vanished ascompletely as though the ocean floor had opened and swallowed her up.
But no, not as completely as that! For presently the professor, whohad proceeded to the site where they left the craft resting on thesand, called out excitedly:
"Here--come here! There are tracks! Captain Petersen was right! Theywere attacked!"
Hurrying to the scene, they saw before them the plain evidences of astruggle. The ocean bottom was scuffed and stamped, as though by manyfeet, and a clear trail showed where the craft had finally beendragged away.
Obviously there was but one thing to do and they did it. After a briefconference, they turned and followed the trail.
* * * * *
It led off over the plateau a quarter mile or more, in an eastwarddirection, terminating at length beside one of the smallerpyramids--and there lay the _Nereid_, apparently unharmed.
But her lights were out and there came no answer to their repeatedcalls, so they judged she must be empty.
What had happened to Captain Petersen and his crew? What strangesub-sea enemy had overcome them? What was now their fate?
Unanswerable question! But one thing was certain. Larry had misjudgedthe captain in suspecting him of mutiny. He was sorry for this andresolved he would make amends by doing all in his power to rescue himand his men, if they were still living.
Meanwhile his own plight, and that of Diane and her father, wascritical. What was to be done?
Suddenly, as all three stood there debating that question, ProfessorStevens uttered an exclamation and strode toward the pyramid.Following him with their eyes, they saw him pass through an aperturewhere a huge block of stone had been displaced--and disappear within.
The next moment they had joined him, to find themselves in a smallflooded chamber at whose far end a narrow gallery sloped upward at asharp angle.
The floor and walls were tiled, they noted, and showed none of thecorrosion of the exterior surfaces. Indeed, so immaculate was the roomthat it might have been occupied but yesterday.
As they stood gazing around in wonder, scarcely daring to draw thenatural inferences of this phenomena, there came a rasping sound, and,turning toward the entrance, they saw a massive section of masonrydescend snugly into place.
They were trapped!
* * * * *
Standing there tense, speechless, they waited, wondering what would bethe next move of this strange enemy who held them now so surely in hispower.
Nor had they long to wait.
Almost immediately, there issued a gurgling sound from the inclinedgallery, and turning their eyes in the direction of this newphenomena, they saw that the water level was receding, as though underpressure from above.
"Singular!" muttered Professor Stevens. "A sort of primitive lock. Itseems incredible that
human creatures could exist down here, but suchappears to be the case."
Larry had no desire to dispute the assumption, nor had Diane. Theystood there as people might in the imminence of the supernatural,awaiting they knew not what.
Swiftly the water receded.
Now it was scarcely up to their waists, now plashing about theirankles, and now the room was empty.
The next moment, there sounded a rush of feet--and down the gallerycame a swarm of the strangest beings any of them had ever seen.
They were short, thin, almost emaciated, with pale, pinched faces andpasty, half-naked bodies. But they shimmered with ornaments of goldand jade, like some strange princes from the realm of Neptune--orrather, like Aztec chieftains of the days of Cortes, thought Larry.
Blinking in the glare of the searchlights, they clamored around theircaptives, touching their pressure-suits half in awe and chatteringamong themselves.
* * * * *
Then one of them, larger and more regally clad than the rest, steppedup and gestured toward the balcony.
"They obviously desire us to accompany them above," said theprofessor, "and quite as obviously we have little choice in thematter, so I suggest we do so."
"Check!" said Larry.
"And double-check!" added Diane.
So they started up, preceded by a handful of their captors andfollowed by the main party.
The gallery seemed to be leading toward the center of the pyramid, butafter a hundred feet or so it turned and continued up at a rightangle, turning twice more before they arrived at length in anotherstone chamber, smaller than the one below.
Here their guides paused and waited for the main party.
There followed another conference, whereupon their leader stepped upagain, indicating this time that they were to remove their suits.
At this, Professor Stevens balked.
"It is suicide!" he declared. "The air to which they are accustomedhere is doubtless at many times our own atmospheric pressure."
"But I don't see that there's anything to do about it," said Larry, astheir captors danced about them menacingly. "I for one will take achance!"
And before they could stop him, he had pressed the release-valve,emitting the air from his suit--slowly, at first, then more and morerapidly, as no ill effects seemed to result.
Finally, flinging off the now deflated suit, he stepped before them inhis ordinary clothes, calling with a smile:
"Come on out, folks--the air's fine!"
* * * * *
This statement was somewhat of an exaggeration, as the air smelt dankand bad. But at least it was breathable, as Diane and her father foundwhen they emerged from their own suits.
They discovered, furthermore, now that their flashlights were nolonger operating, that a faint illumination lit the room, issuing froma number of small crystal jars suspended from the walls: some sort ofphosphorescence, evidently.
Once again the leader of the curious throng stepped up to them,beaming now and addressing Professor Stevens in some barbaric tongue,and, to their amazement, he replied in words approximating its harshsyllables.
"Why, daddy!" gasped Diane. "How can you talk to him?"
"Simply enough," was the reply. "They speak a language which seems tobe about one-third Basque, mixed oddly with Greek. It merely provesanother hypothesis of mine, namely, that the Atlantean influencereached eastward to the Pyrenees mountains and the Hellenic peninsula,as well as to Egypt."
* * * * *
Whereupon he turned and continued his conversation, haltingly it istrue and with many gestures, but understandably nevertheless.
"I have received considerable enlightenment as to the mystery of thisstrange sunken empire," he reported, turning back to them at length."It is a singular story this creature tells, of how his country sankslowly beneath the waves, during the course of centuries, and of howhis ancestors adapted themselves by degrees to the present conditions.I shall report it to you both, in detail, when time affords. But themain thing now is that a man similar to ourselves has conquered theircountry and set himself up as emperor. It is to him we are about to betaken."
"But it doesn't seem possible!" exclaimed Diane. "Why, how could hehave got down here?"
"In a craft similar to our own, according to this creature. Heavenknows what it is we are about to face! But whatever it is, we willface it bravely."
"Check and double-check!" said Larry, with a glance toward Diane thattold her she would not find him wanting.
They were not destined to meet the test just then, however, for justat that moment a courier in breech-clout and sandals dashed up thegallery and burst into the room, bearing in his right hand a thinsquare of metal.
Bowing, he handed it to the leader of the pigmy throng, with the awedword:
"_Cabiri!_"
At this, Professor Stevens gave a start.
"A message from their high priests!" he whispered.
Whatever it contained, the effect produced on the reader was profound.Facing his companions, he addressed them gravely. Then, turning fromthe room, he commanded the captives to follow.
* * * * *
The way led back down the inclined gallery to a point where anotherdoor now stood open, then on down until finally the passage leveledout into a long, straight tunnel.
This they traversed for fully a mile, entering at length a large,square chamber where for a moment they paused.
"I judge we are now at the base of the large pyramid," the professorvoiced in an undertone. "It would naturally be the abode of the highpriests."
"But what do you suppose they want with us?" asked Diane.
"That I am not disposed to conjecture," was her father's reply.
But the note of anxiety in his voice was not lost on Diane, nor onLarry, who pressed her hand reassuringly.
Now their captors led them from the room through a small door openingon another inclined gallery, whose turns they followed until all wereout of breath from the climb.
It ended abruptly on a short, level corridor with apertures to leftand right.
Into the latter they were led, finding themselves in a grotesquelyfurnished room, lit dimly by phosphorescent lamps.
Swiftly the leader addressed Professor Stevens. Then all withdrew. Theaperture was closed by a sliding block of stone.
* * * * *
For a moment they stood there silent, straining their eyes in thegloom to detect the details of their surroundings, which includedseveral curious chairs and a number of mattings strewn on the tiledfloor.
"What did he say?" asked Diane at length, in a tremulous voice.
"He said we will remain here for the night," her father replied, "andwill be taken before the high priests at dawn."
"At dawn!" exclaimed Larry. "How the deuce do they know when it isdawn, down here?"
"By their calendars, which they have kept accurately," was the answer."But there are many other questions you must both want to ask, so Ishall anticipate them by telling you now what I have been able tolearn. Suppose we first sit down, however. I for one am weary."
Whereupon they drew up three of those curious chairs of some heavywood carved with the hideous figures of this strange people's ancientgods, and Professor Stevens began.
* * * * *
Their sunken empire, as he had surmised, had indeed been the greatisland of Antillia and a colony of Atlantis. A series of earthquakesand tidal waves such as engulfed their homeland ages before had sentit down, and the estimated archaeological date of the finalsubmergence--namely, 200 B. C.--was approximately correct.
But long before this ultimate catastrophe, the bulk of thedisheartened population had migrated to Central and South America,founding the Mayan and Incan dynasties. Many of the faithful hadstayed on, however, among them most of the Cabiri or high priests, whoeither were loath to
leave their temples or had been ordered by theirgods to remain.
At any rate, they had remained, and as the great island sank lower andlower, they had fortified themselves against the disaster in theirpyramids, which by then alone remained above the surface.
These, too, had gradually disappeared beneath the angry waters,however, and with them had disappeared the steadfast priests and theirfaithful followers, sealing their living tombs into air-tightbell-jars that retained the atmosphere.
This they had supplemented at first by drawing it down from above, butas time went by they found other means of getting air; extracting itfrom the sea water under pressure, by utilizing their subterraneanvolcanoes, in whose seething cauldrons the gods had placed theirsalvation; and it was this process that now provided them with theatmosphere which had so amazed their captives.
But naturally, lack of sunshine had produced serious degeneration intheir race, and that accounted for their diminutive forms and palebodies. Still, they had been able to survive with a degree ofhappiness until some ten or a dozen years ago, when a strange enemyhad come down in a great metal fish, like that of these new strangers,and with a handful of men had conquered their country.
This marauder was after their gold and had looted their templesruthlessly, carrying away its treasures, for which they hated him witha fury that only violation of their most sacred deities could arouse.Long ago they would have destroyed him, but for the fact that hepossessed terrible weapons which were impossible to combat. But theywere in smouldering rebellion and waited only the support of theirgods, when they would fall on this oppressor and hurl him off.
That, though it left many things unexplained, was all the professorhad been able to gather from his conversation with the leader of theircaptors. He ended, admitting regretfully that he was still inignorance of what fate had befallen Captain Petersen and the crew ofthe _Nereid._
* * * * *
"Perhaps this fellow in the other submarine has got them," suggestedLarry.
"But why weren't we taken to him too?" asked Diane. "What do yousuppose they want with us, anyway, daddy?"
"That, my dear, as I told you before," replied her father, "I am notdisposed to conjecture. Time will reveal it. Meanwhile, we can onlywait."
As before, there was a note of anxiety in his voice not lost on eitherof them. And as for Larry, though he knew but little of those oldreligions, he knew enough to realize that their altars often ran withthe blood of their captives, and he shuddered.
With these grim thoughts between them, the trio fell silent.
A silence that was interrupted presently by the arrival of a nativebearing a tray heaped with strange food.
Bowing, he placed it before them and departed.
Upon examination, the meal proved to consist mainly of some curiouskind of steamed fish, not unpalatable but rather rank and tough. Therewere several varieties of fungus, too, more or less resemblingmushrooms and doubtless grown in some sunless garden of the pyramid.
These articles, together with a pitcher of good water that hadobviously been distilled from the sea, comprised their meal, andthough it was far from appetizing, they ate it.
But none of the three slept that night, though Diane dozed off for afew minutes once or twice, for their apprehension of what the dawnmight hold made it impossible, to say nothing of the closeness of theair in that windowless subterranean room.
Slowly, wearily, the hours dragged by.
At length the native who had brought their food came again. This timehe spoke.
"He says we are now to be taken before the high priests," ProfessorStevens translated for them.
Almost with relief, though their faces were grave, they stepped outinto the corridor, where an escort waited.
* * * * *
Five minutes later, after proceeding along an inclined gallery thatwound ever upward, they were ushered into a vast vaulted chamber litwith a thousand phosphorescent lamps and gleaming with idols of goldand silver, jewels flashing from their eyes.
High in the dome hung a great golden disc, representing the sun. Atthe far end, above a marble altar, coiled a dragon with tusks of ivoryand scales of jade, its eyes two lustrous pearls.
And all about the room thronged priests in fantastic head-dress andlong white robes, woven through elaborately with threads of yellow andgreen.
At the appearance of the captives, a murmur like a chant rose in thestill air. Someone touched a brand to the altar and there was a flashof flame followed by a thin column of smoke that spiraled slowlyupward.
Now one of the priests stepped out--the supreme one among them, tojudge from the magnificence of his robe--and addressed the trio,speaking slowly, rhythmically.
As his strange, sonorous discourse continued, Professor Stevens grewvisibly perturbed. His beard twitched and he shifted uneasily on hisfeet.
* * * * *
Finally the discourse ceased and the professor replied to it, briefly.Then he turned grave eyes on Larry and Diane.
"What is it?" asked the latter, nervously. "What did the priest say,daddy?"
Her father considered, before replying.
"Naturally, I did not gather everything," was his slow reply, "but Igathered sufficient to understand what is afoot. First, however, letme explain that the dragon you see over there represents their deityTlaloc, god of the sea. In more happy circumstances, it would beinteresting to note that the name is identified with the Mayan god ofthe same element."
He paused, as though loath to go on, then continued:
"At any rate, the Antillians have worshipped Tlaloc principally, sincetheir sun god failed them. They believe he dragged down their empirein his mighty coils, through anger with them, and will raise it upagain if appeased. Therefore they propose today to--"
"Daddy!" cried Diane, shrinking back in horror, while a chill went upLarry's spine. "You mean--mean that--"
"I mean, my poor child, that we are about to be sacrificed to thedragon god of the Antillians."
* * * * *
The words were no more than uttered, when with a weird chant theCabiri closed in on their victims and led them with solemn ceremonialtoward the altar.
In vain did Professor Stevens protest. Their decision had been madeand was irrevocable. Tlaloc must be appeased. Lo, even now he roaredfor the offering!
They pointed to the dragon, from whose nostrils suddenly issuedhissing spurts of flame.
Larry fumed in disgust at the cheap hocus-pocus of it--but the nextmoment a more violent emotion swept over him as he saw Diane seizedand borne swiftly to that loathsome shrine.
But even as he lunged forward, the professor reached his daughter'sside. Throwing himself in front of her, he begged them to spare her,to sacrifice him instead.
The answer of the priests was a blow that knocked the graybeardsenseless, and lifting Diane up, half-swooning, they flung her uponthe altar.
"Mr. Hunter! Larry!" came her despairing cry.
She struggled up and for a moment her blue eyes opened, met hisbeseechingly.
That was enough--that and that despairing cry, "Larry!"
With the strength of frenzy, he flung off his captors, rushed to heraid, his hard fists flailing.
The pigmies went down in his path like grain before the scythe.Reaching the altar, he seized the priest whose knife was alreadyupraised, and, lifting him bodily, flung him full into the ugly snoutof that snorting dragon.
Then, as a wail of dismay rose from the Cabiri, at this supremesacrilege, he seized the now unconscious Diane and retreated with hertoward the door.
* * * * *
But there spears barred his escape; and now, recovered from the firstshock of this fearful affront to their god, the priests started towardhim.
Standing at bay, with that limp, tender burden in his arms, Larryawaited the end.
As the maddened horde dr
ew near, she stirred, lifted her pale face andsmiled, her eyes still shut.
"Oh, Larry!"
"Diane!"
"You saved me. I won't forget."
Then, the smile still lingering, she slipped once more into mercifuloblivion, and as Larry held her close to his heart, a new warmthkindled there.
But bitterness burned in his heart, too. He had saved her--won herlove, perhaps--only to lose her. It wasn't fair! Was there no way out?
The priests were close now, their pasty faces leering with fierceanticipation of their revenge, when suddenly, from down the galleryoutside that guarded door, came the sharp crash of an explosion,followed by shouts and the rush of feet.
At the sound, the priests trembled, fled backward into the room andfell moaning before their idols, while the quaking guards strovefrantically to close the door.
* * * * *
But before they could do so, in burst a half dozen brawny sailors inforeign uniform, bearing in their hands little black bulbs that lookedsuspiciously like grenades. Shouting in a tongue Larry could notdistinguish above the uproar, they advanced upon the retreating guardsand priests.
Then, when all were herded in the far corner of the room, the sailorsbacked toward the door. Motioning for Larry and Diane to clear out,they raised those sinister little missiles, prepared to fling them.
"Wait!" cried Larry, thinking of Professor Stevens.
And releasing Diane, who had revived, he rushed forward, seized theprostrate savant from amid the unresisting Cabiri, and bore him tosafety.
"Daddy!" sobbed Diane, swaying to meet them.
"Back!" shouted one of the sailors, shoving them through the door.
The last glimpse Larry had of that fateful room was the horde ofpriests and guards huddled before their altar, voices lifted insupplication to that hideous dragon god.
Then issued a series of blinding flashes followed by deafeningexplosions, mingled with shrieks of anguish.
Sickened, he stood there, as the reverberations died away.
* * * * *
Presently, when it was plain no further menace would come from thatblasted temple, their rescuers led the trio back down those windinggalleries, and through that long, straight tunnel to the smallerpyramid.
Professor Stevens had recovered consciousness by now and was able towalk, with Larry's aid, though a matted clot of blood above his leftear showed the force of the blow he had received.
The way, after reaching the smaller pyramid, led up those othergalleries they had mounted the night before.
This time, undoubtedly, they were to be taken before that mysterioususurping emperor. And what would be the result of that audience? Wouldit but plunge them from the frying pan into the fire, wondered Larry,or would it mean their salvation?
Anyway, he concluded, no fate could be worse than the hideous one theyhad just escaped. But if only Diane could be spared further anguish!
He glanced at her fondly, as they walked along, and she returned him awarm smile.
Now the way led into a short, level passage ending in a door guardedby two sailors with rifles. They presented arms, as their comradescame up, and flung open the door.
As he stepped inside, Larry blinked in amazement, for he was greetedby electric lights in ornate clusters, richly carpeted floors, wallshung with modern paintings--and there at the far end, beside a massivedesk, stood an imposing personage in foreign naval uniform of highrank, strangely familiar, strangely reminiscent of war days.
Even before the man spoke, in his guttural English, the suspicionthose sailors had aroused crystallized itself.
A German! A U-boat commander!
* * * * *
"Greetings, gentlemen--and the little lady," boomed their host, withheavy affability. "I see that my men were in time. These swine ofAntillians are a tricky lot. I must apologize for them--my subjects."
The last word was pronounced with scathing contempt.
"We return greetings!" said Professor Stevens. "To whom, might I ask,do we owe our lives, and the honor of this interview?"
Larry smiled. The old graybeard was up to his form, all right!
"You are addressing Herr Rolf von Ullrich," the flattered Germanreplied, adding genially: "commander of one of His Imperial Majesty'ssuper-submarines during the late war and at present Emperor ofAntillia."
To which the professor replied with dignity that he was greatlyhonored to make the acquaintance of so exalted a personage, andproceeded in turn to introduce himself and party. But Von Ullrichchecked him with a smile.
"The distinguished Professor Stevens and his charming daughter need nointroduction, as they are already familiar to me through the Americanpress and radio," he said. "While as for Mr. Hunter, your CaptainPetersen has already made me acquainted with his name."
At the mention of the commander of the _Nereid_, all three of themgave a start.
"Then--then my captain and crew are safe?" asked the professor,eagerly.
"Quite," Von Ullrich assured him. "You will be taken to thempresently. But first there are one or two little things you would likeexplained--yes? Then I shall put to you a proposal, which ifacceptable will guarantee your safe departure from my adoptedcountry."
Whereupon the German traced briefly the events leading up to thepresent.
* * * * *
During the last months of the war, he had been placed in command of aspecial U-boat known as the "mystery ship"--designed to resistdepth-charges and embodying many other innovations, most of themgrowing out of his own experience with earlier submarines.
One day, while cruising off the West Indies, in wait for some lucklesssugar boat, he had been surprised by a destroyer and forced tosubmerge so suddenly that his diving gear had jammed and they had goneto the bottom. But the craft had managed to withstand the pressure andthey had been able to repair the damage, limping home with a bad leakbut otherwise none the worse for the experience.
The leak repaired and the hull further strengthened, he had set outagain. But when in mid-Atlantic the Armistice had come, and ratherthan return to a defeated country, subject possibly to Allied revenge,he had persuaded his crew to remain out and let their craft bereported missing.
What followed then, though Von Ullrich masked it in polite words, wasa story of piracy, until they found by degrees that there was moregold on the bottom of the ocean than the top; and from this to thediscovery of the sunken empire where he now held reign was but a step.
They had thought at first they were looting only empty temples--but,finding people there, had easily conquered them, though ruling them,he admitted, was another matter. As, for instance, yesterday, when thepriests had interfered with his orders and carried his three chiefcaptives off to sacrifice.
"Where now, but for me, you would be food for their gods!" he ended."And if you do not find my hospitality altogether to your liking,friends, remember that you came uninvited. In fact, if you willrecall, you came despite my explicit warning!"
* * * * *
But since they were here, he told them, they might be willing to repayhis good turn with another.
Whereupon Von Ullrich launched into his proposal, which was thatProfessor Stevens place the _Nereid_ at his disposal for visiting thedepths at the foot of the plateau, where lay the capital of theempire, he said--a magnificent metropolis known as the City of the Sunand modeled after the great Atlantean capital, the City of the GoldenGates, and the depository of a treasure, the greedy German believed,that was the ransom of the world.
The professor frowned, and for a moment Larry thought he was going toremind their host that this was not a treasure hunt.
"Why," he asked instead, "do you not use your own submarine for thepurpose?"
"Because for one thing, she will not stand the pressure, nor will oursuits," was the reply. "And for another, she is already laden withtreasure, ready for
an--er--forced abdication!" with a sardonic laugh.
"Then have you not enough gold already?"
"For myself, yes. But there are my men, you see--and men who haveglimpsed the treasures of the earth are not easily satisfied,Professor. But have no fear. You shall accompany us, and, by your aid,shall pay your own ransom."
* * * * *
Von Ullrich made no mention of the alternative, in case the aid wasrefused, but the ominous light Larry caught in his cold gray eyesspoke as clearly as words.
So, since there was nothing else to do, Professor Stevens agreed.
Whereupon the audience terminated and they were led from the presenceof this arrogant German to another apartment, where they were to meetCaptain Petersen and the crew of the _Nereid._
As they proceeded toward it, under guard, Larry wondered why VonUllrich had even troubled to make the request, when he held it in hispower to take the craft anyway.
But after the first joyful moment of reunion, it was a mystery nolonger, for Captain Petersen reported that immediately upon theircapture, the commander of the U-boat had tried to force him to revealthe operation of the _Nereid_, but that he had steadfastly refused,even though threatened with torture.
And to think, it came to Larry with a new twinge of shame, that he hadsuspected this gallant man of mutiny!
* * * * *
That very morning, while Professor Stevens and his party were stillexchanging experiences with Captain Petersen and the members of thecrew, Von Ullrich sent for them and they gathered with his own men inthe small lock-chamber at the base of the pyramid.
There they were provided with temporary suits by their host, sincetheir own--which they brought along--could be inflated only from the_Nereid_.
Beside her, they noted as they emerged in relays, the U-boat was nowmoored.
Entering their own craft, they got under way at once and headedswiftly westward toward the brink of the plateau. Most of VonUllrich's crew were with them, though a few had been left behind toguard against any treachery, on the part of the now sullen and arousedpopulace.
Slipping out over the edge of that precipitous tableland, they tiltedher rudders and dove to the abysm below.
Presently the central square of the illuminated panel in thenavigating room showed three great concentric circles, enclosed by aquadrangle that must have been miles on a side--and within this vastsunken fortress lay a city of innumerable pyramids and temples andpalaces.
The German's eyes flashed greedily as he peered upon this vision.
"There you are!" he exclaimed, quivering with excitement. "Thosecircles, that square: what would you judge they were, Professor?"
"I would judge that originally they were the canals bearing themunicipal water supply," Martin Stevens told him quietly, suppressinghis own excitement, "for such was said to be the construction of theCity of the Golden Gates; but now I judge they are walls raised onthose original foundations by the frantic populace, when thesubmergence first began, in a vain effort to hold back the tides thatengulfed them."
"And do you think they are of gold?"
"Frankly, no; though I have no doubt you will find plenty of thatelement down there."
Nor was the prediction wrong, for modern eyes had never seen such atreasure house as they beheld when presently the _Nereid_ came to restoutside that ancient four-walled city and they forced their wayinside.
* * * * *
Though the walls were not of gold, the inner gates were, and thetemples were fairly bursting with the precious metal, as well as rarejewels, the eyes of a thousand idols gleaming with rubies andemeralds.
But where was the populace, amid all this prodigious wealth? Was thereno life down here?
Von Ullrich declared through the vibrator of his pressure-suit that hehad heard there was. And as though in substantiation, many of thetemples showed the same bell-jar construction as the pyramids above,though even stouter, revealing evidences of having been occupied veryrecently; but all were flooded and empty. The city was as a city ofthe dead.
This ominous sign did not deter the "emperor," however. Ruthlessly heand his men looted those flooded temples, forcing Professor Stevensand his party to lend aid in the orgy of pillage.
And all the time, Larry had an uneasy feeling of gathering furtivehosts about them, waiting--waiting for what?
He confided his fears to no one, though he noted with relief that VonUllrich seemed to sense these unseen presences too, for he proceededwith caution and always kept a strong guard outside.
* * * * *
By early afternoon, the _Nereid_ was one great coffer-chest.
But still the rapacious U-boat commander was unsatisfied, thoughProfessor Stevens began to have doubts if his craft could lift thatmassive weight of plunder to the top of the plateau.
"One more load and we go," he soothed. "A few more pretties for thelittle lady!"
Larry writhed, and should have suspected then and there--but as itwas, the blow fell unexpected, stunning.
Filing from the lock, they failed to notice that Von Ullrich and hiscrew hung back, until there came a sudden, guttural command, whereuponDiane was seized and the massive door flung shut in their faces.
Appalled by this overwhelming disaster, the party stood for a momentmotionless, speechless. Then, as one, Larry and the professor rushedforward and beat upon that barred hatch, calling upon Von Ullrich toopen it.
From within the submarine, through their vibrators, they heard himlaugh.
"_Auf Wiedersehen!_" he toasted them. "I now have all the treasure Iwant! The rest I leave to you! Help yourselves!"
Even as he spoke, the _Nereid's_ auxiliary propellers started churningthe water. Slowly, sluggishly, like some great gorged fish, the sturdycraft moved off, lifted her snout, headed upward.
* * * * *
Professor Stevens bowed his head, and Larry could well picture thegrief that distorted the graybeard's face, inside that owl-eyedhelmet.
"Cheer up!" he said, though his own face was twisted with anguish."Perhaps--"
Then he paused--for how could he say that perhaps the situation wasn'tas bad as it seemed, when it was obviously hopeless?
"My poor Diane!" moaned the professor. "Poor child. Poor child!"
As for Captain Petersen and the crew, they said nothing. Perhaps theywere thinking of Diane, perhaps of themselves. At least, they knew itwas over.
Or so they thought. But to Larry, suddenly, occurred a gleam of hope.That strange sense of unseen presences! It was bizarre, of course, butdoesn't a drowning person catch at straws? And Lord knows they weredrowning, if ever anyone was!
He turned and confided to Professor Stevens his idea, which was toretrace their steps within the city gates, seek out the populace andthrow themselves on their mercy.
The stricken savant, too, grasped at the straw.
"It seems fantastic, but after all it is a chance," he admitted.
So they pushed back into that great submerged city, with CaptainPetersen and his skeptical crew. They entered one of the largest ofthe temples, wandered forlornly through its flooded halls andcorridors, seeking some sign of these alleged beings Larry had sensed.
Nor was their search unrewarded, for suddenly the captain himself,most skeptical of all, cried out:
"Listen! Did you hear that?"
There was no need to ask the question, for all had heard. It was arasping sound, as of some great door swinging shut, followed almostimmediately by a rushing gurgle--and as they stood there tense, thewater level began rapidly receding.
Even while it was still plashing about their ankles, a secret block ofmasonry slid back and a horde of Antillians burst in upon them.
* * * * *
What happened then, happened with a rush that left them dazed.
Unable to talk directly with the pigmies, by reason of
theirpressure-suits, which they dared not remove, they started gesturingwith them, trying to explain their predicament and make known thatthey bore them no ill-will, but the creatures waved for them to ceaseand led them swiftly through the now waterless temple.
"Well, I guess it's all up!" said Larry, adding with dismal humor:"They're probably going to finish that meal they started feeding theirdragon last night!"
No one laughed, nor made any comment, and he relapsed into silence,realizing that they probably held him responsible for this latestdisaster.
Leaving the temple, their captors led them into a passage that waslevel for a time, then inclined sharply. It was laborious going butthey struggled on.
"I believe they know we are not their enemies!" declared ProfessorStevens, at length, to everyone's cheer. "They seem to be leading usback to the plateau by some underground passage."
"Let's hope so!" said Larry. "Perhaps I had the right hunch afterall."
"But my poor Diane!" came the professor's sorrowing after-thought."That fiend Von Ullrich could never get the _Nereid_ up safely."
"I think perhaps he could, with Miss Stevens to help him," put inCaptain Petersen, his usual optimism returning. "She is thoroughlyfamiliar with the craft's operation."
"That is so," her father admitted, his tone brighter. "But--"
"Of course it's so!" exclaimed Larry, breaking off any less hopefulreflections. "So cheerio, folks, as the English say. We'll make ityet!"
But in his heart, he was tormented with doubt for Diane's safety....
* * * * *
The trail was growing eery, now, and precipitous. To their right rosea sheer cliff. To their left, the path fell off abruptly to a giganticcaldron where red flames leaped and waned.
"Looks like something out of Dante's 'Inferno'!" muttered Larry, witha shudder.
"The volcano where they distill their atmosphere, evidently,"commented Professor Stevens. "It would have been interesting, in othercircumstances, to observe the process."
"Not to me, it wouldn't!"
Larry was glad when they had passed that seething hell-pot and wereonce more proceeding through a long, dark gallery.
But everywhere, though their guides were but a handful, was a sense ofthose unseen presences, of gathering, furtive hosts about them,waiting--waiting for what?
What was this strange sense of tension, of foreboding, that hung inthe air? Was the professor wrong? Were they being led to their doom,after all?
He was soon to know, for now the gallery they had been traversinglevelled out into a series of short passages, each barred by a heavystone door, and finally they were led into a small, square room,barely large enough to admit them all.
There, with gestures toward the far end, their guides left them.
The door closed, and almost immediately another on the opposite sideopened, slowly at first, then wider and wider, admitting a rush ofwater that promptly filled the room.
Stepping wonderingly out, they found themselves on the upper level,beside the second of the two smaller pyramids.
* * * * *
"Whew!" gasped Larry, as they stood looking around, still a littledazed. "These people are sure quick-change artists! First they try tofeed you to their gods, then they save you from almost as bad a fate.Dizzy, I call it!"
"Quite understandable, I should say," declared the professor. "Unableto cope with Von Ullrich themselves, they think perhaps we may be ableto."
"Well, let's hope they're right!" grimly. "If once I get my hands onhim--"
He broke off suddenly, as Captain Petersen called out:
"The _Nereid_! There she is!"
Following with their eyes the bright segment cut into the murky depthsby his flashlight, they saw the familiar outlines of their craft; andclose beside her lay the U-boat.
A feverish activity seemed to be going on between the two submarines.
"They're changing cargo!" cried Larry. "Quick! We've got them now!"
But the progress they were able to make, hampered by their heavysuits, was maddeningly slow. Their searchlights, moreover, betrayedtheir approach. Before they could reach the scene, most of the sailorshad abandoned their task and piled into the U-boat.
Arms swinging wildly, Von Ullrich stood beside it, trying to rallythen. Refusing to risk combat, however, since they were unable to usetheir deadly hand-grenades under water, they continued clambering upthe sides of their submersible and shoving down through itsconning-tower hatch.
Now a figure in a familiar pressure-suit broke away and started towardthe advancing party.
It was Diane!
* * * * *
Even as he recognized her, Larry saw Von Ullrich lunge forward, seizehis captive and mount to the conning-tower with her--but before theGerman could thrust her into the hatch, he had reached the U-boat'sside and clambered to her rescue.
Dropping Diane, Von Ullrich wheeled to face his assailant. Theygrappled, fell to the deck, rolled over and over.
But suddenly, as they were struggling, there came a sound that causedthe German to burst free and leap to his feet.
It was the sound of engines under them!
Ignoring Larry now, Von Ullrich staggered to the conning-tower hatch.It was battened fast. Frantically he beat on it.
This much Larry saw, as he knelt there getting his breath. Then herose, took Diane by the arm and led her down. And he was none toosoon, for with a lunge the U-boat got under way.
But she seemed unable to lift her loot-laden mass from the oceanfloor, and headed off crazily across the plateau, dragging her keel inthe sand.
With fascinated horror, they watched the craft's erratic course, as itswung loggily westward and headed toward that yawning abysm from whichthey had all so lately risen.
The last sight they had of the U-boat was as it reached the brink, itsdespairing commander still standing in the conning-tower, hammeringvainly on that fast-bound hatch; then they turned away faint, as thedoomed craft plunged down, stern up, into those crushing depths.
* * * * *
Professor Stevens now joined them.
"A lesson in avarice," he said gravely, when he had greeted hisdaughter with heartfelt relief. "And a typical fate of fortunehunters! Let that be a lesson to you, young man."
"Amen!" said Larry.
"But what happened, my dear?" asked the professor of Diane, a momentlater. "Why were they in such a hurry to be off?"
"Because the sensible Antillians seized their opportunity and overcametheir guards, while we were below," was her reply. "When we got back,we found the pyramids flooded, so there was nothing else for them todo but go."
So that was the explanation of those gathering, furtive hosts in thelower level, thought Larry. Now he knew what they had been waitingfor! They had been waiting for that usurping vandal to depart.
And how they must be gloating now, down there!
"But why were they so eager to abandon the _Nereid_?" asked thesavant, still puzzled. "It it a better boat than theirs, even if I dosay so myself."
"Because I put it out of commission, directly we got back up here,"replied Diane. "But not permanently!" she added, with what Larry knewwas a smile, though he couldn't see her face, of course, through thehelmet of her pressure-suit.
"Little thoroughbred!" he exclaimed, half to himself.
"What did you say, Mr. Hunter?--Larry, I mean," she inquired.
"N--nothing," he replied uneasily.
"Fibber!" said Diane. "I heard you the first time!"
"Just wait till I get out of this darned suit!" said Larry.
"I guess I can wait that long!" she told him.
And if Professor Stevens heard any of this, it went in one ear and outthe other, for he was thinking what a report he would have to make tohis confreres when they got home--particularly with half a boatloadof assorted idols for proof.
