d at first seemed disposed to
hide herself, but the man evidently dissuaded her from such a course,
and when Letta ran forward, seized her hard old hands and said that God
had sent people to take her back to mamma, she dismissed her fears and
took to laughing immoderately.

It soon became evident to our adventurers that the woman was in her
dotage, while the old man was so frail that only a few of the sands of
life remained to run. They both understood a little English, but spoke
in such a remarkably broken manner, that there was little prospect of
much additional information being obtained from them.

"You hungry--hungry?" asked the old woman, with a sudden gleam of
hospitality. "Come--come--me gif you for heat."

She took Robin by the hand and led him towards a cavern, the mouth of
which had not been visible higher up the mountain. Sam followed, led by
Letta.

The interior of the cavern was lofty and the floor level. Besides this,
it was sumptuously furnished in a fashion singularly out of keeping with
the spot and its surroundings. Pictures hung on the walls, Persian rugs
lay on the floors. Ottomans, covered with silk and velvet, were strewn
about here and there, among easy-chairs of various kinds, some formed of
wicker-work--in the fantastic shapes peculiar to the East--others of
wood and cane, having the ungainly and unreasonable shapes esteemed by
Western taste. Silver lamps and drinking-cups and plates of the finest
porcelain were also scattered about, for there was no order in the
cavern, either as to its arrangement or the character of its decoration.
In the centre stood several large tables of polished wood, on which
were the remains of what must have been a substantial feast--the dishes
being as varied as the furniture--from the rice and egg messes of
Eastern origin, to the preserved sardines of the West.

"Ha! ha!" laughed the weird old creature who ushered the astonished
youths into this strange banqueting hall, "the rubberts--rubbers--you
calls dem?"

"Robbers, she means; that's the naughty men," explained Letta, who
seemed to enjoy the old woman's blunders in the English tongue.

"Yis, dats so--roberts an' pyrits--ha! ha! dems feed here dis mornin'.
You feed dis afternoons. Me keeps house for dem. Dey tinks me alone
wid Bungo an' Letta, ho! ho! but me's got cumpiny dis day. Sit down an'
grub wat yous can. Doo you good. Doo Letta and Bungo good. Doos all
good. Fire away! Ha! ha-a! K