CHAPTER VII. THE LEGEND OF HEZ.

Dick and the Yankee had no sooner sought seclusion behind the bowlder than a man of ragged and unkempt appearance came from the mouth of the passage with a dog at his side.

Both gave a violent start of surprise.

It was the man and dog who had entered the base of the obelisk before them.

The stranger still carried a rifle, and as Haypole saw this he clutched his companion by the shoulder and exclaimed, in a low tone:

“Ther infernal skunk has got my rifle! It sartainly is he who stole it that night in th’ swamp.”

“Never mind,” whispered Dick. “Let’s watch him and see what he is up to.”

The man, who has been spoken of as Reginald Lacy, paused near the edge of the pool and looked at his surroundings with an air of extreme surprise.

He patted the dog upon the head in an affectionate way and said:

“Well, Jupiter, we have struck a wonderful country. But we are not safe, old fellow--not by any means. Owens is still upon our track, and he evidently means business. But he shall never kill me, Jupiter; I may deserve it, but I will never die at his hands.”

The dog wagged his tail and crouched at his master’s feet, who, surveying the clear water before him, went on:

“That water looks cool and tempting; I believe I will take a bath.”

With that Reginald Lacy began removing his tattered garments, preparatory to taking a plunge in the crystal pool.

In a very short time he was ready, and, walking down to the edge of the pool, he placed his hand in the water to test its temperature.

It must have been perfectly satisfactory, for without further hesitation he plunged in.

The dog gazed at his master for a moment and then followed suit.

The effect upon the man and dog seemed to be startling.

They sported about in the crystal water, apparently imbued with new life and strength.

“This is glorious!” Dick and the Yankee heard the man say, as he stood neck deep in the water under the spray of the fountain.

The dog answered with yelps of delight as he swam swiftly about and sported to his heart’s content.

“By Jove!” whispered Dick, to his companion, “the water does look inviting; it wouldn’t be a bad idea for us to take a swim.”

“I guess I don’t want any of it,” returned the Yankee. “That dod-rotted water don’t look nat’ral to my eyes. Look at that feller; he seems ter be gittin’ crazy--gosh! if he don’t!”

Reginald Lacy was acting rather queer for a man! He was cutting up all sorts of boyish antics and laughing like mad.

Presently he waded ashore, and, after washing the rags he had worn, put them on wet, as they were, and entered the passage again, calling the dog after him.

As soon as they had disappeared from view, Dick and Haypole came from behind the bowlder.

“Let’s follow him, Martin,” said Dick; “maybe he knows the way out of this place.”

“All right,” returned the Yankee. “It are about time we went back to ther place whar we left the professor an’ ther rest, anyhow.”

Picking up the torch, which they had thrown upon the ground when they first entered the wonderful cavern, Dick lighted it, and they started up the passage after Reginald Lacy and his dog.

But they could neither see nor hear any signs of them as they trudged along, and at length, when they reached the spot where the four passages met, they were forced to acknowledge that he had eluded them in some unexplained manner.

“Well, what in thunder will we do now?” asked the Yankee, as he took a seat upon the ground.

“Do?” replied the boy. “Why, go on through one of the passages until we find our companions. Let’s make a bee line through the one to our left.”

“All right; I’m with you.”

With Dick in the lead, they started swiftly along the passage.

Presently they heard the sounds of approaching footsteps.

“Somebody coming ter look fer us, I’ll bet a dollar,” remarked Haypole.

“I shouldn’t wonder. What shall we do--go on and meet whoever it is, or wait till they come up?”

“Let’s wait.”

“All right,” and leaning against the rocky wall, Dick listened to the sounds which were coming nearer every second.

They soon perceived a light, and the next minute saw a number of the men of Hez approaching, carrying torches.

That our two friends were perceived at the same time was plainly evident, for the strangely attired men uttered exclamations of pleasure, and motioned the pair not to be afraid.

At the same time one of their number called out, in good English:

“Fear not, my friends. No harm shall befall you. We have come in search of you, at the queen’s order. Your friends and companions are safe and sound, and await you.”

“Who in thunder are you?” asked Haypole, stepping forward.

“I am an American, like yourself. But, come! There is no time for parleying now. Follow us, and you will be safe.”

“Lead on!” exclaimed Dick Vincey. “I am glad the queen wants us; I can have another look at her handsome face.”

Away went the men with Dick and Haypole in their midst, through various passages and caves, until finally they came in sight of the village of stone buildings.

It did not take the two returned wanderers long to observe Leo and the professor standing in front of one of the houses, and they were now satisfied that no harm would befall them.

Leo and Prof. Easy rushed forward to meet them, and while they were talking together the man in charge of the searching party went to report to Queen Olive.

“Where have you fellows been?” asked Leo, shaking his cousin’s hand.

“To the queerest and most beautiful spot mortal eyes ever rested upon,” replied Dick.

And then he proceeded to relate where he and the Yankee had been, and what they had seen.

“Wonderful!” exclaimed the professor; and then turning to the man who spoke English in the crowd of Hezzians who had brought the two lost ones back, he said:

“Do you know anything of this pool and fountain, my man?”

“I do,” was the reply; “it is the identical fountain Ponce de Leon was in search of so many years ago. If you want to learn all about it, converse with Roderique de Amilo, the one who discovered it. There he is over there in front of his dwelling.”

“Is that Roderique de Amilo?” asked Leo. “Why, he is crazy, is he not?”

“No; anything but crazy, as you will find when you become better acquainted with him. He is the discoverer of the magic fountain and the founder of this race.

“Yes,” went on the man, seating himself upon a rock; “I may as well tell you all about it now as any other time, since you are all to be citizens of Hez in the future. It is a queer story, and I have not said that I believe it.

“To begin, my name is Andrew Jones; I am from Kentucky, and have no relatives living save my wife, who is a native of this place. I came here a little over a year ago, and expect to stay here as long as I live.

“Roderique de Amilo is the founder of this race, though he seldom admits it. He discovered this underground country in the year 1509, by being washed over the falls into the river you passed on entering here.

“While here he discovered the fountain you speak of, and feeling satisfied that it was the one he was in search of, he bathed in it, the result being that he attained perpetual youth.

“Then it dawned upon him that he should have a helpmate; so one day he went to the edge of the pool and prayed for a wife, and lo! before his prayer was finished there arose from the crystal water the most beautiful woman man had ever seen!

“Well, to make a long story short, De Amilo took her for his wife, and from them came these people, who number about three hundred, outside of those who came here after.

“You have the legend just as everybody who comes here gets it. You may draw your own conclusions from it, as I have done.”

“Well, I don’t believe it,” said Haypole, bluntly.

Andrew Jones laughed.

“Few do,” said he; “and none seem to care much.”

“But how about the beautiful woman who came from the pool in such a mysterious manner?” said Dick. “Surely that was not Queen Olive?”

“Oh, no!” replied Jones; “I forgot to tell you about her. She visited the pool one day after she had lived here in the neighborhood of a hundred years, and concluded to bathe in its clear waters. The moment she entered it she disappeared, and has never been heard of since.”

“That yarn would make a first-class fairy story for little children,” said Leo, laughing. “But, anyhow, I shan’t dispute it. Ah! here comes the queen’s messenger after Dick and Martin, I suppose. Go on, fellows, and take the iron-clad oath of allegiance to Hez.”

Sure enough, Dick and the Yankee were led to the queen’s house, and while they were gone Leo and the rest busied themselves in cleaning their weapons, which Roderique de Amilo had so kindly returned to them.