The Argosy, Vol. XXV, No. 1 — page 17: what you’re looking at

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

A PERUVIAN PARADISE. | 17 the river raced along with a sullen murmur. ‘The water was low now. In time of freshet the river doubtless filled its bed from bluff to bluff, entirely covering the narrow strip of shingle. They had made the descent of the bank some distance below the bridge. There were plenty of little eddies near the shore, and great black snags reached their ugly limbs far out into the river; but the thing which they hoped to £nd caught among these ob- structions did not appear. ‘The treacherous guide and his victim, locked in that awful embrace, seemed to have sunk to the bottom of the stream and remained there. They searched the margin of the river as far down as they could go. At the sharp bend half a mile or so below the bridge the shore ceased. They could go no farther. The bluff above them looked forbidding and unscal- able. The only path by which they might return to the summit was the one down which they had scrambled. ‘“Comie, we may as well go back,’’ said Keeth, in despair. ‘‘ Poor Jose is beyond our reach.’’ ‘You fellows will ’ave to’elp me hup that rope,’’ declared Fitch gloomily. “This cliff climbing hain’t wot Hi’m built for.’’ ‘“Oh, we'll get you up all right,’’ said Ford. ‘‘ What we’ll do when we are up again is what’s bothering me.’’ ‘“ Hit looks to me as though we was in a box—that’s wot it looks like.’’ ‘“Don’t you believe we can find our way back to Hualpa?”’ inquired Keeth. ‘“ Mabbe,”’ replied Fitch. ‘‘ But Hi know bloomin’ well we can’t find the treasure cave, now the Dago’s gone.’’ ‘* All you think of is the treasure,’’ said Ford, in disgust. ‘“That’s wot we started hout for,’’ returned the trader stoutly. ‘‘ Hit’s blessed awkward that Jose was killed, if ’ee’ad to be killed, before ’ee told us ’ow to get to the cave.’’ ‘“You’re a cold blooded chap, Fitch.”’ But Keeth made no comment. They reached the point where the rope had been left dangling from the protruding boulder, and Keeth prepared to mount. ‘‘T’ll go up first and give you a lift, Ford. ‘Together we can pull Mr. Fitch up, I guess.’’ He laid hold of the hemp and began to ascend hand over hand, bracing his feet against the rock as he went. He had not gone up a dozen feet, however, when something gave way above. He dropped several feet and the gravel and broken rock fell about him ina shower. : ‘“Great heavens, Keeth!’’ shouted Ford. ‘‘ Come back! ‘The whole cliff is falling !’’ The trader caught him by the legs and pulled him down. ‘Through the falling débris they could see the huge boulder, around which the rope had been fastened, toppling slowly outward. Ford and Fitch seized Keeth’s hands ~ and ran with him along the beach. Aninstant later the mass of rock had fallen directly upon the spot on which they had stood! ‘Tons upon tons of earth and gravel followed the rock and a huge fissure was made in the bluff side. (B) CommcaoolK< (S@)