The Adventures of Kathlyn

The chief's eyes widened. There were others who knew, then? Bruce

noticed his surprise.

"Colonel, show the good chief the royal seal on your document."

The colonel did so, and the chief salaamed when he saw the royal

signature. He was mightily bewildered, and gradually he was made to

understand that he had been vilely tricked.

"To the boats!" he shouted, as if suddenly awakening. "We may be too

late, Lords! He said he was a holy man, and I believed."

They all ran hastily down to the beach to seize what boats they could.

Here they met a heartrending obstacle in the refusal of the owners.

The chief, however, signified that it was his will; and, moreover, he

commanded that the fishermen should handle the oars. They would be

paid. That was different. Why did not the white people say so at

once? They would go anywhere for money. Not the most auspicious sign,

thought Ramabai. They got into the boats and pushed off.

On the way to the island the colonel consulted the map, or diagram, he

held in his hand. It was not possible that Umballa knew the exact spot.

A filigree basket of silver, filled with gold and gems! The man became

as eager and excited as a boy. The instinct to hunt for treasure

begins just outside the cradle and ends just inside the grave.

To return to Umballa. Upon landing, he asked at once if any knew where

the cave was. One man did know the way, but he refused to show it.

There were spirits there, ruled by an evil god.

"Take me there, you, and I will enter without harm. Am I not holy?"

That put rather a new face upon the situation. If the holy man was

willing to risk an encounter with the god, far be it that they should

prevent him. An ordinary seeker would not have found the entrance in a

lifetime. Umballa had not known exactly where the cave was, but he

knew all that the cave contained. When they came to it Umballa

sniffed; the tang of sulphur became evident both in his nose and on his

tongue. He understood. It was simply a small spring, a mineral, in

which sulphur predominated. He came out with some cupped in his hands.

He drank and showed them that it was harmless. Besides, he was a holy

man, and his presence made ineffectual all evil spirits which might

roam within the cave.

Umballa, impatient as he was, had to depend upon patience. By dint of

inquiries he learned that wild Mohammedans had cast the spell upon the

cave, set a curse upon its threshold. Umballa tottered and destroyed

this by reasoning that the curse of a Mohammedan could not affect a

Hindu. Finally, he offered each and all of them a fortune--and won.