CHAPTER XIV.

THE INDIANS HELP SOME!

When Sam Weller turned the corner of the cliff and looked out at the spot where the _Ann_ had been left, his first impression was that the machine had been removed from the valley.

He stood for a moment in uncertainty and then, regretting sincerely that he had remained so long away, cautiously moved along, keeping as close as possible to the wall of the cliff. In a moment he saw the planes of the _Ann_ glistening in the moonlight at least a hundred yards from the place where she had been left.

Realizing the presence of hostile interests, he walked on toward the planes, hoping to be able to get within striking distance before being discovered. There was no one in sight in the immediate vicinity of the _Ann_, and yet she was certainly moving slowly over the ground.

The inference the young man drew from this was that persons unfamiliar with flying machines had invaded the valley during his absence. Not being able to get the machine into the air, they were, apparently, so far as he could see, rolling it away on its rubber-tired wheels. The progress was not rapid, but was directed toward a thicket which lay at the west end of the valley.

“That means,” the young man mused, “that they’re trying to steal the machine! It is evident,” he went on, “that they are apprehensive of discovery, for they manage to keep themselves out of sight.”

Realizing that it would be impossible for him to pass through the open moonlight without being observed by those responsible for the erratic motions of the _Ann_, the young man remained standing perfectly still in a deep shadow against the face of the cliff.

The _Ann_ moved on toward the thicket, and presently reached the shelter of trees growing there. In a moment she was entirely hidden from view.

“Now,” thought Sam, “the people who have been kind enough to change the position of the machine will doubtless show themselves in the moonlight.”

In this supposition he was not mistaken, for in a moment two men dressed in European garments emerged from the shadows of the grove and took their way across the valley, walking through the moonlight boldly and with no pretense of concealment.

Sam scrutinized the fellows carefully, but could not remember that he had ever seen either of them before. They were dusky, supple chaps, evidently of Spanish descent. As they walked they talked together in English, and occasionally pointed to the angle of the cliff around which the young man had recently passed.

A chattering of excited voices at the edge of the grove now called Sam’s attention in that direction, and he saw at least half a dozen figures, apparently those of native Indians, squatting on the ground at the very edge of the thicket.

“And now,” mused Sam, as the men stopped not far away and entered into what seemed to him to be an excited argument, “I’d like to know how these people learned of the revival of the hunt for Redfern! It isn’t so very many days since Havens’ expedition was planned in New York, and this valley is a good many hundred miles away from that merry old town.”

Entirely at a loss to account for the manner in which information of this new phase of the search had reached a point in the wilds of Peru almost as soon as the record-breaking aeroplane could have carried the news, the young man gave up the problem for the time being and devoted his entire attention to the two men in European dress.

“I tell you they are in the temple,” one of the men said speaking in a corrupt dialect of the English language which it is useless to attempt to reproduce. “They are in the temple at this minute!”

“Don’t be too sure of that, Felix!” the other said.

“And what is more,” the man who had been called Felix went on, “they will never leave the temple alive!”

“And so fails the great expedition!” chuckled the second speaker.

“When we are certain that what must be has actually taken place,” Felix went on, “I’ll hide the flying machine in a safer place, pay you as agreed, and make my way back to Quito. Does that satisfy you?”

“I shall be satisfied when I have the feeling of the gold of the Gringoes!” was the reply.

Sam caught his breath sharply as he listened to the conversation.

“There was some trap in the temple, then,” he mused, “designed to get us out of the way. I should have known that,” he went on, bitterly, “and should never have left the boys alone there!”

The two men advanced nearer to the angle of the cliff and seemed to be waiting the approach of some one from the other side.

“And Miguel?” asked Felix. “Why is he not here?”

“Can you trust him?” he added, in a moment.

“With my own life!”

“The Gringoes are clever!” warned Felix.

“But see!” exclaimed the other. “The grated door! The hosts ready to welcome! There surely can be no mistake.”

The men lapsed into silence and stood listening. Sam began to hope that their plans had indeed gone wrong.

For a moment he was uncertain as to what he ought to do. He believed that in the absence of the two leaders he might be able to get the _Ann_ into the air and so bring assistance to the boys. And yet, he could not put aside the impression that immediate assistance was the only sort which could ever be of any benefit to the two lads!

“If they are in some trap in the temple,” he soliloquized, “the thing to do is to get to them as soon as possible, even if we do lose the machine, which, after all, is not certain.”

“The flying machine,” the man who had been called Felix was now heard to say, “is of great value. It would bring a fortune in London.”

“But how are you to get it out of this district just at this time?” asked the other. “How to get it out without discovery?”

“Fly it out!”

“Can you fly it out?” asked the other in a sarcastic tone.

“There are plenty who can!” replied Felix, somewhat angrily. “But it is not to be taken out at present,” he went on. “To lift it in the air now would be to notify every Gringo from Quito to Lima that the prize machine of the New York Millionaire, having been stolen, is in this part of the country.”

“That is very true,” replied the other.

“Hence, I have hidden it,” Felix went on.

“And the savages? Are they safe?” was the next question.

“As safe as such people usually are!” was the answer.

As Sam Weller listened, his mind was busily considering one expedient after another, plan after plan, which presented the least particle of hope for the release of the boys. From the conversation he had overheard he understood that the machine would not be removed for a number of days—until, in fact, the hue and cry over its loss had died out.

This, at least, lightened the difficulties to some extent. He could devote his entire attention to the situation at the temple without thought of the valuable aeroplane, but how to get to the temple with those two ruffians in the way! Only for the savage associates in the background, it is probable that he would have opened fire on the two schemers.

They were deliberately planning murder. That was a sufficient reason, to his mind, to bring about decisive action on his part. However, the savages were there, just at the edge of the forest, and an attack on the two leaders would undoubtedly bring them into action. Of course it was not advisable for him to undertake a contest involving life and death with such odds against him.

The two men were still standing at the angle of the cliff.

Only for the brilliant moonlight, Sam believed that he might elude their vigilance and so make his way to the temple. But there was not a cloud in the sky, and the illumination seemed to grow stronger every moment as the moon passed over to the west.

At last the very thing the young man had hoped for in vain took place. A jumble of excited voices came from the thicket, and the men who were watching turned instantly in that direction. As they looked, the sound of blows and cries of pain came from the jungle.

“Those brutes will be eating each other alive next!” exclaimed Felix.

“That is so!” answered the other. “I warned you!”

“Suppose you go back and see what’s wrong?” suggested Felix.

“I have no influence over the savages,” was the reply, “and besides, the temple must be watched.”

With an exclamation of anger Felix started away in the direction of the forest. It was evident that he had his work cut out for him there, for the savages were fighting desperately, and his approach did not appear to terminate the engagement.

The man left at the angle of the cliff to watch and wait for news from the temple moved farther around the bend and stood leaning against the cliff, listening. Sam moved softly up behind him. The rattling of a pebble betrayed the young man’s presence, and his hands upon the throat of the other alone prevented an outcry which would have brought Felix, and perhaps several of the savages, to the scene.

It was a desperate, wordless, almost noiseless, struggle that ensued. The young man’s muscles, thanks to months of mountain exercise and freedom from stimulants and narcotics, were hard as iron, while those of his opponent seemed flabby and out of condition, doubtless because of too soft living in the immediate past.

The contest, therefore, was not of long duration. Realizing that he was about to lapse into unconsciousness, Sam’s opponent threw out his hands in token of surrender. The young man deftly searched the fellow’s person for weapons and then drew him to his feet.

“Now,” he said, presenting his automatic to the fellow’s breast, “if you utter a word or signal calculated to bring you help, that help will come too late, even if it is only one instant away. At the first sound or indication of resistance, I’ll put half a clip of bullets through your heart!”

“You have the victory!” exclaimed the other sullenly.

“Move along toward the temple!” demanded Sam.

“It is not for me to go there!” was the reply.

“And I’ll walk along behind you,” Sam went on, “and see that you have a ballast of bullets if any treachery is attempted.”

“It is forbidden me to go to the temple to-night,” the other answered, “but, under the circumstances, I go!”

Fearful that Felix might return at any moment, or that the savages, enraged beyond control, might break away in the direction of the temple, Sam pushed the fellow along as rapidly as possible, and the two soon came to the great entrance of that which, centuries before, had been a sacred edifice. The fellow shuddered as he stepped into the musty interior.

“It is not for me to enter!” he said.

“And now,” Sam began, motioning his captive toward the chamber where the bunks and provisions had been discovered, “tell me about this trap which was set to-night for my chums.”

“I know nothing!” was the answer.

“That is false,” replied Sam. “I overheard the conversation you had with Felix before the outbreak of the savages.”

“I know nothing!” insisted the other.

“Now, let me tell you this,” Sam said, flashing his automatic back and forth under the shaft of light which now fell almost directly upon the two, “my friends may be in deadly peril at this time. It may be that one instant’s hesitation on your part will bring them to death.”

The fellow shrugged his shoulders impudently and threw out his hands. Sam saw that he was watching the great entrance carefully, and became suspicious that some indication of the approach of Felix had been observed.

“I have no time to waste in arguments,” Sam went on excitedly. “The trap you have set for my friends may be taking their lives at this moment. I will give you thirty seconds in which to reveal to me their whereabouts, and to inform me as to the correct course to take in order to protect them.”

The fellow started back and fixed his eyes again on the entrance, and Sam, following his example, saw something which sent the blood rushing to his heart.

Outlined on the white stone was the shadow of a human being!

Although not in sight, either an enemy or a friend was at hand!