The Argosy, January 1907 — page 37: what you’re looking at

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

IN THE the first. As I counted on, I became more and more certain that I was finally on the right track, for now that I had reached fifteen -I found myself close to the point where we had lost José when he disappeared with the bundle. And there were two more domes just beyond. I passed these and found myself close to the west wall of the barranca, at a point I knew to be about that where José had been while out of our sight. For a moment I could make no guess as to the exact whereabouts of the hiding- place, but I knew it must be close at hand. ‘The careful search must come later, with Billy. Elated and eager I returned to the hut to tell my brother of my discovery and to enlist his aid. An hour afterward the two of us reached the seventeenth dome to the north. “N. 17,” Billy quoted, looking about | him. ‘“ By Jove, Jack, I believe your theory is the right one. Now, what the deuce does Sul 12 mean?” “Let’s not bother about that until we have to,” I answered. ‘“‘ We must go ahead and hunt all about here. We may be able to find the place without getting: any explanation of the secret. Come on.” : So we set to work. ‘Through all the forenoon we searched indefatigably. We burrowed among the stones, and inves- tigated every crack, but we came on nothing more interesting than many creeping things that fled at our approach. [t was something after eleven when I at last called a halt. We had brought our provisions for a meal with us, and we now went close to the west wall where a spring of clear water trickled and prepared to refresh ourselves. It was pleasantly cool here in the depths of the earth, for the walls were so high that the sun did not shine into the dbarranca until nearly at its ze- nith. At this hour it shone on the west wail high above our heads, but it would be a considerable time before it crept down to the floor of the barranca. “’The sun gets down to the floor of the barranca just about noon,” I said idly. Billy started as if struck. DEPTHS OF DISASTER. 219 “Oh, Lord!” he exclaimed. I never thought of it “before. fool!” “Eh?” I said, puzzled by his words and manner. ‘Why, don’t you see? Sul—that’s what we called it. But I remember just how it looked.. That ‘u’ wasn’t written carefully. The top of the side lines didn’t turn out any. It was like a half- What a circle. Jack, don’t you understand? It wasn’t ‘u’ at all. It was meant for ans Oe ‘An ‘o,’” I repeated feebly. “Yes,” Billy. replied with animation, an ‘o.’ It should read Sol—that means sun.” “And the 12 means noon,” I burst forth in a sudden grasping of the truth. “That's = it," Billy “agreed. ~ = “Ehe hiding-place is somewhere around dome number seventeen at a point where the sunlight falls at twelve o’clock.” ‘“ And it’s close on twelve now,” I ex- claimed. “ We must see.” ‘“ But the light is ’way above our heads on the cliff still,” Billy declared, with an air suddenly turned crestfallen. ‘“ Well, we must note its course down the cliff and afterward,” I responded, “and search the whole track.”’ We fell silent and eagerly watched the sun as it crept slowly down the wall of stone before us. It was thirty feet above us, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, and now hardly twenty-five—soon twenty. [t was still ten feet at least above the floor cf the barranca when my eye was caught by a slight break in the rock. My desire to be about the search was so great that I seized on this as a pretext. “It’s now past twelve,” I. said to Billy, “and time to be up and doing. I think the sun has fallen a little behind schedule since José made his mémo- randum. But here goes. ‘The first place to explore is that tiny shelf with a hole back of it where the sun is shining. Do you see it?” “IT see it,” Billy replied. whistled. “ I wonder ss ‘“ Give me a back,” I said, rising and going to the wall. Billy bowed himself close by the precipice, with his hands on his knees. Holding on by the uneven bits of stone,-T got on his shoulders and stood erect. ce Then he EOMICLOOC = And 3 (E@)