It was evident, I reflected as I went toward the tent, that the
inhabitants of these few huts in the wilderness did not know a word of
English; and when I told Tonnison, he remarked that he was aware of the
fact, and, more, that it was not at all uncommon in that part of the
country, where the people often lived and died in their isolated hamlets
without ever coming in contact with the outside world. "I wish we had got the driver to interpret for us before he left," I
remarked, as we sat down to our meal. "It seems so strange for the
people of this place not even to know what we've come for." Tonnison grunted an assent, and thereafter was silent for a while. Later, having satisfied our appetites somewhat, we began to talk, laying
our plans for the morrow; then, after a smoke, we closed the flap of the
tent, and prepared to turn in. "I suppose there's no chance of those fellows outside taking anything?" I asked, as we rolled ourselves in our blankets. Tonnison said that he did not think so, at least while we were about;
and, as he went on to explain, we could lock up everything, except the
tent, in the big chest that we had brought to hold our provisions. I
agreed to this, and soon we were both asleep. Next morning, early, we rose and went for a swim in the river; after
which we dressed and had breakfast. Then we roused out our fishing
tackle and overhauled it, by which time, our breakfasts having settled
somewhat, we made all secure within the tent and strode off in the
direction my friend had explored on his previous visit. During the day we fished happily, working steadily upstream, and by
evening we had one of the prettiest creels of fish that I had seen for a
long while. Returning to the village, we made a good feed off our day's
spoil, after which, having selected a few of the finer fish for our
breakfast, we presented the remainder to the group of villagers who had
assembled at a respectful distance to watch our doings. They seemed
wonderfully grateful, and heaped mountains of what I presumed to be
Irish blessings upon our heads. Thus we spent several days, having splendid sport, and first-rate
appetites to do justice upon our prey. We were pleased to find how
friendly the villagers were inclined to be, and that there was no
evidence of their having ventured to meddle with our belongings during
our absences. It was on a Tuesday that we arrived in Kraighten, and it would be on the
Sunday following that we made a great discovery. Hitherto we had always
gone up-stream; on that day, however, we laid aside our rods, and,
taking some provisions, set off for a long ramble in the opposite
direction. The day was warm, and we trudged along leisurely enough,
stopping about mid-day to eat our lunch upon a great flat rock near the
riverbank. Afterward we sat and smoked awhile, resuming our walk only
when we were tired of inaction. For perhaps another hour we wandered onward, chatting quietly and
comfortably on this and that matter, and on several occasions stopping
while my companion--who is something of an artist--made rough sketches
of striking bits of the wild scenery. And then, without any warning whatsoever, the river we had followed so
confidently, came to an abrupt end--vanishing into the earth. "Good Lord!" I said, "who ever would have thought of this?" And I stared in amazement; then I turned to Tonnison. He was looking,
with a blank expression upon his face, at the place where the river
disappeared. In a moment he spoke. "Let us go on a bit; it may reappear again--anyhow, it is worth
investigating." I agreed, and we went forward once more, though rather aimlessly; for we
were not at all certain in which direction to prosecute our search. For
perhaps a mile we moved onward; then Tonnison, who had been gazing about
curiously, stopped and shaded his eyes. "See!" he said, after a moment, "isn't that mist or something, over
there to the right--away in a line with that great piece of rock?" And
he indicated with his hand. I stared, and, after a minute, seemed to see something, but could not be
certain, and said so. "Anyway," my friend replied, "we'll just go across and have a glance." And he started off in the direction he had suggested, I following. Presently, we came among bushes, and, after a time, out upon the top of
a high, boulder-strewn bank, from which we looked down into a wilderness
of bushes and trees. "Seems as though we had come upon an oasis in this desert of stone,"
muttered Tonnison, as he gazed interestedly. Then he was silent, his
eyes fixed; and I looked also; for up from somewhere about the center of
the wooded lowland there rose high into the quiet air a great column of
hazelike spray, upon which the sun shone, causing innumerable rainbows. "How beautiful!" I exclaimed. "Yes," answered Tonnison, thoughtfully. "There must be a waterfall, or
something, over there. Perhaps it's our river come to light again. Let's
go and see." Down the sloping bank we made our way, and entered among the trees and
shrubberies. The bushes were matted, and the trees overhung us, so that
the place was disagreeably gloomy; though not dark enough to hide from
me the fact that many of the trees were fruit trees, and that, here and
there, one could trace indistinctly, signs of a long departed
cultivation. Thus it came to me that we were making our way through the
riot of a great and ancient garden. I said as much to Tonnison, and he
agreed that there certainly seemed reasonable grounds for my belief. What a wild place it was, so dismal and somber! Somehow, as we went
forward, a sense of the silent loneliness and desertion of the old
garden grew upon me, and I felt shivery. One could imagine things
lurking among the tangled bushes; while, in the very air of the place,
there seemed something uncanny. I think Tonnison was conscious of this
also, though he said nothing. Suddenly, we came to a halt. Through the trees there had grown upon our
ears a distant sound. Tonnison bent forward, listening. I could hear it
more plainly now; it was continuous and harsh--a sort of droning roar,
seeming to come from far away. I experienced a queer, indescribable,
little feeling of nervousness. What sort of place was it into which we
had got? I looked at my companion, to see what he thought of the matter;
and noted that there was only puzzlement in his face; and then, as I
watched his features, an expression of comprehension crept over them,
and he nodded his head. "That's a waterfall," he exclaimed, with conviction. "I know the sound
now." And he began to push vigorously through the bushes, in the
direction of the noise. As we went forward, the sound became plainer continually, showing that
we were heading straight toward it. Steadily, the roaring grew louder
and nearer, until it appeared, as I remarked to Tonnison, almost to come
from under our feet--and still we were surrounded by the trees
and shrubs. "Take care!" Tonnison called to me. "Look where you're going."