by Bess Moyer
CHAPTER V
The Cave of Wonder
The jungle woman stepped back and was talking excitedly with the othersavages. Terry grabbed Prim by the arm. "Let's get outside," she said."There may be some way of escape even yet. Don't give up!"
The two girls stepped out of the hut to be met by the grinning faces ofa dozen or more native women, who rolled their eyes and jabberedshrilly. Prim clutched at Terry.
"They're cannibals! They'll eat us! Look at their sharp teeth. Let'srun!"
But the woman who had fiercely stared at them in the hut now steppedforward and offered a gift. It was a big package, something wrapped inleaves.
Terry accepted it, trying to force a smile and while she opened theleaves she said in an undertone to Prim, "We'll have to make them a giftin return. What have we got? Think fast, Prim."
For answer Prim unfastened the silver necklace with its bright pendantand Terry passed it to the woman. There were grunts of approval, smilesand nods as the other savages pressed close to examine the royal gift.They all seemed satisfied.
Terry had opened the package now and disclosed a big fish baked to aturn and garnished with leaves. "Horrid stuff!" she thought. "How I_hate_ fish! But I'd better pretend to like it!"
Terry broke a bit from the fish, tasted it and tried to look pleased.Then she passed some to Prim and offered to share her gift with thewomen.
"Me Pedro's wife. Me Rosa. Come!" said the leader.
The savage repeated the words as if they meant nothing to her. PerhapsPedro had spent hours teaching her those few phrases.
"Don't go, Terry," begged Prim. "They'll get us to their village, theneat us!"
But Terry laughed. "Why no, Prim, we've exchanged gifts. We're friends,like sisters."
Prim grumbled as Terry nodded her willingness to go and followed afterthe chief's wife who led the way straight toward the jungle. At firstthe girls could not see an opening in that wall of tangled leaves, butwhen they reached the trees, Rosa led them into a dark green tunnel andTerry and Prim followed, wondering what was coming next.
They must have walked for half a mile through that passageway cut fromthe creepers, when the girls saw light ahead and soon emerged on aclearing, among mud huts, a swarm of natives and naked children.
When the girls appeared, a cry went up from the blacks that sent a chillto the heart. It was a sharp, penetrating cry that made shivers run upand down the spine.
But only for a moment were the girls afraid. The natives were friendly,there was no doubt about that. The children stared at them with wonderin their big eyes. The girls lost no time in giving the little ones thefew pieces of chocolate they had in the deep pockets of their flyingcoats.
"I'll take back everything I ever said, Prim, about you wearing anecklace with flying togs and making me, as well as yourself, carry asupply of chocolate. They have served us in good stead today," saidTerry, her eyes glowing as she watched the children devour the sweets.
Prim was smiling triumphantly at Terry. "Your apology is accepted, mydear! Only don't let it happen again! And if they are going to spread afeast for us, I wish they'd hurry up, for my stomach is crying for food.Those bananas I ate last night weren't so very filling after all. And Idon't care whether I ever see another one."
"No wonder, Prim! I was counting how many you ate and after the twelfthI stopped," answered her sister with a laugh.
The girls tried by gestures and smiles to indicate their pleasure ateverything around them. They complimented Rosa, the chief's wife, forher fine hut. They admired the babies and by different signs expressedtheir delight. That they were understood was shown in the shining faceof their hostess.
Prim gave a sigh of relief as a young native girl, walking like aprincess, was seen approaching with a huge bowl of steaming food.Plaited mats were spread for the guests and food was offered them whilethe whole village made a circle around them to watch them eat.
Terry, never a big eater, was inclined to be a bit fussy about her food,but today she ate a portion of everything offered, whether it tastedgood or not. Prim watched her in surprise and chuckled at the joke onher sister as she pretended to enjoy the fish.
"I don't care, Prim, go on and make fun of me! I'd rather eat than beeaten!" she retorted. "It's not too late for them to change their minds,even yet!"
Half an hour went by and Terry and Prim had succeeded in making friendswith the shy little children. Suddenly Pedro walked into the clearing.He was scowling angrily. Once more the girls started in fear.
Pedro explained in the few words of English that he knew, how Joe Arnoldwas very angry and had hit him.
"Joe Arnold much bad man! Bud, much, much bad, too! He kill you, maybe!"
"That's what I expected!" whispered Terry to her sister.
"No can do!" the black dramatically cried, waving an arm around hislittle settlement. "No! My people, they watch, they hide you far away!Joe no find!"
Terry explained to the chief what she wanted to do. They must put upsome sort of signal so that Allan and Syd, their friends, would see itif they flew over the island.
"If only we had some white cloth," said Prim. "We could put out one ofthose signals we talked about once, a big letter T, on the top of aridge. I'm sure the boys would understand that."
"They might if we had cloth to do it with, but we haven't. So that'sout!" answered Terry.
Pedro had risen suddenly. He understood. He called to his wife and spoketo her in their own language. Rosa bobbed into her hut as fast as shecould and in a few minutes returned bringing a roll of white goods whichshe presented to the girls.
At that moment a sharp whistle broke the quiet of the jungle villagewith a discordant note. Pedro jumped to his feet and the next momentRosa was shoving the girls before her into the hut. Someone was coming!The whistle was a warning from one of the boys who was guarding thevillage.
When Joe Arnold strode into the settlement a few minutes later, Rosa wasbusily plaiting a mat. All the women were at work and scarcely looked upas the man faced Pedro.
"You lazy good-for-nothing! Get back to work! This is my busiest day andyou lay off! The men won't work unless you're there!"
Pedro knew that this was no time to show fight. "Yes sir! I comeby-em-by," he answered.
"Now!" shouted Joe. Then he turned with a menacing glare at Rosa. "Didthose girls sleep here last night?" He shook his fist at the woman.
Rosa jabbered in reply and looked bewildered, so Joe turned to Pedro andrepeated the question.
Pedro shook his head.
"Then what's happened to them? Not that I care much!" stormed Joe as hestared about him.
"We no see 'em!" repeated Pedro.
Joe Arnold went from one hut to another, peering inside. As he nearedthe chief's large house, he was met by Rosa's broad grin. She wassitting in the doorway and her large body completely filled the opening.She refused to get up, pretending not to understand what he wanted.
Suddenly Joe turned and faced Pedro. "Now let me tell you one thing,Pedro. Listen to what I've got to say! If you or your people shelterthose girls, you'll be sorry. I'll clean you out!" And with that threatJoe Arnold strode back through the jungle track.
When he got far enough away, Rosa began to laugh in a low rumble whichgradually increased in volume, until it reached a high, full roar. Theother women joined in and the clearing was filled with their raucousshouts.
That was their answer to Joe Arnold's threat.
It was very evident that the girls were being treated as honored guests.Terry found it hard to sample all the food that was brought her, butPrim was in her glory. She liked to eat. She liked strange dishes, andshe ate enough for two. Terry had to pretend to be ill in order not tooffend her hostess. And then as suddenly she had to pretend to get wellagain, for the kind-hearted woman insisted that she must give hermedicine.--And it was made of fish oil!
That night when Pedro returned from the shore, the news he brought wa
snot good. Joe was planning on taking the girls in the launch over to asmall island to the eastward where they would be absolutely alone. Therewere still wild beasts on that island. It meant certain death.
That night the girls slept in the hut belonging to Pedro. They stretchedout on mats and the native women stood guard. Not a breath of air wasstirring in that close interior. Terry and Prim felt as if someone wereclutching at their throats it was so hard to get a breath. They were nottroubled with fears of capture, for Pedro had stationed sentinels beyondthe clearing to give warning if anyone approached. But in spite of thisthe girls slept fitfully. The air was stifling.
At the first glow of dawn Rosa appeared at the door of the hut. Shesaid, "Come!" And there was an excited light in her eyes as she rolledthem.
The girls lost no time in obeying her command. A guard of young men wentahead, then came Pedro and his wife, followed by Terry and Prim with twotall and powerful guards. The young women of the tribe came next, andthe procession ended with more guards.
"We don't know where we're going," said Prim in a whisper to her sisteras they walked along. "But we're going in style!"
It was a long walk through the jungle passage, a mile perhaps, but itwas hard for the girls to tell how far they had come. The damp heat ofthe tunnel was oppressive. Perspiration streamed from their bodies.Their thick clothes were unbearably hot, although one of the guardscarried their heavy coats.
Terry and Prim arrived at the next clearing, pale, hollow-eyed and readyto drop. But the end of their journey was not yet. They had reached theedge of the jungle and now had to climb up a steep ridge to a broadplateau. But the hot air was a relief after the humid atmosphere of thepassage through the vines and creepers of the jungle. Suddenly theystopped, looking toward the sky, Joe Arnold might be watching from theair.
Terry and Prim scanned the horizon for signs of an approaching plane. Itwas hopeless. They both knew that it would never occur to the boys, ifthey were saved from the storm, to hunt for them to the eastward.
Finally as they reached the ridge, the blacks stopped and prepared tocamp.
"What's the matter with these people?" whispered Prim. "Do they imaginethey can hide us on the very top of the ridge? What are they going todo?"
"I haven't the least idea, Prim, but I'm going to trust Pedro. I believehe is honest and really wants to help us," answered Terry as she watchedthe blacks.
Suddenly Pedro dropped to the ground. Terry looked just in time to seethe earth swallow him up. She rubbed her eyes and looked again. Pedrohad disappeared. Then Terry saw what was going on. Evidently thesepeople had a subterranean hiding place, the opening of which was at thesummit of the ridge. The entrance was narrow and Rosa had somedifficulty in getting her large body through. She squeezed andstruggled, and Pedro pulled from below until she finally slid through.Terry was invited to follow.
What were they up to? How could she explain to them that she must beabove ground to watch for her friends?
"Come!" The girls heard Rosa's voice coming from the cavern. Terry satdown and putting her feet through the opening, found that they rested ona slippery rock. Getting a foothold she put up a hand for Prim. Slippingand sliding down the slope the two girls found themselves in a strangepurple glow. When they reached the first level place, Pedro and Rosawere waiting for them.
Terry stood gazing about her. They were in an enormous cave, lined withcrystals, and the sunlight which shone through the opening, caught thefacets of the crystals and shot out in flashes of color: red, orange,yellow, blue, indigo, violet, and all the thousands of shades between.It was a gorgeous spectacle. The girls were breathless. They had oftenread of the crystal caves and wished that they could see one.
Finally Terry turned to her sister. "Would you believe it, Prim? For afew seconds I thought something had happened to us, that we had fallendown and been killed."
"Killed! What are you talking about, Terry? Have you gone crazy from allthis excitement?" cried Prim anxiously.
"I thought--well you see I wondered if this was heaven. It's sobeautiful, it might easily be. Even yet I can hardly believe it's real,"said Terry with a little catch in her voice. "I want to cry!"
"You cry! That's a joke! Let me see you do it once!" teased Prim. "It'snot often you feel that way, so go ahead. Don't let me stop you."
But Terry did not cry. She turned to Pedro and Rosa and thanked them forbringing her to this wonderful cave.
Sea water rose in the cave and made a lake. Finally as their eyes gotused to the darkness below they could see a boat. It was built of woventwigs and covered with skin. A small boy who had followed them into thecave, dived into the dark water and swam to the boat. Others followedand the small craft was soon full of little dark figures. With whoops ofdelight they paddled the boat wildly about the lake.
"Even savage boys have to show off," said Prim with a laugh.
"Don't laugh, Prim. They are doing their best to entertain us," Terryanswered as she clapped her hands, which sent the boys into still wilderstunts.
The girls were now in a worse jam than ever. Here they were perfectlysafe, they felt sure. But how could they watch for Allan and Syd? Howcould they signal for help? When Terry explained this to Pedro, heproduced the white cloth that Rosa had given them. Terry tore it to theproper size and shape to make an enormous letter T. Much against hiswishes Pedro allowed the girls to climb out of the cave and direct thespreading of the cloth on the ground, where it could be seen from thesky.
"It's only a long chance, Prim, but it's the only thing I can think of.If we made a smoke signal or anything like that, Joe Arnold wouldsuspect at once," explained Terry.
"I know, but don't you think he'll suspect if he sees this white clothspread out on the ground?" asked Prim.
Terry expressed her fears to Pedro, who was arranging the work of somemen near-by. The big chief assured her that he would attend to that. Hispeople would camp on the hill, then Joe Arnold would think that thecloth had something to do with the work of the tribe.
In less than an hour one or two huts were ready, a crude cooking placehad been built and the women were preparing breakfast.
Terry and Prim wanted to stay above ground, but Pedro shook his headvigorously and explained that Joe Arnold was "very much bad," and wasplanning to take them away where they would surely be killed.
Terry and Prim slid down the opening and reached the level in safety.
"After all, Prim, we have nothing to complain of. It's a gorgeous placeto be imprisoned. Let's make the best of it and enjoy it, for we're notapt to see anything like it again," comforted Terry as she saw Prim'sfrowning face.
"It's all right here, but I'd rather stay in the open. Besides I'mbeginning to like that savage tribe. I'll say that Pedro is a prince."
"Oh no, he isn't," laughed Terry. "He's the whole show! He's the BigChief. He's king! And Rosa is a queen, a very big queen!"
The queen herself brought them their breakfast, more strange food, morefish, more bananas. Pedro had already eaten and was on his way with hismen to the beach to help Joe and Bud.
The morning seemed long. There was nothing to do but watch the flashesof color in the dome. And even Terry lost some of her enthusiasm at themonotony of the playing light. Finally it got on her nerves.
Suddenly a black face appeared at the opening. A hissing sound came fromthe thick lips, then the face disappeared.
"What do you make of that?" asked Prim. "Do you suppose that hiss can betranslated to mean the same as in our language? Are they hissing us, andwhy?"
Terry was already making her way up the steep wall of the cave. "I don'tknow what it's all about, but I'm going to find out," she called back.
As Terry reached the opening, she heard the hum of a motor overhead.Then she ducked back quickly, for there was only one man in the plane.He had banked and circled low, and Terry had seen that mocking face.
It was Joe Arnold!
