"Certainly, Rad."

"Den, all I's got t' say is dat yo' is 'spectin' too much. I ain't gwine t' bury mahse'f alive not yit."

"But, Rad, this is where the gold images are. If you don't come down with us you won't get any gold."

"Am dat so? No gold?" The colored man scratched his head. "Well, I sh.o.r.e does want gold," he murmured. "I reckon I'd better trot along.

But one thing mo', Ma.s.sa Tom."

"What is it, Rad?"

"Was yo' all aimin' t' stay down thar any length ob time? 'Case if yo' is yo' all'd better take along a snack ob suffin' t' eat. 'Case when I gits among gold I don't want t' come out very soon, an' we might stay dar all day."

"Good advice, Rad," exclaimed Ned with a laugh. "I think we may get hungry. You go back and put us up a lunch. We'll wait for you."

"Bless my napkin ring! I think you're right!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, and Eradicate hurried back to the balloon to get some of the condensed food.

He was soon back and then, with Tom in the lead, and with everyone carrying an electric torch, with a spare one in reserve, and with their weapons in readiness the party descended the stone steps.

Their footfalls echoed solemnly as they went down--down into the unknown blackness. They kept their bright lights playing here and there, but even these did not dispell the gloom. On every side was stone--stone walls--stone steps. It was like going down into some vast stretch of catacombs.

"Say, will we ever get to the bottom?" asked Ned, when they had counted several hundred steps. "Maybe this goes down to the middle of the earth."

"Well, ef it do I'm gwine right along!" called Eradicate. "I's gwine t' hab one ob dem gold images or bust!"

"And I'm with you!" cried Tom. "We'll have to get to the bottom sooner or later."

Hardly had he spoken than he came to the last step, and saw stretching off before him a long tunnel, straight and level, lined on both sides, and bottom, with smooth stones that gleamed like marble.

"Now we are really in the tunnel," declared Ned. "I wonder what's at the end?"

"The city of gold, of course," answered Tom confidently.

Eagerly they hurried on. There was a slightly musty smell to the air, but it was fresher than might have been expected.

Suddenly Tom, who was in advance, uttered a cry. It sounded like one of alarm, and Ned yelled:

"What's the matter?"

"Look here!" cried Tom. They hurried up to him, to find him standing before a sort of niche in the wall. And the niche was lined with a yellow metal that gleamed like gold, while in it was one of the golden images, the second one they had seen, and the third they heard about.

"We're on the trail! We're on the trail!" cried Tom.

"Heah! Let me hab dat!" cried Eradicate. "I may not git anudder,"

and he reached up for the statue.

"Let it stay until we come back," suggested Mr. Damon.

"Somebody might take it," said the colored man.

"Who?" laughed Tom. "There's not a soul here but ourselves. But take it, if you want it, Rad," and Eradicate did so, stuffing the image, which was only about four inches high, into his pocket.

Then they went on, and they saw several other images, though not of gold. Several niches were lined with yellow metal, but whether it was gold or not they could not tell. They did not want to stop, as they were anxious to get to the underground city.

"Hark! What's that?" asked Tom, when they had gone about a mile along the tunnel. "Don't you hear something?"

"Sounds like a roaring," agreed Ned. "Maybe it's more of the bats."

"Doesn't sound like bats," declared Tom. "It's more like a waterfall. Come on."

They hurried forward, the strange sound increasing at every step, until it filled the tunnel with its menacing roar.

"That's strange," said Tom in worried tones. "I hope we don't come to a waterfall."

Suddenly the tunnel made a turn, and as they went around the curve in the wall the sound smote on their ears with increased violence.

Tom raced forward, focusing his electric lamp down on the stone corridor. The next instant he cried out:

"A river! It's an underground river and we can't go any further!

We're blocked!"

The others came to his side, and there, in the glare of their lamps, they saw rus.h.i.+ng along, between two walls of stone, a dark stream which caused the roaring sound that had come to them. The tunnel was cut squarely in two by the stream, which was at least thirty feet wide, and how deep they could only guess. Swiftly it flowed on, its roar filling the tunnel.

CHAPTER XX

THE CITY OF GOLD

"Well, I guess this is the end of it," remarked Ned ruefully, as they stood contemplating the roaring stream by the gleam of their electric flash lamps. "We can't go on to the city of gold unless we swim that river, and--"

"And none of us is going to try that!" interrupted Tom sharply. "The strongest swimmer in the world couldn't make a yard against that current. He'd be carried down, no one knows where."

"Bless my bathing suit, yes!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "But what are we to do? Can't we make a raft, or get a boat, or something like that?"

"Hab t' be a mighty pow'ful boat t' git across dat ribber ob Jordan," spoke Eradicate solemnly.

"That's right," agreed Ned. "But say, Tom, don't you think we could go back, get a lot of trees, wood and stuff and make some sort of a bridge? It isn't so very wide--not more than thirty or forty feet.

We ought to be able to bridge it."

"I'm afraid not," and Tom shook his head. "In the first place any trees that would be long enough are away at the far edge of the big plain, and we'd have a hard job getting them to the temple, to say nothing of lugging them down the tunnel. Then, too, we don't know much about building a bridge, and with no one on the other side to help us, we'd have our hands full. One slip and we might be all drowned. No, I guess we've got to go back," and Tom spoke regretfully. "It's hard luck, but we've got to give up and go back."

"Den I's pow'ful glad I got ma golden image when I did, dat's suah!"

exclaimed Eradicate. "Ef we doan't git no mo' I'll hab one. But I'll sell it and whack up wid yo' all, Ma.s.sa Tom."

"You'll do nothing of the sort, Rad!" exclaimed the young inventor.

"That image is yours, and I'm sorry we can't get more of them."