The Face in the Abyss by Abraham Merritt (ebook e reader .TXT) đ
- Author: Abraham Merritt
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Soamesâs eyes glittered.
âBetter go over and watch where they came up, Dancâ,â he answered. âI donât quite get this. It looks too cursed easy to be right. Take your rifle and squint out from the edge of the trees while I try to get down to whatâs what.â
âThere is nothing to fear,â said the girl, as though she had understood the words, âno harm will come to you from me. If there is any evil in store for you, you yourselves will summon itânot we. I have come to show you the way to treasure. Only that. Come with me and you shall see where jewels like theseââshe touched the gems meshed in her hairââgrow like flowers in a garden. You shall see the gold come streaming forth, living, fromââ she hesitated; then went on as though reciting some lessonââcome streaming forth like water. You may bathe in that stream, drink from it if you will, carry away all that you can bear. Or if it causes you too much sorrow to leave it, whyâyou may stay with it forever; nay, become a part of it, even. Men of gold.â
She turned from them, and walked toward the llama.
They stared at her and at each other; on the faces of three, greed and suspicion; bewilderment on Graydonâs.
âIt is a long journey,â she faced them, one hand on the llamaâs head. âYou are my guestsâin a sense. Therefore, I have brought something for your entertainment before we start.â
She began to unbuckle the panniers. Graydon was aware that this attendant of hers was a strange servantâif servant he was. He made no move to help her. Silent he stood, and motionless, face covered.
Graydon stepped forward to help the girl. She smiled
up at him, half shyly. In the depths of her eyes was a glow warmer than friendliness; his hands leaped to touch hers.
Instantly Soames stepped between them.
âBetter remember what I told you,â he snapped.
âHelp me,â said Suarra. Graydon lifted the basket and set it down beside her. She slipped a hasp, bent back the soft metal withes, and drew out a shimmering packet She shook it and it floated out on the dawn wind, a cloth of silver. It lay upon the ground.like a web of gossamer spun by silver spiders.
Then from the hamper she brought forth cups of gold, and deep, boat-shaped golden dishes, two tall ewers whose handles were winged serpents, their scales made, it seemed, from molten rubies. After them small golden-withed baskets. She set the silver cloth with the dishes and the cups. She opened the little baskets. In them were unfamiliar, fragrant fruits and loaves and oddly colored cakes. All these Suarra placed upon the plates. She dropped to her knees at the head of the cloth, took up one of the ewers, snapped open its lid and from it poured into the cups clear amber wine.
She raised her eyes to them; waved a white hand, graciously.
âSit,â she said. âEat and drink.â
She beckoned to Graydon; pointed to the place beside her. Silently, gaze fixed upon the glittering hoard, Starrett and Dancret and Soames squatted before the other plates. Soames thrust out a hand, took up one and weighed it, scattering what it held upon the cloth.
âGold!â he breathed. ;
Starrett laughed, crazily, and raised his wine-filled goblet to his lips.
âWait!â Dancret caught his wrist â âEat and drink,â she said, eh? Eat, drink and be merryâfor to-morrow we die, ehâis that it?â
Soames started, his face once more dark with suspicion.
âYou think itâs poisoned?â he snarled.
âMaybe noâmaybe so,â the little Frenchman shrugged. âAnyway I tâink it better we say âAfter youâ to her.â
The girl looked at them, then at Graydon, inquiringly. âThey are afraid. They think it isâthat you haveââ Graydon stumbled. âThat I have put sleepâor death in it? And you?â she
asked.
For answer, Graydon raised his cup and drank.
âYet it is natural,â she turned to Soames. âYes, it is natural that you three should fear this, sinceâis it not soâit is what you would do if you were we, and we were you? But you are wrong. I tell you again that what there may be to fear is only that which is in yourselves.â
She poured wine into her own cup and drank it; broke off a bit of Starrettâs bread and ate it; took a cake from Dancretâs plate and ate that; set white teeth in one of the fruits.
âAre you satisfied?â she asked them. âOh, be very sure that if it is in my wish to bring death to you,it is in no such shape as this.â
For a moment Soames glared at her. He jumped to his feet strode over to the hooded figure and snatched aside the cowl. The uncovered face was like old ivory. It was seamed with scores of fine lines. It was a face stamped with an incredible ancientnessâbut the eyes were as bright and as youthful as their setting was ancient.
It stared at Soames, inscrutably. For a dozen heartbeats the gaunt New Englander stared back. Then, slowly, he let the hood drop. He returned to the silver cloth. As he passed, Graydon saw that all color had drained from his cheeks. He threw himself down at his place, and drank deep of the wine, the hand that raised the goblet shaking.
He drank, and drank again from the flagon. And soon, whatever the terror he had felt, the wine drowned it The first ewer and a second, drawn by Suarra from the llamaâs panniers, were emptied by the three before Soames lurched to his feet.
âYouâre all right, sister,â he said, half-drunkenly. âJust keep on treatinâ us like this, and weâll end by all beinâ little pals together.â
âWhat does he say?â asked Suarra of Graydon.
âHe approves of yourâentertainment,â answered Graydon, dryly.
âGood,â Suarra, too, arose. âThen let us be going.â
âWeâre going, sister, never fear,â grinned Soames. âDancâ, you stay right here and watch things. Come on, Billââ he slapped Starrett on the back. âEverythingâs just fine. Come on, Graydonâbygones is bygones.â
Starrett scrambled up. He linked his arm in the New Englanderâs. They staggered over to the tent. Dancret, upon whom the wine seemed to have had little effect, settled down on a bowlder just beyond the fire and began his watch, rifle at readiness.
Graydon lingered. Soames had forgotten him, for a time at least. He meant to make the best of that time with this strange maid whose beauty and sweetness had touched him as no other womanâs ever had. He drew so close that the fragrance of her cloudy hair rocked him; so close that her touching shoulder sent a flame through him.
âSuarraââ he began. She turned, and silenced him with slender fingers on his lips.
âNot nowââ she whispered. âNot nowâtell me nothing now of what is in your heartâNot nowânor, it may be, ever! I promised that I would save youâif I could. Of that promise was born anotherââ her glance turned to the silent figure, meaningly. âSo speak to me not again,â she went on hurriedly, âor if you must speakâlet it be ofâ commonplace things.â
She began packing the golden cups and dishes. He set about helping her. He thought, ruefully, that this was a commonplace thing enough to satisfy her. She accepted his aid without comment, looked at him no more.
When the last shining cup was in the pannier, he turned and went toward the tent to get together his duffle, pack his burro. The voices of Starrett and Soames came to him.
âBut sheâs not Indian, Soames,â Starrett was speaking. âSheâs whiter than you and me. What are they? And the girlâChrist!â
âWhat they are weâll find out, never fear,â and Soames.
âTo hell with the girlâtake her if you want her. But Iâd go through a dozen hells to get to the place where that stuff theyâre carryinâ samples of comes from. Manâwith what we could carry out on the burros and the llama and come back forâman, we could buy the world.â
âYesâunless thereâs a trap somewhere,â said Starrett, dubiously.
âWeâve got the cards in our hands,â the wine was wearing off Soames. âWhatâs against us? An old dummy and a girl. Now, Iâll tell you what I think. I donât know who or what they are, but whoever or whatever, you can bet there ainât many of âem. If there was, theyâd be landing on us hard. Noâtheyâre damned anxious to get us away and theyâre willinâ to let us get out with what we can to get us away. They want to get rid of us, quick and cheap as possible. Yeahâthatâs what they want. Whyâbecause they damn well know the three of us could wipe âem all out.â
âThree of us?â echoed Starrett. âFour, you mean. ) Thereâs Graydon.â
âGraydon donât countâthe louse! Thought heâd sold us out, didnât he? All rightâweâll fix Mister Graydon when the time comes. Just now heâs useful to us on account of the girl. Sheâs stuck on him. But whenâ the time comes to divideâthereâll be only three of us. And thereâll only be two of usâif you do anything like you did this morning.â
âCut it out, Soames,â growled Starrett. â1 told you it was the hooch. Iâm through with that, now that weâve seen this stuff. Iâm with you to the limit Do what you want with Graydon. ButâI want the girl. Iâd be willing to make a bargain with youâgive up a part of my share.â
âOh, hell,â drawled Soames. âWeâve been together a good many years. Bill. Thereâs enough and plenty for the three of us. You can have the girl for nothing.â
Little flecks of red danced before Graydonâs eyes. Hand stretched to tear open the tent flap, he checked himself.
That was no way to help Suarra. Unarmed, what could he do? In some way, he must get his guns. And the danger
was not imminentâthey would do nothing before they reached that place of treasure to which Suarra had promised to lead them.
He stole back a dozen paces, waited for a moment or
two; then went noisily to the tent. He thrust aside the flap and entered.
âBeen a long time cominâ,â snarled Soames. âBeen talkinââafter what I told you?â
âNot a word, â lied Graydon, cheerfullyâhe busied himself with his belongings. âBy the way, Soames, donât you think itâs time to stop this nonsense and give me back my guns?â
Soames made no answer.
âOh, all right then,â said Graydon. âI only thought that they would come in handy when the pinch comes. But if you only want me to look on while you do the scrappingâ well, I donât mind.â
âYouâd better mind,â said Soames. âYouâd better mind, Graydon! If the pinch comesâweâre takinâ no chances of a bullet in our backs. Thatâs why youâve got no guns. And if the pinch does comeâwell, weâll take no chances on you, anyway. Do you get me?â
Graydon shrugged. In silence the packing was completed; the tent struck; the burros loaded.
Suarra stood awaiting them at the side of the white llama. Soames walked up to her, drew from its holster his automatic, balanced it in outstretched hand.
âYou know what this is?â he asked her.
âWhy, yes,â she answered. âIt is the death weapon of
your kind.â
âRight,â said Soames. âAnd it deals death quickly, quicker than spears or arrowsââ He raised his voice so there could be no doubt that her silent attendant must also hearââNow, I and these two men here carry these and others still more deadly. This manâs we have taken from him. Your words may be clearest truth. I hope they areâ for your
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