CHAPTER XII.

WHICH IS THE END.

Frank Reade, Jr., gave a great cry of surprise and joy.

‪“They have found the Man,” he cried. ‪“We are in luck.”

‪“No,” said Tony, putting a hand on Frank’s arm. ‪“You are wrong. That is not so. Listen!”

The shrill whistle of the Steam Man was still going.

‪“I have it,” said Buckden, positively. ‪“In some manner the whistle valve has opened, and it will continue to blow until steam is all blowed off!”

‪“Right!” cried Frank, excitedly; “why didn’t I think of that. Let us go at once in quest of the machine.”

The two men started at once out of the temple.

But as they reached the paved street below Tony hesitated.

‪“Wait,” he said.

‪“What for?” asked Frank.

‪“What about Barney and Pomp?”

Here was a conundrum.

There was little time in which to decide. But Frank decided quickly.

‪“Enough!” he cried; ‪“they must take care of themselves. They are abundantly able. Our life all depends upon recovering the Steam Man.”

‪“You are right!” cried Buckden.

So away the two men sped.

It was easy enough to locate the Man now, as the whistle was an infallible guide.

Straight across the plaza they ran, and turned into a broad avenue. Here, on the verge of a clump of palms, they beheld a thrilling sight.

There was the Steam Man standing motionless on the edge of the palm clump.

The huge anaconda was yet writhing in the cage. Frank guessed the meaning of all at once.

The Steam Man had been saved by a lucky chance.

The snake, in its writhings, had not only closed the throttle by twisting the rein about its body, but had also pulled open the whistle valve in the same manner.

The two explorers came to a halt at first, and regarded the spectacle with much wonder.

Then Frank cried:

“Hurrah! We’ve got the best of it. We can easily end the fight now.”

Straight up to the cage Frank ran. It was an easy matter to climb up and draw aim at the anaconda’s head through the loophole.

Crack!

The shot pierced the snake’s brain.

The head dropped lifeless, but the huge body continued to writhe in the throes of death.

Frank swung the door of the cage open.

‪“Come, Tony!” he cried, cheerily. “Let’s pull the monster out, and we will then have the Steam Man once more in our possession.” Buckden needed no urging.

Both laid hold of the snake’s huge coils. It was a hard tug, but the huge monster was finally pulled out of the cage.

Then the two men sprang in and proceeded to put things to rights.

The snake had done no material damage, but the odor of its presence in the cage was something frightful.

However, Frank quickly dispelled this with a chemical, and then the Man’s course was set for a return to the treasure temple.

No obstacle was encountered upon the return.

Soon the Steam Man came in sight of the temple.

As it did so, Barney and Pomp were seen rushing down the steps.

Their joy to discover that the Steam Man had been safely recovered knew no bounds.

“I tell yo’, Marse Frank, dat dar am big piles ob gold an’ silver in dat ar temple,” cried Pomp.

“Bejabers, that’s so!” cried Barney. “An’ I cud hardly get the naygur to come away from it.”

‪“Where did you rascals go?” asked Frank, sharply.

‪“Way up in de top ob de temple,” replied Pomp.

“Didn’t you hear me when I called?”

“Bejabers, we did that, an’ it was mesilf as answered yez,” replied Barney. “But I couldn’t get the naygur to come away.”

‪“Did you hear the whistle of the Steam Man?”

“I did that, an’ that brought us down quick enough,” replied Barney.

‪“Well,” said Frank, with satisfaction, ‪“we are in luck. Now for home.”

“Ki dar, Marse Frank. What about dat gold an’ silver?” cried Pomp.

Frank looked at Buckden.

‪“Is it worth while to return for it?” he asked.

‪“Oh, I think so,” replied the New Yorker.

‪“All right.”

Barney and Pomp eagerly started for the steps of the temple, but a startling sight caused them to draw back.

Suddenly, from what seemed like a deep archway leading into black depths beyond at the lower end of the temple wall, a large anaconda glided into view.

It was a monster of its species.

‪“Back into the cage,” shouted Barney and Pomp.

The two servitors had barely time to accomplish this move when the snake glided swift as the wind up over the temple steps.

“Look—look!” cried Buckden.

An astounding sight was next witnessed. Out from the archway there emerged more of the huge reptiles.

Some of them were monstrous in proportions.

The archway was literally choked with them.

All seemed to be making for the temple. Truly, the wonderful tale rendered by Metlo was true after all.

There seemed legions of the snakes. They swarmed over the temple wall and through all the passages.

Dumfounded, our adventurers stood and watched them.

‪“Great heavens!” gasped Frank Reade, Jr., ‪“what a sight that is!”

‪“I never saw its equal!”

“Golly! amn’t dem de bigges’ snakes we’se seed yit?”

“Tare an’ ’ounds! av the divils get afther the Steam Man——”

‪“Look out!”

Several of the huge reptiles seemed making for the Steam Man. Frank’s hand was on the throttle rein, and he was about to pull it, when a terrible thing happened.

There was a dull, distant rumbling like thunder.

The air became suddenly still and oppressive. Instinctively Frank knew at that moment what was coming.

‪“The earthquake!” he shouted. ‪“Steady, all! Look out for yourselves!”

Frank gave the throttle rein a yank. The Steam Man ran instantly to the center of the plaza and came to a halt.

Then a mighty, sullen roar was heard, a terrific gust of wind swept down the avenue, and the earthquake came.

For a moment it seemed as if the Steam Man would be overturned.

The ground rose and fell in billows.

The air was filled with the thunder and crash of falling buildings.

The temple of treasure, which was full of the anacondas, was literally leveled to the dust.

It remained a great, moldering heap of ruins. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of the huge snakes were crushed in the ruins.

The treasure of Mazendla was beyond the reach of our adventurers now.

In three minutes the entire disturbance was over.

The city presented a vastly different aspect now.

Many of the mammoth buildings were a heap of ruins. Trees were uprooted, and a scene of havoc was upon every hand.

“Golly fo’ goodness!” gasped the startled Pomp, as he pulled himself together. “I kain’t say dat I’m stuck on yarthquakes, am yo’ Marse Frank?”

‪“No,” replied Frank, as he adjusted a sprained shoulder. ‪“And what is more, we will start this very moment for civilization, and the land where earthquakes never happen.”

‪“Good!” cried Tony Buckden. “I’m with you.”

“Bejabers, I’m the same,” cried Barney.

Not one gave thought to the deeply buried treasure of Mazendla now.

It proved in after days that their decision was a wise one.

The silverware preserved by Frank and Tony, as well as coins, turned out to be a weak alloy. The diamonds were the real treasure, and Frank had secured them all.

So the treasure of Mazendla yet remains unearthed. Certainly, it was never thought worth while by our explorers to ever return for it.

It required some time to pick their way out of the ruined city.

But they finally succeeded, and emerged upon the vast table-land of Tanada once more.

The Steam Man at a rapid rate of speed kept on the return route to Campeachy.

But the return trip was not devoid of incident.

When two days out from Mazendla, the Steam Man came to a vast morass between high mountains, and surrounded by tall reeds.

The Steam Man on the way out had found little difficulty in skirting this to the eastward.

But rains had since fallen and the morass was a lake.

Any attempt to go over the return route now must result in sinking the Steam Man in great depths of mire.

So a halt was called and a consultation held.

There seemed to be no other way of surmounting this obstacle but to camp and wait patiently for the water to subside.

This meant a delay of several days, but it was a virtuous necessity, as it was clearly impossible for the Steam Man to climb the rough mountain sides.

Accordingly camp was made.

A good clump of palms was found and the fires in the furnace were banked.

It was entirely out of the question for four men to remain cooped up three or four days in the cage of the Steam Man, inactive and dull.

The natural project was a hunting trip and this was at once decided upon.

What sort of game our explorers were in quest of it is not easy to say. In fact, it might as well be said that their quest was as much one of exploration as quest of game.

They started early one morning and climbed the mountain side.

This was rocky, but fortunately clear of brush or dense chaparral.

Several rabbits were bagged and some birds of beautiful plumage. Then just as they were upon the verge of the crater of an extinct volcano, the stirring events of the day began.

Suddenly Barney, who was skirting the edge of the crater, gave a sharp cry, and as his companions turned, they were horrified to see him suddenly disappear from sight.

‪“Great heavens!” gasped Frank. ‪“What has become of Barney?”

All rushed to an opening in the ground through which the Celt had disappeared.

As they reached it, a terrific roar came up from below.

It required but a glance for the explorers to perceive a horrible state of affairs.

Below, at a depth of some forty feet, was a cavern.

The entrance seemed to be from the crater, and clinging vines lined the passage down which Barney had fallen.

A treacherous coating of moss had covered the hole, and the unsuspecting Irishman had stepped full upon it, with the result we have seen.

In falling, Barney had clutched wildly at the vines, and now he hung twenty feet from the bottom by a single vine, which swayed and seemed likely to snap at any moment.

Just below, upon the floor of the cavern, crouched two fierce tigers.

They roared and snarled savagely and made upward leaps to reach the Celt.

Barney was white with fear and clung desperately to the swinging vine.

‪“Help!” he shouted in terror. ‪“Misther Frank, save me.”

‪“Have courage, Barney!” cried Frank, resolutely. ‪“Hang on and I will do my best.”

Barney did hang on with all his strength, and Frank cried, turning to the others:

‪“Draw a bead on the tigers. Be sure and make your shots tell.”

The three rifles cracked, and one of the tigers turned over and lay limp and lifeless upon the bottom of the cavern.

The other was hit, but not badly wounded.

The wound, however, had the effect of exciting the animal’s rage and with a roar it vanished from sight for a moment.

When it came into sight again it was seen coming up over the edge of the crater to attack its human foes.

Up over the rocks it came with mad leaps.

‪“Look out!” cried Frank Reade, Jr.; ‪“take good aim at the beast.”

The three explorers fired. Whether the bullets struck the beast or not it was not easy to say.

But the tiger came on with long bounds.

Before the repeaters could be worked again the tiger was upon them. He struck Pomp first and the darky went over like a ten-pin.

Buckden rushed to his rescue with clubbed rifle.

But the tiger knocked the rifle from his hands and tumbled him over in a heap.

That moment would have been Tony’s last but for Frank, who rushed forward and thrust the muzzle of his rifle close against the hide of the beast.

The bullet penetrated the tiger’s heart and he fell dead over Buckden’s prostrate form.

It was a narrow escape for all, for the tiger might have killed one of them. Haste was made to relieve Barney from his irksome position.

The exploration was continued, but no other such serious adventure befell our friends.

A few days later they were able to leave the morass behind them.

Nothing worthy of note occurred during the remainder of the trip.

Campeachy was safely reached and there the party received an ovation.

Tony’s many friends were overjoyed to see him back alive.

A few days later, however, saw them aboard a return steamer. New Orleans was safely reached in due time.

Here Mr. Buckden met the party and welcomed them home.

He embraced Tony joyfully and at once made out a check to Frank Reade, Jr., for the reward offered of $50,000.

But Frank politely declined it, refusing to accept more than enough to cover the actual expenses of the trip.

Tony and his father returned to New York city. At last accounts the young explorer had given up traveling and was engaged in the banking business with his father.

Frank Reade, Jr., Barney and Pomp returned to Readestown safely with the new Steam Man.

But their travels with the new Steam Man were not yet concluded by any means, and a complete account of their thrilling experiences in their next trip may be found in No. 4 of the FRANK READE LIBRARY, entitled:

‪“FRANK READE, JR., WITH HIS NEW STEAM MAN IN TEXAS; OR, CHASING THE TRAIN ROBBERS.”

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