"Or either of us while crawling over the edge," continued Adrian. "Looks like we might be lucky boys tonight, Donald; but of course you won't stay here, to be seen when he gets up even with us?"

"I should say not," replied the other; "and it happens that I noticed a splendid _cache_ right back here that will hold both of us. Come on, let's make our get-away before it's too late."

Three minutes later they had secreted themselves in the cavity noticed by Donald, and were waiting, more or less anxiously, to see if the party approaching did turn out to be the Witch Doctor.

Donald, peeping out of a cranny, whispered in the ear of his comrade that sure enough it was the medicine man. He walked serenely past where they were hiding. Once, when he seemed to stop and look around, Adrian could feel the arm of his chum fairly quiver; and he realized that the old Witch Doctor must be furiously angry did he discover these intruders, come to spy upon his secret, which he kept from even the chief of the tribe.

Adrian was more than half sorry he had consented to come; but this feeling pa.s.sed away when he saw the glow of the torch moving on again; and from the indications realized that the queer medicine man had gone about his business.

"Let us follow him at a safe distance," whispered Donald; and they started forth, when it seemed as though the coast were clear.

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE MEDICINE MAN'S SECRET.

It was with considerable difficulty that the two chums made forward progress under such a handicap as confronted them. The medicine man knew every foot of the pa.s.sage he was following. Besides that, he had a blazing torch, by means of which the route was made clear; whereas they were traveling over new territory, and in almost pitch darkness.

Several times when the beacon ahead vanished completely they were compelled to make use of the little electric light; but on such occasions Donald made sure to keep its glow confined to the rocky floor directly in front, so that no glancing ray might startle the mysterious man they were pursuing.

As these lapses of illumination in front were undoubtedly caused by the Witch Doctor turning some bend in the pa.s.sage, the boys felt that they were taking only a small amount of risk in thus using their own torch.

It saved them from numerous stumbles, and possibly a bad fall; because the way was rough, with many outlying rocks to serve as traps for unwary feet.

"We must be getting right into the heart of the mountain," whispered Adrian, after they had been advancing in this manner for quite some time.

"That's right," replied the other, with equal caution; "and still the old fraud seems to be pushing ahead."

"Do you think this pa.s.sage can lead through the pile of rocks, so that if we kept on far enough we'd come out on the other side?" Adrian asked.

"Hardly that," his chum chuckled. "Pretty soon we'll find out just why Pick-ne-quan-to comes in here every once in a while. It used to be only so many times a year, they told me at the village, but now he has a talk with the Great Spirit nearly every day."

"Yes, I heard that brave tell you so; and every time, some of them say they can hear that heavenly music, and the heavy voice of the dread Manitou, coming out from the heart of this Sacred Mountain. It's mighty queer, Donald, what it can all mean."

"Well, let's hope that after all the trouble we've taken we are on the brink of learning his secret," the ranchman's son observed.

"That doesn't mean anything about his treasure, though," put in Adrian.

"No, we made up our minds to have nothing to do with any deposit of precious metal he might have found in here; because we don't want to send ten thousand white prospectors rushing this way, to overturn things, and really wipe the Zuni people out, in their craze for gold.

We'll listen, and look around, and then go away again as quietly as we came."

While he did not know it, this remark on the part of Donald, and which really reflected the sentiments of both lads, did them great credit. It was not every boy who could look at things in such a humane light.

They had been greatly interested in the strange life of the Zunis, and just the very thought of all this history, which extended far back beyond the discovery of America by Columbus, being snuffed out in the greedy rush of modern gold-crazy miners was repulsive to them.

"There, he's turned another bend, I reckon, Donald; and it's so pitch dark here don't you think we'd better make use of the hand torch again?"

said Adrian, presently.

"Just as you say," replied the other; "but we must be careful about it, because one flash of the ray would put him wise to the fact that there was something going on back here that ought to be looked into. And I'd hate to have that grim old chap trying some of his witchcraft on us."

"Huh! on my part I'd be more afraid of his letting loose a nest of rattlesnakes to trap us, or some such awful game. When we get to that bend ahead-" but Adrian did not finish his sentence, for just then a strange sound broke forth upon their hearing that caused both boys to stand there as though transfixed; while Donald shut off the little illumination with a movement of his ready thumb.

It was music that greeted them, the sweetest music either of them could ever remember of hearing in all their lives. Of course there instantly flashed through their minds the recollection of all they had heard about heavenly choirs singing, and celestial instruments playing, according to the crude notions of the Zuni people.

Well, it seemed as though the reality far exceeded the many descriptions which they had picked up from various sources; and both boys stood there for several minutes, hardly breathing, so stunned had they been by this outburst of wonderful melody.

Then all at once it burst upon the mind of Adrian that there was something familiar about the music; just as though he may have heard it before while asleep and dreaming.

He gripped his hands in an endeavor to remember where it could have been; and trying to unravel the thread of memory.

"Ad!" came in a whisper, close to his ear; and he suddenly remembered that he had a chum alongside, who must be thrilled just as much as he was by these fairly ravishing strains.

"Yes, what is it, Donald?" he asked, reaching out so as to come in contact with the arm of the other, which he immediately pressed rea.s.suringly.

"Sounds for all the world to me like a violin!" continued the other.

Then a great light suddenly burst upon Adrian, just as a clap of thunder during a summer shower will startle one.

"It _is_ a violin, or as the boys call it out here, a fiddle!" he said, quickly; "and I remember hearing that same tune played some years ago when I was East. Yes, it's the same melody, and I'd know it among a thousand. Listen to that, would you, Donald? Could anybody beat such skill, and wonderful handling of the bow?"

"But Adrian, however in the wide world would such an old heathen as the medicine man manage to master the fiddle, so as to play like that? I never heard its equal in all my life!"

"No more you didn't," chuckled Adrian, "for you're listening now to the drawing of a bow that has charmed millions of music lovers in all the great cities of the wide world, I reckon."

"Oh! you mean-" started Donald, when the other took the words out of his mouth.

"He's gone and got a talking machine in here, that's the truth of it all, Donald, don't you see? When he was away on one of his secret trips, trying to find out how the white people lived, he must have heard one of these same music boxes sing and make speeches. It set him fairly wild, for he may have a love for music in his soul, you know. So what does he do but buy one, with a lot of records; and somehow get the whole business carried into the heart of the Sacred Mountain."

"Yes, yes," added Donald, "and the music appeals so much to old Pick-ne-quan-to that his visits are getting of daily occurrence now. No wonder the Zunis say he is becoming so very familiar with the Great Manitou, that he can't let a day pa.s.s without having an interview with the Master. Oh! Ad, this is a rich joke on us now, ain't it?"

"Well, I don't see how you make that out," replied the other. "We came in here to discover the source of that heavenly music, and the loud thunder voice that nearly frightens the Indians to death; and looks like we've done it. I think we've reason to feel satisfied. There, now the violin has sobbed itself out, and perhaps we'll have a Caruso sending his robust voice through all these underground pa.s.sages next; or it may be a Melba warbling like a bird in the forest. Ain't this the most wonderful explanation of the mystery you ever could have dreamed of? And to think that it never struck either of us once!"

"How could we guess it," said Donald; "when we didn't have the least clue? But listen, he's started the machine to going again."

This time it was a song bird who filled the underground retreat with music; and as the two spellbound lads, crouching there in the darkness, continued to listen, soon they heard the loud, heavy voice of a well-known statesman filling the chamber with the echoing eloquence of a stump speech, which doubtless had done full duty in the last political campaign, but was now thrilling any listening Zuni with the belief that it was the sonorous voice of Manitou.

"Hadn't we better be getting out of this now?" asked Adrian, after they had stayed to listen to several more wonderful reproductions of the human voice and various musical instruments, among which was a military band.

"Yes, we've had enough for our money," returned Donald. "Let the shrewd old wizard have his concert out by himself; Billie will be getting anxious about us, especially if the poor fellow hears a faint sound of all that's been going on here."

"Perhaps he'll begin to fear that we've been taken up into the other world by a host of angels, or something like that," chuckled Adrian, as they started to once more cover the ground they had traversed before, Donald using his hand torch now, as the danger of discovery seemed next to nothing.

"Do you really think the medicine man meant them to believe that was the voice of Manitou, when he brought this talking machine here?" questioned Donald, after they had been walking for some time along the tortuous pa.s.sage, and must be drawing close to the exit at the ledge.

"No one knows, and perhaps no one ever will," came the reply, showing that Adrian had been figuring on this matter himself, and arrived at a conclusion. "He may have in the beginning just wanted to enjoy a feast of civilized music by himself, without letting his people know that he had departed that far from their customs; and then learning how they believed him to be talking with the Great Spirit, why, he encouraged the idea, you see. And all the while he's been getting more and more in love with _real_ music as compared with the horrible racket the Zunis make with their old tom-toms and wailing reed instruments. Perhaps the time will come when that talking machine will be installed in a lodge in the center of the village, to be listened to each fine night by every brave, squaw and papoose in the settlement. Times are changing fast all over the world, even with savage people; and I've heard men say that this same talking machine is doing more to educate savages than all the missionaries in the world."