evator-boy had deserted his post and was looking
with all the rest of the occupants of the building at the strange
landscape that surrounded them.
No sooner had the pair reached the car, however, than the boy came
hurrying along the corridor, three or four other people following
him also at a run. Without a word the boy rushed inside, the others
crowded after him, and the car shot downward, all of the newcomers
panting from their sprint.
Theirs was the first car to reach the bottom. They rushed out and
to the western door.
Here, where they had been accustomed to see Madison Square spread
out before them, a clearing of perhaps half an acre in extent showed
itself. Where their eyes instinctively looked for the dark bronze
fountain, near which soap-box orators aforetime held sway, they saw
a tent, a wigwam of hides and bark gaily painted. And before the
wigwam were two or three brown-skinned Indians, utterly petrified
with astonishment.
Behind the first wigwam were others, painted like the first with
daubs of brightly colored clay. From them, too, Indians issued,
and stared in incredulous amazement, their eyes growing wider
and wider. When the group of white people confronted the Indians
there was a moment's deathlike silence. Then, with a wild yell,
the redskins broke and ran, not stopping to gather together their
belongings, nor pausing for even a second glance at the weird
strangers who invaded their domain.
Arthur took two or three deep breaths of the fresh air and
found himself even then comparing its quality with that of the
city. Estelle stared about her with unbelieving eyes. She turned
and saw the great bulk of the office building behind her, then
faced this small clearing with a virgin forest on its farther side.
She found herself trembling from some undefined cause. Arthur glanced
at her. He saw the trembling and knew she would have a fit of nerves
in a moment if something did not come up demanding instant attention.
"We'd better take a look at this village," he said in an off-hand
voice. "We can probably find out how long ago it is from the weapons
and so on."
He grasped her arm firmly and led her in the direction of the
tents. The other people, left behind, displayed their emotions in
different ways. Two or three of them--women--sat frankly down on
the steps and indulged in tears of bewilderment, fright and relief
in a peculiar combination defying analysis. Two or three of the
men swore, in
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