Argosy, Vol. 1 (1882) — page 76: what you’re looking at

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

THE CAPTIVES OF THE TEMPLE. of strange people who never leave it, and who never allow any intruder to leave it if they can help it. These peo- ple have temples and other buildings of stone, and the temples are adorned with golden ornaments and diamonds. There is treasure enough there to pay Off the national debt. “We are going to get some of this treasure. We will find the gateway into that mysterious place, and enter as friends. Our party will number about sixty, and being armed, we can un- doubtedly get what we want.” I looked at the man with amazement. Surely, I said to myself, he is daft. I had heard of the Devil’s Ring, but had never heard any story of a mysterious people connected with it. I was in the hands of a madman—so I told myself—and felt that I had good reason for saying it. A crew of sixty commanded by a madman in whom they believed !- The Wing kept on her course for a short time, and then I knew she was coming to anchor. | heard the rattling of chains and felt the jarring of the vessel and the different motion as she swung to her moorings. : Pence and Huskway, with about a dozen of the crew, all grinning as they saw our plight—the very crew for whom I had gone before my father and pleaded—came to us, and Deskht and I were carried on deck. Before us rose a great rock island straight out of the water, towering at least a hundred feet in the air. Its sides were almost precipitous, the rocks affording slight foothold to the hardy climber. “There is your home, my friend,” said Pence with a guffaw. Suddenly we all heard a roar down the river, and many faces were turned that way. ““My God! We are lost!’ shouted Huskway. “It is the pororoca!”’ “The bore! The bore!” burst from twenty pairs of paling lips. A wall of water at least fourteen feet 07 high, and reaching across the Amazon, was coming toward us with a power and thunder that was appalling. The Wing was anchored right under the island, and there was no time to get her away. Even had this been possible there was no escape from that awful flood that rushes up tHe river at cer- tain periods and destroys everything it finds in its path. With blanching faces and frenzied cries the crew of the Wing stood watch- ing the approach of the destroying monster. “Clear away the boats!” shouted Pence. “ If it passes and leaves any of us alive we can get away from the wreck.” With hope, born of his words, in their hearts, they sprang to obey him. On, on, came the great pororoca, its thunder increasing as it advanced, and its height apparently growing greater. Desklit and I, still bound hand and foot, for the discovery of the bore had interrupted the process of releasing us on the island, looked our farewells into each other’s eyes. Suddenly the thunder of the waters increased a hundredfold. The poor old Wing was struck as if by a sledge ham- mer in the hand of a giant; she was hurled up against the rocky wall of the island, and fell upon the ragged ledges at the bottom wrecked, splintered, a thing of death. CHAPTER II. A CLOSE SHAVE. Or the crew of sixty odd on board the Wing at least twenty were killed cutright by the crash or swept into the rushing tide and drowned. It was an unfortunate result of chance that the forty or more left alive embraced the worst element of the lot, including both Pence and his kindred scoundrel Husk- way. The poor old ship had been actually broken in halves on the jagged rocks, ECORRIC OO© Ss eco