Queer Lodgings

Another day has passed, and still we wait on the island. Fearing for our safety, we covered the engines of the airship and other sensitive pieces still exposed to the elements, and made our way to the cave that I had discovered with my colleagues previously. We had all decided that, since the natives were unlikely aware of our knowledge of that location, if they again attacked the beach they would be unlikely to find us if we hid there. We brought only what was absolutely necessary; some food and water, a few of our most valuable items (including this journal!) and some blankets and medical supplies.

As the rain had finally stopped, the cave was no longer damp and uncomfortable, and in the daylight should not require a fire. We had no intention of drawing attention to ourselves with a great smoke column. We did, however, light a gas lamp, so that we could better examine the drawings on the walls. Now that we had a moment to look at them more carefully, I was able to try to discover the possible connection between the inhabitants of the island and the Kalumi people.

The drawings were quite primitive, and while some of the symbols were similar to the Kalumi artifacts in my possession, there were many that were completely unrelated. Dr. Smythe and I were studying the bird figure when I sighed, "it's impossible to tell if these people are directly related to the Kalumi, or even if the present natives were the ones who drew these figures. Perhaps their ancestors had some trade with them." Dr. Smythe nodded.

"It seems," he said, "that the inhabitants of this island had at least some contact. These symbols do match."

"Miss Brabant," called Miss O'Connor, "what about these drawings here?" I looked up, and Dr. Smythe and I went to the part of the wall where she was standing. "Don't these look like boats of some kind? They remind me of the plates in the museum depicting the canoes used by the natives in Virginia."

"Indeed they do, Miss O'Connor," I replied. "Dr. Manton, what do you think?"

Dr. Manton peered over my shoulder and squinted at the wall "It's possible," he said, "these symbols here look like the symbols for 'travel' used on the hides of the nomadic peoples of the Great Plains."

I sighed again, and straightened up. "There's no way to be sure," I said. "There has been no previous study of this tribe. This island wasn't even on the chart!" I put my hands in my coat pockets, and then gave a start. I pulled out the strange object I had found on the beach. Showing it to my colleagues I said, "Let's see if we can find some of the symbols on this. Perhaps we can find some sort of correlation." The four of us started to look around.

After a few hours, I ran my hand along some carvings, and noticed something strange. One of the impressions in the stone matched the object from the beach! Acting on instinct, I placed the object in the impression, turning it about until it fit. Suddenly, that section of the wall began to give way! I called the others over, and Dr. Smythe helped me to push against the wall. It didn't budge. I placed my hand on the stone again, turning the supposed key slightly, and it gave the rest of the way. A dark corridor had opened up in the cave wall. "Captain," I said, "I think we'll be doing some more exploration here." He got up and looked into the corridor with us.

"Alright," he said, "in that case, Roger, you and Tom stay here and keep watch. Rose, you and I will go along with Miss Brabant and the others. Light another lamp, and bring your pistol just in case."

Soon the six of us were slowly making our way down the corridor, led by the Captain and his first mate. It was pitch black and dry. The air smelled stale, as though it hadn't had fresh air in a century or more. Suddenly, we saw light up ahead. It slowly grew stronger and stronger, and we thought we might be reaching the outside of the cavern, but with the closeness of the air it seemed impossible. Soon we reached an opening in the tunnel, but instead of arriving outside, we found a huge chamber. At the top was a giant crystal formation that seemed to be giving off the light we had seen as we approached. In the center was what appeared to be some kind of altar. It was stone, and shaped a little like the bird symbol we had seen before, but there was more detail. The head of the bird had a long beak, almost like a heron, but with another long bone-like protrusion on the back of the skull. The wings were large and almost seemed webbed, like that of a bat. on the back of the bird, directly under the light of the crystals, was a spiral shape.

I looked up, and around at the walls. "Did you notice," I asked everyone, "that the walls are slanted and come to a point. Almost like-"

"A pyramid," the Captain finished. I nodded.

"But we didn't see any pyramids on the surface of the island," said Dr. Smythe.

"Jungle probably covered it," replied the Captain.

"That means," said Miss O'Connor, "this was built an incredibly long time ago."

"Yes," I said, "so long ago that the shape of the pyramid is no longer detectable from the outside. Did you notice our elevation didn't change much as we came through the corridor? The cave we were in before was probably once the main entrance."

"The altar is strange," mused Dr. Manton. "It is reminiscent of some of the altars of Chaak in the Mayan world. This spiral is like the solar disk found on the belly of the figure. But I'm not familiar with this type of bird. It isn't a Quetzal, like the Mayans worshipped."

"I've never seen it before either," remarked Dr. Smythe. "But it must be getting late. We should go back to the cave and eat something, then try to sleep. Surely the engines will be dry in the morning." I nodded, but I didn't turn to leave right away. The walls didn't seem to have any carvings or paintings on them, but it had a strange feeling to it that I couldn't explain. I looked at the altar, and the crystals above it, for what seemed like an eternity before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Dr. Smythe. "Come on," he said softly, "We should go." I suddenly remembered his gallantry on the beach the day before as I looked in his eyes. They were brown. I turned and left with the others.