The Devil-Tree of El Dorado: A Novel Page 6

  CHAPTER II.

  MONELLA.

  Two days later Dr. Lorien and his son arrived in Georgetown and,after taking rooms at the Kaieteur Hotel, went at once to call uponthe Kingsfords. This haste was, in reality, prompted by Harry, whosethoughts were bent upon his hopes of once more seeing the prettyStella; but the ostensible reason that he urged upon his father wassomewhat different, and had to do with the message of which they werethe bearers from the white stranger they had met in their travels.

  At the evening dinner the matter was discussed, Mr. Kingsford and hisson Robert and the others being present.

  The two travellers had much to tell of their adventures, which hadbeen full of both interest and danger, apart from the matter of thestranger's message.

  "And yet, I think," observed the doctor, thoughtfully, "our meetingwith this stranger, and his behaviour, impressed me more than almostall else that happened to us."

  "How so? What is he like?" asked Mr. Kingsford.

  "In figure he is very tall; of a most commanding stature andappearance. _I_ am not short."

  "Why, you are over six feet!" put in Harry.

  "And yet I almost think, if he had held his arm straight out, I couldhave walked under it with my hat on, and without stooping."

  "I'm sure you could, dad," Harry corroborated.

  "As to age--there I confess myself at sea. As a doctor I am accustomedto judge of age; yet he thoroughly puzzled me. If I could believe inthe possibility of a man's being a hundred and fifty years old and yetremaining strong and hale and vigorous, I should not be surprised ifhe had claimed that age. On the other hand, if one could believe in ayoung, stalwart, muscular man of thirty with the face and white hairof an old-looking, but not _very_ old man, then I could have believedit if I had been told he was no more than thirty. In fact, he was acomplete puzzle to me; a mystery. But the most remarkable thing abouthim was the expression of his eyes; they were the most extraordinary Ihave ever seen in my life."

  "Wild--mad-looking?" Templemore asked.

  "Oh no, by no means; quite the reverse. Very steady and piercing; butwonderfully fascinating. Mild and kind-looking to a fault; and yetchanging to a look of quiet, almost stern resolution that had in itnothing hard, or cruel, or disagreeable. In fact, I hardly know how todescribe that look, or convey an idea of it, except by saying that itwas something between the gaze of a lion and that of a Newfoundlanddog. It had all the majesty, the magnanimity, the conscious power ofthe one, with the benevolence and wistful kindness and affection of theother. Never have I seen such an expression. I really did not know thehuman countenance could express the mingled characteristics one seemedto read so plainly in his--all kindly, all noble, all suggestive ofsincerity and integrity."

  "You _are_ enthusiastic!" said Robert, laughing.

  The old doctor coloured up a little; then took out his handkerchief andwiped his face.

  "I know it sounds strange to hear an old man of the world like mespeak so forcibly about a man's appearance," he returned; "but, if itis true, I do not see why I should not say it. Ask Harry here."

  "I couldn't take my eyes off his face," Harry declared. "He fairlyfascinated me. I felt I should have to do anything he told me; even totaking my pistol and killing the first person I met. I do believe Ishould have done it--or any other out-of-the way thing. And he made youfeel, too, as though you liked him so, that you longed to do any mortalthing you could to please him."

  "What's his name?" asked Templemore.

  "Monella."

  "Monella? Is that all? No other name?"

  "None that I heard. And as to his nationality, I cannot even so muchas guess. I have been in Central Africa, in Siam, in India, in China,in Russia, and have picked up a smattering of the languages of thosecountries; but this man jabbered away in all; additionally, he spokeFrench, German, Spanish and Portuguese, besides English. So much Iknow. How many more he speaks I can't say."

  "Injun," said Harry.

  "Oh yes, I forgot that. We had some of three different tribes with us,and he spoke to each in his own tongue."

  "And what is his object in going in for this Roraima exploration?"asked Mr. Kingsford.

  "He has a curious theory. He declares that the ancient island-city ofEl Dorado--or Manoa--was not at the lower end or part of the Pacaraimamountains, as some have surmised, but at the further and highest pointof the range, which is Roraima itself. He holds that the great lakeor inland sea of Parima once washed around the bases of all thosemountains, making islands of what are now their summits; and that thehighest and most inaccessible of all, Roraima, was selected by theManoans for their fastness, and for the site of their wonderful 'GoldenCity.'"

  "But that theory won't help him to get up there, will it?" Jack asked.

  "Ah, but there is something else. He states that he was brought up bysome people, the last members of what had once been a nation, but hasnow died out. They lived in a secluded valley high up on the slopes ofthe Andes. He has travelled all over the world, and went back to thesefriends of his, only to find that they were all dead, save one, andthat he was fast dying. This survivor gave him an ancient parchmentwith plans and diagrams, by means of which, it was declared, the top ofthe mountain can be reached, where will be found whatever traces maybe left of the famous city of Manoa or El Dorado. This man, Monella,has other old parchments which he can read, but I could not--he showedme some--and from these he declared his belief that there is almostunlimited wealth to be gained by those who find the site of thiswonderful city."

  All this time Leonard had been listening with sparkling eyes andflushed cheeks, though in silence. Here he glanced with a satisfiedsmile at Templemore, and said,

  "There's method in all that; at all events he is not undertaking thething in a haphazard way and without something to go upon, that'scertain."

  Jack did not look hopeful.

  "It is probably just as wild and hopeless an adventure all the same,"was his reply. "What 'directions' or 'plans' or 'diagrams' can helpa man to-day after the lapse of hundreds and hundreds of years--evenif they were reliable, and the old party who handed them over was notmad--as he probably was?"

  "As to Monella," observed the doctor, "I could see no sign of madnessin him. He is one of the most intelligent, best-informed men I evermet. I cannot say anything, of course, of his informant."

  "Has he any money, do you suppose--this man?" Robert asked.

  "I don't know. But he pays the Indians well, and has got together alot of stores, it seems; which must have been a costly thing to do.They have been brought over the mountains from Brazil. And he speciallysaid you need not trouble to load yourself up with much in the wayof stores--only sufficient to get to him. After that you will be allright. And he said nothing about money being wanted. But," and herethe doctor hesitated, "he is very particular as to the character anddisposition of those he purposes to work with. In fact, he subjectedme to a long sort of cross-examination respecting our friend Leonardhere. He had already gained a lot of information about him from theold Indian nurse, it seemed, and I was surprised at the details hehad picked up and remembered. In fact, Master Leonard," continued thedoctor, addressing the young man, "he seemed to know you almost as wellas if he had lived with you for years. And your friend Mr. Templemore,too, he seemed to know about him, and to expect that he would join you."

  "How could that be?" Jack demanded.

  "Oh, from the old nurse and Matava, I suppose."

  "To tell you the honest truth," Harry interposed, "I believe there'ssome hocus-pocus business about those two. She is reputed to be awitch, you know; not a bad witch, but a good sort. And I quite believeMonella to be a wizard; also of a good sort. And when those two laidtheir heads together, they could know a lot between them, I suspect. Ishould not at all wonder if he were not magician enough to lead you tothe 'golden castle,' or 'city,' or whatever it is, and find its hiddenstores of gold. I wish I had a chance to join him. But dad's wanting mesomewhere else. So I am out of it."

  "Y
es," observed his father. "We have to go on to Rio, where I have somelaw business on. But we shall not be away a great while, and then weare going back to that district."

  "Going back?" said Templemore in surprise.

  "Yes, there is a lot to be done there. It is a wonderful place for mysort of work, and we really saw but very little of it after all. So weare going again when we return from Rio; but I cannot at all tell whenthat may be."

  The doctor was a fine-looking specimen of a hardy, bronzed traveller.He was, as has been said, over six feet in height; his hair and beardwere iron-grey, his complexion was a little florid beneath its tan,and his expression good-humoured and often jovial. His son, Harry, wassomewhat slight in build, but wiry, and had been used to knocking aboutwith his father. He was a young fellow with boundless animal spiritsand plenty of pluck and courage. His ready kindness to every one madehim a general favourite; and the lively, captivating Stella and he werespecial friends.

  Mr. Kingsford asked the doctor whether any time had been estimated forthe length of the expedition.

  "That would be difficult," Dr. Lorien answered. "Apart from the longand tedious journey there, there is the girdle of forest that surroundsRoraima to be cut through. That may take months, I am told."

  "Months!" The exclamation came from Maud who, with Stella, had been asilent but appreciative listener.

  "Yes. It is a curious thing, but this forest belt is never approachedeven by any of the Indian tribes. They look upon it with superstitiousawe and will not even go near it. Indeed, they all regard Roraima witha sort of horror. They declare there is a lake on the top guarded bydemons and large white eagles, and that it will never be gazed onby mortal eyes; that in the forest that surrounds it are monstrousserpents--'camoodis' they call them--larger far than any to be foundelsewhere in the land; besides these, there are 'didis', giganticman-apes, bigger and more ferocious and formidable than the Africangorilla. Altogether, this wood has a very bad reputation, and noIndian will venture near it. Indeed, the mountain of Roraima and allits surroundings are looked upon as weird and uncanny. As a formertraveller has expressed it, 'its very name has come to be surrounded bya halo of dread and indefinable fear.'"

  "How, then, is the necessary road to be made through this promising bitof woodland?" asked Templemore.

  "_There_ has been Monella's difficulty," returned the doctor. "Butfor that, doubtless, he would not have troubled about any one else'sjoining him. But, though he is very popular amongst the Indians, theycannot get over their fear of the 'demons'' wood, as they call it.They are, in fact, quite devoted to him, for he has done much that hasmade him both loved and feared--as one must always be to gain the realdevotion of these people. He has effected many wonderful cures amongstthem, I was told; but, more than that, he has saved the lives of twoor three by acts of great personal courage. So that, at last, he evenprevailed upon them to enter the 'haunted wood' with him. But they aremaking very little progress, it appears; he cannot keep them together,and they give way to panic at the slightest thing and make a bolt ofit; then he has to go hunting over the country for them, and it takesdays to get them together again--and so on. He is in hopes that thepresence and example of other white men will inspire them with greaterconfidence and courage."

  "A promising and inviting outlook, I must say," said Jack, eyeingLeonard gravely.

  "Never mind," Leonard exclaimed with enthusiasm. "If he can face it, socan we; and if it is good enough for him to brave such difficulties,it is good enough for us. It only shows what sterling stuff he must bemade of!"

  At this Jack gave a sort of grunt that was clearly far from implyingassent to Leonard's view of the matter.

  There was further talk, but it added little to the information givenabove; and, inasmuch as Leonard had already made up his mind, almostin advance, and had to ask no one's permission but his own, hedetermined at once to set about the necessary preparations; and JackTemplemore--though with evident reluctance--agreed to accompany him.

  "I have a list of all the things I took with me," remarked Dr. Lorien,"and notes of a few that I afterwards found would have been usefuland that I consequently regretted I had not taken; and also somespecially suggested by the stranger Monella. You had better copy themall out carefully, for you will find it will save you a lot of time andtrouble."

  Thus it came about that in less than a week their preparations were allmade, and the two, with Matava as guide, were ready to set out. Matavahad with him fourteen or fifteen Indians, who had formed the doctor'sparty, and these, and the canoes with the stores on board, were soonafter waiting at the Settlement, ready to make a start.

  Then, one sunny day at the beginning of the dry season, the Kingsfords,with Mrs. Templemore, and the doctor and his son, all took the steamerto the "Penal Settlement" (a place a few miles inside the mouth ofthe Essequibo river, the starting place of all such parties), to seethe young men off and wish them God speed. When it came to this pointthe struggle was a hard one for Maud and for Templemore's mother; butthey bore themselves bravely--outwardly at least. The three canoes putoff amidst much fluttering of handkerchiefs, and soon all that couldbe seen of the adventurers were three small specks, gradually growingless and less, as the boats made their way up the bosom of the greatEssequibo river--here some eight miles in width. Their intended journeyhad been kept more or less a secret; such had been the wish of him theywere going to join. Hence no outside friends had accompanied the partyto see them off. Those who knew of their going away thought they wereonly bent upon a hunting trip of a little longer duration than usual.

  For two loving hearts left behind the separation was a trying one.For a few days Mrs. Templemore stayed on at 'Meldona' with Maud, andthe presence of Dr. Lorien and the vivacious Harry helped to cheerthem somewhat; but, when the doctor and his son started for Rio, theothers returned sadly to the routine of their everyday life, with manyanxious speculations and forebodings concerning the fortunes of the twoexplorers.