t and hands,
but no wound. It was not his blood, but some other's. Then a few feet
off on the path I found a pistol with two chambers empty.

What had happened was very plain. Henriques had tried to shoot Laputa
at the entrance of the cave for the sake of the collar and the treasure
within. He had wounded him--gravely, I thought, to judge from the
amount of blood--but the quickness and marksmanship of the Portuguese
had not availed to save his life from those terrible hands. After two
shots Laputa had got hold of him and choked his life out as easily as a
man twists a partridge's neck. Then he had gone into the cave.

I saw the marks of blood on the road, and hastened on. Laputa had been
hours in the cave, enough to work havoc with the treasure. He was
wounded, too, and desperate. Probably he had come to the Rooirand
looking for sanctuary and rest for a day or two, but if Henriques had
shot straight he might find a safer sanctuary and a longer rest. For
the third time in my life I pushed up the gully between the straight
high walls of rock, and heard from the heart of the hills the thunder
of the imprisoned river.

There was only the faintest gleam of light in the cleft, but it
sufficed to show me that the way to the cave was open. The hidden
turnstile in the right wall stood ajar; I entered, and carelessly swung
it behind me. The gates clashed into place with a finality which told
me that they were firmly shut. I did not know the secret of them, so
how should I get out again?

These things troubled me less than the fact that I had no light at all
now. I had to go on my knees to ascend the stair, and I could feel
that the steps were wet. It must be Laputa's blood.

Next I was out on the gallery which skirted the chasm. The sky above
me was growing pale with dawn, and far below the tossing waters were
fretted with light. A light fragrant wind was blowing on the hills,
and a breath of it came down the funnel. I saw that my hands were all
bloody with the stains on the steps, and I rubbed them on the rock to
clean them. Without a tremor I crossed the stone slab over the gorge,
and plunged into the dark alley which led to the inner chamber.

As before, there was a light in front of me, but this time it was a
pin-point and not the glare of many torches. I felt my way carefully
by the walls of the passage, though I did not really fear anything. It
was by the stopping of these lateral walls that I knew