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when the world shook-第23部分
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food shall fail and you shall perish of sickness and want; and
the Oromatuas; the spirits of the great dead; shall haunt you in
your sleep; and Oro shall eat up your souls。〃
At these horrible threats both of them uttered a kind of wail;
after which; Marama asked:
〃And if we consent; what then; Friend…from…the…Sea?〃
〃Then; perchance;〃 I answered; 〃in some day to come we may
return to you; that I may give you of my wisdom and the Great
Healer may cure your sick and the Bellower may lead you through
his gate; and in his kindness make you to see with his eyes。〃
This last clause of my ultimatum did not seem to appeal to the
priest; who argued a while with Marama; though what he said we
could not hear。 In the end he appeared to give way。 At any rate
Marama called out that all should be done as we wished; and that
meanwhile they prayed us to intercede with Oro in the cave; and
to keep back the ghosts from haunting them; and to protect them
from misfortune。 I replied that we would do our best; but could
guarantee nothing since their offence was very great。
Then; to show that the conversation was at an end; we walked
away with dignity; pushing Bastin in front of us; lest he should
spoil the effect by some of his ill…timed and often over…true
remarks。
〃That's capital;〃 said Bickley; when we were out of hearing。
〃The enemy has capitulated。 We can stop here as long as we like;
provisioned from the mainland; and if for any reason we wish to
leave; be sure of our line of retreat。〃
〃I don't know what you call capital;〃 exclaimed Bastin。 〃It
seems to me that all the lies which Arbuthnot has just told are
sufficient to bring a judgment upon us。 Indeed; I think that I
will go back with Marama and explain the truth。〃
〃I never before knew anybody who was so anxious to be cooked
and eaten;〃 remarked Bickley。 〃Moreover; you are too late; for
the canoe is a hundred yards away by now; and you shan't have
ours。 Remember the Pauline maxims; old fellow; which you are so
fond of quoting; and be all things to all men; and another that
is more modern; that when you are at Rome; you must do as the
Romans do; also a third; that necessity has no law; and for the
matter of that; a fourth; that all is fair in love and war。〃
〃I am sure; Bickley; that Paul never meant his words to bear
the debased sense which you attribute to them〃 began Bastin;
but at this point I hustled him off to light a firea process at
which I pointed out he had shown himself an expert。
We slept that night under the overhanging rock just to one side
of the cave; not in the mouth; because of the draught which drew
in and out of the great place。 In that soft and balmy clime this
was no hardship; although we lacked blankets。 And yet; tired
though I was; I could not rest as I should have done。 Bastin
snored away contentedly; quite unaffected by his escape which to
him was merely an incident in the day's work; and so; too;
slumbered Bickley; except that he did not snore。 But the
amazement and the mystery of all that we had discovered and of
all that might be left for us to discover; held me back from
sleep。
What did it mean? What could it mean? My nerves were taut as
harp strings and seemed to vibrate to the touch of invisible
fingers; although I could not interpret the music that they made。
Once or twice also I thought I heard actual music with my
physical ears; and that of a strange quality。 Soft and low and
dreamful; it appeared to well from the recesses of the vast cave;
a wailing song in an unknown tongue from the lips of women; or of
a woman; multiplied mysteriously by echoes。 This; however; must
have been pure fancy; since there was no singer there。
Presently I dozed off; to be awakened by the sudden sound of a
great fish leaping in the lake。 I sat up and stared; fearing lest
it might be the splash of a paddle; for I could not put from my
mind the possibility of attack。 All I saw; however; was the low
line of the distant shore; and above it the bright and setting
stars that heralded the coming of the sun。 Then I woke the
others; and we washed and ate; since once the sun rose time would
be precious。
At length it appeared; splendid in a cloudless sky; and; as I
had hoped; directly opposite to the mouth of the cave。 Taking our
candles and some stout pieces of driftwood which; with our
knives; we had shaped on the previous evening to serve us as
levers and rough shovels; we entered the cave。 Bickley and I were
filled with excitement and hope of what we knew not; but Bastin
showed little enthusiasm for our quest。 His heart was with his
half…converted savages beyond the lake; and of them; quite
rightly I have no doubt; he thought more than he did of all the
archaeological treasures in the whole earth。 Still; he came;
bearing the blackened head of Oro with him which; with
unconscious humour; he had used as a pillow through the night
because; as he said; 〃it was after all softer than stone。〃 Also;
I believe that in his heart he hoped that he might find an
opportunity of destroying the bigger and earlier edition of Oro
in the cave; before it was discovered by the natives who might
wish to make it an object of worship。 Tommy came also; with
greater alacrity than I expected; since dogs do not as a rule
like dark places。 When we reached the statue I learned the
reason; he remembered the smell he had detected at its base on
the previous day; which Bastin supposed to proceed from a rat;
and was anxious to continue his investigations。
We went straight to the statue; although Bickley passed the
half…buried machines with evident regret。 As we had hoped; the
strong light of the rising sun fell upon it in a vivid ray;
revealing all its wondrous workmanship and the majestyfor no
other word describes itof the somewhat terrifying countenance
that appeared above the wrappings of the shroud。 Indeed; I was
convinced that originally this monument had been placed here in
order that on certain days of the year the sun might fall upon it
thus; when probably worshippers assembled to adore their hallowed
symbol。 After all; this was common in ancient days: witness the
instance of the awful Three who sit in the deepest recesses of
the temple of Abu Simbel; on the Nile。
We gazed and gazed our fill; at least Bickley and I did; for
Bastin was occupied in making a careful comparison between the
head of his wooden Oro and that of the statue。
〃There is no doubt that they are very much alike;〃 he said。
〃Why; whatever is that dog doing? I think it is going mad;〃 and
he pointed to Tommy who was digging furiously at the base of the
lowest step; as at home I have seen him do at roots that
sheltered a rabbit。
Tommy's energy was so remarkable that at length it seriously
attracted our attention。 Evidently he meant that it should do so;
for occasionally he sprang back to me barking; then returned and
sniffed and scratched。 Bickley knelt down and smelt at the stone。
〃It is an odd thing; Humphrey;〃 he said; 〃but there is a
strange odour here; a very pleasant odour like that of
sandal…wood or attar of roses。〃
〃I never heard of a rat that smelt like sandal…wood or attar of
roses;〃 said Bastin。 〃Look out that it isn't a snake。〃
I knelt down beside Bickley; and in clearing away the deep dust
from what seemed to be the bottom of the step; which was perhaps
four feet in height; by accident thrust my amateur spade somewhat
strongly against its base where it rested upon the rocky floor。
Next moment a wonder came to pass。 The whole massive rock
began to turn outwards as though upon a pivot! I saw it coming
and grabbed Bickley by the collar; dragging him back so that we
just rolled clear before the great block; which must have weighed
several tons; fell down and crushed us。 Tommy saw it too; and
fled; though a little late; for the edge of the block caught the
tip of his tail and caused him to emit a most piercing howl。 But
we did not think of Tommy and his woes; we did not think of our
own escape or of anything else because of the marvel that
appeared to us。 Seated there upon the ground; after our backward
tumble; we could see into the space which lay behind the fallen
step; for there the light of the sun penetrated。
The first idea it gave me was that of the jewelled shrine of
some mediaeval saint which; by good fortune; had escaped the
plunderers; there are still such existing in the world。 It shone
and glittered; apparently with gold and diamonds; although; as a
matter of fact; there were no diamonds; nor was it gold which
gleamed; but some ancient metal; or rather amalgam; which is now
lost to the world; the same that was used in the tubes of the
air…machines。 I think that it contained gold; but I do not know。
At any rate; it was equally lasting and even more beautiful;
though lighter in colour。
For the rest this adorned recess which resembled that of a
large funeral vault; occupying the whole space beneath the base
of the statue that was supported on its arch; was empty save for
two flashing objects that lay side by side but with nearly the
whole width of the vault between them。
I pointed at them to Bickley with my finger; for really I could
not speak。
〃Coffins; by Jove!〃 he whispered。 〃Glass or crystal coffins and
people in them。 Come on!〃
A few seconds later we were crawling into that vault while
Bastin; still nursing the head of Oro as though it were a baby;
stood confused outside muttering something about desecrating
hallowed graves。
Just as we reached the interior; owing to the heightening of
the sun; the light passed away; leaving us in a kind of twilight。
Bickley produced carriage candles from his pocket and fumbled for
matches。 While he was doing so I noticed two thingsfirstly;
that the place really did smell like a scent…shop; and; secondly;
that the coffin
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