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+
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+Produced by Steven desJardins and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "'What's that!' howled the little professor, dancing
+about in his night robe." (See page 109)]
+
+
+Frank Merriwell Down South
+
+BY
+
+BURT L. STANDISH
+
+AUTHOR OF "Frank Merriwell's School-Days," "Frank Merriwell's Chums,"
+"Frank Merriwell's Foes," etc.
+
+PHILADELPHIA DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER 610 SOUTH WASHINGTON SQUARE
+
+Copyright, 1903 By STREET & SMITH
+
+Frank Merriwell Down South
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+CHAPTER                                 PAGE
+
+      I--A Wonderful Story                 7
+     II--Gone                             13
+    III--Held for Ransom                  19
+     IV--Unmasked                         27
+      V--Kidnaped                         31
+     VI--Carried into the Mountains       37
+    VII--The Camp in the Desert           42
+   VIII--The Treasure Seeker              46
+     IX--The Professor's Escape           51
+      X--The Stranger                     57
+     XI--The Awakening Volcano            62
+    XII--Doom of the Silver Palace        68
+   XIII--A Stampede in a City             75
+    XIV--The Hot Blood of Youth           80
+     XV--Mystery of the Flower Queen      85
+    XVI--Professor Scotch Feels Ill       90
+   XVII--Led into a Trap                  95
+  XVIII--Barney on Hand                  100
+    XIX--A Humble Apology                106
+     XX--The Professor's Courage         111
+    XXI--Frank's Bold Move               116
+   XXII--The Queen is Found              121
+  XXIII--Fighting Lads                   127
+   XXIV--End of the Search               132
+    XXV--The Mysterious Canoe            138
+   XXVI--Still More Mysterious           144
+  XXVII--In the Everglades               149
+ XXVIII--The Hut on the Island           155
+   XXIX--A Wild Night in the Swamp       160
+    XXX--Frank's Shot                    165
+   XXXI--Young in Years Only             170
+  XXXII--A Mysterious Transformation     177
+ XXXIII--Gage Takes a Turn               181
+  XXXIV--A Fearful Fate                  186
+   XXXV--The Serpent Vine                192
+  XXXVI--Right or Wrong                  196
+ XXXVII--Frank's Mercy                   200
+XXXVIII--In the Mountains Again          206
+  XXXIX--Frank and Kate                  212
+     XL--A Jealous Lover                 218
+    XLI--Facing Death                    222
+   XLII--Muriel                          228
+  XLIII--Saved!                          240
+   XLIV--Frank's Suspicion               248
+    XLV--The Greatest Peril              257
+   XLVI--The Mystery of Muriel           263
+
+
+[Transcriber's Note: The following list of illustrations has been
+created for this electronic edition. Some illustrations have been moved
+to positions closer to their appearance in the text.]
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+"'What's that!' howled the little professor, dancing
+about in his night robe." (See page 109)
+
+"Frank began shooting, and his first bullet brought
+down one of the ponies of the pursuers." (See page 14)
+
+"The white canoe had stopped, and was lying calmly on
+the inky surface of the shadowed water." (See page 147)
+
+"Kate grasped the assailant by the collar, and with
+astonishing strength, pulled him off the prostrate
+lad." (See page 218)
+
+
+
+
+Frank Merriwell Down South.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+A WONDERFUL STORY.
+
+
+"It is in the heart of the Sierra Madre range, one hundred and
+twenty-five miles west of Zacatecas," said the dying man. "Across the
+blue chasm you can see its towers and turrets glistening in the
+sunshine. It is like a beautiful dream--dazzling, astounding, grand!"
+
+"He wanders in his mind," softly declared Professor Scotch. "Poor
+fellow! His brain was turned and he was brought to his death by his
+fruitless search for the mythical Silver Palace."
+
+The man who lay on a bed of grass in one corner of the wretched adobe
+hut turned a reproachful look on the little professor.
+
+"You are wrong," he asserted, in a voice that seemed to have gained
+strength for the moment. "I am not deranged--I am not deceived by an
+hallucination. With my eyes I have seen the wonderful Silver
+Palace--yes, more than that, I have stood within the palace and beheld
+the marvelous treasures which it contains."
+
+The professor turned away to hide the look on his face, but Frank
+Merriwell, deeply interested, bent over the unfortunate man, asking:
+
+"By what route can this wonderful palace be reached?"
+
+"There is no route. Between us and the Silver Palace lie waterless
+deserts, great mountains, and, at last, a yawning chasm, miles in width,
+miles in depth. This chasm extends entirely round the broad plateau on
+which the wonderful palace stands like a dazzling dream. The bottom of
+the chasm is hidden by mists which assume fantastic forms, and whirl and
+sway and dash forward and backward, like battling armies. Indians fear
+the place; Mexicans hold it in superstitious horror. It is said that
+these mist-like forms are the ghosts of warriors dead and gone, a
+wonderful people who built the Silver Palace in the days of
+Cortez--built it where the Spaniard could not reach and despoil it."
+
+Despite his doubts, the professor was listening with strong interest to
+this remarkable tale.
+
+The fourth person in the hut was the Dutch boy, Hans Dunnerwust, who sat
+on the ground, his back against the wall, his jaw dropped and his eyes
+bulging. Occasionally, as he listened to the words of the dying man, he
+would mutter:
+
+"Chimminy Gristmas!"
+
+For several weeks Frank Merriwell, our hero, Hans, his chum, and
+Professor Scotch, his guardian, had been exploring the country around
+the city of Mendoza, Mexico. They had come to Mexico after having
+numerous adventures in our own country, as related in "Frank Merriwell
+Out West," a former volume of this series.
+
+Only a short hour before they had run across the sufferer, whose head
+seemed so full of the things he had seen at what he called the Silver
+Palace. They had found him almost dead in a hut at the edge of a sandy
+plain, suffering great pain and calling loudly for aid. They had done
+what they could, and then he had begun to talk, as related above.
+
+With surprising strength the man on the bed of grass sat up, stretching
+out his hands, gazing across the sunlit sand-plain beyond the open door
+of the hut, and went on:
+
+"I see it now--I see it once again! There, there--see it gleaming like a
+dazzling diamond in the sunshine! See its beautiful towers and turrets!
+That dome is of pure gold! Within those walls are treasures untold!
+There are great vaults of gold and silver ornaments, bars and ingots!
+There are precious stones in profusion! And all this treasure would make
+a thousand men rich for life! But it's not for me--it's lost to me
+forever!"
+
+With a stifled moan, he fell back into Frank's arms, and was lowered on
+the bed of grass.
+
+Professor Scotch hastily felt the man's pulse, listened for the beating
+of his heart, and then cried:
+
+"Quick, Frank--the brandy! It may be too late, but we'll try to give him
+a few more minutes of life."
+
+"That's right!" palpitated Frank. "Bring him back to consciousness, for
+we have not yet learned how to reach the Silver Palace."
+
+"There is no such place as the Silver Palace," sharply declared the
+professor, as he forced a few drops of brandy between the lips of the
+unfortunate man. "The fellow has dreamed it."
+
+"Perhaps."
+
+"Perhaps! Why, Frank, I took you for a boy of more sense! Think--think
+of the absurdity! It is impossible!"
+
+"It may be."
+
+"I know it is."
+
+"Vell, maype you don'd nefer peen misdooken, brofessor?" insinuated
+Hans, recovering for a moment from his dazed condition.
+
+The professor did not notice the Dutch boy's words, for the man on the
+bed of grass drew a long, fluttering breath and slowly opened his eyes.
+
+"I thought I saw the palace once more," he whispered. "It was all a
+delusion."
+
+"That is true," nodded the professor, "it is all a delusion. Such a
+place as this Silver Palace is an absurd impossibility. The illness
+through which you have passed has affected your mind, and you dreamed of
+the palace."
+
+"It is not so!" returned the man, reproachfully. "I have proof! You
+doubt me--you will not believe?"
+
+"Be calm--be quiet," urged the professor. "This excitement will cut your
+life short by minutes, and minutes are precious to you now."
+
+"That is true; minutes are precious," hastily whispered the man. "It is
+not the fever I am dying of--no, no! The water from the spring you may
+see behind the hut--it has destroyed many people. This morning, before
+you came, a peon found me here. He told me--he said the spring was
+poison. The water robs men of strength--of life. I could not understand
+him well. He went away and left me. I could see him running across the
+desert, as if from a plague. And now I am dying--dying!"
+
+"But the Silver Palace?" observed Frank Merriwell. "You are forgetting
+that."
+
+"Yah," nodded the Dutch lad; "you peen forgetting dot, ain'd id?"
+
+"The proof," urged Frank. "You say you have proof."
+
+"Yah," put in Hans; "you say you haf der broof. Vere id peen?"
+
+"It is here," declared the unfortunate, as he fumbled beneath the straw.
+"You are my countrymen--you have been kind to me. Alwin Bushnell may
+never return. It is terrible to think all that treasure may be
+lost--lost forever!"
+
+"Who is Alwin Bushnell?"
+
+"My partner--the one who was with me when I found the palace."
+
+"Where is he now?"
+
+"Heaven knows! He went for another balloon."
+
+"Another balloon?"
+
+"Yes; it was with the aid of a balloon that we reached the Silver
+Palace. Without it we could not have crossed the gulf."
+
+"Absurd!" muttered the professor.
+
+Despite the fact that the word was merely murmured, the miserable man on
+the bed of grass did not fail to catch it.
+
+"Oh, I will convince even you!" he exclaimed, gasping for breath, and
+continuing to fumble beneath the straw. "You shall see--you shall know!
+But our balloon--we had no means of obtaining a further supply of gas.
+It was barely sufficient to take us across the gulf, with a few pieces
+of treasure. We struck against the side of the bluff--we were falling
+back into the abyss! Barely were we able to scramble out of the car and
+cling to the rocks. Then we saw the balloon rise a little, like a bird
+freed of burden; but it suddenly collapsed, fluttered downward, and the
+mists leaped up and clutched it like a thousand exulting demons,
+dragging it down from our sight. We crawled up from the rocks, but it
+was a close call--a close call."
+
+He lay exhausted, his eyes closed, his hand ceasing to fumble beneath
+the straw. Once more Professor Scotch gave him a little of the brandy.
+
+Frank Merriwell was more than interested; he could feel his heart
+trembling with excitement. Something seemed to tell him that this man
+was speaking the truth, and he was eager to hear more.
+
+For a long time the unfortunate lay gasping painfully for breath, but,
+at last, he was easier. He opened his eyes, and saw Frank watching him
+steadily, with an anxious expression.
+
+"Ah!" he murmured, exultantly, "you believe me--you do not doubt! I must
+tell you everything. You shall be Jack Burk's heir. Think of it--heir to
+wealth enough to make you richer than Monte Cristo! Witness--witness
+that I make this boy my heir!"
+
+He turned to the professor and Hans, and both bowed, the former saying:
+
+"We are witnesses."
+
+"Good! We escaped with our lives, but we brought little of the treasure
+with us. I was determined to find the way back there, and I made a map.
+See, here it is."
+
+He thrust a soiled and crumpled piece of paper into Frank's hand, and
+the boy saw there were lines and writing on it.
+
+"How we found our way out of the mountains, how we endured the heat of
+the desert I cannot tell," went on the weak voice of the man on the bed
+of straw. "We reached Zacatecas, and then Bushnell went for another
+balloon. He knows friends who have money and power, and he will get the
+balloon--if he lives."
+
+"But the proof--the proof that you were going to show us?"
+
+"It is here! Look!"
+
+From beneath the straw Jack Burk drew forth a queer little figure of
+solid gold--a figure like the pictures of Aztec gods, which Frank had
+seen.
+
+"This is proof!" declared the man. "It is some of the treasure we
+brought from the palace. Bushnell took the rest."
+
+The professor excitedly grasped the little image, and gazed searchingly
+at it.
+
+"It is all right--it is genuine!" he finally exclaimed.
+
+"Of course it is genuine!" said the man on the bed of grass. "And there
+are more in the Silver Palace. There the treasures of the Aztecs were
+hidden, and they have remained. The country all around is full of fierce
+natives, who hold the palace in awe and prevent others from reaching it.
+They have kept the secret well, but----"
+
+"Vot vos dot?" interrupted Hans.
+
+At some distance on the plain outside the hut were wildly galloping
+horses, for they could hear hoof-beats and loud cries. Then came a
+fusillade of pistol shots!
+
+
+[Illustration: "Frank began shooting, and his first bullet brought down
+one of the ponies of the pursuers." (See page 14)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+GONE.
+
+
+"Bandits!" cried Jack Burk. "It may be Pacheco!"
+
+"Pacheco?" questioned Frank.
+
+"Pacheco, the human hawk! He haunts the mountains and the desert. He
+pursued us across the desert, but we escaped him. I have been in hiding
+here to avoid him. He believes we brought much treasure from the
+mountains."
+
+The professor had leaped to the door, and was looking away on the plain.
+Now he cried, excitedly:
+
+"Look here! A band of horsemen pursuing a white man--plainly an
+American. Look, he is shooting again!"
+
+Once more the shots were heard.
+
+Frank ran to the door, catching up a rifle that had been leaning against
+the wall of the hut, for he knew he was in a "bad man's land."
+
+"Stand aside!" he shouted, forcing his way past the professor. "No
+countryman of mine can be in danger that I do not try to give him a
+helping hand."
+
+"What do you mean to do?"
+
+"Get a crack at those Greasers."
+
+"You are crazy! You will bring the entire band down on us!"
+
+"Let 'em come! One Yankee is good for six Greasers."
+
+Past the hut at a distance a single horseman was riding, hotly spurring
+the animal which bore him. At least a dozen dark-faced, fierce-looking
+ruffians, mounted on hardy little ponies, were in pursuit.
+
+As Professor Scotch had said, the fugitive was plainly an American, a
+native of the United States. He had turned in the saddle to send bullets
+whistling back at his pursuers.
+
+Frank ran out and dropped on one knee. The professor followed him, and
+Hans came from the hut.
+
+Just as Frank lifted the rifle to his shoulder and was on the point of
+shooting, the voice of Jack Burk sounded from the doorway, to which he
+had dragged himself:
+
+"It is Bushnell, my partner! Al! Al! Al Bushnell!"
+
+His voice was faint and weak, and it did not reach the ears of the man
+out on the plain.
+
+Then Frank began shooting, and his first bullet brought down one of the
+ponies of the pursuers, sending a bandit rolling over and over in the
+dust, to leap up like a cat, and spring behind a comrade on the back of
+another pony.
+
+"Dot peen britty goot, Vrankie," complimented Hans Dunnerwust.
+
+Again and again Frank fired, and the bandits quickly swerved away from
+the hut, feeling their ponies sway or fall beneath them.
+
+In an astonishingly brief space of time the course of pursuit was
+deflected, giving the fugitive a chance to get away into Mendoza, which
+lay at a distance of about three miles from the hut.
+
+The man in flight heard the shots, saw the figures in front of the hut,
+and waved his hand to them.
+
+The professor excitedly beckoned for Bushnell to come to the hut, but
+the horseman did not seem to understand, and he kept straight on toward
+the town.
+
+"Confound him!" exploded the professor. "Why didn't he come?"
+
+"He don'd like a trap to run into," said Hans.
+
+"But there is no trap here."
+
+"How he known dot?"
+
+"Well, I don't know as I blame him. Of course he could not be sure it
+was not a trap, and so he was cautious."
+
+Frank was calmly refilling the magazine of the rifle with fresh
+cartridges.
+
+"Why you didn't shoot some uf der pandits deat, Vrankie?" asked Hans.
+
+"I do not wish to shed human blood if I can avoid it."
+
+"You don't done dot uf you shoot six or elefen uf dose togs."
+
+"Oh, they are human beings."
+
+"Don't you belief me? Dey vos volves--kiotes."
+
+"Well, I did not care to shoot them if I could aid the man in any other
+way, and I succeeded. See, they have given up the pursuit, and the
+fugitive is far away in that little cloud of dust."
+
+"Frank!"
+
+"Yes, professor."
+
+"We should follow him, and bring him back to his dying partner."
+
+"And leave Jack Burk here alone--possibly to die alone?"
+
+"We can't do that."
+
+"Of course not."
+
+"What then?"
+
+"We'll have to consider the matter. But Burk---- Look--see there,
+professor! He is flat on his face in the doorway! He fell like that
+after trying to shout to his partner."
+
+Frank leaped forward, and turned the man on his back. It was a drawn,
+ghastly face that the trio gazed down upon.
+
+Professor Scotch quickly knelt beside the motionless form, feeling for
+the pulse, and then shaking his head gravely.
+
+"What is it?" anxiously asked Frank. "Has he----"
+
+He was silent at a motion from the professor, who bent to listen for
+some movement of the man's heart.
+
+After a few seconds, Professor Scotch straightened up, and solemnly
+declared:
+
+"This is the end for him. We can do nothing more."
+
+"He is dead?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+There was an awed hush.
+
+"Now we can leave him," the professor finally said. "Pacheco, the
+bandit, cannot harm him now."
+
+They lifted the body and bore it back to the wretched bed of straw, on
+which they tenderly placed it.
+
+"The idol--the golden image?" said the professor. "You must not forget
+that, Frank. You have it?"
+
+"Little danger that I shall forget it. It is here, where it fell from my
+fingers as I ran out."
+
+He picked up the image, and placed it in one of his pockets.
+
+Then, having covered the face of Jack Burk with his handkerchief, Frank
+led the way from the hut.
+
+Their horses had been tethered near at hand, and they were soon mounted
+and riding away toward Mendoza.
+
+The sun beat down hotly on the plain of white sand, and the sky was of a
+bright blue, such as Frank had never seen elsewhere.
+
+Outside Mendoza was a narrow canal, but a few feet in width, and half
+filled with water, from which rose little whiffs of hot steam.
+
+Along the side of the canal was a staggering rude stone wall, fringed
+with bushes in strips and clumps.
+
+Beyond the canal, which fixed the boundary of the plain of sand, through
+vistas of tree trunks, could be seen glimpses of brown fields, fading
+away into pale pink, violet, and green.
+
+The dome and towers of a church rose against the dim blue; low down, and
+on every side were spots of cream-white, red, and yellow, with patches
+of dark green intervening, revealing bits of the town, with orange
+groves all about.
+
+Across the fields ran a road that was ankle deep with dust, and along
+the road a string of burros, loaded with great bundles of green fodder,
+were crawling into the town.
+
+An undulating mass of yellow dust finally revealed itself as a drove of
+sheep, urged along by peons, appeared.
+
+Groups of natives were strolling in both directions, seeking the shadows
+along the canal. The women were in straw hats, with their black hair
+plaited, and little children strung to their backs; the men wore serapes
+and sandals, and smoked cigarettes.
+
+Along the side of the canal were scattered scores of natives of all ages
+and both sexes, lolling beneath the bushes or soaking their bodies in
+the water, while their heads rested on the ground.
+
+Those stretched in the shadow of the bushes had taken their bath, and
+were waiting for their bodies to dry, covered simply by serapes.
+
+From beneath such a covering dark-eyed native girls stared curiously at
+the passing trio, causing Hans no small amount of confusion.
+
+"I say, Vrankie," said the Dutch boy, "vot you dinks apoudt dot pusiness
+uf dakin' a path in bublic mit der roadt beside?"
+
+"It seems to be the custom of the country," smiled Frank; "and they do
+not seem to think it at all improper."
+
+"Vell, somepody better toldt dem to stob id. Id keeps mein plood mein
+face in so much dot I shall look like you hat peen drinking."
+
+"They think nothing of it," explained the professor. "You will notice
+with what deftness they disrobe, slipping out of their clothes and into
+the water without exposing much more than a bare toe."
+
+"Oxcuse you!" fluttered Hans. "I don'd like to took mein chances py
+looking. Somepody mighd make a misdake."
+
+The sun was low down as they rode into the town.
+
+"We have no time to lose," said Frank. "We must move lively, if we mean
+to return to the hut before nightfall."
+
+"That's right," nodded Professor Scotch.
+
+They were successful in finding a native undertaker, but the fellow was
+very lazy, and he did not want to do anything till the next day.
+
+"To-morrow, senors, to-morrow," he said.
+
+That did not satisfy, however, and he was soon aroused by the sight of
+money. Learning where the corpse was, he procured a cart and a burro,
+and they again set out along the road.
+
+They found whole families soaking in groups in the canal, sousing their
+babies in the water, and draining them on the bank.
+
+Young Indian girls in groups were combing out their hair and chatting
+merrily among themselves and with friends in the water.
+
+"Dere oughter peen some law for dot," muttered Hans.
+
+Leaving the canal, they set out upon the sand-plain, the undertaker's
+burro crawling along at an aggravating pace, its master refusing to whip
+it up, despite urging.
+
+The sun had set, and darkness was settling in a blue haze on the plain
+when the hut was reached.
+
+Frank lighted a pocket lamp he always carried, and entered.
+
+A cry of astonishment broke from his lips.
+
+"Professor! professor!" he called; "the body is gone!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+HELD FOR RANSOM.
+
+
+"Gone!"
+
+The professor was astonished.
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas! I don'd toldt you dot!" came from Hans Dunnerwust.
+
+"Yes, gone," repeated Frank, throwing the light about the room and
+finally bringing it back to the bed of grass.
+
+"But--but it's impossible."
+
+"Impossible or not, it is true, as you may see."
+
+"But the man was dead--as dead as he could be!"
+
+"Yah!" snorted Hans. "Py shingoes! dot peen der trute. Dot man vos
+teader as a goffin nail, und don'd you vorget him!"
+
+The trio were silent, staring in stupefied amazement at the bed of
+grass.
+
+An uncanny feeling began to creep over Frank, and it seemed that a chill
+hand touched his face and played about his temples.
+
+Hans' teeth began to chatter.
+
+"I am quite ill," the professor faintly declared, in a feeble tone of
+voice. "The exertions of the day have been far too severe for me."
+
+"Yah, yah!" gurgled the Dutch lad. "You vos anodder. Oxcuse me while I
+go oudt to ged a liddle fresh air."
+
+He made a bolt for the open door, and Professor Scotch was not long in
+following. Frank, however, was determined to be thoroughly satisfied,
+and he again began looking for the body of the dead man, once more going
+over the entire hut.
+
+"The body is gone, beyond a doubt," he finally muttered.
+
+"There is no place for it to be concealed here, and dead men do not hide
+themselves."
+
+He went out, and found Professor Scotch and Hans awaiting his appearance
+with no small amount of anxiety.
+
+"Ah!" said the professor, with a deep breath of relief, "you are all
+right."
+
+"All right," said Frank, with amusement; "of course I am. What did you
+think? Fancy I was going to be spirited away by spooks?"
+
+The little man drew himself up with an assumption of great dignity.
+
+"Young man," he rumbled, in his deepest tone, "don't be frivolous on
+such an occasion as this. You are quite aware that I do not believe in
+spooks or anything of the sort; but we are in a strange country now, and
+strange things happen here."
+
+"Yah," nodded Hans. "Dot peen oxactly righdt."
+
+"For instance, the disappearance of that corpse is most remarkable."
+
+"Dot peen der first dime I nefer known a deat man to ged ub un valk avay
+all alone mit himseluf by," declared Hans.
+
+"What do you think has happened here, professor?" asked Frank.
+
+"It is plain Jack Burk's body is gone."
+
+"Sure enough."
+
+"And does it not seem reasonable that he walked away himself?"
+
+"Vell, you don'd know apout dot," broke in Hans. "Maype he don'd pelief
+we vos goin' pack here to bury him, und he got tiret uf vaiting for der
+funerals."
+
+"There must have been other people here after we left," said Frank.
+
+"Right," nodded the professor.
+
+"Bandits?"
+
+"Bushnell?"
+
+"One or the other."
+
+"Perhaps both."
+
+Frank fell to examining the ground for "signs," but, although his eyes
+were unusually keen, he was not an expert in such matters, and he
+discovered nothing that could serve as a revelation.
+
+"The man was dead beyond a doubt, professor--you are sure?"
+
+"Sure?" roared the little man, bristling in a moment. "Of course I'm
+sure! Do you take me for a howling idiot?"
+
+"Don't get excited, professor. The best of us are liable to err at
+times. It would not be strange if you----"
+
+"But I didn't--I tell you I didn't! The body may have been removed by
+the bandits which hang about this section."
+
+"Or by Al Bushnell, Burk's partner."
+
+"Yes; Bushnell may have recognized him, although he did not seem to do
+so. In that case, he has been here----"
+
+"And that explains everything."
+
+"Everything."
+
+"He took the body away to give it decent burial."
+
+"And we have had our trouble for nothing."
+
+By this time the native undertaker got the drift of the talk, and set up
+a wail of lamentation and accusation. He had come all that distance at
+great expense to himself and great waste of time during which he might
+have been sleeping or smoking. It was robbery, robbery, robbery. It was
+like the _Americanoes_. He had a wife and many--very many children
+depending on him. He had been tricked by the _Americanoes_, and he would
+complain that he had been cheated. They should be arrested; they should
+be compelled to pay.
+
+"Oh, come your perch off, und gone took a fall to yournseluf!" cried
+Hans, in disgust. "You gif me der lifer gomblaint!"
+
+The native continued to wail and lament and accuse them until Frank
+succeeded in quieting him by paying him three times as much as he would
+have asked had the body been found in the hut. The old fellow saw how he
+could make it appear as a clean case of deception on the part of the
+strangers, and he worked his little game for all there was in it. Having
+received his money, he lost no time in turning his cart about and
+heading back toward Mendoza, evidently fearing the body might be found
+at last and forced upon him.
+
+"We'd better be going, too," said Professor Scotch.
+
+"That's right," agreed Frank. "There is no telling what danger we may
+encounter on the plain after nightfall."
+
+"Vell, don'd let us peen all nighd apout gedding a mofe on," fluttered
+Hans, hastening toward the horses.
+
+So they mounted and rode away toward Mendoza, although Frank was far
+from satisfied to do so without solving the mystery of the remarkable
+disappearance.
+
+Darkness was falling heavily on the plain, across which a cool and
+refreshing breath came from the distant mountains.
+
+Frank kept his eyes open for danger, more than half expecting to run
+upon a gang of bandits at any moment. As they approached the town they
+began to breathe easier, and, before long, they were riding along the
+dusty road that led into the little town.
+
+Entering Mendoza they found on each hand low buildings connected by
+long, white adobe walls, against which grew prickly pears in abundance,
+running in straggling lines away out upon the open country.
+
+About the edges of the town were little fires, winking redly here and
+there, with earthen pots which were balanced on smoldering embers raked
+out from the general mass.
+
+Withered and skinny old hags were crooning over the pots, surrounded by
+swarthy children and lazy men, who were watching the preparation of the
+evening meal.
+
+Groups of peons, muffled to the eyes with their serapes, were sitting
+with their backs to the adobe walls, apparently fast asleep; but Frank
+noted that glittering, black eyes peered out from between the serapes
+and the huts, and he had no doubt but that many of the fellows would
+willingly cut a throat for a ridiculously small sum of money.
+
+Within the town it was different. All day the window shutters had been
+closely barred, but now they were flung wide, and the flash of dark eyes
+or the low, musical laugh of a senorita told that the maidens who had
+lolled all the hot day were now astir.
+
+Doors were flung wide, and houses which at midday had seemed uninhabited
+were astir with life. In the patios beautiful gardens were blooming, and
+through iron gates easy-chairs and hammocks could be seen.
+
+Many of the senoritas had come forth, and were strolling in groups of
+threes or fours, dressed in pink and white lawn, with Spanish veils and
+fans. The most of them wore white stockings and red-heeled slippers.
+
+Many a witching glance was shyly cast at Frank, but his mind was so
+occupied that he heeded none of them.
+
+The hotel was reached, and they were dismounting, when a battered and
+tattered old man, about whose shoulders was cast a ragged blanket, and
+whose face was hidden by a scraggly, white beard, came up with a
+faltering step.
+
+"Pardon me," he said, in a thin, cracked voice, "I see you are
+Americans, natives of the States, Yankees, and, as I happen to be from
+Michigan, I hasten to speak to you. I know you will have pity on an
+unfortunate countryman. My story is short. My son came to this wretched
+land to try to make a fortune. He went into the mines, and was doing
+well. He sent me home money, and I put a little aside, so that I had a
+snug little sum after a time. Then he fell into the hands of Pacheco,
+the bandit. You have heard of Pacheco, gentlemen?"
+
+"We have," said Frank, who was endeavoring to get a fair look into the
+old man's eyes.
+
+"We surely have," agreed the professor.
+
+"Vell, you can pet my poots on dot!" nodded Hans.
+
+"The wretch--the cutthroat!" cried the old man, shaking his clinched
+hand in the air. "Why didn't he kill me? He has robbed me of
+everything--everything!"
+
+"Tell us--finish your story," urged the professor.
+
+Frank said nothing. The light from a window shone close by the old man.
+Frank was waiting for the man to change his position so the light would
+shine on his face.
+
+For some moments the man seemed too agitated to proceed, but he finally
+went on.
+
+"My son--my son fell into the hands of this wretched bandit. Pacheco
+took him captive. Then he sent word to me that he would murder my son if
+I did not appear and pay two thousand dollars ransom money. Two thousand
+dollars! I did not have it in the world. But I had a little home. I sold
+it--I sold everything to raise the money to save my boy. I obtained it.
+And then--then, my friends, I received another letter. Then Pacheco
+demanded three thousand dollars."
+
+"Der brice vos on der jump," murmured Hans.
+
+"But that is not the worst!" cried the old man, waving his arms,
+excitedly. "Oh, the monster--the demon!"
+
+He wrung his hands, and groaned as if with great anguish.
+
+"Be calm, be calm," urged Professor Scotch. "My dear sir, you are
+working yourself into a dreadful state."
+
+"How can I be calm?" groaned the stranger. "It is not possible to be
+calm and think of such a terrible thing!"
+
+"What terrible thing?" asked Frank. "You have not told the entire story,
+and we do not know what you mean."
+
+"True, true. Listen! With that letter Pacheco--the monster!--sent one of
+my boy's little fingers!"
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas! I don'd toldt you dot, do I?"
+
+"Horrible! horrible!"
+
+The professor and Hans uttered these exclamations, but Frank was calm
+and apparently unmoved, with his eyes still fastened on the face of the
+old man.
+
+"How you toldt dot vos der finger uf your son, mister?"
+
+"That's it, that's it--how could you tell?" asked the professor.
+
+"My son--my own boy--he added a line to the letter, stating that the
+finger had been taken from his left hand, and that Pacheco threatened to
+cut off his fingers one by one and send them to me if I did not hasten
+with the ransom money."
+
+"Dot seddled you!"
+
+"You recognized the handwriting as that of your son?"
+
+"I did; but I recognized something besides that."
+
+"What?"
+
+"The finger."
+
+"Oh, you may have been mistaken in that--surely you may."
+
+"I was not."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"By a mark on the finger."
+
+"Ah! what sort of a mark?"
+
+"A peculiar scar like a triangle, situated between the first and second
+joints. Besides that, the nail had once been crushed, after which it was
+never perfect."
+
+"That was quite enough," nodded Professor Scotch.
+
+"Yah," agreed Hans; "dot peen quide enough alretty."
+
+Still Frank was silent, watching and waiting, missing not a word that
+fell from the man's lips, missing not a gesture, failing to note no
+move.
+
+This silence on the part of Merriwell seemed to affect the man, who
+turned to him, saying, a trifle sharply:
+
+"Boy, boy, have you no sympathy with me? Think of the suffering I have
+passed through! You should pity me."
+
+"What are you trying to do now?" asked Frank, quietly.
+
+"I am trying to raise some money to ransom my son."
+
+"But I thought you did raise money?"
+
+"So I did, but not enough."
+
+"Finish the story."
+
+"Well, when I received that letter I immediately hastened to this land
+of bandits and half-breeds. I did not have three thousand dollars, but I
+hoped that what I had would be enough to soften Pacheco's heart--to save
+my poor boy."
+
+"And you failed?"
+
+The old man groaned again.
+
+"My boy is still in Pacheco's power, and I have not a dollar left in all
+the world! Failed--miserably failed!"
+
+"Well, what do you hope to do--what are you trying to do?"
+
+"Raise five hundred dollars."
+
+"How?"
+
+"In any way."
+
+"By begging?"
+
+"I do not know how. Anyway, anyway will do!"
+
+"But you cannot raise it by begging in this land, man," said the
+professor. "This is a land of beggars. Everybody seems to be poor and
+wretched."
+
+"But I have found some of my own countrymen, and I hoped that you might
+have pity on me--oh, I did hope!"
+
+"What? You didn't expect us to give you five hundred dollars?"
+
+"Think of my boy--my poor boy! Pacheco has threatened to murder him by
+inches--to cut him up and send him to me in pieces! Is it not something
+terrible to contemplate?"
+
+"Vell, I should dink id vos!" gurgled the Dutch boy.
+
+"But how did you lose your money?"
+
+"I was robbed."
+
+"By whom?"
+
+"Pacheco."
+
+"How did it happen?"
+
+"I fell into his hands."
+
+"And he took your money without setting your son free?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"Did you tell him it was all you had in the world?"
+
+"I told him that a score of times."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"Told me to raise more, or have the pleasure of receiving my boy in
+pieces."
+
+"How long ago was that?"
+
+"Three days."
+
+"Near here?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How long have you been in Mendoza?"
+
+"Two days, and during that time I have received this from Pacheco."
+
+He took something from his pocket--something wrapped in a handkerchief.
+With trembling fingers, he unrolled it, exposing to view----
+
+A bloody human finger!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+UNMASKED.
+
+
+Hans and Professor Scotch uttered exclamations of horror, starting back
+from the sight revealed by the light that came from the window set deep
+in the adobe wall.
+
+Frank's teeth came together with a peculiar click, but he uttered no
+exclamation, nor did he start.
+
+This seemed to affect the old man unpleasantly, for he turned on Frank,
+crying in an accusing manner and tone:
+
+"Have you no heart? Are you made of stone?"
+
+"Hardly," was the reply.
+
+"This finger--it is the second torn from the hand of my boy by Pacheco,
+the bandit--Pacheco, the monster!"
+
+"Pacheco seems to be a man of great determination."
+
+Professor Scotch gazed at Frank in astonishment, for the boy was of a
+very sympathetic and kindly nature, and he now seemed quite unlike his
+usual self.
+
+"Frank, Frank, think of the suffering of this poor father!"
+
+"Yah," murmured Hans; "shust dink how pad you vould felt uf you efer
+peen py his blace," put in Hans, sobbing, chokingly.
+
+"It is very, very sad," said Frank; but there seemed to be a singularly
+sarcastic ring to the words which fell from his lips.
+
+"Have you seen your son since he fell into the hands of Pacheco, sir?"
+asked the professor.
+
+"Yes, I saw him; but I could scarcely recognize him, he was so
+changed--so wan and ghastly. The skin is drawn tightly over his bones,
+and he looks as if he were nearly starved to death."
+
+"Did he recognize you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What did he do?"
+
+The man wrung his hands with a gesture of unutterable anguish.
+
+"Oh, his appeal--I can hear it now! He begged me to save him, or to
+give him poison that he might kill himself!"
+
+"Where is he now?"
+
+"In a cave."
+
+"Where is the cave?"
+
+"That I cannot tell, for I was blindfolded all the time, except while in
+the cave where my boy is kept."
+
+"It is near Mendoza?"
+
+"It must be within fifty miles of here."
+
+"Perhaps it is nearer?"
+
+"Possibly."
+
+"But you have no means of knowing in which direction it lies?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Your only hope is to raise the five hundred dollars?"
+
+"That is my only hope, and that can scarcely be called a hope, for I
+must have the money within a day or two, or my boy will be dead."
+
+"Hum! hum!" coughed the professor. "This is a very unfortunate
+affair--very unfortunate. I am not a wealthy man, but I----"
+
+"You will aid me?" shouted the old man, joyously. "Heaven will bless
+you, sir--Heaven will bless you!"
+
+"I have not said so--I have not said I would aid you," Scotch hastily
+said. "I am going to consider the matter--I'll think it over."
+
+"Then I have no hope."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"If your heart is not opened now, it will never open. My poor boy is
+lost, and I am ready for death!"
+
+The old man seemed to break down and sob like a child, burying his face
+in his hands, his body shaking convulsively.
+
+Frank made a quick gesture to the others, pressing a finger to his lips
+as a warning for silence.
+
+In a moment the old man lifted his face, which seemed wet with tears.
+
+"My last hope is gone!" he sighed. "And you are travelers--you are
+rich!"
+
+He turned to Frank, to whom, with an appealing gesture, he extended a
+hand that was shaking as if with the palsy.
+
+"You--surely you will have sympathy with me! I can see by your face and
+your bearing that you are one of fortune's favorites--you are rich. A
+few dollars----"
+
+"My dear man," said Frank, quite calmly, "I should be more than
+delighted to aid you, if you had told the truth."
+
+The old man fell back. He was standing fairly in the light which shone
+from the window.
+
+"What do you mean?" he hoarsely asked. "Do you think I have been lying
+to you--do you fancy such a thing?"
+
+"I fancy nothing; I know you have lied!"
+
+"Frank!" cried Professor Scotch, in amazement.
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas!" gurgled Hans Dunnerwust, in a dazed way.
+
+The manner of the old man changed in a twinkling.
+
+"You are insolent, boy! You had better be careful!"
+
+"Now you threaten," laughed Frank. "Well, I expected as much from a
+beggar, a fraud, and a scoundrel!"
+
+Professor Scotch and Hans fell into each other's arms, overcome with
+excitement and wonder.
+
+Frank was calm and deliberate, and he did not lift his voice above the
+tone used in ordinary conversation.
+
+Still another step did the man fall back, and then a grating snarl broke
+from his lips, and he seemed overcome with rage. He leaned forward,
+hissing:
+
+"You insulting puppy!"
+
+"The truth must always seem like an insult to a scoundrel."
+
+"Do you dare?"
+
+"What is there to fear?"
+
+"Much."
+
+Frank snapped his fingers.
+
+"Your tune has changed in the twinkling of an eye. You are no longer the
+heart-broken father, begging for his boy; but you have flung aside some
+of the mask, and exposed your true nature."
+
+Professor Scotch saw this was true, and he was quaking with fear of what
+might follow this remarkable change.
+
+As for Hans, it took some time for ideas to work their way through his
+brain, and he was still in a bewildered condition.
+
+For a moment the stranger was silent, seeming to choke back words which
+rose in his throat. Finally, he cried:
+
+"Oh, very well! I did not expect to get anything out of you; but it
+would have been far better for you if I had. Now----"
+
+"What?"
+
+Frank asked the question, as the speaker faltered.
+
+"You shall soon learn what. I am going to leave you, but we shall see
+more of each other, don't forget that."
+
+"Wait--do not be in a hurry. I am not satisfied till I--see your face!"
+
+With the final words, Frank made a leap and a sweep of his hand,
+clutching the white beard the man wore, and tearing it from his face!
+
+The beard was false!
+
+The face exposed was smoothly shaven and weather-tanned.
+
+"Ha!" cried Frank, triumphantly. "I thought so! This poor old man is
+Carlos Merriwell, my villainous cousin!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+KIDNAPED.
+
+
+As our old readers know, Carlos Merriwell was Frank's deadly enemy,
+although they were blood cousins.
+
+Carlos was the son of Asher Merriwell, the brother of Frank's father.
+
+At the time of his death, Asher Merriwell was supposed to be a crusty
+old bachelor, a man who had never cared for women and had never married.
+But he had not been a woman-hater all his life, and there was a romance
+in his career.
+
+Asher Merriwell had been snared by the wiles of an adventuress, and he
+had married her. By this woman he had a son, but the marriage had been
+kept a secret, so that when she deceived him and they quarreled they
+were able to separate and live apart without the fact becoming public
+that Merriwell had been married.
+
+Fortunately the woman died without openly proclaiming herself as the
+wife of Asher Merriwell. In her veins there had been Spanish blood, and
+her son was named Carlos.
+
+After the death of his wife, Asher Merriwell set about providing for and
+educating the boy, although Carlos continued to bear his mother's maiden
+name of Durcal.
+
+As Carlos grew up he developed into a wild and reckless young blade,
+making no amount of trouble and worry for his father.
+
+Asher Merriwell did his best for the boy, but there was bad blood in the
+lad's veins, and it cost the man no small sums to settle for the various
+"sports" in which Carlos participated.
+
+Finally Carlos took a fancy to strike out and see the world for himself,
+and he disappeared without telling whither he was going.
+
+After this, he troubled his father at intervals until he committed a
+crime in a foreign country, where he was tried, convicted, and
+imprisoned for a long term of years.
+
+This was the last straw so far as Asher Merriwell was concerned, and he
+straightway proceeded to disown Carlos, and cut him off without a cent.
+
+It was afterward reported that Carl Durcal had been shot by guards while
+attempting to escape from prison, and Asher Merriwell died firmly
+believing himself to be sonless.
+
+At his death, Asher left everything to Frank Merriwell, the son of his
+brother, and provided that Frank should travel under the guardianship of
+Professor Scotch, as the eccentric old uncle believed travel furnished
+the surest means for "broadening the mind."
+
+But Carlos Merriwell had not been killed, and he had escaped from
+prison. Finding he had been cut off without a dollar and everything had
+been left to Frank, Carlos was furious, and he swore that his cousin
+should not live to enjoy the property.
+
+In some ways Carlos was shrewd; in others he was not. He was shrewd
+enough to see that he might have trouble in proving himself the son of
+Asher Merriwell by a lawful marriage, and so he did not attempt it.
+
+But there was a still greater stumbling block in his way, for if he came
+out and announced himself and made a fight for the property, he would be
+forced to tell the truth concerning his past life, and the fact that he
+was an escaped convict would be made known.
+
+Having considered these things, Carlos grew desperate. If he could not
+have his father's property, he swore again and again that Frank should
+not hold it.
+
+With all the reckless abandon of his nature, Carlos made two mad
+attempts on Frank's life, both of which were baffled, and then the young
+desperado was forced to make himself scarce.
+
+But Carlos had become an expert crook, and he was generally flush with
+ill-gotten gains, so he was able to put spies on Frank. He hired private
+detectives, and Frank was continually under secret surveillance.
+
+Thus it came about that Carlos knew when Frank set about upon his
+travels, and he set a snare for the boy in New York City.
+
+Straight into this snare Frank walked, but he escaped through his own
+exertions, and then baffled two further attempts on his life.
+
+By this time Carlos found it necessary to disappear again, and Frank had
+neither seen nor heard from him till this moment, when the fellow stood
+unmasked in the Mexican town of Mendoza.
+
+Frank had become so familiar with his villainous cousin's voice and
+gestures that Carlos had not been able to deceive him. From the first,
+Frank had believed the old man a fraud, and he was soon satisfied that
+the fellow was Carlos.
+
+On Carlos Merriwell's cheek was a scar that had been hidden by the false
+beard--a scar that he would bear as long as he lived.
+
+Professor Scotch nearly collapsed in a helpless heap, so completely
+astounded that he could not utter a word.
+
+As for Hans, he simply gasped:
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas!"
+
+A snarling exclamation of fury broke from Carlos' lips.
+
+"Oh, you're too sharp, my fine cousin!" he grated, his hand disappearing
+beneath the ragged blanket. "You are too sharp to live!"
+
+Out came the hand, and a knife flashed in the light that shone from the
+window of the hotel. Frank, however, was on the alert, and was watching
+for just such a move. With a twisting movement, he drew his body aside,
+so the knife clipped down past his shoulder, cutting open his sleeve,
+but failing to reach his flesh.
+
+"That was near it," he said, as he whirled and caught Carlos by the
+wrist.
+
+Frank had a clutch of iron, and he gave Carlos' wrist a wrench that
+forced a cry from the fellow's lips, and caused the knife to drop to the
+ground.
+
+"You are altogether too handy with such a weapon," said the boy, coolly.
+"It is evident your adeptness with a dagger comes from your mother's
+side. Your face is dark and treacherous, and you look well at home in
+this land of dark and treacherous people."
+
+Carlos ground forth a fierce exclamation, making a desperate move to
+fling Frank off, but failing.
+
+"Oh, you are smart!" the fellow with the scarred face admitted. "But you
+have been lucky. You were lucky at Fardale, and you were lucky in New
+York. Now you have come to a land where I will have my turn. You'll
+never leave Mexico alive!"
+
+"I have listened to your threats before this."
+
+"I have made no threats that shall not come true."
+
+"What a desperate wretch you are, Carlos! I would have met you on even
+terms, and come to an agreement with you, if you----"
+
+"Bah! Do you think I would make terms? Not much! You have robbed me of
+what is rightfully mine, and I have sworn you shall not take the good of
+it. I'll keep that oath!"
+
+A strange cry broke from his lips, as he found he could not tear his
+wrist from Frank's fingers.
+
+Then came a rush of catlike footfalls and a clatter of hoofs. All at
+once voices were heard, crying:
+
+"Ladrones! ladrones!"
+
+Dark figures appeared on every hand, sending natives fleeing to shelter.
+Spanish oaths sounded on the evening air, and the glint of steel was
+seen.
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas!" gurgled Hans Dunnerwust. "Uf we don'd peen in a
+heap uf drouble, I know noddings!"
+
+"It's the bandits, Frank!" called Professor Scotch. "They have charged
+right into the town, and they----"
+
+"Ha! ha!" laughed Carlos. "You fear the bandits! They are my friends.
+They are here, and it is my turn!"
+
+A horseman was riding straight down on Frank, and the boy flung Carlos
+aside, making a leap that took him out of the way.
+
+Something, glittering brightly, descended in a sweep toward Frank's
+head, but the blow was stopped by Carlos, who shouted something in
+Spanish.
+
+Frank understood Spanish well enough to catch the drift of the words,
+and he knew his cousin had not saved him through compassion, but for
+quite another purpose.
+
+Carlos coveted the riches into which Frank had fallen, and he meant to
+have a portion of the money. If Frank were killed, there was little
+chance that he would ever handle a dollar of the fortune, so he had
+cried out that his cousin was to be spared, captured, and held for
+ransom.
+
+That was enough to warn Frank of the terrible peril that overshadowed
+him at the moment.
+
+Out came his revolvers, and his back went against the wall. Upward were
+flung his hands, and the weapons began to crack.
+
+Two horses fell, sent down by the first two bullets from the pistols of
+the boy at bay.
+
+But Frank found he could not shoot horses and save himself, for dark
+forms were pressing upon him, and he must fall into the clutches of the
+bandits in another moment unless he resorted to the most desperate
+measures.
+
+"If you will have it, then you shall!" he muttered, through his set
+teeth, turning his aim on the human forms.
+
+Spouts of red fire shot from the muzzles of the revolvers, and the
+cracking of the weapons was followed by cries and groans.
+
+Through a smoky haze Frank saw some of the dark figures fling up their
+arms and topple to the ground within a few feet of him.
+
+He wondered what had become of Hans and the professor, for he could see
+nothing of either, and they had been close at hand a moment before.
+
+In the midst of all this, Frank wondered at his own calmness. His one
+thought was that not a bullet should be wasted, and then he feared he
+would find his weapons empty and useless before the desperadoes were
+rebuffed.
+
+But this reception was something the bandits had not expected from a
+boy. They had no heart to stand up before a lad who could shoot with the
+skill of a Gringo cowboy, and did not seem at all excited when attacked
+by twenty men.
+
+Mexican half-bloods are cowards at heart, and, by the time they saw two
+or three of their number fall before the fire from Frank's revolvers
+they turned and took to their heels like a flock of frightened sheep.
+
+"Say, holdt on avile und led me ged a few pullets indo you, mein
+friendts."
+
+It was Hans' voice, and, looking down, Frank saw the Dutch lad on the
+ground at his feet, whither he had crept on hands and knees.
+
+"What are you down there for, Hans?"
+
+"Vot you dink, Vrankie? You don'd subbose I sdood up all der dime und
+ged in der vay der pullets uf? Vell, you may oxcuse me! I don'd like to
+peen a deat man alretty yet."
+
+"That's all right, Hans. I admire your judgment."
+
+"Dank you, Vrankie. I admire der vay you vork dose revolfers. Dot peat
+der pand, und don'd you vorged him!"
+
+At this moment, a horse with a double burden swept past in the flare of
+light.
+
+"Help! Frank--Frank Merriwell! Help--save me!"
+
+"Merciful goodness!" cried Frank. "It is the professor's voice!"
+
+"Und he vos on dot horse!"
+
+"Yes--a captive!"
+
+"Dot's vat he vos!"
+
+"Our own horses--where are they? We must pursue! What have become of our
+horses?"
+
+"Dose pandits haf dooken them, I susbect."
+
+This was true; Frank had killed two of the horses belonging to the
+bandits, but the desperadoes had escaped with the three animals hired by
+our friends.
+
+But that was not the worst, for Professor Scotch had been captured and
+carried away by the bold ruffians.
+
+Frank heard the professor's appeals for help, and heard a mocking,
+cold-blooded laugh that he knew came from the lips of Carlos Merriwell.
+
+Then the clatter of hoofs passed on down the street, growing fainter and
+fainter, till they left the town for the open plain, and finally died
+out in the night.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+CARRIED INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
+
+
+In vain, Frank attempted to organize a party to pursue the bandits. The
+citizens of Mendoza were completely terrorized, and they had no heart to
+follow the desperadoes out upon the plain, which was the bandits' own
+stamping ground.
+
+Frank urged, entreated, begged, and finally grew furious, but he simply
+wasted his breath.
+
+"No, no, senor," protested a Mexican. "You no find anybody dat chase
+Pacheco dis night--no, no, not much!"
+
+"Pacheco? You don't mean to say--you can't mean----"
+
+"Dat was Pacheco and his band, senor."
+
+Frank groaned.
+
+"Pacheco!" he muttered, huskily; "Pacheco, the worst wretch in all
+Mexico! He is utterly heartless, and the professor will---- But Pacheco
+is not the worst!" he suddenly gasped. "There is Carlos Merriwell, who
+must be one of the bandits. He may take a fancy to torture Professor
+Scotch simply because the professor is my guardian."
+
+"What you say, senor?" asked the curious Mexican. "I do not understand
+all dat you speak."
+
+Frank turned away, with a gesture of despair.
+
+"Vot you goin's to done, Vrankie?" asked Hans, dolefully.
+
+"I do not seem to be able to do anything now. This matter must be placed
+before the authorities, but I do not fancy that will amount to anything.
+The officers here are afraid of the bandits, and the government is
+criminally negligent in the matter of pushing and punishing the outlaws.
+The capture of an American to be held for ransom will be considered by
+them as a very funny joke."
+
+"Vell, I don'd seen vot you goin' to done apout it."
+
+"I do not see myself, but, come on, and we will find out."
+
+He sought the highest officials of the town, and laid the matter before
+them. In the most polite manner possible, they protested their pained
+solicitation and commiseration, but when he urged them to do something,
+they replied:
+
+"To-morrow, senor, or the next day, we will see what we may be able to
+do."
+
+"To-morrow!" cried Frank, desperately. "With you everything is
+to-morrow, to-morrow! To-day, to-night, now is the time to do something!
+Delays are fatal, particularly in pursuing bandits and kidnapers."
+
+But they shook their heads sadly, and continued to express sympathy and
+regret, all the while protesting it would be impossible to do anything
+before to-morrow or the next day.
+
+Frank was so furious and desperate that he even had thought of following
+the bandits with Hans as an only companion, but the man of whom he had
+obtained the horses in the first place would not let him have other
+animals.
+
+That was not all. This man had gone through some kind of proceeding to
+lawfully seize Frank and Hans and hold them till the animals captured by
+the bandits were paid for at the price he should name, and this he
+proceeded to do.
+
+Now, Frank did not have the price demanded for the three horses, and he
+could not draw it that night, so he was obliged to submit, and the two
+boys were prisoners till near three o'clock the next afternoon, when the
+money was obtained and the bill paid.
+
+At the hotel Frank found a letter awaiting him, and, to his unbounded
+amazement, it was from the professor.
+
+With haste he tore it open, and these words are what he read:
+
+     "DEAR FRANK: Pacheco commands me to write this letter. We are at
+     the headwaters of the Rio de Nieves, but we move on to the westward
+     as soon as I have written. He tells me we are bound for the
+     mountains beyond Huejugilla el Alto, which is directly west of
+     Zacatecas as the bird flies one hundred and ten miles. He bids me
+     tell you to follow to Huejugilla el Alto, where he says
+     arrangements will be made for my ransom. Remember Jack Burk. He
+     spoke of the mountains to the west of Zacatecas. Pacheco threatens
+     to mutilate me and forward fragments to you if you do not follow to
+     the point specified. He is watching me as I write, and one of his
+     men will carry this letter to Mendoza, and deliver it. The
+     situation is desperate, and it strikes me that it is best to comply
+     with Pacheco's demands in case you care to bother about me. If you
+     want me to be chopped up bit by bit and forwarded to you, do not
+     bother to follow. I have no doubt but Pacheco will keep his word to
+     the letter in this matter. I am, my dear boy, your devoted guardian
+     and tutor,
+
+                                            "HORACE ORMAN TYLER SCOTCH."
+
+That this letter was genuine there could be no doubt, as it was written
+in the professor's peculiar style of chirography; but it did not sound
+like the professor, and Frank knew well enough that it had been written
+under compulsion, and the language had been dictated by another party.
+
+"Poor old professor!" murmured the boy. "Poor old professor! He shall be
+saved! He shall be saved! He knows I will do everything I can for him."
+
+"Yah, but he don'd seem to say dot der ledder in," observed Hans, who
+had also read every word.
+
+"Huejugilla el Alto is one hundred and ten miles west of Zacatecas."
+
+"Vere you belief they findt dot name, Vrankie?"
+
+Frank did not mind the Dutch lad's question, but bowed his head on his
+hand, and fell to thinking.
+
+"We must have horses, and we must follow. 'Remember Jack Burk.' Surely
+the professor put that part of the letter in of his own accord. He did
+not speak of the Silver Palace, but he wished to call it to my mind.
+That palace, according to Burk, lies directly west of Zacatecas,
+somewhere amid the mountains beyond this place he has mentioned. The
+professor meant for me to understand that I would be proceeding on my
+way to search for the palace. Perhaps he hopes to escape."
+
+"Yah," broke in Hans, "berhaps he meant to done dot, Vrankie."
+
+"We would be very near the mountains--it must be that we would be in the
+mountains."
+
+"I guess dot peen shust apoudt vere we peen, Vrankie."
+
+"If he escaped, or should be rescued or ransomed, we could easily
+continue the search for the palace."
+
+"You vos oxactly righdt."
+
+"We must have horses and a guide."
+
+"We can ged dem mit money."
+
+"We had better proceed to Zacatecas, and procure the animals and the
+guide there."
+
+"Shust oxactly vot I vould haf suggestet, Vrankie."
+
+"We will lose no time about it."
+
+"Vell, I guess nod!"
+
+"But Carlos--Carlos, my cousin. It is very strange, but Professor Scotch
+does not mention him."
+
+"Py shimminy! dot peen der trute!"
+
+"And I am certain it was Carlos that captured the professor. I heard the
+fellow laugh--his wicked, triumphant laugh!"
+
+"I heardt dot meinseluf, Vrankie."
+
+"Carlos must be with the band."
+
+"Yah."
+
+"And Pacheco is carrying this matter out to suit my cousin."
+
+"Yah."
+
+"Hans, it is possible you had better remain behind."
+
+"Vot vos dot?" gurgled the Dutch lad, in blank amazement. "Vot for vos I
+goin' to gone pehindt und stay, Vrankie?"
+
+"I see a trap in this--a plot to lead me into a snare and make me a
+captive."
+
+"Vell, don'd I stood ub und took mein medicine mit you all der dimes?
+Vot vos der maddetr mit me? Vos you lost your courage in me alretty
+yet?"
+
+"Hans, I have no right to take you into such danger. Without doubt, a
+snare will be spread for me, but I am going to depend on fate to help me
+to avoid it."
+
+"Vell, I took some stock dot fate in meinseluf."
+
+"If I should take you along and you were killed----"
+
+"I took your chances on dot, mein poy. Vot vos I draveling aroundt mit
+you vor anyhow you vant to know, ain'dt id?"
+
+"You are traveling for pleasure, and not to fight bandits."
+
+"Uf dot peen a bard der bleasure uf, you don'd haf some righdt to rob me
+uf id. Vrank Merriwell, dit you efer know me to gone pack mit you on?"
+
+"No, Hans."
+
+"Dot seddles dot. You nefer vill. Shust count me indo dis racket. I am
+going righdt along mit you, und don'd you rememper dot!"
+
+Frank laughed.
+
+"Hans," he said, "you are true blue. We will stick by each other till
+the professor is saved from Pacheco and Carlos Merriwell."
+
+"Yah, we done dot."
+
+They clasped hands, and that point was settled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE CAMP IN THE DESERT.
+
+
+Without unnecessary delay, they took the train from Mendoza to
+Zacatecas, which was a much larger place.
+
+In Zacatecas they set about the task of finding a reliable guide, which
+was no easy matter, as they soon discovered.
+
+The Mexican half-bloods were a lazy, shiftless set, and the full-blooded
+Spaniards did not seem to care about taking the trip across the desert.
+
+Till late that night Frank searched in vain for the man he wanted, and
+he was finally forced to give up the task till another day.
+
+Such a delay made him very impatient, and he felt much like starting out
+without a guide, depending on a compass, with which he believed he would
+be able to make his way due west to Huejugilla el Alto.
+
+The landlord of the hotel at which they stopped that night was a
+fine-appearing man, and Frank ventured to lay the matter before him.
+
+The landlord listened to the entire story, looking very grave, shook his
+head warningly, and said:
+
+"Do not think of attempting to cross the desert alone, young senors.
+Without a guide you might get lost and perish for water. By all means,
+take a guide."
+
+"But how are we to obtain a trustworthy guide, sir?"
+
+"That is truly a problem, but I think I may be able to assist you in the
+morning."
+
+"If you can, it will be a great favor."
+
+"Many thanks, young senor. I will see what can be done. If you would
+take my advice, you would not go to Huejugilla el Alto."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"It is far from the railroad, and is situated in a very wild region. If
+you were to go there and should never be heard of again, it would not be
+easy for your friends to discover what had become of you. Pacheco
+directed you to go there, and he means you no good. It is likely you
+will walk into a trap that Pacheco has set for you."
+
+"I have considered that," said Frank, quietly; "and I have decided to
+go."
+
+"Oh, very well," with a gesture expressive of regret. "I know it is
+quite impossible to change the determination of you Americans. If you
+have firmly decided to go, you will go, even though you knew all the
+deadly dangers that may lie in wait for you."
+
+Being again assured that the landlord would do his best to obtain a
+guide, Frank proposed to retire for the night.
+
+For all of the troubles that beset him, Frank was able to sleep soundly,
+having trained himself to sleep under almost any circumstances. Hans
+also slept and snored, to be awakened in the morning by Frank, who was
+shaking him roughly.
+
+"Come, Hans, it is time we were stirring."
+
+"Vot vos dot?" cried the Dutch lad, in surprise. "We don'd peen asleep
+more as fifteen minutes alretty yet."
+
+"It is morning."
+
+"I don'd toldt you so! Vell, dot peats der pand!"
+
+Hans got up and dressed with great reluctance, yawning, and declaring
+over and over that the nights in Mexico were not more than fifteen or
+twenty minutes in length.
+
+The landlord had prepared a special breakfast for them, and it proved
+the best they had found since leaving "the States," so they ate heartily
+and felt much better afterward.
+
+After breakfast the landlord himself informed them that he had been able
+to obtain a guide.
+
+"He is the very person you want, young senors, for he knows the desert
+and he knows the mountains. You may depend on him to lead you straight
+across to Huejugilla el Alto."
+
+The guide was waiting for them, wrapped to his chin in a crimson poncho,
+and smoking a cigarette. He was a dark-faced, somewhat sinister-looking
+fellow, and he gave his name as Pedro.
+
+While Frank did not like the appearance of the man, he felt that it was
+not policy to delay longer, and a bargain was soon made. Pedro not only
+agreed to take them quickly across the desert, but he contracted to
+furnish horses for them.
+
+The forenoon was not far advanced when they rode out of Zacatecas, and,
+with the sun at their backs, headed toward the west.
+
+Before the day passed Pedro showed by many things that he was quite
+familiar with the desert. He knew where shade and water were to be
+found, and, at noonday, they rested long beside a spring, with the sun
+beating on the wide waste of sand, over which the heat haze danced, and
+where no cooling breath seemed astir.
+
+The heat affected Hans much more than it did Frank. The Dutch boy
+suffered, but he made no complaint.
+
+With the sun well over into the western sky, they pushed onward again.
+They did not halt as the grateful shadows of night lay on the desert,
+but followed Pedro on and on.
+
+At last, far across the desert, they saw the twinkling of a light that
+seemed like a fallen star.
+
+"It's a camp-fire," declared Pedro, in Spanish. "Who can be there?"
+
+"It may be bandits," suggested Frank, somewhat wary.
+
+"No," declared the guide, "bandits do not build fires on the open
+plains. Bandits it cannot be."
+
+He did not hesitate to lead them straight toward the fire.
+
+Frank whispered to Hans:
+
+"Have your weapons ready. This may be the trap."
+
+As they approached the fire, they were able to make out the figures of
+two or three horses, but no human being was to be seen, although a
+coffeepot sat on some coals, fragrant steam rising from the nozzle.
+
+Pedro stopped, seeming somewhat uneasy for the first time.
+
+"What is it?" asked Frank, with apprehension.
+
+"Yah, vot id vos?" asked Hans. "Vos der camp left all alone mit ids
+lonesome?"
+
+"Not that, senors; but we have been heard, and the ones at the camp are
+hiding and watching."
+
+"Vell, I like dot. Maype dey haf der trop on us alretty soon."
+
+"That is likely," said Frank.
+
+Pedro called out something in Spanish, but there was no answer, save
+that one of the horses lifted its head and neighed.
+
+Then Frank tried it in English:
+
+"Ho, the camp! Who is there, and where are you?"
+
+Almost instantly a man's voice replied:
+
+"I'm out hyar whar I kin take a peep at yer, as I heard yer comin'.
+Didn't know but you wus Greasers, an' I ain't got no use fer ther onery
+varmints. As yer kin talk United States, just move right up ter the fire
+and join me at supper."
+
+There was a hearty freedom about the invitation that dispelled Frank's
+fears immediately, and they rode forward into the firelight.
+
+As they did so, a man rose from where he had been stretched on the sand,
+and came forward to meet them.
+
+"Great Scott!" shouted Frank, as the firelight fell on the man's face.
+"It's Alwin Bushnell, Jack Burk's partner!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE TREASURE SEEKER.
+
+
+"Thet thar's my handle," acknowledged the man; "but I'm strapped ef I
+understand how you 'uns happen ter know it!"
+
+He stared at the boys and the guide in blank amazement. Seeing Pedro's
+face fairly, he gave a slight start, and then looked still more closely.
+
+"There's no doubt," palpitated Frank; "you are Alwin Bushnell?"
+
+"That's me," nodded the camper.
+
+"And you are alone?"
+
+"Certun sure."
+
+"Bound west?"
+
+"I reckon."
+
+"For the mountains and the Silver----"
+
+Frank caught himself, and stopped short, remembering Pedro, and knowing
+the guide's ears and eyes were wide open to hear and see everything.
+
+Bushnell fell back a step, a look of still greater surprise coming to
+his bronzed and bearded face.
+
+"W'at's thet thar you wus goin' ter say?" he demanded.
+
+"Wait," said Frank, "I will tell you later. It is better."
+
+Plainly, Alwin Bushnell was puzzled, and not a little amazed.
+
+"You know my handle, an' you seem ter know whatever way I'm trailin'.
+This yere lays over me, as I acknowledges instanter."
+
+"That's not hard to explain."
+
+"Then I begs yer to explain it without delay."
+
+"Your partner told us of you."
+
+"Old Jack?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"When, and whar?"
+
+"Two days ago, outside of Mendoza."
+
+"He wuz thar?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"But how did yer know me?"
+
+"We saw you."
+
+"When?"
+
+"When you were pursued across the plain by bandits."
+
+Bushnell slapped his thigh.
+
+"Thar!" he cried; "I remembers yer now! You wuz near a doby hut, an' yer
+opened up on ther pizen skunks as wuz arter me."
+
+"That's right."
+
+"Wall, I'm much obliged, fer you socked ther lead ter them critters so
+they switched off an' let me get away. You kin shoot, boy."
+
+"Some."
+
+"Some! Wa'al, that's right, you bet! Give us a wag of your fin! I'm
+mortal glad ter clap peepers on yer, fer I never expected ter see yer
+an' thank yer fer thet trick."
+
+Frank swung from the saddle, and surrendered his hand into the broad
+"paw" of the rough and hearty Westerner, who gave it a crushing grip and
+a rough shake, repeating:
+
+"I'm mortal glad ter see yer, thet's whatever! But I want ter know how
+you happened to chip inter thet thar little game. You took a hand at
+jest ther right time ter turn ther run of ther cards, an' I got out
+without goin' broke."
+
+"I chipped in because I saw you were a white man, and you were hard
+pressed by a villainous crew who must be bandits. I believe in white men
+standing by white men."
+
+"Say, thet's a great motter, young man. 'White men stand by white men.'
+As fer me, I don't like a Greaser none whatever."
+
+As he said this, Bushnell gave Pedro another searching look, and the
+guide scowled at the ground in a sullen way.
+
+"Now," continued the Westerner, "w'at I wants ter know next is w'at yer
+knows about Jack Burk. We had a place all agreed on ter meet w'en I
+returned, but he wusn't thar, an' I hed ter go it alone. That's why I'm
+yere alone."
+
+"It was not Burk's fault that he did not meet you."
+
+"Say you so? Then lay a straight trail fer me ter foller."
+
+"He was sick."
+
+"Is that whatever? Wa'al, derned ef I could seem ter cut his trail
+anywhar I went, an' I made a great hustle fer it."
+
+"He was in the hut where you saw us."
+
+"Wa'al, dern my skin! Ef I'd knowed thet, I'd made a straight run fer
+thet yere ranch, bet yer boots!"
+
+"He came to the door, and shouted to you."
+
+"You don't tell me thet! An' I didn't hear him! Wa'al, wa'al! Whar wuz
+my ears? Whar is he now?"
+
+"Dead."
+
+Bushnell reeled.
+
+"Is he that?" he gasped, recovering. "An' I didn't get to see him! Say,
+this clean upsets me, sure as shootin'!"
+
+The man seemed greatly affected.
+
+"Poor old Jack!" he muttered. "We've made many a tramp together, an' we
+struck it rich at last, but he'll never git ther good of thet thar
+strike."
+
+Then he seemed to remember that he was watched by several eyes, and he
+straightened up, passing his hand over his face.
+
+"Jack shall hev a big monumint," he cried. "Tell me whar my old pard is
+planted."
+
+"That is something I do not know, Mr. Bushnell."
+
+The man was astonished.
+
+"Don't know? Why, how's thet?"
+
+Frank told the entire story of Burk's death and mysterious
+disappearance, to which Bushnell listened, with breathless interest.
+When it was finished, the man cried:
+
+"Thet thar beats me! I don't understand it, none whatever."
+
+"No more do I," confessed Frank. "There is no doubt but Burk was dead,
+and the corpse did not walk away of its own accord. It was my intention
+to investigate the mystery, but later events prevented."
+
+Frank then explained about the kidnaping of Professor Scotch by the
+bandits.
+
+While the boy was relating this, Bushnell was closely studying the
+guide's face, as revealed by the firelight. Frank noted that a strange
+look seemed to come into the eyes of the Westerner, and he appeared to
+be holding himself in check.
+
+When this explanation was finished, Bushnell asked:
+
+"And you are on your way ter Huejugilla el Alto with ther hope of
+rescuin' ther professor?"
+
+"We are," replied Frank.
+
+"You pet my life," nodded Hans.
+
+"This is the guide who was recommended to you in Zacatecas?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You trust him fully?"
+
+"We are obliged to do so."
+
+"Wa'al, boys, ef this yere critter can't take yer straight ter Pacheco,
+nobody kin."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Jest this!" cried Bushnell, explosively; "this yere Greaser galoot w'at
+yer calls Pedro is nobody but Ferez!"
+
+"Who is Ferez?"
+
+"He's Pacheco's lieutenant!"
+
+Frank uttered a cry of amazement and anger, wheeling quickly on the
+Mexican, his hand seeking the butt of a revolver.
+
+But the dark-faced rascal seemed ready for such an exposure, for, with a
+yell of defiance, he dropped behind his horse, and the animal shot like
+a rocket from the firelight into the shadows which lay thick on the
+desert.
+
+Bushnell opened up with a brace of revolvers, sending a dozen bullets
+whistling after the fellow, in less than as many seconds.
+
+At the first shot, Hans Dunnerwust fell off his horse, striking on his
+back on the sand, where he lay, faintly gurgling:
+
+"Uf you don'd shood der odder vay, I vos a tead man!"
+
+"Don't let him escape with a whole skin!" shouted Frank, as he began to
+work a revolver, although he was blinded by the flashes from Bushnell's
+weapon so that he was forced to shoot by guess.
+
+Ferez seemed to bear a charmed life, for he fled straight on into the
+night, sending back a mocking shout of laughter. From far out on the
+waste, he cried:
+
+"Bah, Gringo dogs! You cannot harm me! I will see you again,
+_Americanoes_. This is not the last."
+
+With an angry exclamation of disappointment and anger, Bushnell flung
+his empty revolvers on the sand at his feet.
+
+"Dern me fer a fool!" he roared. "Ef I'd done my shootin' first an' my
+talkin' arterward, he wouldn't got away."
+
+But Ferez had escaped, and they could only make the best of it.
+
+When this was over and the excitement had subsided, they sat about the
+fire and discussed the situation. Frank then showed the golden image
+which Burk had given him, and explained how the dying man had told of
+the Silver Palace.
+
+Bushnell listened quietly, a cloud on his face. At the conclusion of the
+story, he rose to his feet, saying:
+
+"Ef Jack Burk made you his heir, thet goes, an' I ain't kickin' none
+whatever. Old Jack didn't hev no relatives, so he hed a right to make
+any galoot his heir. But thar's goin' ter be plenty of worry fer anybody
+as tries ter reach ther Silver Palace. How'd you 'spect ter git 'crost
+ther chasm?"
+
+"As yet, I have not taken that into consideration. The kidnaping of
+Professor Scotch has banished thoughts of everything else from my mind."
+
+"Wa'al, ef Jack Burk made you his heir, you're entitled ter your half of
+ther treasure, providin' you're ready ter stand your half of ther
+expenses ef we fail ter git thar."
+
+"You may depend on me so far as that is concerned."
+
+"Wa'al, then, you see I hev three hawses. One is fer me ter ride,
+another is ter kerry provisions, and ther third is ter tote ther
+balloon."
+
+"The balloon!"
+
+"Thet's whatever. I hev another balloon with which ter cross thet thar
+chasm. It's ther only way ter git over. In crossin' ther balloon will be
+loaded with a ballast of sand; but when we come back, ther ballast will
+be pure gold!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE PROFESSOR'S ESCAPE.
+
+
+They did not expect to reach Huejugilla el Alto without being molested
+by bandits, for it was presumed that Pacheco's lieutenant would carry
+the word to his chief, and the desperadoes would lose no time in moving
+against them.
+
+Knowing their danger, they were exceedingly cautious, traveling much by
+night, and keeping in concealment by day, and, to their surprise, the
+bandits made no descent upon them.
+
+Huejugilla el Alto proved to be a wild and picturesque place. Being far
+from the line of railroad, it had not even felt the touch of Northern
+civilization, and the boys felt as if they had been transported back to
+the seventeenth century.
+
+"Hyar, lads," said Bushnell, "yer will see a town thet's clean Greaser
+all ther way through, an' it's ten ter one thar ain't nary galoot
+besides ourselves in ther durned old place thet kin say a word of United
+States."
+
+The Westerner could talk Spanish after a fashion, and that was about all
+the natives of Huejugilla el Alto were able to do, with the exception of
+the few whose blood was untainted, and who claimed to be aristocrats.
+
+However, for all of their strange dialect and his imperfect Spanish,
+Bushnell succeeded in making himself understood, so they found lodgings
+at a low, rambling adobe building, which served as a hotel. They paid in
+advance for one day, and were well satisfied with the price, although
+Bushnell declared it was at least double ordinary rates.
+
+"We ain't likely ter be long in town before Ferez locates us an' comes
+arter his hawses. Ther derned bandits are bold enough 'long ther line of
+ther railroad, but they lay 'way over thet out hyar. Wuss then all, ther
+people of ther towns kinder stand in with ther pizen varmints."
+
+"Stand in with them--how?"
+
+"Why, hide 'em when ther soldiers is arter 'em, an' don't bother 'em at
+any other time."
+
+"I presume they are afraid of the bandits, which explains why they do
+so."
+
+"Afeared? Wa'al, I'll allow as how they may be; but then thar's
+something of ther bandit in ev'ry blamed Greaser I ever clapped peepers
+on. They're onery, they are."
+
+Frank had noted that almost all Westerners who mingled much with the
+people of Mexico held Spaniards and natives alike in contempt, calling
+them all "Greasers." He could not understand this, for, as he had
+observed, the people of the country were exceedingly polite and
+chivalrous, treating strangers with the utmost courtesy, if courtesy
+were given in return. Rudeness seemed to shock and wound them, causing
+them to draw within themselves, as a turtle draws into its shell.
+Indeed, so polite were the people that Frank came to believe that a
+bandit who had decided to cut a man's throat and rob him would first beg
+a man's pardon for such rudeness, and then proceed about the job with
+the greatest skill, suavity, and gentleness.
+
+Having settled at the hotel, Bushnell ordered a square meal, and, when
+it was served, they proceeded to satisfy the hunger which had grown upon
+them with their journey across the desert.
+
+Bushnell also took care to look after the horses and equipments himself.
+
+"Ef Ferez calls fer his hawses, I don't want him ter git away with this
+yar balloon an' gas generator," said the Westerner, as he saw the
+articles mentioned were placed under lock and key. "Ef we should lose
+them, it'd be all up with us so fur as gittin' ter ther Silver Palace is
+concerned."
+
+Frank expected to hear something from Pacheco as soon as Huejugilla el
+Alto was reached, but he found no message awaiting him.
+
+"Poor professor!" he said. "I expect he has suffered untold torments
+since he was kidnaped."
+
+"Yah," nodded Hans. "Uf Brofessor Scotch don'd peen britty sick uf dis
+vild life mit Mexico, you vos a liar."
+
+That night they were sitting outside the hotel when they heard a great
+commotion at the southern end of the town.
+
+"Vot vos dot?" gasped the Dutch boy, in alarm. "Sounds like dere vos
+drouple aroundt dot logality."
+
+"That's right," agreed Frank, feeling for his revolvers; "and it is
+coming this way as fast as it can."
+
+"Mebbe another revolution has broke out," observed Bushnell, lazily.
+"Best git under kiver, an' let ther circus go by."
+
+They could hear the clatter of horses' hoofs, the cracking of pistols,
+and a mingling of wild cries.
+
+All at once Frank Merriwell became somewhat excited.
+
+"On my life, I believe I hear the voice of Professor Scotch!" he
+shouted.
+
+"Yah!" said Hans, "I belief I hear dot, too!"
+
+"They may be bringin' ther professor in," said Bushnell. "Ef he's thar,
+we'll take an interest in ther case, you bet yer boots!"
+
+Into the hotel he dashed, and, in a moment, he returned with his
+Winchester.
+
+Along the street came a horseman, clinging to the back of an unsaddled
+animal, closely pursued by at least twenty wild riders, some of whom
+were shooting at the legs of the fleeing horse, while one was whirling a
+lasso to make a cast that must bring the animal to a sudden halt.
+
+"Ten to one, the fugitive is the professor!" shouted Frank, peering
+through the dusk.
+
+"Then, I reckon we'll hev ter chip in right hyar an' now," said
+Bushnell, calmly.
+
+He flung the Winchester to his shoulder, and a spout of fire streamed
+from the muzzle in an instant.
+
+The fellow who was whirling the lasso flung up his arm and plunged
+headlong from the horse's back to the dust of the street.
+
+"Professor! professor!" shouted Frank. "Stop--stop here!"
+
+"Can't do it," came back the reply. "The horse won't stop!"
+
+"Jump off--fall off--get off some way!"
+
+"All right! here goes!"
+
+In another moment Professor Scotch, for it really was that individual,
+flung himself from the back of the animal he had ridden, struck the
+ground, rolled over and over like a ball, and lay still within thirty
+feet of Frank, groaning dolefully.
+
+In the meantime, Al Bushnell was working his Winchester in a manner that
+was simply amazing, for a steady stream of fire seemed to pour from the
+muzzle of the weapon, and the cracking of the weapon echoed through the
+streets of Huejugilla el Alto like the rattling fire from a line of
+infantry.
+
+After that first shot Bushnell lowered the muzzle of his weapon, as, in
+most cases at short range, his motto was to "shoot low," for he well
+knew more lead could be wasted by shooting too high than in any other
+manner.
+
+In about three seconds he had thrown the pursuing bandits into the
+utmost confusion, for they had never before encountered such a reception
+in Huejugilla el Alto, and it was the last thing they had expected. With
+all possible haste, they reined about and took to flight, hearing the
+bullets whistling about them, or feeling their horses leap madly at the
+sting of lead or go plunging to the ground.
+
+The inhabitants of the town had fled into their houses before the rush
+of the bandits, so there was little danger that any of Bushnell's
+bullets would reach innocent persons.
+
+The confusion and rout of the bandits was brought about in a few
+seconds, and Bushnell was heard to mutter:
+
+"One white man is good fer a hundred onery Greasers any time! Ther
+derned skunks hain't got a blamed bit of sand!"
+
+Frank ran and lifted the fallen professor, flinging the man across his
+shoulder, and carrying him into the hotel.
+
+Hans followed with frantic haste, and Bushnell came sauntering lazily in
+after the bandits had been routed and driven back.
+
+"Are you badly hurt, professor?" asked Frank, anxiously.
+
+"I'm killed!" groaned Scotch, dolefully. "I'm shot full of holes, and
+every bone in my body is broken! Farewell, my boy! We'll meet in a
+better land, where there are no bandits to molest or make afraid."
+
+"Where are you shot?"
+
+"Everywhere--all over! You can't touch me where I'm not shot! They fired
+more than four hundred bullets through me! I am so full of holes that I
+wonder you can see me at all!"
+
+Bushnell made a hasty examination of the professor, who lay on the
+floor, groaning faintly, his eyes closed.
+
+"Look hyar, pard," said the Westerner, roughly, "ef you want ter pass in
+yer chips ye'll hev ter stand up an' let me put a few more holes in yer.
+I can't find a place whar you're touched by a bullet an' I'm blowed ef I
+'low you broke a bone when ye tumbled from ther hawse."
+
+The professor sat up with a sudden snap.
+
+"What's that?" he cried. "I'm not shot? I'm not all broke up? Is it
+possible? Can I believe you?"
+
+"Yah," nodded Hans, gravely; "I can belief me. You vas all righdt
+brofessor, und dot is sdraight."
+
+"Wow!" shouted Scotch, bounding to his feet like a rubber ball. "That's
+what I call great luck! Why, I thought I must be killed sure! I don't
+know how I escaped all those bullets. And then the fall! Providence must
+have been with me."
+
+"Vell, I don'd know apoudt dot pefore you come der town in," said Hans;
+"but you vos alone mit yourself when we saw you, brofessor."
+
+The landlord of the hotel came bustling up in a perfect tumult of
+terror, wringing his hands and almost weeping.
+
+"Oh, senors!" he cried, in Spanish, "what have you done? You have ruined
+me! You stopped at my house, and you shoot the ladrones. Ah, senors, you
+know not what that means to me. Pacheco will come down on me--he will
+raid my house; I am a ruined man, and you are responsible for it. You
+must leave my house without delay! If you remain here, the whole town
+will rise against me! All the people will know this must make Pacheco
+very angry, and they will know he must take revenge on the place. They
+will be angry with me because I allow it. Carramba! How could I help it?
+I could do nothing. It came, and it was all over before I know what was
+doing. Senors, you must have pity on me--you must leave my house
+immeditely."
+
+Bushnell caught enough of this to translate it to the others.
+
+"Ther best thing we kin do is ter git out instanter," he said. "Ef we
+wait, ther outlaws will watch every road out of ther town, an' we'll hev
+trouble in gittin' away."
+
+"Then let's get away immediately," fluttered the professor. "If I fall
+into their hands again, I'm a dead man!"
+
+"Yes, we will get out immediately," decided Frank; "but we'll do it as
+secretly and silently as possible."
+
+Bushnell nodded his satisfaction, and, thirty minutes later, the party
+was ready to move. They left the hotel by a back way, and, guided by the
+landlord, made their way along dark and narrow streets, creeping
+cautiously through the town till the outskirts were reached.
+
+There Frank gave the landlord some money, and, after calling down
+blessings on their heads, he quickly slipped away and disappeared.
+
+"Now we'll hustle right along," said the Westerner. "We'll put a good
+long stretch between ourselves an' Huejugilla el Alto before mornin'.
+We're off, bound straight inter ther mountains----"
+
+"And straight for the Silver Palace," added Frank.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE STRANGER.
+
+
+They were fortunate in getting away without being seen by any of the
+bandits, and at dawn they were well up into the mountains, where
+Bushnell found a secluded place for them to camp and rest, as rest was
+something of which they all sorely stood in need.
+
+Bushnell prepared breakfast, and Frank insisted that Professor Scotch
+should explain how he escaped from Pacheco's gang.
+
+"Don't ask me," sighed the little man, fondling his red whiskers. "I
+can't explain it--really I can't."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Well, you see, I don't know how I happened to do it. They forced me to
+write that letter against my will, two of them standing over me with
+drawn daggers while I was writing, and prodding me a bit whenever I
+refused to put down the words Pacheco ordered written."
+
+"Then Pacheco speaks English?"
+
+"As well as I do."
+
+"What does he look like?"
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"He kept his face concealed with his serape quite up to his eyes."
+
+"Thar's a mystery about Pacheco," broke in Bushnell. "No one seems ter
+know jest what ther varmint looks like."
+
+"Go on, professor," urged Frank; "tell us just how you escaped."
+
+"I tell you I do not know myself. All I know is that they tied me to a
+horse, and brought me across a plain of burning sand, where I nearly
+perished for want of water, and was nearly sawed in two by the backbone
+of the horse I rode. I believed it was a case of gone goose with me. At
+last they camped in a wild spot, and I was so badly used up that I could
+scarcely eat or do anything but lay around and groan. They seemed to
+think there was no need of watching me very closely, and I noticed that
+I was alone sometimes. Then, feeling utterly reckless, I began to watch
+for a chance to sneak away. I didn't care if I were shot, or if I
+escaped and perished from hunger and thirst. I was bound to make the
+attempt. Last night I made it. A saddleless horse strayed along where I
+was, and I made a jump for the animal. Before they knew what I was
+doing, I was on the beast's back and yelling into its ears like a
+maniac. The horse scooted out of the camp, and I clung on. The bandits
+pursued me, and everything else is a haze till I heard Frank calling for
+me to jump off. I recognized his voice and fell off the horse, although
+I had not the least idea in the world where I was."
+
+"Wa'al," chuckled Bushnell, "thet's w'at I call dead fool luck, beggin'
+yer pardon fer speakin' so open like, at which I means no harm
+whatever."
+
+"Oh, ye needn't beg my pardon," quickly said Professor Scotch. "I don't
+want any credit for getting away. It wasn't a case of brains at all."
+
+Breakfast was prepared, and they ate heartily, after which Frank, Hans,
+and the professor lay down to sleep, while Bushnell smoked a black pipe.
+
+But even Bushnell was not made of iron, and the pipe soothed him to
+slumber, so the entire party slept, with no one to guard.
+
+All at once, some hours later, they were awakened by an exclamation from
+Frank, who sat up and stared at the form of a stranger, the latter being
+quietly squatting in their midst, calmly puffing at a cigarette, while
+his poncho was wrapped about him to his hips.
+
+Frank's exclamation awakened Bushnell like an electric shock, and, even
+as his eyes opened, his hand shot out, the fingers grasping the butt of
+a revolver that was pointed straight at the stranger.
+
+"Stiddy, thar!" called the Westerner. "I hev ther drop on yer, an' I'll
+sock yer full of lead ef yer wiggle a toenail! You hear me chirp!"
+
+The stranger continued smoking, his coal-black eyes being the only part
+of him to move, for all of the threatening revolver.
+
+Hans sat up, gasping:
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas! Der pandits haf caught us alretty soon!"
+
+At this Professor Scotch gave a groan of dismay, faintly gurgling:
+
+"Then I'm a goner!"
+
+That the stranger was a half-blood could be seen at a glance.
+
+"Drap thet cigaroot, an' give an account of yerself instanter right
+off!" ordered Bushnell, threateningly. "Who in blazes be yer?"
+
+The cigarette fell from the man's lips, and he answered:
+
+"I am Rodeo."
+
+"Wa'al, who is Rodeo?"
+
+"The brother of Pacheco."
+
+"Don't I toldt you dot!" panted the Dutch boy.
+
+Professor Scotch groaned again, and rolled a little farther from the
+half-blood, but still made no effort to sit up.
+
+"Wa'al, dern your skin!" cried Bushnell. "You've got a nerve to come
+hyar! I s'pose Pacheco an' his gang of onery varmints is within whoopin'
+distance?"
+
+"I am alone; there is no one within call."
+
+"Wa'al, w'at be yer hyar fer, thet's what I wants ter know?"
+
+"I found you asleep, and I came to warn you."
+
+"Of what?"
+
+"Danger. The ladrones are on your trail already. Before the sun sinks
+behind the mountains they will be here. If you are not gone, you must
+all fall into their hands."
+
+Bushnell looked doubtful and suspicious, while a puzzled expression came
+into his bronzed face.
+
+"Look hyar," he said; "you're up ter some game, an' I'm derned ef I know
+what she am, but yer wants ter understand yer can't monkey with this old
+<DW53> none whatever. I hold the drop on yer, Old Socks, an' I may take a
+fancy ter bore yer once jest fer fun, so ye'd best talk straight an'
+squar', an' be lively about it."
+
+"Yah," nodded Hans, threateningly, "you petter peen in a plamed pig
+hurry apoudt dot talking pusiness."
+
+"What do you wish me to say, senors?"
+
+"Explain why you're hyar ter warn us."
+
+"Because I'm the brother of Pacheco."
+
+"Thet don't go down with this old <DW53>. Pacheco is ther leader of ther
+bandits."
+
+"He was the leader of the bandits."
+
+"Was the leader?"
+
+"Si, senor."
+
+"An' ain't he now?"
+
+"No, senor."
+
+"How long since?"
+
+"At least one month."
+
+"Oh, say, thet thar won't do--I tells yer it won't, fer we know er
+blamed sight better! Rodeo, lying is dangerous with me 'round."
+
+"Senor, I do not lie; I tell you the truth. One month ago Pacheco was
+the leader of the band; now he is dead, and another is in his place.
+This other killed him in a battle, and by that he won the right to be
+leader of the band. He has taken my brother's name, and he calls himself
+Pacheco. Senors, I swear to you I speak the truth--I swear by all the
+saints! My brother is dead, and there is an impostor in his place."
+
+Frank was impressed, and his hand fell on Bushnell's arm.
+
+"I believe the fellow really speaks the truth," he said. "He seems
+sincere, and his eyes are square and steady."
+
+"Yer can't tell about ther skunks," muttered the Westerner; "but still
+this one does seem ter be layin' a straight trail."
+
+"I have taken my oath," continued the half-blood, a red light in his
+dark eyes--"I have sworn to kill the murderer of my brother, and I will
+keep the oath. That's why I am here. I have been watching the band for
+two weeks; I know every move they will make. I know when you leave
+Huejugilla el Alto, and I know they will follow. I make sure of that,
+and then, with my heart full of joy, I ride fast in advance. At last--at
+last they go to my country in the mountains! My people are there--my
+other brothers, my cousins, my relatives. They will all stand by me, and
+they will be ready to avenge Pacheco. The wrath of my people shall fall
+on the head of the impostor! You wonder why I warn you? I will explain.
+You are bound far in the mountains, and the false Pacheco will follow.
+If you are captured, he may turn back. I want him to follow you--I want
+you to lead him into the snare. That is why I am here, and that is why I
+have warned you, senors. It is done, and now I will go."
+
+He arose to his feet, heedless of Bushnell's command to "keep still,"
+and strode toward the horses. They saw an extra animal was there, and,
+in a moment, he had flung himself on the creature's back.
+
+"_Buenos dias, senores._"
+
+A clatter of hoofs, the flutter of a poncho, and a crimson serape, and
+Rodeo's horse was galloping up the ravine that still led deeper into the
+mountains. Man and horse soon vanished from view.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+THE AWAKENING VOLCANO.
+
+
+Two days later, shortly after sunset, the party camped far in the depths
+of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
+
+The words of Rodeo, the half-blood, had proved true, for they were
+pursued by the bandits, but, thanks to the skill of Bushnell, they had
+been able to give the desperadoes the slip.
+
+"By ther end of another day we oughter be able ter clap our peepers on
+ther Silver Palace," declared the Westerner.
+
+Professor Scotch was now as eager as any of them to see the wonderful
+palace, all his doubts having been dispelled by Bushnell's
+straightforward narrative of the discovery of the place by himself and
+Jack Burk.
+
+"I wonder what causes that column of smoke we saw rising amid the
+mountains to the westward to-day?" said Frank.
+
+Bushnell shook his head.
+
+"Thet thar has troubled me some," he admitted. "It seems ter be fair an'
+squar' in ther direction of ther Silver Palace."
+
+"Maype dose pandits peen aheadt uf us und purn der balace up," suggested
+Hans, with an air of very great wisdom.
+
+"I scarcely think they would be able to burn a building made of stone,
+gold, and silver," smiled Frank.
+
+"Wa'al, not much," said Bushnell. "Ther palace will be thar when we
+arrive. You needn't worry about thet."
+
+They were very tired, and, feeling secure in the depths of a narrow
+ravine, they soon slept, with the exception of Frank, who had the first
+watch.
+
+The moon came up over the mountain peaks, which stood out plainly in the
+clear light, every gorge and fissure being cut black as ink, and showing
+with wonderful distinctness.
+
+The shadow was deep in the narrow ravine, and Frank sat with his back
+to a wall of rock, looking upward, when he was startled to see a figure
+rise in the bright moonlight.
+
+On the brink of the ravine above stood a man who seemed to be peering
+down at them.
+
+"Awaken!" cried this man, in a loud voice. "You are in great danger!"
+
+The cry aroused every sleeper, and Bushnell started up with his
+Winchester clutched ready for use.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+Frank clutched his arm, gasping:
+
+"Merciful goodness! look there--look at that man's face! Can the dead
+return to life?"
+
+He pointed at the man on the brink of the ravine above them. The light
+of the moon fell fairly on the face of this man, which was plainly
+revealed to every one of the startled and thunderstruck party.
+
+"Move lively, down there!" cried the man, with a warning gesture.
+
+"There have been spies upon you, and Pacheco knows where you have
+stopped for the night."
+
+Bushnell dropped his rifle, clutching at the neck of his shirt, and
+gasping for breath.
+
+"By ther livin' gods!" he shouted, "it's my pard, Jack Burk, or it's his
+spook!"
+
+"Id vas a sbook!" gurgled Hans Dunnerwust, quivering with fear. "Id vos
+der sbook uf der man vot we seen deat as a toornail!"
+
+In truth, the man on the brink of the ravine looked like Jack Burk, who
+had been declared dead in the adobe hut near Mendoza.
+
+"It is a resemblance--it must be a resemblance!" muttered Frank.
+
+Once more the man above uttered a warning:
+
+"You were trailed by a spy," he declared. "The spy saw you camp here,
+and he has gone to bring Pacheco and the bandits. They will be here
+soon. If you escape, you must move without further delay."
+
+"It not only looks like my pard," said Bushnell, hoarsely, "but it has
+ther voice of my pard! Ef Jack Burk is dead, thet shore is his spook!"
+
+And then, as suddenly as he had appeared, the man above vanished from
+view.
+
+"Gone!" gasped Professor Scotch, wiping the cold perspiration from his
+face. "I never took stock in ghosts before, but now----"
+
+"Remember his warning," cut in Frank. "We had better heed it."
+
+"Dot vos righd," nodded Hans.
+
+"Yes, thet's right," agreed Bushnell. "We'll git out of hyar in a
+howlin' hurry. Ef Jack Burk is dead, then thet wuz his spook come to
+warn his old pard."
+
+There was saddling and packing in hot haste, and the little party was
+soon moving along the ravine.
+
+For at least thirty minutes they hastened onward, and then the Westerner
+found a place where the horses could climb the sloping wall of the
+ravine and get out of the gorge. It was no easy task to make the animals
+struggle to the top, but Bushnell succeeded in forcing them all up. When
+the party was out of the ravine every one breathed with greater freedom.
+
+"There," said Frank, "I do not feel as if we might be caught like rats
+in a trap."
+
+Frank was the last to move from the ravine, and, just as he was about to
+do so, he seemed to catch a glimpse of something moving silently in the
+darkness.
+
+"Hist!" came the warning from his lips. "Come here, Bushnell--professor,
+Hans, stay with the horses. Be cautious, and come lively."
+
+He flung himself on his face in the shadow of a great bowlder, and
+peered down into the darkness below.
+
+The Westerner and the professor came creeping to his side.
+
+"What is it?" asked Bushnell.
+
+"Look," directed Frank. "What do you make of it?"
+
+Peering down into the dark depths of the gorge, they saw black figures
+flitting silently past, men and horses, as they were able to make out.
+
+"Horsemen!" breathed the professor. "They must be the bandits!"
+
+"But look!" came cautiously from Frank's lips; "they are riding swiftly,
+yet the feet of their horses make no sound!"
+
+"That's right!" gasped Scotch. "Great Jupiter! can they be more ghosts?"
+
+"Mysteries are crowding each other," said Frank.
+
+Bushnell was silent, but he was watching and listening.
+
+Like a band of black phantoms, the silent horsemen rode along the ravine
+and disappeared. Frank could hear the professor's teeth chattering as if
+the man had a chill.
+
+"This bub-bub-beats my tut-tut-tut-time!" confessed Scotch. "I rather
+think we'd better turn back and let the Silver Palace alone."
+
+"Rot!" growled Bushnell. "Them varmints wuz Pacheco's gang, an' they hed
+the feet of their critters muffled, thet's all. Don't git leery fer
+thet. All ther same, ef Jack Burk or his spook hedn't warned us, them
+onery skunks w'u'd hed us in a consarned bad trap."
+
+This was the truth, as they all knew, and they were decidedly thankful
+to the mysterious individual who had warned them.
+
+Bushnell now resorted to the trick of "covering the trail," in order to
+do which it was necessary to muffle the feet of their horses and lead
+them over the rocky ground, where their bandaged hoofs could make no
+mark. At length he came to a stream, and he led the way into the water,
+following the course of the stream, and having the others trail along in
+single file directly behind him.
+
+When they halted again Bushnell assured them that there was little
+danger that the bandits would be able to follow them closely, and they
+rested without molestation till morning.
+
+At daybreak the Westerner was astir, being alive with eagerness and
+impatience, as he repeatedly declared they would behold the wonderful
+Silver Palace before another sunset.
+
+Eating a hasty breakfast, they pushed forward, with the Westerner in the
+lead.
+
+Once more the tower of smoke, which they had noted the day before, was
+before them, but now it seemed blacker and more ominous than on the
+previous day.
+
+It was not far from midday when, away to the westward, they heard
+rumbling sounds, like distant thunder.
+
+"Vot id vas, ain'd id?" asked Hans, in alarm. "I don'd seen no dunder
+shower coming up somevere, do I?"
+
+"It did not seem like thunder," said Frank, soberly. "It was more like a
+rumbling beneath the ground, and I fancied the earth quivered a bit."
+
+"Perhaps it is an earthquake," put in the professor, apprehensively. "I
+believe they have such convulsions of nature in this part of the world."
+
+Bushnell said nothing, but there was a troubled look on his face, and he
+urged them all forward at a still swifter pace.
+
+The smoke tower was now looming near at hand, and they could see it
+shift and sway, grow thin, and roll up in a dense, black mass. It cast a
+gloom over their spirits, and made them all feel as if some frightful
+disaster was impending.
+
+Again and again, at irregular intervals, they heard the sullen rumbling,
+and once all were positive the earth shook.
+
+It was noticed that directly after each rumbling the smoke rolled up in
+a thick, black mass that shut out the light of the sun and overcast the
+heavens.
+
+The professor was for turning back, but Bushnell was determined to go
+forward, and Frank was equally resolute. Hans had very little to say,
+but his nerves were badly shaken.
+
+"In less than an hour we shall be able to see the Silver Palace,"
+assured Bushnell. "We would be fools to turn back now."
+
+So they went on, and, at last, they climbed to the top of a rise, from
+which point the Westerner assured them that the palace could be seen.
+
+An awe-inspiring spectacle met their gaze. They looked across a great
+gulf, from which the smoke was rolling upward in clouds, and out of
+which came the sullen mutterings they had heard.
+
+"Merciful goodness!" cried Professor Scotch. "It must be the crater of a
+volcano!"
+
+"Yah!" gasped Hans; "und der volcano vos doin' pusiness at der oldt
+standt alretty yet."
+
+"The volcano may have been dormant for centuries," said the professor,
+"but it is coming to life now!"
+
+"Where is the Silver Palace?" demanded Frank.
+
+Bushnell clutched the boy's arm with a grip of iron, pointing straight
+through the smoke clouds that rose before them.
+
+"Look!" he shouted, hoarsely; "it is thar! See--the smoke grows thinner,
+an' thar she am! See her glitter! In thet thar palace is stored enough
+treasure ter make us richer then ther richest men in ther world, an' ten
+thousand volcanoes ain't goin' ter keep me from it, you bet yer boots!"
+
+True enough, through the parted smoke clouds gleamed the towers and
+turrets of the wonderful palace that had remained hidden in the heart of
+the mountains hundreds of years, jealously guarded by the fierce
+natives, who believed it sacred, and who had kept the secret well from
+the outside world.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+DOOM OF THE SILVER PALACE.
+
+
+Bushnell leaped from his horse and began tearing the packs from the
+backs of the led animals. He worked with mad haste, and there was an
+awesome, insane glare in his eyes.
+
+"The man is crazy!" roared Professor Scotch. "The volcano is certain to
+break forth before long--it must be on the verge of breaking forth now.
+If we remain here we are doomed!"
+
+"Oxcuse me!" fluttered Hans. "I vos retty to gone righd avay queek."
+
+The professor turned to Frank with his appeal:
+
+"Come, boy, let's get away before destruction comes upon us. We must not
+remain here."
+
+Frank sprang down from his snorting horse, flung the rein to Hans, and
+leaped to Bushnell's side.
+
+"You are mad to think of remaining here!" he said, swiftly. "Come away,
+and we will return when the volcano is at peace."
+
+"No!" thundered the treasure-seeker, "I will not go! The Silver Palace
+is there, and I mean to have my share of the treasure. Go if you are
+afraid, but here I stay till the balloon is inflated, and I can cross
+the chasm. The wind is right for it, and nothing shall stop me!"
+
+He picketed the horses, and began ripping open the packs.
+
+Frank turned to Professor Scotch, saying, quietly:
+
+"Bushnell will not go, and I shall stay with him. At the same time, I
+advise you to go. Take Hans with you, and get away from here. Leave a
+plain trail, and Bushnell will be able to follow it, if we succeed in
+reaching the palace and returning alive."
+
+The professor entreated Frank to change his mind, but the lad was
+determined, and nothing could alter that determination.
+
+At last Scotch gave up in despair, groaning:
+
+"If you stay, I stay. I am your guardian, but you seem to have things
+all your own way. If this volcano cooks us all, you will be to blame for
+it."
+
+Frank said no word, but went about the task of assisting Bushnell in the
+work of inflating the balloon.
+
+The Westerner had a "gas generator," which he was getting in order. As
+soon as this was ready, the balloon was unrolled, spread out, drawn up
+by means of poles and lines, and then secured to the ground by one stout
+rope, which was hitched about the base of a great bowlder.
+
+Then Bushnell built a fire and set the "gas generator" at work.
+
+In the meantime the volcano had continued to mutter. At intervals the
+clouds of smoke parted, and they saw the wonderful Silver Palace
+standing on a plateau beyond the chasm.
+
+The palace seemed to cast a spell over them all, and they felt the fever
+of the gold-hunter beginning to burn in their throbbing veins.
+
+It was more than an hour after their arrival that the balloon began to
+fill with gas and Frank uttered a cheer as he saw the silk bulging like
+a bladder that is inflated with wind.
+
+"Ha, ha!" laughed Bushnell, wildly. "In a few minutes we'll go sailin'
+over ther gulf, right through ther smoke, ter ther Silver Palace. Ha,
+ha, ha!"
+
+The man's face was flushed till it was nearly purple, and his eyes were
+bloodshot. The fever had fastened itself firmly upon him.
+
+More and more did the balloon expand. Bushnell had brought out a folding
+car, which he securely attached.
+
+"In ten minutes more we'll be ready for the trip!" he shouted.
+
+At that instant a series of wild cries reached their ears, and, turning
+swiftly, they saw a band of dark-faced men pouring through a fissure in
+the rocks to the north of them.
+
+"Shimminy Gristmas!" cried Hans Dunnerwust, in terror. "Dot seddles us!"
+
+"Who is it? Who are they?" fluttered the professor.
+
+"They look like bandits," acknowledged Frank.
+
+"It is Pacheco's band!" cried Bushnell, hastily securing his rifle.
+"Ther pizen varmints hev come ten minutes too soon! Ther balloon would
+take us all over in another ten minutes, but now it won't carry more
+than two. We must hold ther skunks off till she fills."
+
+"Right!" shouted Frank Merriwell. "And we must be ready to go the
+instant she does fill. We can't hold 'em back long, for we have no
+shelter here. Professor, Hans, into that car! Get in, I say, and be
+ready! We'll try to stand the whelps off till the balloon is inflated,
+but we must be ready to start at any instant."
+
+Professor Scotch and Hans were hastily bundled into the car.
+
+The bandits hesitated long enough to gather and prepare for the charge,
+with their chief in the lead. It was plain they saw the treasure-seekers
+had no shelter, and they meant to close in without delay.
+
+"Reddy for 'em, Frank!" called Bushnell, dropping on one knee, his
+Winchester in his hands. "They're comin' right soon!"
+
+This was true. With mad cries and a fusillade of shots, the bandits
+charged.
+
+Bushnell opened fire, and Frank followed his example. Several of the
+bandits were seen to fall, but still the others came on.
+
+"Lead won't stop 'em!" snarled the Westerner. "It'll be hand ter hand in
+a jiffy."
+
+"And that means----"
+
+"We'll get wiped out."
+
+"The balloon----"
+
+"Won't carry more'n two--possibly three. In with ye, boy! You may
+escape! It don't make any diffrunce 'bout an old <DW53> like me."
+
+"Not much will I get in and leave you!" cried Frank. "We are partners in
+this expedition, and partners we'll stay to the end!"
+
+"But ther others--ther professor an' ther Dutch boy! They might escape
+if----"
+
+"They shall escape!"
+
+Out flashed a knife in Frank Merriwell's hand, and, with one sweeping
+slash, he severed the strong rope that held the tugging, tossing balloon
+to the earth. Away shot the balloon, a cry of amazement and horror
+breaking from the lips of the professor and Hans.
+
+"Mein gootness!" gasped the Dutch boy. "Vot vos happened?"
+
+"I'll tell you," groaned the professor. "The balloon could not carry all
+four of us, and Frank Merriwell, like the noble, generous, hot-headed,
+foolish boy he is, refused to leave Bushnell. At the same time he would
+not doom us, and he cut the rope, setting the balloon free. He has
+remained behind to die at Bushnell's side."
+
+"Led me git oudt!" sobbed Hans. "I vant to go pack und die mit him!"
+
+"It was too late now. Look--see there! We are directly over the Silver
+Palace! What a beautiful----"
+
+The professor's words were interrupted by a frightful rumbling roar that
+came up from the gulf surrounding the plateau on which the palace stood.
+All the way around that gulf a sheet of flame seemed to leap upward
+through smoke, and then, paralyzed, helpless, hypnotized by the
+spectacle, they saw the plateau and the palace sink and disappear into
+the blackness of a great void. Then, like a black funeral pall, the
+smoke rolled up about them and shut off their view.
+
+But they knew that never again would the eyes of any human being behold
+the marvelous Silver Palace of the Sierra Madre Mountains.
+
+When the balloon had ascended higher another current of air was
+encountered, and the course changed. Away they floated over the mountain
+peaks and out beyond the great range.
+
+At last they came down, made a safe landing, and, to their satisfaction,
+found themselves within a mile of Huejugilla el Alto.
+
+They had escaped the most frightful perils, but Professor Scotch's heart
+lay like lead in his bosom, and Hans Dunnerwust was not to be comforted,
+for they had left Frank Merriwell to his doom.
+
+In Huejugilla el Alto they remained four days, neither of them seeming
+to have energy enough to do anything.
+
+And, on the fourth day, Frank, Al Bushnell, and two others rode into
+town and stopped at the hotel.
+
+Picture the meeting between Frank and his friends! Hans shed nearly a
+bucketful of joyful tears, and Professor Scotch actually swooned from
+sheer amazement and delight. When the professor recovered, he clung to
+Frank's hands, saying:
+
+"This is the happiest moment of my life--if I am not dreaming! Frank, my
+dear boy, I never expected to see you again. How did you escape?"
+
+"The eruption of the volcano broke the bandits up," explained Frank;
+"and, by the time they had recovered and were ready to come at us again,
+a band of natives, headed by Rodeo, Pacheco's brother, came down on
+them. A terrible battle ensued. The bandits were defeated, many of them
+slain, among the latter being the false Pacheco. And whom do you fancy
+the impostor proved to be, professor?"
+
+"I haven't the least idea."
+
+"He was my villainous cousin, Carlos Merriwell."
+
+"And he is dead?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That is a good thing. He will not trouble you any more."
+
+"No, I shall never be troubled by him again. With Rodeo and the natives
+was Jack Burk----"
+
+"Jack Burk! The man is dead!"
+
+"Not quite, professor," declared a familiar voice, and Burk himself
+stepped forward. "I am still quite lively for a dead man."
+
+"But--I saw you dead!" declared the astounded professor.
+
+"You saw me nearly dead, but not quite. You remember I told you of a
+native who had found me in the hut, and how he had said it was not a
+fever that ailed me, but was a trouble brought on by drinking the water
+of the spring near the hut?"
+
+"Yes, I remember."
+
+"And I told you the native hastily left me--left me to die alone, as I
+supposed."
+
+"I remember that."
+
+"He did not leave me to die, but went for an antidote. While you were
+away he returned and administered some of the antidote for the poison,
+bringing me around, although but a feeble spark of life fluttered in my
+bosom. Then he took me on his shoulders, and carried me from the hut to
+another place of shelter, where he brought me back to my full strength
+in a remarkably brief space of time."
+
+"I understand why we did not find you," said the professor.
+
+"We followed the bandits," Jack Burk continued. "This native was Rodeo,
+the brother of the true Pacheco, and he is here."
+
+Rodeo stepped forward, bowing with the politeness of a Spanish don.
+
+"Rodeo made me swear to aid him in hunting down the murderer of his
+brother. That was the pay he asked for saving my life. I gave the oath,
+and it was his whim that I should not reveal myself to you till the
+right time came. But when I saw the spy tracking you, saw him locate
+you, and saw him hasten to tell the bandits, I was forced to appear and
+give a warning."
+
+"We took you for a ghost."
+
+"I thought it possible you might, and I fancied that might cause you to
+give all the more heed to the warning."
+
+"Well, of all remarkable things that ever happened in my life, these
+events of the past few days take the lead," declared Scotch. "However, I
+have come through all dangers in safety, and I am happy, for Frank is
+alive and well."
+
+"But the Silver Palace is gone, with all its marvelous treasure," said
+Frank.
+
+"Thet's right, boy," nodded Bushnell, gloomily. "Ther palace has sunk
+inter ther earth, an' nary galoot ever gits ther benefit of all ther
+treasure it contained."
+
+"Don't take it so hard, partner," said Jack Burk. "Mexico is the land of
+treasures, and we may strike something else before we cross the Death
+Divide."
+
+"Vell," sighed Hans Dunnerwust, "you beoples can hunt for dreasure all
+you don'd vant to; but I haf enough uf dis pusiness alretty soon. I
+nefer vos puilt for so much oxcitemend, und I vos goin' to took der next
+drain for home as soon as I can ged to him. Uf I don'd done dot I vos
+afrait mein mutter vill nefer seen her leedle Hansie some more."
+
+"I fancy I have had quite enough of Mexico for the present," smiled
+Frank. "The United States will do me a while longer, and so, if you are
+going home, Hans, Professor Scotch and myself will accompany you till we
+strike Uncle Sam's domain, at least."
+
+A few days later, bidding their friends adieu, they left Mexico, taking
+their way northward to New Orleans, where new adventures awaited them,
+as the chapters to follow will prove.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+A STAMPEDE IN A CITY.
+
+
+It was the day before Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and the "Queen City of
+the South" was in her gayest attire, being thronged with visitors from
+the North and from almost every part of the world.
+
+It was Monday, when Rex, king of the carnival, comes to town and takes
+possession of the city.
+
+Early in the forenoon the river front in the vicinity of Canal Street
+was thronged with people seeking advantageous positions from which to
+witness the king's landing.
+
+It was a jovial, good-natured gathering, such as is never seen in any
+other city. Every one seemed to have imbibed the spirit of the occasion,
+and there was no friction or unpleasantness. Every one was exceedingly
+polite and courteous, and all seemed to feel it a duty to make the
+occasion as pleasant for other folks as possible.
+
+The shipping along the river was decorated, and flags flew everywhere.
+The sun never shone more brightly and New Orleans never presented more
+subtle allurements.
+
+Seated in a private carriage that had stopped at a particularly
+favorable spot were Professor Scotch and Frank, who had arrived a few
+days before.
+
+"Professor," said Frank, who was almost bursting with pent-up enthusiasm
+and youthful energy, "this makes a fellow feel that it is good to be
+living. In all the places we have visited, I have seen nothing like
+this. I am sorry Hans is no longer with us to enjoy it."
+
+"And you will see nothing like it anywhere in this country but right
+here," declared the professor, who was also enthused. "Northern cities
+may get up carnivals, but they allow the spirit of commerce to crowd in
+and push aside the true spirit of pleasure. In all their pageants and
+processions may be seen schemes for advertising this, that or the other;
+but here you will see nothing of the kind. In the procession to-day and
+the parade to-morrow, you will see no trade advertisements, no schemes
+for calling attention to Dr. Somebody-or-other's cure for ingrowing
+corns, nothing but the beautiful and the artistic."
+
+Frank laughed.
+
+"It's seldom you speak like this, professor," he said. "You must be in
+love with the South."
+
+"I am a Northerner, but I think the South very beautiful, and I admire
+the people of the South more than I can tell. I do not know as they are
+naturally more gentle and kind-hearted than Northerners, but they are
+certainly more courteous and chivalrous, despite their quick tempers and
+more passionate dispositions. Northerners are too brusque. If they ask
+pardon for rudeness, they do it as if they regretted the breath spent in
+uttering the words. It is quite the opposite with Southerners, for they
+seem----"
+
+"Hold on, professor," interrupted Frank. "You may tell me all about that
+some other time. Hark! hear the whistles on the river? The king must be
+coming!"
+
+"Yes, he is coming."
+
+There was a stir among the people, a murmur ran over the great throng.
+Then the royal yacht, accompanied by more than a dozen other steamers,
+all gayly decorated, was seen approaching.
+
+The great crowd began to cheer, hundreds of whistles shrieked and roared
+at the same instant, bands of music were playing, and, as the royal
+yacht drew near the levee at the foot of Canal Street, the booming of
+cannons added to the mad uproar of joy.
+
+All over the great gathering of gayly dressed people handkerchiefs
+fluttered and hats were waved in the air, while laughing, excited faces
+were seen everywhere.
+
+The mad excitement filled Frank Merriwell's veins, and he stood erect in
+the carriage, waving his hat and cheering with the cheering thousands,
+although there was such an uproar at that moment that he could scarcely
+hear his own voice.
+
+The king, attired in purple and gold, was seen near the bow of the royal
+yacht, surrounded by courtiers and admirers.
+
+To Frank's wonder, a dozen policemen had been able to keep Canal Street
+open for the procession from the levee as far as could be seen.
+Elsewhere, and on each side of the street, the throng packed thickly,
+but they seemed to aid the police in the work of holding the street
+clear, so there was no trouble at all. Not once had Frank seen the
+pushing and swaying so often seen when great crowds assemble in Northern
+cities, and not once had the policemen been compelled to draw a club to
+enforce orders.
+
+As the royal yacht drew into the jetty a gathering of city officers and
+leading citizens formed to greet and welcome him. These gentlemen were
+known as "dukes of the realm," and constituted the royal court. They
+were decorated with badges of gold and bogus jewels.
+
+The yacht drew up at the levee, and King Rex, accompanied by his escort,
+landed, where he was greeted with proper ceremony by the dukes of the
+realm.
+
+Then the king was provided with a handsomely decorated carriage, which
+he entered, and a procession was formed. The king's carriage somewhat
+resembled a chariot, being drawn by four mettlesome coal-black horses,
+all gayly caparisoned with gold and silver trimmings and nodding plumes.
+
+A magnificent band of music headed the procession, and then came a barge
+that was piled high with beautiful and fragrant flowers. In this barge
+was a girl who seemed to be dressed entirely in flowers, and there was a
+crown of flowers on her head. She was masked, but did not seem to be
+more than sixteen or seventeen years of age.
+
+She was known as "the Queen of Flowers," and other girls, ladies of the
+court, dressed entirely in white, accompanied her.
+
+The king's carriage followed the flower barge, and, directed by the
+queen, who was seated on a throne of flowers, the girls scattered
+flowers beneath the feet of the horses, now and then laughingly pelting
+some one in the throng with them.
+
+As the procession started, the cannons boomed once more, and the steam
+whistles shrieked.
+
+And then, in less than a minute, there came a startling interruption.
+The cheering of the people on one of the side streets turned to shrieks
+of terror and warning, and the crowd was seen to make a mad rush for
+almost any place of shelter.
+
+"What's the matter, Frank?" asked Professor Scotch, in alarm.
+
+"Don't know," was the reply, as Frank mounted to the carriage seat, on
+which he stood to obtain a view. "Why, it seems that there are wild
+cattle in the street, and they're coming this way."
+
+"Good gracious!" gasped the professor. "Drive on, driver--get out of the
+way quickly!"
+
+"That's impossible, sir," replied the driver, immediately. "If I drive
+on, we are liable to be overturned by the rushing crowd. It is safer to
+keep still and remain here."
+
+"Those cattle look like Texas long-horns!" cried Frank.
+
+"So they are, sir," assured the driver. "They have broken out of the
+yard in which they were placed this morning. They were brought here on a
+steamer."
+
+"Texas long-horns on a stampede in a crowded city!" fluttered Frank.
+"That means damage--no end of it."
+
+In truth, nearly half a hundred wild Texan steers, driven to madness by
+the shrieking whistles and thundering cannons, had broken out of the
+fraily constructed yard, and at least a dozen of them had stampeded
+straight toward Canal Street.
+
+Persons crushed against each other and fell over each other in frantic
+haste to get out of the way for the cattle to pass. Some were thrown
+down and trampled on by the fear-stricken throng. Men shouted hoarsely,
+and women shrieked.
+
+Mad with terror, blinded by dust, furious with the joy of sudden
+freedom, the Texan steers, heads lowered, horns glistening, eyes glowing
+redly and nostrils steaming, charged straight into the crowd.
+
+It was a terrible spectacle.
+
+"For Heaven's sake, is there no way of stopping those creatures?" cried
+Frank.
+
+"We'll all be killed!" quavered Professor Scotch.
+
+Into Canal Street rushed the crowd, and the procession was broken up in
+a moment. The one thought of everybody seemed to be to get out of the
+way of the steers.
+
+The horses on the flower barge became unmanageable, turned short,
+snorting with terror, and upset the barge, spilling flowers, girls, and
+all into the street. Then, in some way, the animals broke away, leaving
+the wrecked barge where it had toppled.
+
+The girls, with one exception, sprang up and fled in every direction.
+
+The one exception was the Queen of Flowers, who lay motionless and
+apparently unconscious in the street, with the beautiful flowers piled
+on every side of her.
+
+"She is hurt!" cried Frank, who was watching her. "Why doesn't some one
+pick her up?"
+
+"They do not see her there amid the flowers," palpitated the professor.
+"They do not know she has not fled with the other girls!"
+
+"The cattle--the steers will crush her!" shouted the driver.
+
+"Not if I can save her!" rang out the clear voice of our hero.
+
+Professor Scotch made a clutch at the lad, but too late to catch and
+hold him.
+
+Frank leaped from the carriage, clearing the heads of a dozen persons,
+struck on his feet in the street, tore his way through the rushing,
+excited mob, and reached the side of the unconscious Flower Queen. He
+lifted her from the ground, and, at that very instant, a mad steer, with
+lowered head and bristling horns, charged blindly at them!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE HOT BLOOD OF YOUTH.
+
+
+A cry of horror went up from those who beheld the peril of the brave boy
+and the Queen of Flowers, for it looked as if both must be impaled by
+the wicked horns of the mad steer.
+
+Well it was that Frank was a lad of nerve, with whom at such a moment to
+think was to act. Well it was that he had the muscles and strength of a
+trained athlete.
+
+Frank did not drop the girl to save himself, as most lads would have
+done. She felt no heavier than a feather in his arms, but it seemed that
+he would be unable to save himself, if he were unincumbered.
+
+Had he leaped ahead he could not have escaped. With all the energy he
+possessed, he sprang backward, at the same time swinging the girl away
+from the threatening horns, so that his own body protected her in case
+he was not beyond reach of the steer.
+
+In such a case and in such a situation inches count, and it proved thus
+in this instance.
+
+One of the steer's horns caught Frank's coat sleeve at the shoulder, and
+ripped it open to the flesh as far as his elbow, the sharp point seeming
+to slit the cloth like a keen knife.
+
+But Frank was unharmed, and the unconscious girl was not touched.
+
+Then the steer crashed into the flower barge.
+
+Frank was not dazed by his remarkable escape, and he well knew the peril
+might not be over.
+
+Like a leaping panther, the boy sprang from the spot, avoiding other mad
+steers and frantic men and women, darted here and there through the
+flying throng, and reached a place where he believed they would be safe.
+
+It was a brave and nervy act--the act of a true hero.
+
+The stampeded steers dashed on, and the danger at that point was past.
+Men and women had been trampled and bruised, but, remarkable though it
+seemed, when the steers were finally captured or dispatched, it was
+found that no person had been killed outright.
+
+Men crowded about Frank and the Flower Girl. The lad had placed the girl
+upon some steps, and he called for water.
+
+"Remove her mask," directed some one. "Give her air."
+
+"Yes, remove her mask!" cried scores of voices.
+
+They were eager to see her face, that they might again recognize the
+girl who had passed through such peril.
+
+Frank hesitated, although he also longed to look on the face of the girl
+he had saved. She was most beautifully formed for a girl of her age, and
+that her face was pretty he had not a doubt.
+
+He reached out his hand to unfasten the mask. As he did so his wrist was
+clutched by strong fingers, and a panting voice hissed in his ear:
+
+"Would you do it? Well, you shall not! I will take charge of that young
+lady, if you please!"
+
+Looking over his shoulder, Frank saw the dark, excited face of a youth
+of twenty or twenty-one. That face was almost wickedly handsome,
+although there was something decidedly repellent about it. The eyes were
+black as midnight, while the lips were full and red.
+
+With a twisting snap Frank freed his wrist.
+
+"You?" he said, calmly--"who are you?"
+
+"One who knows this unfortunate young lady, and has a right to protect
+her."
+
+"Which is ver' true, sah," declared a man with a bristling white
+mustache and imperial, who stood just behind the youth with the dark
+face. "I give you my word of honah, sah, that it is true."
+
+The words were spoken with great suavity and politeness, and Frank noted
+that the speaker seemed to have a military air.
+
+Frank hesitated, and then straightened up, stepping back and bowing, as
+he said:
+
+"That settles it, gentlemen. If you know the young lady, I have nothing
+more to say."
+
+The young man instantly lifted the Flower Queen in his arms. As he did
+so she opened her eyes, and Frank saw she was looking straight at his
+face.
+
+Then came a staggering surprise for the boy from the North. He saw the
+girl's lips part, and he distinctly heard her faintly exclaim:
+
+"Frank Merriwell!"
+
+Frank fell back a step, then started forward.
+
+"You--you know me?" he cried.
+
+Quick as a flash, the youth with the dark face passed the girl to the
+man with the white mustache and imperial, and the latter bore her
+through the throng to a carriage.
+
+Frank would have followed, but the dark-faced youth blocked the way,
+saying, harshly:
+
+"Hold on! You did her a service. How much do I owe you?"
+
+"Stand aside!" came sharply from Frank's lips. "She knows me--she spoke
+my name! I must find out who she is!"
+
+"That you cannot do."
+
+"Who will prevent it?"
+
+"I will!"
+
+Frank measured the other from head to heels with his eyes.
+
+"Stand aside!"
+
+"Now, don't go to putting on any airs with me, my smart youngster. By
+sheer luck, you were able to save her from possible injury. Like all
+Northerners, you have your price for every service. How much do I owe
+you?"
+
+Frank's face was hot with anger.
+
+"You say 'like all Northerners,' but it is well for the South that you
+are not a representative Southerner. You are an insolent cad and a
+puppy!"
+
+"You have insulted me!"
+
+"I simply returned what you gave."
+
+"And it shall cost you dear!" hissed the youth with the dark face.
+
+Quickly he leaned forward and struck Frank's cheek with his open hand.
+
+Then something else happened.
+
+Like a bolt, Frank's fist shot out and caught the other under the chin,
+hurling him backward into the arms of a man behind him, where he lay
+gasping and dazed.
+
+Frank would have rushed toward the carriage, but he saw it move swiftly
+away, carrying the mysterious Queen of Flowers, and, with deep regret,
+he realized he was too late.
+
+The man with the bristling white mustache and imperial did not depart in
+the carriage, but he again forced his way through the crowd, and found
+his companion slowly recovering from the stunning blow he had received.
+
+"Mistah Raymon', sah, what does this mean?" he cried, in amazement.
+
+"It means that I have been insulted and struck!" hissed the one
+questioned, quivering with unutterable anger.
+
+"Struck, sah!" cried the man, in unbounded amazement. "You were struck!
+Impossible, sah--impossible!"
+
+"It is true!"
+
+"Who struck you, sah?"
+
+"This young coxcomb of a Northern cur!"
+
+The man glared at Frank, who, with his hands on his hips, was quietly
+awaiting developments, apparently not at all alarmed. He did not quail
+in the least before the fierce, fire-eating look given him by the man
+with the bristling mustache and imperial.
+
+"If this--ah!--young gentleman struck you, Mistah Raymon', sah, there
+can be but one termination of the affaiah. He will have to meet you,
+sah, on the field, or humbly apologize at once."
+
+"That's right!" blustered the young man, fiercely. "I'll have his life,
+or an instant apology!"
+
+Frank smiled as if he were quite amused.
+
+"As I happen to feel that I am the one to whom an apology is due, you
+will have to be satisfied with taking my life," he said.
+
+The youth with the dark face drew out a handsome card case, from which
+he extracted an engraved card, which he haughtily handed to Frank, who
+accepted it, and read aloud:
+
+"'Mr. Rolf Raymond.' A very pretty name. Allow me; my card, Mr. Raymond.
+I am stopping at the St. Charles Hotel. You will be able to find me
+without difficulty."
+
+"Rest assured that a friend of mine will call on you without delay, Mr.
+Merriwell," stiffly said Raymond, thrusting Frank's card into his
+pocket.
+
+Professor Scotch had forced his way through the crowd in time to catch
+the drift of this, and the full significance of it dawned upon him,
+filling him with amazement and horror.
+
+"This will not do--it will never do!" he spluttered. "Dueling is a thing
+of the past; there is a law for it! I will not have it! Frank, you
+hot-headed young rascal, what do you mean by getting into such a
+scrape?"
+
+"Keep cool, professor," said the boy, calmly. "If this young gentleman
+insists on forcing me into a duel, I cannot take water--I must give him
+satisfaction."
+
+"I tell you I won't have it!" roared the little man, in his big, hoarse
+voice, his face getting very red. "I am your guardian. You are a minor,
+and I forbid you to fight a duel."
+
+"If Mistah Merriwell will apologize, it is possible that, considering
+his age, sah, Mistah Raymon' will not press this mattah," smoothly said
+the man with the bristling mustache.
+
+"What has he to apologize for?" asked Scotch.
+
+"He struck Mistah Raymon', sah."
+
+"Did you do that, Frank?"
+
+"Yes; but he struck me first."
+
+"He did, eh?" roared the professor, getting very red in the face. "Well,
+I don't think you'll apologize, Frank, and you're not going to fight.
+You're a boy; let him take a man. If he wants to fight anybody, I'm just
+his hairpin, and I'll agree to do him up with any kind of a weapon from
+a broad-ax to a bologna sausage!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+MYSTERY OF THE FLOWER QUEEN.
+
+
+Frank looked at Professor Scotch in amazement, for he had never known
+the little man to use such language or show such spirit in the face of
+actual danger.
+
+"I wonder if the professor has been drinking, and, if so, where he got
+his drinks?" was the thought that flashed through Frank's mind.
+
+"Mistah Raymon', sah, has no quarrel with you, sah," said the individual
+with the bristling mustache. "If there is to be any further trouble,
+sah, I will attend to your case."
+
+"You? Who are you?"
+
+"I, sah, am Colonel La Salle Vallier, the ver' particular friend of
+Mistah Raymon'. If yo' say so, we will exchange cards, sah."
+
+"Then we will exchange. Here is mine."
+
+"And here, sah, is mine."
+
+"This," said Colonel Vallier, "precludes yo' from interfering in this
+othah affair, Professor Scotch."
+
+"Hey? It does! How's that, I'd like to know?"
+
+"I am at your service, professor," bowed the colonel. "You shall make
+such arrangements as yo' choose. Pistols or swords make no difference to
+me, for I am a dead shot and an expert swordsman. I trust yo' will
+excuse us now, gentlemen. We will see yo' later. Good-day."
+
+He locked arms with the young man, and they turned away, with a sweeping
+salute. The throng parted, and they passed through.
+
+Professor Scotch stood staring after them till Frank tapped him on the
+shoulder, saying:
+
+"Come, professor, we may as well get out of this."
+
+"Excuse-a me, senors," said a soft, musical voice, and a young man with
+a Spanish face and pink cheeks was bowing before them. "I t'ink you
+need-a to be tole 'bout it."
+
+"Told about what?" demanded Frank, who took an instant dislike to this
+softly smiling fellow with the womanish voice and gentle ways. "What do
+you mean?"
+
+"Excuse-a me," repeated the stranger, who was gaudily dressed in many
+colors. "Yo' are strangar-a-rs from de Noath, an' yo' do not know-a de
+men what you have a de troub' wid. Excuse-a me; I am Manuel Mazaro, an'
+I know-a dem. De young man is son of de ver' reech Senor Roderick
+Raymon', dat everybody in New Orle'n know. He is ver' wile--ver'
+reckless. Ha! He love-a to fight, an' he has been in two duel, dough he
+is ver' young. But de odare, senors--de man wid de white mustache--ah!"
+
+Manuel Mazaro threw up his hands with an expression that plainly said
+words failed him.
+
+"Well, what of the other?" asked Frank, impatiently.
+
+"Senors," purred Mazaro, "he is de wor-r-rst fightar ever leeve! He
+like-a to fight fo' de sport of keelin'. Take-a my advice, senors, an'
+go 'way from New Orle'n'. Yo' make ver' gre't mistake to get in troub'
+wid dem."
+
+"Thank you for your kind advice," said Frank, quietly. "I presume it is
+well meant, but it is wasted. This is a free country, and a dozen
+fire-eaters like Colonel La Salle Vallier and Mr. Rolf Raymond cannot
+drive us out of New Orleans till we are ready to go. Eh, professor?"
+
+"Well, I guess not!" rumbled the little man, stiffening up and looking
+as fierce as he could.
+
+"Oh, ver' well, ver' well," said Mazaro, lifting his eyebrows, the ghost
+of a scornful smile on his face. "You know-a your own biz. Good-day,
+senors."
+
+"Good-day, sir."
+
+They passed through the crowd and sought their carriage, which was
+waiting for them, although the driver had begun to think they had
+deserted him.
+
+The procession, which had been broken up by the stampeded steers, was
+again forming, making it evident that the pleasure-loving people were
+determined that the unfortunate occurrence should not ruin the day.
+
+The Queen of Flowers and her subjects had vanished, and the flower barge
+was a wreck, so a part of the programme could not be carried out.
+
+The procession formed without the flower barge, and was soon on its way
+once more, the band playing its liveliest tune.
+
+The way was lined with tens of thousands of spectators, while flags
+fluttered from every building. All along the line the king was greeted
+with cheers and bared heads. It was a most magnificent spectacle.
+
+The carriage bearing Frank and the professor had found a place in the
+procession through the skill of the driver, and the man and boy were
+able to witness this triumphal entrance of King Rex to the Crescent
+City.
+
+At the City Hall, the Duke of Crescent City, who was the mayor, welcomed
+Rex with great pomp and ceremony, presenting him the keys and the
+freedom of the city.
+
+Shortly afterward, the king mysteriously disappeared, and the procession
+broke up and dispersed.
+
+Frank and the professor returned to the St. Charles Hotel, both feeling
+decidedly hungry.
+
+Frank had little to say after they had satisfied their hunger and were
+in their suite of rooms. He had seemed to be thinking all the while, and
+the professor again repeated a question that he had asked several times:
+
+"What in the world makes you so glum, Frank? What are you thinking
+about?"
+
+"The Queen of Flowers," was the reply.
+
+"My boy," cried the professor, enthusiastically, "I am proud of
+you--yes, sir, proud! But, at one time, I thought you were done for.
+That steer was right upon you, and I could see no way for you to escape
+the creature's horns. I held my breath, expecting to see you impaled.
+And then I saw you escape with no further injury than the slitting of
+your coat sleeve, but to this minute I can't say how you did it."
+
+Frank scarcely seemed to hear the professor's words. He sat with his
+hand to his head, his eyes fixed on a pattern in the carpet.
+
+"She knew my name," he muttered. "She spoke it distinctly. There can be
+no doubt about that."
+
+Professor Scotch groaned dismally.
+
+"There you go again!" he exclaimed. "Now, what are you mumbling about?"
+
+"The Queen of Flowers."
+
+"Confound the Queen of Flowers!" exploded Scotch. "You saved her life
+at the risk of your own, but you don't know her from Adam."
+
+"She knows me."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"She spoke my name."
+
+"You must be mistaken."
+
+"I am not."
+
+Professor Scotch looked incredulous.
+
+"Why, she was unconscious."
+
+"She was when I saved her from the steer."
+
+"And she recovered afterward?"
+
+"Yes; just as Colonel Vallier was taking her to the carriage."
+
+"And she spoke your name then?"
+
+"Yes. First I saw her open her eyes, and I noticed that she was looking
+straight at me; then I heard her distinctly but faintly pronounce my
+name."
+
+The professor still looked doubtful.
+
+"You were excited, my boy, and you imagined it."
+
+"No, professor, it was no case of imagination; I know she called me
+Frank Merriwell, but what puzzles me is the fact that this young cad,
+Raymond, was determined I should not speak with her, and she was carried
+away quickly. Why should they wish to keep us from having a few words of
+conversation?"
+
+"That is a question I cannot answer, Frank."
+
+"There's a mystery here, professor--a mystery I mean to solve. I am
+going to find out who the Queen of Flowers really is."
+
+"And get into more trouble, you hot-headed young rascal. I should think
+you were in trouble enough already, with a possible duel impending."
+
+A twinkle of mischief showed in Frank's eyes.
+
+"How about yourself, professor?"
+
+"Oh, the young scoundrel won't dare to meet me," blustered Scotch,
+throwing out his chest and strutting about the room.
+
+"But he is not the one you will have to meet. You exchanged cards with
+Colonel La Salle Vallier."
+
+"As a mere matter of courtesy."
+
+"That might go in the North, but you exchanged under peculiar
+circumstances, and, taking everything into consideration, I have no
+doubt but you will be waited on by a friend of Colonel Vallier. You will
+have to meet him."
+
+"Hey!" roared the professor, turning pale. "Is it possible that such a
+result will come from a mere matter of politeness? Why, I'm no fighter,
+Frank--I'm no blood-and-thunder ruffian! I did not mean to hint that I
+wished to meet the colonel on the field of honor."
+
+"But you have, and you can't back out now. You heard what Manuel Mazaro
+had to say about him. He is a dead shot and a skilled swordsman. Oh,
+professor, my heart bleeds for you! But you shall have a great funeral,
+and I'll plant tiddly-wink posies all over your grave."
+
+"Caesar's ghost!" groaned Scotch, collapsing on a chair, and looking very
+ill indeed. "This is a terrible scrape! I don't feel well. I fear I am
+going to be very ill."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+PROFESSOR SCOTCH FEELS ILL.
+
+
+Frank found it impossible to restrain his laughter longer, and he gave
+way to it.
+
+"Ha, ha, ha!" he merrily shouted. "You surely look ill, professor! I'd
+like to have your picture now! Ha, ha, ha! It would make a first-rate
+picture for a comic paper."
+
+"This is no laughing matter," came dolefully from Scotch. "I don't know
+how to fire a pistol, and I never had a sword in my hand in all my life.
+And to think of standing up and being shot full of holes or carved like
+a turkey by that fire-eater with the fierce mustache! It is awful,
+awful!"
+
+"But you were eager to fight the young fellow."
+
+"No, I was not. I was simply putting up a bluff, as you call it. I was
+doing my level best to get you out of the scrape, Frank. I didn't think
+he would fight me, and so I pretended to be eager to meet him. And now
+see what a scrape I am in! Oh, my soul and body! What can I do?"
+
+"Fight."
+
+"Never!"
+
+"I don't see how you can get out of it."
+
+"I'll run away."
+
+In a moment Frank became very grave.
+
+"That is impossible, professor," he said, with the utmost apparent
+sincerity. "Think of the disgrace! It would be in all the papers that
+Professor Scotch, a white-livered Northerner, after insulting Colonel La
+Salle Vallier and presenting his card, had taken to his heels in the
+most cowardly fashion, and had fled from the city without giving the
+colonel the satisfaction that is due from one gentleman to another. The
+Northern papers would copy, and you would find yourself the butt of
+ridicule wherever you went."
+
+The professor let out a groan that was more dismal and doleful than any
+sound that had previously issued from his lips.
+
+"What can I do?" he gasped.
+
+"There is one way to get out of the difficulty."
+
+"Name it! name it!" shouted the wretched man. "I'll do anything!"
+
+"Then commit suicide."
+
+The professor collapsed again.
+
+"Are you entirely heartless?" he moaned. "Can you joke when I am
+suffering such misery?"
+
+His face was covered with perspiration, and he was all a-quiver, so that
+Frank was really touched.
+
+"You can apologize, professor."
+
+"Apologize for what? I don't know that I have done anything to apologize
+for; but then I'll apologize rather than fight."
+
+"Well, I guess you'll be able to get out of it some way."
+
+But it was no easy thing to reassure the agitated man, as Frank soon
+discovered.
+
+"I'll tell you what, professor," said the boy; "you may send a
+representative--a substitute."
+
+"I don't think it will be easy to find a substitute."
+
+"Oh, I'll find one."
+
+"Perhaps Colonel Vallier will not accept him."
+
+"But you must be too ill to meet the colonel, and then he'll have to
+accept the substitute or nothing."
+
+"But who will act as substitute? I don't know any one in New Orleans
+who'll go and be shot in my place."
+
+"Barney Mulloy has agreed to join us here, and he may arrive on any
+train," went on Frank, mentioning an old school chum.
+
+"That wild Irishman!" cried the professor, hopefully. "Why, he'd fight a
+pack of wildcats and think it fun!"
+
+"Yes, Barney is happiest when in trouble. According to my uncle's will,
+I am at liberty to carry a companion besides my guardian on my travels,
+and so, when Hans Dunnerwust got tired of traveling and went home, I
+sent for Barney, knowing he'd be a first-class fellow to have with me.
+He finally succeeded in making arrangements to join us, and I have a
+telegram from him, stating that he would start in time to reach here
+before to-morrow. If you are forced into trouble, professor, Barney can
+serve as a substitute."
+
+"That sounds very well, but Colonel Vallier would not accept a boy."
+
+"Then Barney can disguise himself and pretend to be a man."
+
+"I'm afraid it won't work. Not that Barney Mulloy will hesitate to help
+me out of the scrape, for he was the most dare-devil chap in Fardale
+Academy, next to yourself, Frank. You were the leader in all kinds of
+daring adventures, but Barney made a good second. But he can't pass
+muster as a man."
+
+"Perhaps he can. But you have not yet received a challenge from Colonel
+Vallier; so don't worry about what may not happen."
+
+"I can't help worrying. I shall not take any further pleasure in life
+till we get out of this dreadful city."
+
+"Oh, brace up! Come on; let's go out and see the sights."
+
+"No, Frank--no, my boy. I am indisposed--I am quite ill. Besides that, I
+might meet Colonel Vallier. I shall remain in my room for the present."
+
+So Frank was obliged to go out alone, and, when he returned for supper,
+he found the professor in bed, looking decidedly like a sick man.
+
+"I am very ill, Frank--very ill," Scotch declared. "I fear I am in for a
+protracted illness."
+
+"Nonsense, professor! Why, you'll miss all the fun to-morrow, and we're
+here to see the sport."
+
+"Confound the sport! I wish we had stayed away from this miserable
+place!"
+
+"Why, you were very enthusiastic over New Orleans and the people of the
+South this morning."
+
+"Hang the people of the South--hang them all! They're too
+hot-headed--they're altogether too ready to fight over nothing. Now, I'm
+a peaceable man, and I can't fight--I simply can't!"
+
+"Well, well! I don't fancy you'll have to fight," said Frank, whose
+conscience was beginning to smite him.
+
+"Then I'll have to apologize, and I'll be jiggered if I know what I'm
+going to apologize for!"
+
+"What makes you so sure you'll have to apologize?"
+
+"Look at this--read it!"
+
+The professor drew an envelope from beneath his pillow and passed it to
+Frank. The envelope contained a note, which the boy was soon reading. It
+was from Colonel Vallier, and demanded an apology, giving the professor
+until the following noon in which to make it, and hinting that a meeting
+of honor would surely follow if the apology was not forthcoming.
+
+"Whew!" whistled Frank. "This does seem like business. When did you
+receive this?"
+
+"Shortly after you went out."
+
+"I scarcely thought the colonel would press the affair."
+
+"There's a letter for you on the table."
+
+"From whom is it?"
+
+"Don't know. Raymond, I suppose. The same messenger brought them both."
+
+Frank picked up the letter and tore it open. It proved to be from Rolf
+Raymond, and was worded much like the note to Professor Scotch.
+
+The warm blood of anger mounted to the boy's cheeks.
+
+"This settles it!" he exclaimed. "Mr. Rolf Raymond shall have all the
+fight he wants. I am a good pistol shot and more than a fair swordsman.
+At Fardale I was the champion with the foils. If he thinks I am a coward
+and a greenhorn because I come from the North, he may find he has made a
+serious mistake."
+
+The professor literally writhed in the bed.
+
+"But you may be killed, and I'd never forgive myself," he moaned.
+
+"Killed or not, I can't show the white feather!" cried Frank, warmly.
+
+"I do not believe in duelling."
+
+"Nor do I, but I have found it necessary to do some things I do not
+believe in. I am not going to run, and I am not going to apologize, for
+I believe an apology is due me, if any one. This being the case, I'll
+have to fight."
+
+"Oh, what a scrape--what a dreadful scrape!" groaned Scotch, wringing
+his hands. "Why did we ever come here?"
+
+"Oh, do brace up, professor!" cried Frank, impatiently. "We have been in
+worse scrapes than this, and you were not so badly broken up. It was
+only a short time ago down in Mexico that Pacheco's bandits hemmed us in
+on one side and there was a raging volcano on the other; but still we
+live and have our health. I'll guarantee we'll pull through this scrape,
+and I'll bet we come out with flying colors."
+
+"You may feel like meeting Rolf Raymond, but I simply can't stand up
+before that fire-eating colonel."
+
+"There seems to be considerable bluster about this business, and I'll
+wager something you won't have to stand up before him if you will put on
+a bold front and make-believe you are eager to meet him."
+
+"Oh, my boy, you don't know--you can't tell!"
+
+"Come, professor, get out of bed and dress. We want to see the parade
+this evening. They say it will be great."
+
+"Oh, I wish the parades were all at the bottom of the sea!"
+
+"We couldn't see them then, for we're not mermaids or fishes."
+
+"Will you never be serious?"
+
+"I don't know; perhaps I may, when I'm too sick to be otherwise. Are you
+going to get up?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Do you mean to stay in bed?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And miss the parade to-night?"
+
+"I don't care for the old parade."
+
+"Well, I do, and I'm going to see it."
+
+"Will you see some newspaper reporters and state that I am very
+ill--dangerously ill--that I am dying. Do this favor for me, Frank.
+Colonel Vallier can't force a dying man to meet him in a duel."
+
+"I am shocked and pained, professor, that you should wish me to tell a
+lie, even to save your life; but I'll see what I can do for you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+LED INTO A TRAP.
+
+
+Frank ate alone, and went forth alone to see the parade. The professor
+remained in bed, apparently in a state of utter collapse.
+
+The night after Mardi Gras in New Orleans the Krewe of Proteus holds its
+parade and ball. The parade is a most dazzling and magnificent
+spectacle, and the ball is no less splendid.
+
+The streets along which the parade must pass were lined with a dense
+mass of people on both sides, while windows and balconies were filled.
+
+Shortly after the appointed time the parade started.
+
+It consisted of a series of elaborate and gorgeous floats, the whole
+forming a line many blocks in length.
+
+Hundreds of flaring torches threw their lights over the moving
+_tableau_, and it was indeed a splendid dream.
+
+Never before had Frank seen anything of the kind one-half as beautiful,
+and he was sincerely glad they had reached the Crescent City in time to
+be present at Mardi Gras.
+
+The stampede of the Texan steers and the breaking up of the parade that
+day had made a great sensation in New Orleans. Every one had heard of
+the peril of the Flower Queen, and how she was rescued by a handsome
+youth who was said to be a visitor from the North, but whom nobody
+seemed to know.
+
+Now, the Krewe of Proteus was composed entirely of men, and it was their
+policy to have nobody but men in their parade. These men were to dress
+as fairies of both sexes, as they were required to appear in the
+_tableau_ of "Fairyland."
+
+But the managers of the affair had conceived the idea that it would be a
+good scheme to reconstruct the wrecked flower barge and have the Queen
+of Flowers in the procession.
+
+But the Queen of Flowers seemed to be a mystery to every one, and the
+managers knew not how to reach her. They made many inquiries, and it
+became generally known that she was desired for the procession.
+
+Late in the afternoon the managers received a brief note, purporting to
+be from the Flower Queen, assuring them that she would be on hand to
+take part in the evening parade.
+
+The flower barge was put in repair, and piled high with the most
+gorgeous and dainty flowers, and, surmounting all, was a throne of
+flowers.
+
+Before the time for starting the mysterious masked queen and her
+attendants in white appeared.
+
+When the procession passed along the streets the queen was recognized
+everywhere, and the throngs cheered her loudly.
+
+But, out of the thousands, hundreds were heard to say:
+
+"Where is the strange youth who saved her from the mad steer? He should
+be on the same barge."
+
+Frank's heart leaped as he saw the mysterious girl in the procession.
+
+"There she is!" was his thought. "How can I follow her? How can I trace
+her and find out who she is?"
+
+As the barge came nearer, he forced his way to the very edge of the
+crowd that lined the street, without having decided what he would do,
+but hoping she would see and recognize him.
+
+When the barge was almost opposite, he stepped out a little from the
+line and lifted his hat.
+
+She saw him!
+
+In a moment, as if she had been looking for him, she caught the crown of
+flowers from her head and tossed them toward him, crying:
+
+"For the hero!"
+
+He caught them skillfully with his right hand, his hat still in his
+left. And the hot blood mounted to his face as he saw her tossing kisses
+toward him with both hands.
+
+"What's it mean?" asked a spectator.
+
+"Don't know," answered another.
+
+But a third cried:
+
+"I'll tell you what it means! That young fellow is the one who saved the
+Queen of Flowers from the mad steer! I know him, for I saw him do it,
+and I observed his face."
+
+"That explains why she flung her crown to him and called him the hero."
+
+"Yes, that explains it."
+
+"Three cheers for the hero!"
+
+"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!"
+
+The crowd burst into wild cheering, and there was a general struggle to
+get a fair view of Frank Merriwell, who had suddenly become the object
+of attention, the splendors of the parade being forgotten for the time.
+
+Frank was confused and bewildered, and he sought to get away as quickly
+as possible, hoping to follow the Queen of Flowers. But he found his way
+blocked on every hand, and a hundred voices seemed to be asking:
+
+"What's your name?"
+
+"Where do you belong?"
+
+"Won't you please tell us your name?"
+
+"Haven't I seen you in New York?"
+
+"Aren't you from Chicago?"
+
+Somewhat dazed though he was, Frank noted that, beyond a doubt, the ones
+who were so very curious and who so rudely demanded his name were
+visitors in New Orleans. More than that, from their appearance, they
+were people who would not think of such acts at home, but now were eager
+to know the Northern lad who by one nervy and daring act had made
+himself generally talked about in a Southern city.
+
+Some of the women declared he was "So handsome!" and "So manly!" to
+Frank's increasing dismay.
+
+"I'd give a hundred dollars to get out of this!" he thought.
+
+He must have spoken the words aloud, although he was not aware of it,
+for a voice at his elbow, low and musical, said:
+
+"Come dis-a-way, senor, an' I will tek yo' out of it."
+
+Frank saw Manuel Mazaro close at hand. The Spaniard--for such Mazaro
+was--bowed gracefully, and smiled pleasantly upon the boy from the
+North.
+
+A moment Frank hesitated, and then he said:
+
+"Lead on; I'll follow."
+
+Quickly Mazaro skirted the edge of the throng for a short distance,
+plunged into the mass, made sure Frank was close behind, and then
+forced his way through to a doorway.
+
+"Dis-a way," he invited.
+
+Frank hesitated.
+
+"Where does it lead?"
+
+"Through a passage to annodare street, senor."
+
+Frank felt his revolver in his pocket, and he knew it was loaded for
+instant use.
+
+"I want to get ahead of this procession--I want to see the Queen of
+Flowers again."
+
+"I will tek yo' there, senor."
+
+"Lead on."
+
+Frank passed his hand through the crown of flowers, to which he still
+clung. Without being seen, he took his revolver from his pocket, and
+held it concealed in the mass of flowers. It was a self-cocker, and he
+could use it skillfully.
+
+As Mazaro had said, the doorway led into a passage. This was very
+narrow, and quite dark.
+
+No sooner were they fairly in this place than Frank regretted that he
+had come, for he realized that it was a most excellent chance for
+assassination and robbery.
+
+His one fear was of being attacked behind. He was quite ready for any
+that might rise in front.
+
+"Dis-a way, senor," Mazaro kept repeating. "Dis-a way."
+
+Frank fancied the fellow was speaking louder than was necessary. In
+fact, he could not see that it was necessary for Mazaro to speak at all.
+
+And then the boy was sure he heard footsteps behind them!
+
+He was caught between two fires--he was trapped!
+
+Frank's first impulse was to leap forward, knock Mazaro down, and take
+to his heels, keeping straight on through the passage.
+
+A second thought followed the first quite swiftly.
+
+He knew not where the passage led, and he knew not what pitfalls it
+might contain.
+
+At that moment Frank felt a thrill of actual fear, nervy though he was;
+but he understood that he must not let fear get the best of him, and he
+instantly flung it off.
+
+His ears were open, his eyes were open, and every sense was on the
+alert.
+
+"Let them come!" he almost exclaimed, aloud. "I will give them a warm
+reception!"
+
+Then he noticed that they passed a narrow opening, like a broken door,
+and, the next moment he seemed to feel cat-like footfalls at his very
+heels.
+
+In a twinkling Frank whirled about, crying:
+
+"Hold up where you are! I am armed, and I'll shoot if crowded!"
+
+He had made no mistake, for his eyes had grown accustomed to the
+darkness of the passage, and he could see three dark figures blocking
+his retreat along the passage.
+
+For one brief second his eyes turned the other way, and it seemed that
+Manuel Mazaro had been joined by two or three others, for he saw several
+forms in that direction.
+
+This sudden action of the trapped boy had filled these fellows with
+surprise and dismay, and curses of anger broke from their lips, the
+words being hissed rather than spoken.
+
+Frank knew he must attract attention in some way, and so of a sudden he
+fired a shot into the air.
+
+The flash of his revolver showed him several dark, villainous faces.
+
+"Upon him!" cried Mazaro, in Spanish. "Be quick about it!"
+
+"Back!" shouted Frank, lifting the revolver. "I'll not waste another
+bullet!"
+
+"Thot's th' talk, me laddybuck!" rang out a familiar voice. "Give th'
+spalpanes cold lead, an' plinty av it, Frankie! O'im wid yez!"
+
+"Barney Mulloy!" Frank almost screamed, in joyous amazement.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+BARNEY ON HAND.
+
+
+"Thot's me name, an' this is me marruck!" cried the Irish lad, from the
+darkness.
+
+There was a hurrying rush of feet, and then--smack! smack!--two dark
+figures were seen flying through the darkness as if they had been struck
+by battering-rams.
+
+"Hurrah!" cheered Frank, thrusting the revolver into his pocket, and
+hastening to leap into the battle. "Give 'em glory, Barney!"
+
+"Hurro!" shouted the Irish youth. "Th' United Shtates an' Ould Oireland
+foriver! Nothing can shtand against th' combination!"
+
+This unexpected assault was too much for Manuel Mazaro and his
+satellites.
+
+"Car-r-r-ramba!" snarled the Spaniard. "Dis treek is spoiled! We will
+have to try de odare one, pardnares."
+
+"We're reddy fer yer thricks, ye shnakes!" cried Barney.
+
+"Are you armed?" asked Frank.
+
+"To th' muzzle wid grape-shot an' canister!" was the reply.
+
+But the boys were not compelled to resort to deadly weapons, for the
+Spaniard and his gang suddenly took to their heels, and seemed to melt
+away in the darkness.
+
+"Musha! musha!" gasped Barney. "Where hiv they gone, Oi dunno?"
+
+"They've skipped."
+
+"An' lift us widout sayin' good-avenin'?"
+
+"So it seems."
+
+"Th' impoloight rascals! They should be ashamed av thimsilves!"
+
+"Barney!"
+
+"Frankie!"
+
+"At school you had a way of always showing up just when you were needed
+most, and you have not gotten over it."
+
+"It's harrud to tache an ould dog new thricks, Frankie."
+
+"You don't want to learn any new tricks; the old ones you know are all
+right. Barney, give me your hand."
+
+"Frankie, here it is, an' I'm wid yez, me b'y, till Oi have ter lave
+yez, which won't be in a hurry, av Oi know mesilf."
+
+The two lads clasped hands in the darkness of the passage.
+
+"Now," said Frank, "to get out of this place."
+
+"Th' sooner th' quicker."
+
+"Which way shall we go?"
+
+"Better go th' way we came in."
+
+"Right, Barney. But how in the world did you happen to appear at such an
+opportune moment? That sticks me."
+
+"Oi saw yez, me b'y, whin th' crowd was cheerin' fer yez, but Oi
+couldn't get to yez, though Oi troied me bist."
+
+"And you followed."
+
+"Oi did, but it's lost yez Oi would, av ye wasn't sane to come in here
+by thim as wur watchin' av yez."
+
+"Which was dead lucky for me."
+
+"Thot it wur, me darlint, unliss ye wanter to shoot th' spalpanes ye wur
+wid. Av they'd crowded yez, Oi reckon ye'd found a way to dispose av th'
+lot."
+
+"They were about to crowd me when I fired into the air."
+
+"An' th' flash av th' revolver showed me yer face."
+
+"That's how you were sure it was me, is it?"
+
+"Thot wur wan way. Fer another, Oi hearrud yer voice, an' ye don't
+suppose Oi wouldn't know thot av Oi should hear it astraddle av th'
+North Pole, do yez?"
+
+"Well, I am sure I knew your voice the moment I heard it, and the sound
+gave no small amount of satisfaction."
+
+The boys now hurried back along the narrow passage, and soon reached the
+doorway by which they had entered.
+
+The procession had passed on, and the great crowd of people had melted
+from the street.
+
+As soon as they were outside the passage, Barney explained that he had
+arrived in town that night, and had hurried to the St. Charles Hotel,
+but had found Professor Scotch in bed, and Frank gone.
+
+"Th' profissor was near scared to death av me," said Barney. "He
+wouldn't let me in th' room till th' bellboy had described me two or
+thray toimes over, an' whin Oi did come in, he had his head under th'
+clothes, an', be me soul! I thought by th' sound that he wur shakin'
+dice. It wuz the tathe av him chattering togither."
+
+Frank was convulsed with laughter, while Barney went on:
+
+"'Profissor,' sez Oi, 'av it's doice ye're shakin', Oi'll take a hand at
+tin cints a corner.'"
+
+"What did he do then?"
+
+"He looked out at me over the edge av th' bed-sprid, an' he sez, sez he,
+'Are ye sure ye're yersilf, Barney Mulloy? or are ye Colonel Sally de la
+Vilager'--or something av th' sort--'in disguise?'"
+
+Frank laughed harder than before.
+
+"What did you do then, Barney?"
+
+"Oi looked at him, an' thot wur all Oi said. Oi didn't know what th' mon
+mint, an' he samed to be too broke up to tell. Oi asked him where yo
+wur, an' he said ye'd gone out to see th' parade. Whin Oi found out thot
+wur all Oi could get out av him, Oi came out an' looked fer yez."
+
+When Frank had ceased to laugh, he explained the meaning of the
+professor's strange actions, and it was Barney's turn to laugh.
+
+"So it's a duel he is afraid av, is it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"An' he wants a substitute?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Begobs, it's niver a duel was Oi in, but the profissor wuz koind to me
+at Fardale, an' it's a debt av gratitude Oi owe him, so Oi'll make me
+bluff."
+
+"I do not believe Colonel Vallier will meet any one but Professor
+Scotch, but the professor will be too ill to meet him, so he will have
+to accept a substitute, or go without a fight."
+
+"To tell ye th' truth, Frankie, Oi'd rather he'd refuse to accept, but
+it's an iligant bluff Oi can make."
+
+"You're all right, Barney."
+
+"Tell me what brought this duel aboit."
+
+So Frank told the whole story about the rescue of the Flower Queen, the
+appearance of Rolf Raymond and Colonel Vallier, and how the masked girl
+had called his name just as they were taking her away, with the result
+already known to the reader.
+
+Barney was intensely interested.
+
+"An' thot wur her Oi saw in th' parade to-noight?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"She flung ye some flowers?"
+
+"She did. It was her crown of flowers. I still have it here, although it
+is somewhat crushed."
+
+"Ah, Frankie, me b'y, it's a shly dog ye are! Th' girruls wur foriver
+getting shtuck on yez, an' Oi dunno what ye hiv been doin' since l'avin'
+Fardale. It's wan av yer mashes this must be."
+
+"I've made no mashes, Barney."
+
+"Not m'anin' to, perhaps, but ye can't hilp it, laddybuck, fer they will
+get shtuck on yez, av ye want thim to or not. Ye don't hiv ter troy to
+catch a girrul, Frankie."
+
+"But I give you my word that I cannot imagine who this can be. All the
+curiosity in my nature is aroused, and I am determined to know her name
+before I rest."
+
+"Well, b'y, Oi'm wid yez. What shall we do?"
+
+"Go to the place where the Krewe of Proteus holds its ball."
+
+"Lade on."
+
+As both were strangers in New Orleans, they did not know how to make the
+shortest cut to the ballroom, and Frank found it impossible to obtain a
+carriage. They were delayed most exasperatingly, and, when they arrived
+at the place where the ball was to be held, the procession had broken
+up, and the Queen of Flowers was within the ballroom.
+
+"This is most unfortunate!" cried Frank, in dismay. "I meant to get here
+ahead of the procession, so that I could speak to her before she got
+inside."
+
+"Well, let's go in an' spake to her now."
+
+"We can't."
+
+"Whoy not?"
+
+"This is a very exclusive affair."
+
+"An' we're very ixclusive paple."
+
+"Only those having invitations can enter the ballroom."
+
+"Is thot so? Thin it's outsoide we're lift. What can we do about thot?"
+
+"Nothing."
+
+"Is it too late to git invoitations?"
+
+"They can't be bought, like tickets."
+
+"Well, what koind av a shindig do ye call this, Oi dunno?"
+
+Barney was thoroughly disgusted.
+
+Frank explained that Professor Scotch had been able to procure
+invitations, but neither of them had fancied they would care to attend
+the ball, so the opportunity had been neglected.
+
+"Whinever Oi can get something fer nothing, Oi take it," said Barney.
+"It's a use Oi can make fer most things Oi get."
+
+The two boys lingered outside the building. Frank hoped the Flower Queen
+would come out, and he would be able to speak to her before she entered
+a carriage and was carried away.
+
+Sweet strains of music floated down to the ears of the restless lads,
+and, with each passing moment, Frank grew more and more disgusted with
+himself.
+
+"To think that I might be in there--might be waltzing with the Queen of
+Flowers at this moment, if I had asked the professor to obtain the
+invitations!" he cried.
+
+"It's harrud luck!" said Barney; "but ye'll know betther next toime."
+
+"Next time will be too late. In some way, I must meet this girl and
+speak to her. I must, and I will!"
+
+"That's th' shtuff, me b'y! Whiniver ye say anything loike thot, ye
+always git there wid both fate. Oi'll risk yez."
+
+Two men in dress suits came out to smoke and get a breath of air. They
+stood conversing within a short distance of the boys.
+
+"She has been the sensation of the day," said one. "The whole city is
+wondering who she is."
+
+"She seems determined to remain a mystery."
+
+"Yes, for she has vanished from the ballroom in a most unaccountable
+manner. No one saw her take her departure."
+
+"Not even Rolf Raymond."
+
+"No. He is as much mystified as anybody. The fellow knows her, but he
+positively refuses to disclose her identity."
+
+Frank's hand had fallen on Barney's arm with a grip of iron, and the
+fingers were sinking deeper and deeper into the Irish lad's flesh as
+these words fell on their ears.
+
+"It is said that the young fellow who saved her from the steer to-day
+does not know her."
+
+"No. She saw him in the crowd to-night, and flung him her crown, calling
+him a hero. He was nearly mobbed by the crowd, that was determined to
+know his name, but he escaped in some way, and has not been seen since."
+
+"That settles it!" Frank hissed in Barney's ear. "They are speaking of
+the Flower Queen."
+
+"Sure," returned the Irish lad; "an' av yersilf, Frankie, b'y."
+
+"She is no longer in the ballroom."
+
+"No."
+
+"We are wasting our time waiting here."
+
+"Roight ye are."
+
+"Then we will wait no longer. Come, we'll go to the hotel."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A HUMBLE APOLOGY.
+
+
+Barely were they in their apartments at the hotel when there came a
+knock on the door, and a boy entered, bearing a salver on which were two
+cards.
+
+"Colonel La Salle Vallier and Mr. Rolf Raymond," read Frank. "Bring them
+up."
+
+"What's that?" roared Professor Scotch, from the bed. "Are you crazy?"
+
+Frank hustled the boy out of the room, whispering:
+
+"Bring them up, and admit them without knocking."
+
+He slipped a quarter into the boy's hand, and the little fellow grinned
+and hurried away.
+
+Frank turned back to find Professor Scotch, in his night robe, standing
+square in the middle of the bed, wildly waving his arms, and roaring:
+
+"Lock the door--barricade it--keep them out! If those desperadoes are
+admitted here, this room will run red with gore!"
+
+"That's right, professor," agreed Frank. "We'll settle their hash right
+here and at once. We'll cook 'em."
+
+"Whoop!" shouted the little professor, in his big, hoarse voice. "This
+is murder--assassination! Lock the door, I say! I am in no condition to
+receive visitors."
+
+"Be calm, professor," chirped Frank, soothingly.
+
+"Be calm, profissor," echoed Barney, serenely.
+
+"Be calm!" bellowed the excited little man. "How can I be calm on the
+eve of murder and assassination? I am an unarmed man, and I am not even
+dressed!"
+
+"Niver moind a little thing loike thot," purred the Irish lad.
+
+"It's of no consequence," declared Frank, placidly.
+
+"No consequence!" shouted Scotch. "Oh, you'll drive me crazy! You want
+me to be killed! It is a plot to have me murdered! I see through the
+vile scheme! I'll call the police!"
+
+He rushed into the front room, and flung up a window, from which he
+howled:
+
+"Fire! Police!"
+
+He would have shrieked murder and several other things, but Frank and
+Barney dragged him back and closed the window.
+
+"Great Scott!" gasped Frank. "It'll be a wonder if the whole police
+force of the city does not come rushing up here."
+
+"Perhaps they'll not be able to locate th' spot from which th' croy
+came," said Barney. "Let us hope not."
+
+"Yes, let us hope not."
+
+The professor squirmed out of the grasp of the two boys, and made a wild
+dash for the door.
+
+Just before he reached it, the door was flung open, and Colonel Vallier,
+followed by Rolf Raymond, strode into the room.
+
+The colonel and the professor met just within the doorway.
+
+The collision was violent, and both men recoiled and sat down heavily
+upon the floor, while Rolf Raymond barely saved himself from falling
+astride the colonel's neck.
+
+Sitting thus, the two men glared at each other, the colonel being in a
+dress suit, while the professor wore a night robe.
+
+Frank and Barney could not restrain their laughter.
+
+Then a most remarkable thing happened.
+
+Professor Scotch became so angry at what he considered the unwarranted
+intrusion of the visitors that he forgot how he was dressed, forgot to
+be scared, and grew fierce as a raging lion. Without rising, he leaned
+forward, and shook his fist under Colonel Vallier's nose, literally
+roaring:
+
+"What do you mean by entering this room without knocking, you miserable
+old blowhard? You ought to have your face thumped, and, by thunder! I
+believe I can do it!"
+
+"Sah!" gasped the colonel, in the greatest amazement and dismay.
+
+"Don't 'sah' me, you measly old fraud!" howled Scotch, waving his fists
+in the air. "I don't believe in fighting, but this is about my time to
+scrap. If you don't apologize for the intrusion, may I be blown to ten
+thousand fragments if I don't give you a pair of beautiful black eyes!"
+
+"Sah, there seems to be some mistake, sah," fluttered Colonel Vallier,
+turning pale.
+
+"You made the mistake!" thundered Scotch, leaping to his feet like a
+jumping jack. "Get up here, and let me knock you down!"
+
+"I decline to be struck, sah."
+
+"You don't dare to get up!" howled the excited little man, growing still
+worse, as the colonel seemed to shrink and falter. "Why, I can lick you
+in a fraction of no time! You've been making lots of fighting talk, and
+now it's my turn. Get up and put up your fists."
+
+"Will somebody kindly hold this lunatic?" palpitated Colonel Vallier. "I
+am no prize-fightah, gentlemen."
+
+"That isn't my lookout," said the professor, who was forcing things
+while they ran his way. "Get up and take off your coat! We'll settle
+this affair without delay."
+
+"With pistols, sah?"
+
+"Yes, with pistols, if you want to!" cried the professor, to the
+amazement of the boys. "I am ready, sir. We will settle it with pistols,
+at once, in this room."
+
+"But this is no place foh a duel, sah; yo' should know that, sah."
+
+"This is just the place."
+
+"The one who survives will be arrested, sah."
+
+"There won't be a survivor, so you needn't fear arrest."
+
+"No survivah, sah?"
+
+"No."
+
+"How is that?"
+
+"I'll tell you how it is. You are such a blamed coward that you won't
+fight me with your fists, for fear I will give you the thumping you
+deserve; but you know you are a good pistol shot, and you think I am
+not, so you hope to shoot me, and escape without harm to yourself. Well,
+I am no pistol shot, but I am not going to miss you. We'll shoot across
+that center table, and the width of the table is the distance that will
+divide us. In that way, I'll stand as good a show as you do, and I'll
+agree to shoot you through the body very near to the heart, so you'll
+not linger long in agony. Come, sir, get ready."
+
+Colonel Vallier actually staggered.
+
+"Sah--sah!" he fluttered; "you're shorely crazy!"
+
+"Not a bit of it. Come, get ready!"
+
+"This is murder, sah!"
+
+"It is a square deal. One has as good show as the other."
+
+"But I--I never heard of such a duel--never!"
+
+"There are many things you have never heard about, Colonel Vallier."
+
+"But, sah, I can't fight that way! You'll have to excuse me, sah."
+
+"What's that!" howled the little professor, dancing about in his night
+robe. "Do you refuse to give me satisfaction?"
+
+"I refuse to be murdered."
+
+"Then you'll apologize?"
+
+The colonel gasped.
+
+"Apologize! Why, I can't----"
+
+"Then I'm going to give you those black eyes just as sure as my name is
+Scotch! Put up your fists!"
+
+The colonel retreated, holding up his hands helplessly, while the
+professor pranced after him like a fighting cock.
+
+"This is disgraceful!" snapped Rolf Raymond, taking a step, as if to
+interfere. "It must be stopped at once!"
+
+"Hold on!" came sternly from Frank. "Don't chip in where you're not
+wanted, Mr. Raymond. Let them settle this matter themselves."
+
+"Thot's roight, me laddybuck," said Barney Mulloy. "If you bother thim,
+it's a pair av black oies ye may own yersilf."
+
+"We did not come here to be bullied."
+
+"No," said Frank; "you came to play the bullies, and the tables have
+been turned on you. Take it easy."
+
+The two boys placed themselves in such a position that they could
+prevent Raymond from interfering between the colonel and the professor.
+
+"Don't strike me, sah!" gasped Vallier, holding up his open hands, with
+the palms toward the bantam-like professor.
+
+"Then do you apologize?"
+
+"You will strike me if I do not apologize?"
+
+"You may bet your life that I will, colonel."
+
+"Then I--ah--I'll have to apologize, sah."
+
+"And this settles the entire affair between us?"
+
+"Eh--I don't know about that."
+
+"Well, you had better know. Does this settle the entire affair?"
+
+"I suppose so, sah."
+
+"You apologize most humbly?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"And you state of your own free will that this settles all trouble
+between us?"
+
+The colonel hesitated, and Scotch lifted his fists menacingly.
+
+"I do, sah--I do!" Vallier hastened to say.
+
+"Then that's right," said Professor Scotch, airily. "You have escaped
+the worst thumping you ever received in all your life, and you should
+congratulate yourself."
+
+Frank felt like cheering with delight. Surely Professor Scotch had done
+himself proud, and the termination of the affair had been quite
+unexpected by the boys.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+THE PROFESSOR'S COURAGE.
+
+
+Colonel Vallier seemed utterly crestfallen and subdued, but Rolf
+Raymond's face was dark with anger, as he harshly said:
+
+"Now that this foolishness is over, we will proceed to business."
+
+"That's right," bowed Frank. "The quicker you proceed the better
+satisfied we will be. Go ahead."
+
+Rolf turned fiercely on Frank, almost snarling:
+
+"You must have been at the bottom of it all! Where is she?"
+
+Frank was astonished, as his face plainly showed.
+
+"Where is she?" he repeated.
+
+"Whom do you mean, sir?"
+
+"It is useless to pretend that you do not know. You must have found an
+opportunity to communicate with her somehow, although how you
+accomplished it is more than I understand."
+
+"You are speaking in riddles. Say what you mean, man."
+
+"I will. If you do not immediately tell us where she is, you will find
+yourself in serious trouble. Is that plain enough?"
+
+A light came to Frank.
+
+"Do you mean the Queen of Flowers?" he eagerly asked.
+
+"You know I mean the Queen of Flowers."
+
+"And you do not know what has become of her?"
+
+"How can we? She disappeared mysteriously from the ballroom. No one saw
+her leave, but she went."
+
+"She must have returned to her home."
+
+"That will not go with us, Merriwell, for we hastened to the place where
+she is stopping with her father, and she was not there, nor had he seen
+her. He cannot live long, and this blow will hasten the end. You will be
+responsible. Take my advice and give her up at once, unless you wish to
+get into trouble of a most serious nature."
+
+Frank saw that Raymond actually believed he knew what had become of the
+Flower Queen.
+
+"Look here," came swiftly from the boy's lips, "it is plain this is no
+time to waste words. I do not know what has become of the Flower Queen,
+that is straight. I did know she had disappeared from the ballroom, but
+I supposed she had returned to her home. I do not know her name as yet,
+although she knows mine. If anything has happened to her, I am not
+responsible; but I take a great interest in her, and I am ready and
+eager to be of assistance to her. Tell me her name, as that will aid
+me."
+
+Rolf Raymond could not doubt Frank's words, for honesty was written on
+the boy's face.
+
+"Her name," he said--"her name is--for you to learn."
+
+His taunting laugh brought the warm blood to Frank's face.
+
+"All right!" cried the boy from the North. "I'll learn it, no thanks to
+you. More than that, if she needs my aid, she shall have it. It strikes
+me that she may have fled of her own accord to escape being persecuted
+by you. If so----"
+
+"What then?"
+
+"We'll meet again."
+
+"That we will! Colonel Vallier may have settled his trouble with
+Professor Scotch, but mine is not settled with you."
+
+"You are right."
+
+"We may yet meet on the field of honor."
+
+"I shall be pleased to accommodate you," flashed Frank; "and the sooner,
+the better it will satisfy me."
+
+"Thot's th' talk!" cried Barney Mulloy, admiringly. "You can do th'
+spalpane, Frankie, at any old thing he'll name!"
+
+"The disappearance of Miss ----, the Flower Queen, prevents the setting
+of a time and place," said Raymond, passionately; "but you shall be
+waited on as soon as she is found. Until then I must let nothing
+interfere with my search for her."
+
+"Very good; that is satisfactory to me, and I will do my best to help
+find her for you. Now, if your business is quite over, gentlemen, your
+room would give us much more pleasure than your company."
+
+Not another word did Raymond or Vallier say, but they strode stiffly to
+the door and bowed themselves out. Barney closed the door after them.
+
+Then both the boys turned on Professor Scotch, to find he had collapsed
+into a chair, and seemed on the point of swooning.
+
+"Professor," cried Frank, "I want to congratulate you! That was the best
+piece of work you ever did in all your life."
+
+"Profissor," exclaimed Barney, "ye're a jewil! Av inny wan iver says you
+lack nerve, may Oi be bitten by th' wurrust shnake in Oireland av Oi
+don't break his head!"
+
+"Boys!" gasped the professor, "fan me! I can't seem to get my breath!
+How did I do it? It scares me to think of it."
+
+"You were a man, professor, and you showed Colonel Vallier that you were
+utterly reckless. You seemed eager for a fight."
+
+"Fight!" groaned the little man. "I couldn't fight a child! I never
+fought in my life. I don't know how to fight."
+
+"Colonel Vallier didn't know that. It was plain, he believed you a
+desperate slugger, and he wilted immediately."
+
+"But I can't understand how I came to do such a thing. Till their
+unwarranted intrusion--till I collided with the colonel--I was in terror
+for my life. The moment we collided I seemed to forget that I was
+scared, and I remembered only that I was mad."
+
+"And you seemed more than eager for a scrap."
+
+"Ye samed doying fer a bit av a row, profissor."
+
+"What if he had struck me!" palpitated the little man. "Oh, gracious! It
+would have been terrible!"
+
+"For him. If he'd struck you, you'd been so mad that nothing could have
+stopped you. You would have waded into him, and given him the worst
+thrashing he ever received."
+
+"Thot's pwhat ye would, profissor, sure as fate."
+
+Scotch began to revive, and the words of the boys convinced him that he
+was really a very brave man, and had done a most daring thing. Little by
+little, he began to swell, like a toad.
+
+"I don't know but you're right," he said, stiffening up. "I was utterly
+reckless and desperate at the time."
+
+"That's right, professor."
+
+"Profissor, ye're a bad mon ter buck against."
+
+"That is a fact that has not been generally known, but, having cowed one
+of the most desperate duelists in the South, and forced him to
+apologize, I presume I have a right to make some pretensions."
+
+"That's a fact."
+
+"Ye've made a riccord fer yersilf."
+
+"And a record to be proud of," crowed the little man, getting on his
+feet and beginning to strut, forgetful of the fact that he was in his
+night robe and presented a most ludicrous appearance. "The events of
+this evening shall become a part of history. Future generations shall
+regard me as one of the most nervy and daring men of my age. And really,
+I don't know but I am. What's the use of being a coward when you can be
+a hero just as well. Boys, this adventure has made a different man of
+me. Hereafter, you will see that I'll not quail in the face of the most
+deadly dangers. I'll even dare to walk up to the mouth of a cannon--if I
+know it isn't loaded."
+
+The boys were forced to laugh at his bantam-like appearance, but, for
+all of the queer twist he had given his last expression, the professor
+seemed very serious, and it was plain that he had begun to regard
+himself with admiration.
+
+"Think, boys," he cried--"think of my offer to fight him with pistols
+across yonder narrow table!"
+
+"That was a stroke of genius, professor," declared Frank. "That broke
+Colonel Vallier up more than anything else."
+
+"He wilted at that."
+
+"Of course you did not mean to actually fight him that way?"
+
+"Well, I don't know," swelled the little man. "I was reckless then, and
+I didn't care for anything."
+
+Suddenly Frank grew grave.
+
+"This other matter they spoke of worries me," he said. "I can't
+understand what has happened to the Queen of Flowers."
+
+"Ye mustn't let thot worry yez, me b'y."
+
+"I can't help it."
+
+"She may be home by this toime."
+
+"And she may be in desperate need of a helping hand."
+
+"Av she is, Oi dunno how ye can hilp her, Frankie."
+
+"Nor do I know of any way. Why should any one kidnap her?"
+
+"Oi dunno."
+
+"It would be a most daring thing to do, as she is so well known; but
+there are daring and desperate ruffians in New Orleans."
+
+"Oi think ye're roight, me b'y."
+
+"It may be that she has been persecuted so that she fled of her own
+accord, and yet I hardly think that is true."
+
+"No more do Oi, Frankie."
+
+"If it is not true, surely she is in trouble."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Oh, I can't remain quietly here, knowing she may need aid!"
+
+"Pwhat will yez do?"
+
+"I am going out."
+
+"Where?"
+
+"Somewhere--anywhere! Will you come along?"
+
+"Sure, me b'y, Oi'm wid yez firrust, larrust, an' all th' toime!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+FRANK'S BOLD MOVE.
+
+
+The professor declined to go out. He returned to bed, and the boys left
+the hotel.
+
+"Where away, Frankie?" asked Barney.
+
+"I don't know," replied Frank, helplessly. "There is not one chance in
+millions of finding the lost Flower Queen, but I feel that I must move
+about. We'll visit the old French quarter by night. I have been there in
+the daytime, and I'd like to see how it looks at night. Come on."
+
+And so they made their way to the French quarter, crossing Canal Street
+and turning into a quiet, narrow way, that soon brought them to a region
+of architectural decrepitude.
+
+The streets of this section were not overlighted, and seemed very silent
+and lonely, as, at this particular time, the greater part of the
+inhabitants of the quarter were away to the scenes of pleasure.
+
+The streets echoed to the boys' feet. There were queer balconies on
+every hand, the stores were mere shops, all of them now closed, and many
+windows were nailed up. Rust and decay were on all sides, and yet there
+was something impressive in the almost Oriental squalor of the place.
+
+"It sames loike we'd left th' city intoirely for another place, so it
+does," muttered Barney.
+
+"That is true," admitted Frank. "New Orleans seems like a human being
+with two personalities. For me this is the most interesting part of the
+city; but commerce is beginning to crowd in here, and the time is coming
+when the French quarter will cease to be an attraction for New Orleans."
+
+"D'ye think not, Frankie?"
+
+"It is a certain thing."
+
+"Well, we'll get our look at it before it is gone intoirely."
+
+A few dark figures were moving silently along the streets. The night was
+warm, and the shutters of the balcony windows were opened to admit air.
+
+At a corner they halted, and, of a sudden, Frank clutched the arm of his
+companion, whispering:
+
+"Look--see that man?"
+
+"Yes, me b'y."
+
+"Did you see his face?"
+
+"Nivver a bit."
+
+"Well, I did, and I do not believe I am mistaken in thinking I have seen
+it before."
+
+"Whin?"
+
+"To-night."
+
+"Pwhere?"
+
+"In the alley where I was trapped by Manuel Mazaro and his gang."
+
+"It wur darruk in there, Frankie."
+
+"But I fired my revolver, and by the flash I saw a face."
+
+"So ye soay."
+
+"It was the face of the man who just passed beneath this light."
+
+"An' pwhat av thot, Frankie?"
+
+"He might lead me to Manuel Mazaro."
+
+"Pwhat do yez want to see thot spalpane fer?"
+
+"Mazaro knows a good deal."
+
+"Fer instance, pwhat?"
+
+"Why I was attacked, and the object of the attack. He might be induced
+to tell."
+
+"It sure wur a case av intinded robbery, me b'y."
+
+"Perhaps so, perhaps not. But he knows more. He knows all about Rolf
+Raymond and Colonel Vallier."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Rolf Raymond and Colonel Vallier know a great deal about the lost
+Flower Queen. It is possible Mazaro knows something of her. Come on,
+Barney; we'll follow that man."
+
+"Jist as ye say, me lad."
+
+"Take the other side of the street, and keep him in sight, but do not
+seem to be following him."
+
+They separated, and both kept in sight of the man, who did not seem to
+fear pursuit or dream any one was shadowing him.
+
+He led them straight to an antiquated story and a half Creole cottage,
+shaded by a large willow tree, the branches of which touched the sides
+and swept the round tiles of the roof. The foliage of the old tree half
+concealed the discolored stucco, which was dropping off in many places.
+
+Over the door was a sign which announced that it was a cafe. The door
+was open, and, in the first room could be seen some men who were eating
+and drinking at a table. There was another room beyond.
+
+The man the boys had followed entered the cottage, passed through the
+first room, speaking to the men at the table, and disappeared into the
+room beyond.
+
+Frank and Barney paused outside.
+
+"Are yez goin' to folly him, Frankie, b'y?" asked the Irish lad.
+
+"To be sure I am."
+
+"There's no tellin' pwhat koind av a nest ye will get inther."
+
+"I'll have to take my chances on that."
+
+"Thin Oi'm wid yez."
+
+"No, I want you to remain outside, so you will be on hand in case I need
+air."
+
+"How'll I know ye nade it?"
+
+"You'll hear me cry or shoot."
+
+"Av Oi do, you'll see Barney Mulloy comin' loike a cyclone."
+
+"I know I may depend on you, and I know this may be a nest of assassins.
+These Spaniards are hot-blooded fellows, and they make dangerous
+rascals."
+
+Frank looked at his revolver, to make sure it was in perfect working
+order, dropped it into the side pocket of his coat, and walked boldly
+into the cottage cafe.
+
+The men in the front room stared at him in surprise, but he did not seem
+to give them a glance, walking straight through into the next room.
+
+There he saw two Spanish-looking fellows talking in low tones over a
+table, on which drinks were setting.
+
+One of them was the man he had followed.
+
+They were surprised to see the boy coolly walk into the room, and
+advance without hesitation to their table.
+
+The one Frank had followed seemed to recognize the lad, and he appeared
+startled and somewhat alarmed.
+
+With the greatest politeness, Frank touched his cap, asking:
+
+"Senor, do you know Manuel Mazaro?"
+
+The fellow scowled, and hesitated, and then retorted:
+
+"What if I do?"
+
+"I want to see him."
+
+"And you have come here for that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I will see if he be here. Wait."
+
+At one side of the room was a door, opening on a dark flight of stairs.
+Through this doorway and up the stairs the fellow disappeared.
+
+Frank sat down at the table, feeling the revolver in the side pocket of
+his coat.
+
+The other man did not attempt to make any conversation.
+
+In a few minutes the one who had ascended the stairs reappeared.
+
+"Senor Mazaro will soon be down," he announced.
+
+Then he sat at the table, and resumed conversation with his companion,
+speaking in Spanish, and not even seeming to hear the "thank you" from
+Frank.
+
+It was not long before Mazaro appeared, and he came forward without
+hesitation, smiling serenely, as if delighted to see the boy.
+
+"Oh, senor!" he cried, "yo' be not harm in de scrape what we run into?"
+
+"I was not harmed, no, thanks to you, Mazaro," said the boy, coolly. "It
+is a wonder that I came out with a whole skin."
+
+"Senor, you do not blame me fo' dat? I deed not know-a it--I deed not
+know-a de robbares were there."
+
+"Mazaro, you are a very good liar, but it will not work with me."
+
+The Spaniard showed his teeth, and fell back a step.
+
+"De young senor speak-a ver' plain," he said.
+
+"It is my way. Mazaro, we may as well understand each other first as
+last. You are a scoundrel, and you're out for the dollars. Now, it is
+possible you can make more money by serving me than in any other way. If
+you can help me, I will pay you well."
+
+Mazaro looked ready to sink a knife into Frank's heart a moment before,
+but he suddenly thawed. With the utmost politeness, he said:
+
+"I do not think-a I know what de senor mean. If he speak-a litt'l
+plainer, mebbe I ondarstan'."
+
+"Sit down, Mazaro."
+
+The Spaniard took a seat at the table.
+
+"Now," said Frank, quietly, "order what you wish to drink, and I will
+pay for it. I never drink myself, and I never carry much money with me
+nights, but I have enough to pay for your drink."
+
+"De senor is ver' kind," bowed Manuel, and he ordered a drink, which was
+brought by a villainous-looking old woman.
+
+Frank paid, and, when Mazaro was sipping the liquid, he leaned forward
+and said:
+
+"Senor Mazaro, you know Rolf Raymond?"
+
+"Si, senor."
+
+"And Colonel Vallier?"
+
+"Si, senor."
+
+"And the Queen of Flowers?"
+
+"I know of her, senor; I see her to-day."
+
+"You know more. She has disappeared, and you know what has become of
+her."
+
+It was a chance shot, but Frank saw it went home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+THE QUEEN IS FOUND.
+
+
+Mazaro changed color, and then he regained his composure.
+
+"Senor," he said, smoothly, "I know-a not what made you t'ink dat."
+
+"I do not think; I know."
+
+"Wondareful--ver' wondareful," purred the Spaniard, in mock admiration.
+"You give-a me great s'prise."
+
+Frank was angry, but he held himself in restraint, appearing cool.
+
+"Your face betrayed it."
+
+"Ah! Dat show yo' have-a ver' gre't eye, senor."
+
+"You do not deny it?"
+
+"Why should I do dat when you know-a so much?"
+
+"You dare not deny it."
+
+"Dare, senor? I dare ver' many thing you do not know."
+
+Mazaro was exasperatingly cool.
+
+"Look here, man," said Frank, leaning toward the Spaniard; "are you
+aware that you may get yourself into serious trouble? Are you aware that
+kidnaping is an offense that makes you a criminal of the worst sort, and
+for which you might be sent up for twenty years, at least?"
+
+The Spaniard smiled.
+
+"It is eeze to talk, but dat is not proof," he said.
+
+"You scoundrel!" exclaimed the boy, his anger getting the better of him
+for the moment. "I have a mind to convey my suspicions to the police,
+and then----"
+
+"An' den what, senor? Ah! you talk ver' bol' fo' boy like you. Do you
+know-a what? Well, see; if I snappa my fingare, quick like a flash you
+get a knife 'tween your shouldares. Den you not tell-a the police."
+
+Frank could not repress a shiver. He looked swiftly around, and saw the
+black eyes of the other two men were fastened upon him, and he knew
+they were ready to obey Mazaro's signal.
+
+"W'at yo' t'ink-a, senor?" smiled Manuel, insolently.
+
+"That is very well," came calmly from Frank's lips. "If I were to give
+the signal my friends would rush in here to my aid. If you stab me, make
+sure the knife goes through my heart with the first stroke, so there
+will be little chance that I'll cry out."
+
+"Den you have-a friends near, ha? I t'ink so mebbe. Call-a dem in."
+
+"No, thank you. They will remain outside till they are needed."
+
+"Ver' well. Now we undarestan' each odder. Yo' have-a some more to say?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Say him."
+
+"I have told you that you might find it profitable to serve me."
+
+"I hear dat."
+
+"I meant it."
+
+"W'at yo' want done?"
+
+"No dirty work--no throat-cutting. I want information."
+
+"Ha! W'at yo' want-a know?"
+
+"I want to know who the Queen of Flowers is."
+
+"Any more?"
+
+"Yes; I want to know where she is, and you can tell me."
+
+"Yo' say dat, but yo' can't prove it. I don't say anyt'ing, senor. 'Bo't
+how much yo' pay fo' that info'mation, ha?"
+
+"Good money, and a fair price."
+
+"Fair price notting; I want good-a price. Undarestand-a?"
+
+"I understand."
+
+"W'at yo' gif?"
+
+"To know where she is? A hundred dollars."
+
+Mazaro smiled scornfully.
+
+"Dat notting. Yo' don' talk de biz. Yo' don' have-a de mon' enough."
+
+"Wait," urged Frank. "I am a Yankee, from the North, and I will make a
+trade with you."
+
+"All-a right, but I don't admit I know anyt'ing."
+
+Manuel leaned back in his chair, lazily and deftly rolling a cigarette,
+which he lighted. Frank watched this piece of business, thinking of the
+best manner of approaching the fellow.
+
+And then something happened that electrified every one within the cafe.
+
+Somewhere above there came the sound of blows, and a crashing,
+splintering sound, as of breaking wood. Then a shriek ran through the
+building.
+
+"Help! Help! Save me!"
+
+It was the voice of a female in great terror and distress.
+
+Mazaro ground a curse through his white teeth, and leaped to his feet,
+but Frank was on his feet quite as quickly.
+
+Smack! Frank's arm had shot out, and his hard fist struck the Spaniard
+under the ear, sending the fellow flying through the air and up against
+the wall with terrible force. From the wall Mazaro dropped, limp and
+groaning, to the floor.
+
+Like a flash, the nervy youth flung the table against the downcast
+wretch's companions, making them reel.
+
+Then Frank leaped toward the stairs, up which he bounded like a deer.
+
+"Where are you?" he cried. "I am here to help you! Call again!"
+
+No answer.
+
+Near the head of the stairs a light shone out through a broken panel in
+a door, and on this door Frank knew the blows he had heard must have
+fallen.
+
+Within this room the boy fancied he could hear sounds of a desperate
+struggle.
+
+Behind him the desperadoes were rallying, cursing hoarsely, and crying
+to each other. They were coming, and the lad on the stairs knew they
+would come armed to the teeth.
+
+All the chivalry in his nature was aroused. His blood was leaping and
+tingling in his veins, and he felt able to cope with a hundred foes.
+
+Straight toward the broken door he leaped, and his hand found the knob,
+but it refused to yield at his touch.
+
+"Fast!" he panted. "Well, I'll try this!"
+
+He hurled himself against the door, but it remained firm.
+
+There were feet on the stairs; the desperadoes were coming.
+
+At that moment he looked into the room through the break in the panel,
+and he saw a girl struggling with all her strength in the hands of a
+man. The man was trying to hold a hand over her mouth to keep her from
+crying out again, while a torrent of angry Spanish words poured in a
+hissing sound from his bearded lips.
+
+As Frank looked the girl tore the fellow's hand from her lips, and her
+cry for help again rang out.
+
+The wretch lifted his fist to strike her senseless, but the blow did not
+fall.
+
+Frank was a remarkably good shot, and his revolver was in his hand. That
+hand was flung upward to the opening in the panel, and he fired into the
+room.
+
+The burst of smoke kept him from seeing the result of the shot, but he
+heard a hoarse roar of pain from the man, and he knew he had not missed.
+
+He had fired at the fellow's wrist, and the bullet had shattered it.
+
+But now the ruffians who were coming furiously up the stairs demanded
+his attention.
+
+"Halt!" he shouted. "Stop where you are, or I shall open fire on you!"
+
+He could see them, and he saw the foremost lift his hand. Then there was
+a burst of flame before Frank's eyes, and he staggered backward, feeling
+a bullet near his cheek.
+
+Not till that moment did he realize what a trap he was in, and how
+desperate was his situation.
+
+"It is a fight for life!" he muttered, as he lifted his revolver.
+
+The smell of burned powder was in his nostrils, the fire of battle
+gleamed from his eyes.
+
+The weapon in Frank's hand spoke again, and once more he found his game,
+for the leading ruffian, having almost reached the head of the stairs,
+flung up his arms, with a gurgling sound, and toppled backward upon
+those who were following.
+
+Down the stairs they all tumbled, falling in a heap at the bottom, where
+they struggled, squirmed, and shouted.
+
+"So far everything is very serene!" half laughed the daring boy. "This
+has turned out to be a real lively night."
+
+Frank was a lad who never deliberately sought danger for danger's sake,
+but when his blood was aroused, he entirely forgot to be afraid, and he
+felt a wild thrill of joy when in the greatest peril.
+
+For the time, he had entirely forgotten the existence of Barney Mulloy,
+but now he remembered that the Irish lad had waited outside the cottage
+cafe.
+
+"He has heard the rumpus," said Frank, aloud. "I wonder where Barney can
+be?"
+
+"Whist, be aisy, me lad!" retorted the familiar voice of the Irish
+youth. "Oi'm wid yez to th' ind!"
+
+Barney was close behind Frank!
+
+"How in the world did you get here?" cried our hero, in great
+astonishment.
+
+"Oi climbed the tray, me b'y."
+
+"The tree? What tree?"
+
+"Th' willey tray as shtands forninst th' corner av th' house, Frankie."
+
+"But that does not explain how you came here at my side."
+
+"There was a windy open, an' Oi shlipped in by th' windy."
+
+"Well, you're a dandy, Barney!"
+
+"An' ye're a birrud, Frankie. What koind av a muss hiv ye dhropped into
+now, Oi'd loike ter know?"
+
+"A regular ruction. I heard a girl shout for help, and I knocked over
+two or three chaps, Mazaro included, on my way to her aid."
+
+"Where is she now, b'y?"
+
+"In here," said Frank, pointing through the broken panel. "She is the
+missing Queen of Flowers! There she is, Barney! See here!"
+
+Then Frank obtained a fair look at the girl's face, staggered, clutched
+Barney, and shouted:
+
+"Look! By heavens! It is not strange she knew me, for we both know her!
+She is Inza Burrage!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+FIGHTING LADS.
+
+
+While attending school at Fardale Military Academy, Frank had met and
+become acquainted with a charming girl by the name of Inza Burrage. They
+had been very friendly--more than friendly; in a boy and girl way, they
+were lovers.
+
+After leaving Fardale and starting to travel, Frank had written to Inza,
+and she had answered. For a time the correspondence had continued, but,
+at last, Frank had failed to receive any answers to his letters. He
+wrote again and again, but never a line came from Inza, and he finally
+decided she had grown tired of him, and had taken this method of
+dropping him.
+
+Frank was proud and sensitive, and he resolved to forget Inza. This was
+not easy, but he thought of her as little as possible, and never spoke
+of her to any one.
+
+And now he had met her in this remarkable manner. Some fellow had
+written him from Fardale that Mr. Burrage had moved from the place, but
+no one seemed to know whither he had gone. Frank had not dreamed of
+seeing Inza in New Orleans, but she was the mysterious Queen of Flowers,
+and, for some reason, she was in trouble and peril.
+
+Although dazed by his astonishing discovery, the boy quickly recovered,
+and he felt that he could battle with a hundred ruffians in the defense
+of the girl beyond the broken door.
+
+Barney Mulloy seemed no less astonished than Frank.
+
+"Be me soul! it is thot lassie!" he cried.
+
+"Inza! Inza!" shouted Frank, through the broken panel.
+
+She heard him.
+
+"Frank! Frank! Save me!"
+
+"I will!"
+
+The promise was given with the utmost confidence.
+
+At that moment, however, the ruffian whose wrist Frank had broken,
+leaped upon the girl and grasped her with his uninjured arm.
+
+"_Carramba!_" he snarled. "You save-a her? Bah! Fool! You never git-a
+out with whole skin!"
+
+"Drop her, you dog!" cried Frank, pointing his revolver at the
+fellow--"drop her, or I'll put a bullet through your head, instead of
+your wrist!"
+
+"Bah! Shoot! You kill-a her!"
+
+He held the struggling girl before him as a shield.
+
+Like a raging lion, Frank tore at the panel.
+
+The man with the girl swiftly moved back to a door at the farther side
+of the room. This door he had already unfastened and flung open.
+
+"_Adios!_" he cried, derisively. "Some time I square wid you for my
+hand-a! _Adios!_"
+
+"Th' spalpanes are comin' up th' shtairs again, Frankie!" cried Barney,
+in the ear of the desperate boy at the door.
+
+Frank did not seem to hear; he was striving to break the stout panel so
+that he could force his way through the opening.
+
+"Frank! Frank! they're coming up th' shtairs!"
+
+"Let them come!"
+
+"They'll make mince mate av us!"
+
+"I must follow her!"
+
+"Well, folly, av ye want to!" shouted the Irish lad. "Oi'm goin' to
+shtop th' gang!"
+
+Crack! The panel gave. Crack! splinter! smash! Out came a long strip,
+which Frank flung upon the floor.
+
+Barney caught it up and whirled toward the stairs.
+
+The desperadoes were coming with a rush--they were well up the stairs.
+In another moment the leading ruffian would have reached the second
+floor.
+
+"Get back, ye gossoons! Down, ye haythen! Take thot, ye bloody pirates!"
+
+The strip of heavy wood in Barney's hands whirled through the air, and
+came down with a resounding crack on the head of the leader.
+
+The fellows had not learned caution by the fate of the first man to
+climb the stairs, and they were following their second leader as close
+as possible.
+
+Barney had a strong arm, and he struck the fellow with all his power.
+Well it was for the ruffian that the heavy wood was not very thick, else
+he would have had a broken head.
+
+Back he toppled upon the one behind, and that one made a vain attempt to
+support him. The dead weight was too much, and the second fell, again
+sweeping the whole lot to the foot of the stairs.
+
+"Hurro!" shouted the Irish boy, in wild delight. "This is th' koind av a
+picnic pwhat Oi admire! Come on, ye nagurs! It's Barney Mulloy ye're
+runnin' up against, an' begobs! he's good fer th' whole crowd av yez!"
+
+At the foot of the stairs there was a writhing, wrangling, snarling mass
+of human beings; at the head of the stairs was a young Irishman who
+laughed and crowed and flourished the cudgel of wood in his hands.
+
+Barney, feeling his blood leaping joyously in his veins, felt like
+singing, and so he began to warble a "fighting song," over and over
+inviting his enemies to come on.
+
+In the meantime Frank had made an opening large enough to force his body
+through.
+
+"Come on, Barney!" he cried, attracting the other boy's attention by a
+sharp blow.
+
+"Pwhere?"
+
+"In here--somewhere."
+
+"Frankie, ye're muddled, an' Oi nivver saw yez so before."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Nivver a bit would it do for us both to go in there, fer th' craythers
+moight hiv us in a thrap."
+
+"You're right, Barney. I will go. You stay here and hold the ruffians
+back. Here--take my revolver. You'll need it."
+
+"G'wan wid yez! Quit yer foolin', Frankie! Oi hiv an illigant shillaly
+here, an' thot's all Oi nade, unliss ye have two revolvers."
+
+"This is the only one I have."
+
+"Thin kape it, me b'y, fer ye'll nade it before ye save the lass, Oi
+think."
+
+"I think you may be right, Barney. Here goes! Hold them back. I'll not
+desert you."
+
+"It's nivver a bit Oi worry about thot, Frankie. G'wan!"
+
+Through the panel Frank forced his way. As soon as he was within the
+room he ran for the door through which the ruffian had dragged Inza.
+
+Frank knew that the fellow might be waiting just beyond the door, knife
+in hand, and he sprang through with his revolver held ready for instant
+use.
+
+There was no light in the room, but the light from the lamp in the
+adjoining room shone in at the doorway.
+
+Frank looked around, and, to his dismay, he could see no one.
+
+"Are they gone?" he asked himself. "If so, whither?"
+
+It was not long before he was convinced that the room was empty of any
+living being save himself.
+
+The Spanish ruffian and the unfortunate girl had disappeared.
+
+"Oh, confound the infernal luck!" raved the boy. "He has escaped with
+her! But I did my best, and I followed as soon as possible."
+
+Then he remembered that he had promised Inza he would save her, and it
+wrung a groan from his lips.
+
+"Which way have they gone?" he cried, beginning to look for a door that
+led from the room.
+
+By this time he was accustomed to the dim light, and he saw a door. In a
+twinkling he had tried it, but found it was locked or bolted on the
+farther side.
+
+"The fellow had little time and no hands to lock a door. He may not have
+gone this way. He must, for this is the only door to the room, save the
+one by which I entered. He went out this way, and I will follow!"
+
+Retreating to the farther side of the room, Frank made a run and plunged
+against the door.
+
+It was bolted on the farther side, and the shock snapped the iron bolt
+as if it had been a pipe stem.
+
+Bang! Open flew the door, and Frank went reeling through, revolver in
+hand, somewhat dazed, but still determined and fierce as a young tiger.
+
+At a glance he saw he was in a small room, with two doors standing
+open--the one he had just broken down and another. Through this other he
+leaped, and found himself in a long passage, at the farther end of which
+Barney Mulloy was still guarding the head of the stairs, once more
+singing the wild "fighting song."
+
+Not a trace of the ruffian or the kidnaped girl could Frank see.
+
+"Gone!" he palpitated, mystified and awe-stricken. "Gone--where?"
+
+That was a question he could not answer for a moment, and then----
+
+"The window in that room! It is the one by which Barney entered! It must
+be the one by which the wretch fled with Inza!"
+
+Back into the room he had just left he leaped. Two bounds carried him to
+the window, against which brushed the branch of the old willow tree.
+
+He looked out.
+
+"There they are!"
+
+The exultant words came in a panting whisper from his lips as he saw
+some dark figures on the ground beneath the tree. He was sure he saw a
+female form among them, and his ears did not deceive him, for he heard
+at last a smothered appeal for help.
+
+Then two other forms rushed out of the shadows and fell upon the men
+beneath the tree, striking right and left!
+
+There was a short, fierce struggle, a woman's shriek, the death groan of
+a stricken man, a pistol shot, and scattering forms.
+
+Without pausing to measure the distance to the ground, Frank sprang over
+the window sill and dropped.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+END OF THE SEARCH.
+
+
+Like a cat, Frank alighted on his feet, and he was ready for anything
+the moment he struck the ground.
+
+There was no longer any fighting beneath the tree. The struggling mass
+had melted to two dark figures, one of which was stretched on the
+ground, while the other bent over it.
+
+Frank sprang forward and caught the kneeling one by the shoulder.
+
+"What has become of her?" he demanded, fiercely.
+
+The man looked up, astonished.
+
+It was Colonel La Salle Vallier!
+
+"Yo', sah?" he exclaimed.
+
+"You?" cried Frank.
+
+Then the boy recovered, again demanding:
+
+"What has become of Miss Burrage? She was here a moment ago."
+
+The colonel looked around in a dazed way, slowly saying:
+
+"Yes, sah, she was here, fo' Mistah Raymon' heard her voice, and he
+rushed in to save her."
+
+"Raymond? Where is he?"
+
+"Here, sah."
+
+The colonel motioned toward the silent form on the ground, and Frank
+bent forward to peer into the white, ghastly face.
+
+It was, indeed, Rolf Raymond.
+
+"Dead?" fluttered Frank.
+
+"Dead!" replied Colonel Vallier.
+
+"He was killed in the struggle?"
+
+"He was stabbed at the ver' start, sah. The knife must have struck his
+heart."
+
+"Merciful goodness!" gasped the boy, horrified. "And how came he here?"
+
+"We were searching fo' Manuel Mazaro, sah. Mistah Raymon' did not trus'
+the rascal, and he believed Mazaro might know something about Miss
+Burrage. Mazaro is ready fo' anything, and he knew big money would be
+offered fo' the recovery of the young lady, so he must have kidnaped
+her. We knew where to find Mazaro, though he did not suppose so, and we
+came here. As we approached, we saw some figures beneath this tree. Then
+we heard a feminine cry fo' help, and we rushed in here, sah. That's
+all, except that Mistah Raymon' rushed to his death, and the rascals
+have escaped."
+
+"They have escaped with the girl--carried her away!"
+
+"But they will not dare keep her now, sah."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because they are known, and the entire police of the city will be after
+them."
+
+"What will they do with her?"
+
+"I don't know, but I do not think they will harm her, sah."
+
+"What was she to Rolf Raymond?"
+
+"His affianced bride, sah."
+
+"Well, she will not marry him now," said Frank; "but I am truly sorry
+that the fellow was killed in such a dastardly manner."
+
+"So am I, sah," confessed the queer colonel. "He has been ver' valuable
+to me. It will be a long time before I find another like him."
+
+Frank did not understand that remark then, but he did afterward, when he
+was told that Colonel Vallier was a professional card sharp, and had
+bled Rolf Raymond for many thousands of dollars. This explained the
+singular friendship between the sharp old rascal and the young man.
+
+More than that, Frank afterward learned that Colonel Vallier was not a
+commissioned officer, had never been such, but had assumed the title.
+
+In many ways the man tried to imitate the Southern gentleman of the old
+school, but, as he was not a gentleman at heart, he was a sad failure.
+
+All at once Frank remembered Barney, and that he had promised to stand
+by the Irish lad.
+
+"Great Scott!" he cried. "Barney Mulloy is in there with that gang of
+raging wolves!"
+
+"Nivver a bit av it, Frankie," chirped a cheerful voice. "Oi am here."
+
+Down from the tree swung the fighting Irish lad, dropping beside his
+comrade.
+
+"Th' craythers didn't feel loike comin' up th' shtairs inny more,"
+Barney explained. "They seemed to hiv enough sport fer wan avenin'.
+Somebody shouted somethin' to thim, an' away they wint out doors, so I
+took to lookin' fer yez, me b'y."
+
+"And you found me?"
+
+"Oi looked out av th' windy, an' hearrud yer voice. Thot's whoy Oi came
+down. Phat has happened out here, Oi dunno?"
+
+Frank hastily explained.
+
+"Well, it's the avil wan's oun luck!" exclaimed Barney. "But av we shtay
+here, Frankie, it's pinched we'll be by the police as will be afther
+getting around boy and boy. We'd betther take a sneak."
+
+"Inza----"
+
+"She ain't here inny more, me lad, an' so ye moight as well go."
+
+"You are right. Come on."
+
+Swiftly and silently they slipped away, leaving Colonel Vallier with the
+dead youth.
+
+Frank was feeling disgusted and desperate, and he expressed himself
+freely as they made their way along the streets.
+
+"It is voile luck," admitted Barney; "but we did our bist, an' it's a
+jolly good foight we had. Frankie, we make a whole tame, wid a litthle
+yaller dog under th' waggin."
+
+"Oh, I can't think of anything but Inza, Inza, Inza! She----"
+
+"Frank!"
+
+Out of a dark shadow timidly came a female figure.
+
+With a cry of joy, Frank sprang forward, and clasped her in his arms,
+lifting her off her feet and covering her face, eyes and mouth with
+kisses, while he cried:
+
+"Inza, girl! at last! at last! We fought like fiends to save you, and we
+thought we had failed. But now----"
+
+"You did your best, Frank, but that dreadful wretch dragged me to the
+window and dropped me into the arms of a monster who was waiting below.
+I did not faint--I would not! I made up my mind that I would keep my
+senses and try to escape. The man jumped after me, and then a signal was
+given that brought the others from the building. They were going to wrap
+something about my head when I got my mouth free and cried out. After
+that I scarcely know what happened. There was fighting, and I caught a
+glimpse of the face of Rolf Raymond. How he came there I do not know. I
+felt myself free, and I ran, ran, ran, till I fell here from exhaustion,
+and here I lay till I heard your voice. I knew it, and I replied."
+
+"Frankie, me b'y!" cried Barney, "it's a bit ago we were ravin' at our
+luck: It's givin' thanks we should be this minute."
+
+"True, Barney, true! It is all right at last. Inza is safe, Rolf Raymond
+is dead, and----"
+
+A cry broke from the lips of the girl.
+
+"Rolf Raymond dead?" she exclaimed, wildly. "Are you sure?"
+
+"Sure," replied Frank, coldly. "You will not marry him now."
+
+"I should not have married him anyway."
+
+"But you were affianced to him?"
+
+"By my father--yes. My father and Roderick Raymond, who is a <DW36> and
+has not many more years to live, were schoolmates and friends in their
+younger days. Roderick Raymond has made a vast fortune, and in his old
+age he set his heart upon having his son marry the daughter of his
+former friend and partner. It seems that, when they first got married,
+father and Raymond declared, in case the child of one was a boy, and
+that of the other was a girl, that their children should marry. Rolf was
+Mr. Raymond's only son, as I am an only daughter. Believing himself
+ready to die, Roderick Raymond sent to my father and reminded him of
+their agreement. As you know, father is not very wealthy, and he is now
+an invalid. His mind is not strong, and he became convinced that it was
+his duty to see that I married Rolf Raymond. He set his mind on it, and
+all my pleadings were in vain. He brought me here to the South, and I
+saw Rolf. I disliked him violently the moment my eyes rested on him,
+but he seemed to fall madly in love with me. He was fiercely jealous of
+me, and watched me as a dog watches its mistress. I could not escape
+him, and I was becoming entangled deeper and deeper when you appeared. I
+knew you, and I was determined to see you again--to ask you to save me.
+I took part in the parade to-night, and went to the ballroom. Rolf
+followed me about so that I became disgusted and slipped from the room,
+intending to return home alone. Barely had I left the room when a fellow
+whispered in my ear that he had been sent there by you--that I was to go
+with him, and he would take me to you. I entered a closed carriage, and
+I was brought to the place where you found me a captive in the hands of
+those ruffians."
+
+Frank had listened with eager interest to this explanation, and it made
+everything clear.
+
+"It was ordained by fate that we should find you there," he declared.
+"It was known the Queen of Flowers had disappeared, and we were
+searching for you. Something led us straight to that place. Rolf Raymond
+came there, also, and he came to his death. But, Inza, explain one
+thing--why didn't you answer my letters?"
+
+"I answered every one I received. You stopped writing."
+
+"I did not; but I received no answers."
+
+"Then," cried the girl, "your letters must have been intercepted. You
+were constantly changing about. I did not know your address, so I could
+not ask for an explanation."
+
+"Well, it has come out right at last. We'll find a carriage and take you
+home. To-morrow I will see you."
+
+They reached Canal Street, and found a carriage.
+
+Inza's invalid father was astounded when he saw Frank and Barney Mulloy
+appear with his daughter, and he was more than ever astounded and
+agitated when he knew what had happened.
+
+But Inza was safe, and Rolf Raymond was dead.
+
+It was a lively tale the boys related to Professor Scotch that night.
+The little man fairly gasped for breath as he listened.
+
+"Well! well! well!" was all he could say.
+
+In the morning the police had taken hold of the affair, and they were
+hot after the fellows who had killed Rolf Raymond. Frank and Barney were
+called on to tell their story, and were placed under surveillance.
+
+But the cottage cafe was deserted, and the Spanish rascals were not
+captured. They disappeared from New Orleans, and, to this day, the law
+has never avenged the death of Roderick Raymond's only son.
+
+The murder of his boy was too much for Raymond to endure, and he died of
+a broken heart on the day of the son's funeral. Knowing he was dying, he
+had a new will swiftly made, and all his wealth was left to his old
+friend Burrage.
+
+Frank and Barney thoroughly enjoyed the rest of their stay in New
+Orleans. In the open carriage with them, at Frank's side, rode the
+"Queen of Flowers" as they went sight-seeing.
+
+In the throng of spectators, with two detectives near at hand, they saw
+Colonel La Salle Vallier. He lifted his hat and bowed with the utmost
+courtesy.
+
+"The auld chap is something of a daisy, after all, Frankie," laughed
+Barney. "Oi kinder admire th' spalpane."
+
+"Ha, hum!" coughed Professor Scotch, at Barney's side. "He is a great
+duelist--a great duelist, but he quailed before my terrible eye--he was
+forced to apologize. Hum, ha!"
+
+Frank leaned toward Inza.
+
+"If anything happens when we are again separated that you should fail to
+receive my letters, you will not doubt me, will you?" he asked, in a
+whisper.
+
+And she softly replied:
+
+"No, Frank, but----"
+
+"But what?"
+
+"You--you must not forget Elsie Bellwood."
+
+"I haven't heard from her in a long time," said Frank. And there the
+talk ended.
+
+But Frank was to hear from his other girl friend soon and in a most
+unexpected manner.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+THE MYSTERIOUS CANOE.
+
+
+From New Orleans Frank, Barney and the professor journeyed to Florida.
+
+Frank was anxious to see the Everglades and do some hunting.
+
+Our hero was particularly anxious to shoot a golden heron, of which he
+had heard not a little.
+
+One day a start was made in a canoe from a small settlement on the edge
+of the great Dismal Swamp, and on went our three friends deeper and
+deeper into the wilds.
+
+At last the professor grew tired of the sameness of the journey.
+
+"How much further into this wild swamp do you intend to go, Frank?" he
+asked.
+
+"I am going till I get a shot at a golden heron."
+
+"Nonsense! There is no golden heron."
+
+"You think so?"
+
+"I know it. The golden heron is a myth. White hunters have searched the
+remote fastnesses of the Florida swamps for a golden heron, but no such
+bird have they ever found. The Indians are the only ones to see golden
+herons."
+
+"If the Indians can see them, white men may find them. I shall not be
+satisfied till I have shot one."
+
+"Then you'll never be satisfied."
+
+"Oh, I don't know about that, professor. I am something of an Indian
+myself. You know the Seminoles are honest and peaceable, and----"
+
+"All Indians are liars. I would not take the word of a Seminole under
+any condition. Come, Frank, don't be foolish; let's turn round and go
+back. We may get bewildered on these winding waterways which twist here
+and there through swamps of cypress and rushes. We were foolish to come
+without a guide, but----"
+
+"We could not obtain one until to-morrow, and I wished to come to-day."
+
+"You may be sorry you did not wait."
+
+"Now, you are getting scared, professor," laughed Frank, lifting his
+paddle from the water and laying it across the bow of the canoe. "I'll
+tell you what we'll do."
+
+"All right."
+
+"We'll leave it to Barney, who has not had a word to say on the matter.
+If he says go back, we'll go back."
+
+Professor Scotch hesitated, scratched his fingers into his fiery beard,
+and then said:
+
+"Well, I'll have to do as you boys say, anyway, so we'll leave it to
+Barney."
+
+"All right," laughed Frank, once more. "What do you say, Barney, my
+boy?"
+
+Barney Mulloy was in the stern of the canoe that had been creeping along
+one of the sluggish water courses that led through the cypress swamp and
+into the heart of the Everglades.
+
+"Well, gintlemin," he said, "Oi've been so busy thrying to kape thrack
+av th' twists an' turruns we have been makin' thot Oi didn't moind mutch
+pwhat ye wur soaying. It wur something about turning back. Plaze repate
+it again."
+
+So the matter was laid before him, and, when he had heard what Frank and
+the professor had to say, he declared:
+
+"Fer mesilf it's nivver a bit do Oi care where we go ur pwhat we do,
+but, as long as we hiv come so fur, an' Frankie wants to go furder, Oi'd
+soay go on till he is sick av it an' reddy to turn back."
+
+"There, professor!" cried Frank; "that settles it!"
+
+"As I knew it would be settled," growled Professor Scotch, sulkily. "You
+boys combine against me every time. Well, I suppose I'll have to
+submit."
+
+So the trio pushed on still farther into the great Dismal Swamp, a weird
+section of strange vegetable and animal life, where great black trees
+stood silent and grim, with Spanish moss dangling from their branches,
+bright-plumaged birds flashed across the opens, ugly snakes glided
+sinuously over the boggy land, and sleepy alligators slid from muddy
+banks and disappeared beneath the surface of the dead water.
+
+The professor continued to grumble.
+
+"If we should come upon one of these wonderful golden herons, Frank
+could not come within a hundred yards of it with that old bow and
+arrow," he said.
+
+"Couldn't I?" retorted Frank. "Perhaps not, but I could make a bluff at
+it."
+
+"I don't see why you won't use a gun."
+
+"Well, there are two reasons. In the first place, in order to be sure of
+killing a heron with a shotgun I'd have to use fairly large shot, and
+that might injure the bird badly; in the second place, there might be
+two, and I'd not be able to bag more than one of them with a gun, as the
+report would scare the other. Then there is the possibility that I would
+miss with the first shot, and the heron would escape entirely. If I miss
+with an arrow, it is not likely the bird will be alarmed and take to
+flight, so I'll have another chance at it. Oh, there are some advantages
+in using the primitive bow and arrow."
+
+"Bosh!" exploded Scotch. "You have a way of always making out a good
+case for yourself. You won't be beaten."
+
+"Begobs! he is a hard b'y to bate, profissor," grinned Barney. "Av he
+wurn't, it's dead he'd been long ago."
+
+"That's right, that's right," agreed Scotch, who admired Frank more than
+he wished to acknowledge. "He's lucky."
+
+"It's not all luck, profissor," assured the Irish boy. "In minny cases
+it's pure nerve thot pulls him through."
+
+"Well, there's a great deal of luck in it--of course there is."
+
+"Oh, humor the professor, Barney," laughed Frank. "Perhaps he'll become
+better natured if you do."
+
+They now came to a region of wild cypress woods, where the treetops were
+literally packed with old nests, made in the peculiar heron style. They
+were constructed of huge bristling piles of cross-laid sticks, not
+unlike brush heaps of a Western clearing.
+
+Here for years, almost ages, different species of herons had built their
+nests in perfect safety.
+
+As the canoe slowly and silently glided toward the "rookeries," white
+and blue herons were seen to rise from the reed-grass and fly across the
+opens in a stately manner, with their long necks folded against their
+breasts, and their legs projecting stiffly behind them.
+
+"Pwoy don't yez be satisfoied wid a few av th' whoite wans, Frankie?"
+asked Barney, softly. "Shure, they're handsome enough."
+
+"They're handsome," admitted Frank; "but a golden heron is worth a large
+sum as a curiosity, and I mean to have one."
+
+"All roight, me b'y; have yer own way, lad."
+
+"He'll do that, anyhow," mumbled Professor Scotch, gruffly.
+
+They could now see long, soldier-like lines of herons stretched out
+along the reedy swales, standing still and solemn, like pickets on duty.
+
+They were not particularly wary or wild, for they had not been hunted
+very much in the wild region which they inhabited.
+
+Little green herons were plentiful, and they kept flying up before the
+canoe constantly, scaring the others, till Frank grew very impatient,
+declaring:
+
+"Those little rascals will scare away a golden heron, if we are
+fortunate enough to come upon one. Confound them!"
+
+"Let me shoot a few of th' varmints," urged Barney, reaching for one of
+the guns in the bottom of the canoe.
+
+"Not much!" returned Frank, quickly. "Think what the report of a gun
+would do here. Keep still, Barney."
+
+"All roight!" muttered the Irish lad, reluctantly relinquishing his hold
+on the gun. "Av ye soay kape still, kape still it is."
+
+Frank instructed the professor to take in his paddle, and Barney was
+directed to hold the canoe close to the edge of the rushes. In this
+manner, with Frank kneeling in the prow, an arrow ready notched on the
+string, he could shoot with very little delay.
+
+Beyond the heron rookery the waterway wound into the depths of a dark,
+forbidding region, where the Spanish moss hung thick, and the great
+trees leaned over the water.
+
+They had glided past one side of the rookery and were near this dark
+opening when an exclamation of surprise came from Frank Merriwell's
+lips.
+
+"Phat is it, me b'y?" asked Barney, quickly.
+
+"A canoe."
+
+"Phere?"
+
+"See it yonder."
+
+"Yes, Oi see it now. It's white."
+
+"There must be other hunters near at hand," said the professor.
+
+"The canoe is not drawn up to the bank," said Frank, in a puzzled way.
+"It seems to be floating at some distance from the shore."
+
+"Perhaps it is moored out there."
+
+"Why should it be moored in such a place? There are no tides here, and
+alligators are not liable to steal canoes."
+
+"Do ye see inny soign av a camp, Frankie?"
+
+"Not a sign of a camp or a human being. This is rather strange."
+
+A strange feeling of wonder that swiftly changed to awe was creeping
+over them. The canoe was snowy white, and lay perfectly motionless on
+the still surface of the water. It was in the dark shadow beneath the
+trees.
+
+"Perhaps the owner of the canoe is lying in the bottom," suggested the
+professor.
+
+"We'll see about that," said Frank, putting down the bow and arrow and
+taking up a paddle. "Head straight for her, Barney."
+
+With the very first stroke in that direction a most astonishing thing
+happened.
+
+The white canoe seemed to swing slightly about, and then, with no
+visible occupant and no apparent motive power, it glided smoothly and
+gently toward the dark depths of the black forest!
+
+"She's floating away from us!" cried the professor. "There must be a
+strong current there!"
+
+"Nivver a bit is she floating!" gasped Barney Mulloy. "Will ye look at
+her go! Begobs! Oi fale me hair shtandin' on me head!"
+
+"She is not floating!" Frank said. "See--she gains speed! Look at the
+ripple that spreads from her prow!"
+
+"But--but," spluttered Professor Scotch, "what is making her move--what
+is propelling her?"
+
+"That's a mystery!" came from Frank, "but it's a mystery I mean to
+solve! Get out your paddle, professor. Keep straight after that canoe,
+Barney. We'll run her down and look her over."
+
+Then a strange race began, canoe against canoe, the one in the lead
+apparently empty, the one pursuing containing three persons who were
+using all their strength and skill to overtake the empty craft.
+
+
+[Illustration: "The white canoe had stopped, and was lying calmly on the
+inky surface of the shadowed water." (See page 147)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+STILL MORE MYSTERIOUS.
+
+
+"Pull!" panted Frank.
+
+"Pull!" mumbled the professor.
+
+"Pull!" snorted Barney, in disgust, great drops of perspiration rolling
+down his face. "As if we wurn't pullin'!"
+
+"We're not gaining."
+
+"The white canoe keeps just so far ahead."
+
+"Begobs! it's not our fault at all, at all."
+
+Indeed, no matter how hard they worked, no matter how fast they made the
+canoe fly through the water, they could not gain on the mysterious white
+canoe. The distance between the two canoes seemed to remain just the
+same, and the one in advance slipped through the water without a sound,
+following the winding water course beneath the dark trees and going
+deeper and deeper into the heart of the swamp.
+
+Other water courses were passed, running away into unknown and
+unexplorable wilds. It grew darker and darker, and the feeling of awe
+and fear fell more heavily upon them.
+
+At last, exhausted and discouraged, the professor stopped paddling,
+crying to his companions, in a husky voice:
+
+"Stop, boys, stop! There is something supernatural about that fiendish
+boat! It is luring us to some frightful fate!"
+
+"Nonsense, professor!" retorted Frank. "You are not superstitious--you
+have said so at least a score of times."
+
+"That's all right," returned Scotch, shaking his head. "I do not take
+any stock in rappings, table tippings, and that kind of stuff, but I
+will confess this is too much for me."
+
+"Begobs! Oi don't wonder at thot," gurgled Barney Mulloy, wiping the
+great drops of perspiration from his forehead. "It's the divvil's own
+canoe, thot is sure!"
+
+"Oh, it's simple enough!" declared Frank, nettled.
+
+"Thin ixplain it fer me, me b'y--ixplain it."
+
+"Oh, I won't say that I can explain it, for I do not pretend to
+understand it; but I'll wager that the mystery would be readily solved
+if we could overtake and examine that canoe."
+
+"Mebbe so; but I think it nades a stameboat to overtake it."
+
+Professor Scotch shook his head in a most solemn manner.
+
+"Boys," he said, "in all my career I have never seen anything like this,
+and I shall never dare tell this adventure, for people in general would
+not believe it--they'd think I was lying."
+
+"Without doubt," admitted Frank. "And, still I will wager that the
+explanation of the whole matter would seem very simple if we could
+overtake that canoe and examine it."
+
+"Perhaps so."
+
+"You speak as if you doubted it."
+
+"Possibly I do."
+
+"I am surprised at you, professor--I am more than surprised."
+
+"I can't help it if you are, my boy."
+
+"I am afraid your mind is beginning to weaken."
+
+"Soay, Frankie," broke in Barney. "Oi loike fun as well as th' nixt wan,
+but, be jabbers! it's nivver a bit av it can Oi see in this!"
+
+"See that infernal canoe?" cried the professor, pointing at the mystic
+craft. "It has stopped out there in the shadows."
+
+"And seems to be waiting for us to pursue again."
+
+"That's what it's doing."
+
+"I'm ready!" exclaimed Frank.
+
+"I am not," decisively declared Professor Scotch.
+
+"Nayther am Oi!" almost shouted the Irish youth. "It's enough av this
+koind av business Oi've been in!"
+
+"We'll turn about," said Scotch, grimly. "That canoe will lure us into
+this dismal swamp so far that we'll never find our way out. We'll turn
+about at once."
+
+Frank laughed.
+
+"All right," he said. "I suppose I'll have to give up, but I do dislike
+to leave without solving the mystery of that canoe."
+
+"It may be thot we're so far in thot we can't foind our way out at all,
+at all," said the Irish lad.
+
+"I'm afraid we'll not be able to get out before nightfall," confessed
+the professor. "I have no fancy for spending a night in this swamp."
+
+Barney promptly expressed his dislike for such an adventure, but Frank
+was silent.
+
+The canoe turned about, and they set about the task of retracing the
+water courses by which they had come far into the swamp.
+
+It was not long before they came to a place where the courses divided.
+Frank was for following one, while both Barney and the professor
+insisted that the other was the right way.
+
+Finally, Frank gave in to them, although it was against his better
+judgment, and he felt that he should not submit.
+
+They had not proceeded far before, as they were passing round a bend, a
+cry of astonishment fell from Barney's lips.
+
+"Howly shmoke!" he shouted. "Thot bates th' band!"
+
+"What's the matter?" asked Frank and the professor, together.
+
+"Thot whoite canoe!"
+
+"What of it?"
+
+"Look back! Th' thing is afther follying av us!"
+
+They looked back, and, sure enough, there was the mysterious canoe,
+gliding after them, like a most uncanny thing!
+
+"Well, I like that!" said Frank, in a tone that plainly indicated he did
+not like it. "This is very pleasant!"
+
+"Pull, pull!" throbbed the professor, splashing his paddle into the
+water and very nearly upsetting them all. "Don't let the thing overtake
+us! Pull, pull!"
+
+"Oi think it's a foine plan to be gettin' out av this," muttered Barney,
+in an agitated tone of voice.
+
+"Steady, there, professor," called Frank, sharply. "What do you want to
+do--drown us all? Keep cool."
+
+"It's coming!" fluttered the little man, wildly.
+
+"Let it come. As long as we could not overtake it, let it overtake us.
+That is a very good scheme."
+
+"Th' skame won't worruck, me b'y. Th' ould thing's shtopped."
+
+It was true; the white canoe had stopped, and was lying calmly on the
+inky surface of the shadowed water.
+
+"Well, I can't say that I like this," said Frank.
+
+"And I scarcely think I like it more than you do," came from the
+professor.
+
+"An' th' both av yez loike it as well as mesilf," put in the Irish
+youth.
+
+"What are we to do?"
+
+"Go on."
+
+Go on they did, but the white canoe still followed, keeping at a
+distance.
+
+"I can't stand this," declared Frank, as he picked up a rifle from the
+bottom of the canoe. "I wonder how lead will work on her?"
+
+"Pwhat are yez goin' to do, me b'y?" cried Barney, in alarm.
+
+"Shoot a few holes in that craft," was the deliberate answer. "Swing to
+the left, so that I may have a good chance."
+
+"Don't shoot!" palpitated the professor.
+
+"Don't shoot!" gurgled Barney.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" demanded Frank, sharply. "You both appear
+like frightened children!"
+
+"No telling what'll come of it if you shoot."
+
+"I'll simply put a few holes through that canoe."
+
+"It may be the destruction of us!"
+
+"It may sind us all to glory by th' farrust express."
+
+"Nonsense! Don't be foolish! Swing her to the left, I say. I am going to
+shoot, and that settles it."
+
+It was useless for them to urge him not to fire; he was determined, and
+nothing they could say would change his mind. The canoe drifted round to
+the left, and the rifle rose to Frank's shoulder.
+
+Spang! The clear report rang out and echoed through the cypress forest.
+
+The bullet tore through the white canoe, and the weird craft seemed to
+give a leap, like a wounded creature.
+
+"Hit it!" cried Frank, triumphantly.
+
+"Hit it!" echoed the professor, quivering with terror.
+
+"Hit it!" groaned Barney Mulloy, his face white and his eyes staring.
+"May all the saints defind us!"
+
+"Look!" shouted Frank. "She is turning about--she is going to leave us!
+But I'll put another bullet through her!"
+
+Up the rifle came, but, just as he pressed the trigger, Professor Scotch
+pushed the weapon to one side, so the bullet did not pass within twenty
+feet of the white canoe.
+
+"Why did you do that?" demanded Frank, angrily.
+
+"I couldn't see you shoot into that canoe again," faltered the agitated
+professor. "It was too much--too much!"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+Professor Scotch shook his head. He could not explain, and he was
+ashamed of his agitation and fears.
+
+"Well, you fellows lay over anything I ever went up against!" said
+Frank, in disgust. "I didn't suppose you could be so thoroughly
+childish."
+
+"All right, Frank," came humbly from the professor's lips. "I can't help
+it, and I haven't a word to say."
+
+"But I will take one more shot at that canoe!" vowed Frank.
+
+"Not this day," chuckled Barney Mulloy. "She's gone!"
+
+It was true. The mysterious canoe had vanished from view while they were
+speaking.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+IN THE EVERGLADES.
+
+
+"Gone!"
+
+"Disappeared!"
+
+The exclamations came from Frank and Professor Scotch.
+
+Barney's chuckle changed to a shiver, and his teeth chattered.
+
+"Th' Ould B'y's in it!" he chatteringly declared.
+
+"The Old Boy must have been in that canoe," agreed the professor.
+
+Frank was puzzled and disappointed. He still refused to believe there
+was anything supernatural about the mysterious, white canoe, but he was
+forced to acknowledge to himself that the craft had done most amazing
+things.
+
+"It simply slipped into some branch waterway while we were not looking,"
+he said, speaking calmly, as if it were the most commonplace thing
+imaginable.
+
+"Well, it's gone," said Scotch, as if greatly relieved. "Now, let's get
+out of this in a great hurry."
+
+"I am for going back to see what has become of the white canoe," said
+Frank, with deliberate intent to make his companions squirm.
+
+Barney and the professor raised a perfect howl of protest.
+
+"Never!" shouted Scotch, nearly upsetting the boat in his excitement,
+and wildly flourishing his arms in the air.
+
+"Nivver!" squealed the Irish lad. "Oi'll joomp overboard an' swim out av
+this before Oi'll go back!"
+
+Frank laughed.
+
+"You are most amusing," he declared. "I suppose I'll have to give in to
+you, as you are two to one."
+
+"Come on," fluttered the professor; "let's be moving."
+
+So Frank put down the rifle, and picked up his paddle, and they resumed
+their effort to get out of the swamp before nightfall.
+
+But the afternoon was well advanced, and night was much nearer than they
+had thought, as they were soon to discover.
+
+At last, Barney cried:
+
+"Oi see loight enough ahead! We must be near out av th' woods."
+
+Frank said nothing. For a long time he had been certain they were on the
+wrong course, but he hoped it would bring them out somewhere. He had
+noted the light that indicated they were soon to reach the termination
+of the cypress swamp, but he held his enthusiasm in check till he could
+be sure they had come out somewhere near where they had entered the
+dismal region.
+
+Professor Scotch grew enthusiastic immediately.
+
+"Ha!" he cried, punching Frank in the back. "What do you think now,
+young man? Do you mean to say that we don't know our business? What if
+we had accepted your way of getting out of the swamp! We'd been in there
+now, sir."
+
+"Don't crow till you're out of the woods," advised Frank.
+
+"Begobs! Oi belave he'd be plazed av we didn't get out at all, at all!"
+exclaimed Barney, somewhat touched.
+
+In a short time they came to the termination of the cypress woods, but,
+to the surprise of Barney and the professor, the swamp, overgrown with
+tall rushes and reed-grass, continued, with the water course winding
+away through it.
+
+"Pwhat th' ould boy does this mane?" cried the Irish lad.
+
+"It means," said Frank, coolly, "that we have reached the Everglades."
+
+"Th' Ivirglades? Well, pwhat do we want iv thim, Oi dunno?"
+
+"They are one of the sights of Florida, Barney."
+
+"It's soights enough I've seen alreddy. Oi'd loike ter git out av this."
+
+"I knew you wouldn't get out this way, for we have not passed the
+rookeries of the herons, as you must remember."
+
+"That's true," sighed the professor, dejectedly. "I hadn't thought of
+that. What can we do, boys?"
+
+"Turn about, and retrace our steps," said Frank.
+
+But Barney and the professor raised a vigorous protest.
+
+"Nivver a bit will yez get me inther thot swamp again th' doay!" shouted
+the Irish lad, in a most decisive manner.
+
+"If we go back, we'll not be able to get out before darkness comes on,
+and we'll have to spend the night in the swamp," said Scotch, excitedly.
+"I can't do that."
+
+"Well, what do you propose to do?" asked Frank, quietly. "I don't seem
+to have anything to say in this matter. You are running it to suit
+yourselves."
+
+They were undecided, but one thing was certain; they would not go back
+into the swamp. The white canoe was there, and the professor and the
+Irish lad did not care to see that again.
+
+"Whoy not go on, Frankie?" asked Barney. "We're out av th' woods, an',
+by follyin' this strame, we ought to get out av th' Iverglades."
+
+"What do you say, professor?" asked Frank, who was rather enjoying the
+adventure, although he did not fancy the idea of spending a night on the
+marsh.
+
+"Go on--by all means, go on!" roared the little man.
+
+"Go on, it is, then. We'll proceed to explore the Everglades in company
+with Professor Scotch, the noted scientist and daring adventurer. Go
+ahead!"
+
+So they pushed onward into the Everglades, while the sun sank lower and
+lower, finally dropping beneath the horizon.
+
+Night was coming on, and they were in the heart of the Florida
+Everglades!
+
+The situation was far from pleasant.
+
+Barney and the professor fell to growling at each other, and they kept
+it up while Frank smiled and remained silent.
+
+At length, Scotch took in his paddle in disgust, groaning:
+
+"We're lost!"
+
+"I am inclined to think so myself," admitted Frank, cheerfully.
+
+"Well, who's to blame, Oi'd loike to know?" cried the Irish lad.
+
+"You are!" roared the professor, like a wounded lion.
+
+"G'wan wid yez!" exploded Barney. "It's yersilf thot is to blame!
+Frankie wanted to go the other woay, but ye said no."
+
+"Me! me! me!" howled the professor. "Did I? You were the one! You
+insisted that this was the proper course to pursue! You are to blame for
+it all!"
+
+"Profissor, ye're a little oulder thin Oi be, but av ye wur nigh me age,
+Oi'd inform ye thot ye didn't know how to spake th' truth."
+
+"Do you mean to call me a liar, you impudent young rascal?"
+
+"Not now, profissor; but I would av ye wur younger."
+
+"It's all the same! It's an insult, sir!"
+
+"Well, pwhat are yez goin' to do about it?"
+
+"I'll make you swallow the words, you scoundrel!"
+
+"Well, thot would be more av a male thin the rist av ye are loikely to
+get th' noight, so it is!"
+
+"Come, come," laughed Frank; "this is no time nor place to quarrel."
+
+"You're right, Frank; but this ungrateful young villain makes me very
+tired!"
+
+"Careful, professor--slang."
+
+"Excuse me, but you know human beings are influenced by their
+surroundings and associates. If I have----"
+
+"Professor!" cried Frank, reproachfully. "You would not accuse me of
+having taught you to use slang?"
+
+"Ah--ha--ahem! No, no--that is, you see--er--well, er, that Dutch boy
+was always saying something slangy."
+
+"Hans?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Professor! professor! He's not here to defend himself."
+
+"Oh, well! Oh, well! Ha! ha! ha! Quite a joke--quite a little joke, you
+know! You always appreciate a joke, Frank. You are full of fun
+yourself."
+
+As under the circumstances there was nothing else to do, they finally
+paddled slowly forward, looking for a piece of dry land, where they
+could stop and camp for the night.
+
+They approached a small cluster of trees, which rose above the rushes,
+and it was seen that they seemed to be growing on land that was fairly
+high and dry.
+
+"We'll stop there," decided Frank. "It's not likely we'll find another
+place like that anywhere in the Everglades."
+
+As they came nearer, they saw the trees seemed to be growing on an
+island, for the water course divided and ran on either side of them.
+
+"Just the place for a camp!" cried Frank, delightedly. "This is really a
+very interesting and amusing adventure."
+
+"It may be for you," groaned the professor; "but you forget that it is
+said to be possible for persons to lose themselves in the Everglades and
+never find their way out."
+
+"On the contrary, I remember it quite well. In fact, it is said that,
+without a guide, the chances of finding a way out of the Everglades is
+small, indeed."
+
+"Well, what do you feel so exuberant about?"
+
+"Why, the possibility that we'll all perish in the Everglades adds zest
+to this adventure--makes it really interesting."
+
+"Frank, you're a puzzle to me. You are cautious about running into
+danger of any sort, but, once in it, you seem to take a strange and
+unaccountable delight in the peril. The greater the danger, the happier
+you seem to feel."
+
+"Thot's roight," nodded Barney.
+
+"When I am not in danger, my good judgment tells me to take no chances;
+but when I get into it fairly, I know the only thing to be done is to
+make the best of it. I delight in adventure--I was born for it!"
+
+A dismal sound came from the professor's throat.
+
+"When your uncle died," said Scotch, "I thought him my friend. Although
+we had quarreled, I fancied the hatchet was buried. He made me your
+guardian, and I still believed he had died with nothing but friendly
+feelings toward me. But he knew you, and now I believe it was an act of
+malice toward me when he made me your guardian. And, to add to my
+sufferings, he decreed that I should travel with you. Asher Dow
+Merriwell deliberately plotted against my life! He knew the sort of a
+career you would lead me, and he died chuckling in contemplation of the
+misery and suffering you would inflict upon me! That man was a
+monster--an inhuman wretch!"
+
+"Look there!" cried Barney, pointing toward the small, timbered island.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"May Ould Nick floy away wid me av it ain't a house!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+THE HUT ON THE ISLAND.
+
+
+"A house?"
+
+"A cabin!"
+
+"A hut amid the trays."
+
+In a little clearing on some rising ground amid the trees they could see
+the hut.
+
+"Is it possible any one lives here?" exclaimed the professor.
+
+"It looks as if some one stops here at times, at least," said Frank.
+
+"Av this ain't a clear case av luck, Oi dunno mesilf!"
+
+"We'll get the man who lives there to guide us out of the Everglades!"
+shouted the professor, in a relieved tone.
+
+Then Frank cast a gloom over their spirits by saying:
+
+"This may be a hunter's cabin, inhabited only at certain seasons of the
+year. Ten to one, there's no one living in it now."
+
+"You'd be pleased if there wasn't!" almost snarled Professor Scotch.
+"You're a boy without a heart!"
+
+Frank laughed softly.
+
+"We'll soon find out if there's any one at home," he said, as the canoe
+ran up to the bank, and he took care to get out first.
+
+As soon as Frank was out, the professor made a scramble to follow him.
+He rose to his feet, despite Barney's warning cry, and, a moment later,
+the cranky craft flipped bottom upward, with the swiftness of a flash of
+lightning.
+
+The professor and the Irish lad disappeared beneath the surface of the
+water.
+
+Barney's head popped up in a moment, and he stood upon his feet, with
+the water to his waist, uttering some very vigorous words.
+
+Up came the professor, open flew his mouth, out spurted a stream of
+water, and then he wildly roared:
+
+"Help! Save me! I can't swim! I'm drowning!"
+
+Before either of the boys could say a word, he went under again.
+
+"This is th' firrust toime Oi iver saw a man thot wanted to drown in
+thray fate av wather," said Barney.
+
+Frank sat down on the dry ground, and shouted with laughter.
+
+Up popped the professor a second time.
+
+"Help!" he bellowed, after he had spurted another big stream of water
+from his mouth. "Will you see me perish before your very eyes? Save me,
+Frank!"
+
+But Frank was laughing so heartily that he could not say a word, and the
+little man went down once more.
+
+"Hivins! he really manes to drown!" said Barney, in disgust.
+
+"Grab him!" gasped Frank. "Don't let him go down again. Oh, my! what a
+scrape! This beats our record!"
+
+For the third time the professor's head appeared above the surface, and
+the professor's voice weakly called:
+
+"Will no one save me? This is a plot to get me out of the way! Oh,
+Frank, Frank! I never thought this of you! Farewell! May you be happy
+when I am gone!"
+
+"Stand up!" shouted Frank, seeing that the little man had actually
+resigned himself to drown. "Get your feet under you. The water is
+shallow there."
+
+The professor stood up, and an expression of pain, surprise, and disgust
+settled on his face, as he thickly muttered:
+
+"May I be kicked! And I've been under the water two-thirds of the time
+for the last hour! I've swallowed more than two barrels of this
+swamp-water, including, in all probability, a few dozen pollywogs,
+lizards, young alligators, and other delightful things! If the water
+wasn't so blamed dirty here, and I wasn't afraid of swallowing enough
+creatures to start an aquarium, I'd just lie down and refuse to make
+another effort to get up."
+
+Then he waded out, the look on his face causing Frank to double up with
+merriment, while even the wretched Barney smiled.
+
+Barney would have waded out, but Frank said:
+
+"Don't attempt to land without those guns, old man. They're somewhere on
+the bottom, and we want them."
+
+So Barney was forced to plunge under the surface and feel around till he
+had fished up the rifles and the shotgun.
+
+Frank had taken care of his bow and arrows, the latter being in a quiver
+at his back, and the paddles had not floated away.
+
+After a time, everything was recovered, the canoe was drawn out and
+tipped bottom upward, and the trio moved toward the cabin, Frank
+leading, and the professor staggering along behind.
+
+Reaching the cabin, Frank rapped loudly on the door.
+
+No answer.
+
+Once more he knocked, and then, as there was no reply, he pushed the
+door open, and entered.
+
+The cabin was not occupied by any living being, but a glance showed the
+trio that some one had been there not many hours before, for the embers
+of a fire still glowed dimly on the open hearth of flat stones.
+
+There were two rooms, the door between them being open, so the little
+party could look into the second.
+
+The first room seemed to be the principal room of the hut, while the
+other was a bedroom. They could see the bed through the open doorway.
+
+There were chairs, a table, a couch, and other things, for the most part
+rude, home-made stuff, and still every piece showed that the person who
+constructed it had skill and taste.
+
+Around the walls were hung various tin pans and dishes, all polished
+bright and clean.
+
+What surprised them the most was the wire screens in the windows, a
+screen door that swung inward, and a mosquito-bar canopy over the bed
+and the couch.
+
+"By Jove!" cried Frank; "the person who lives here is prepared to
+protect himself against mosquitoes and black flies."
+
+"It would be impossible to live here in the summer," gravely declared
+Professor Scotch, forgetting his own misery for the moment. "The pests
+would drive a man crazy."
+
+"Oh, I don't know about that," returned Frank. "If a man knew how to
+defend himself against them he might get along all right. They can't be
+worse than the mosquitoes of Alaska in the warm months. Up there the
+Indians get along all right, even though mosquitoes have been known to
+kill a bear."
+
+"Pwhat's thot?" gurgled Barney. "Kill a bear? Oh, Frankie, me b'y, Oi
+nivver thought that av you!"
+
+"It's true," affirmed Professor Scotch. "Sometimes bears, lured by
+hunger, will come down into the lowlands, where mosquitoes will attack
+them. They will stand up on their hind legs and strike at the little
+pests with their forward paws. Sometimes a bear will do this till he is
+exhausted and falls. Then the mosquitoes finish him."
+
+"Thot's a harrud yarn to belave, profissor; but it goes av you soay so,"
+said Barney, thinking it best to smooth over the late unpleasantness.
+
+"Up there," said Frank, "the Indians smear their faces and hands with
+some kind of sticky stuff that keeps the mosquitoes from reaching their
+flesh. In that way they get along very well."
+
+But they had something to talk about besides the Indians of Alaska, for
+the surprises around them furnished topics for conversation.
+
+Exploring the place, they found it well stocked with provisions, which
+caused them all to feel delighted.
+
+"I'm actually glad we came!" laughed Frank. "This is fun galore."
+
+"It will be all right if we are able to get out of the scrape," said
+Scotch.
+
+Barney built a fire, while Frank prepared to make bread and cook supper,
+having found everything necessary for the accomplishment of the task.
+
+The professor stripped off his outer garments, wrung the water out of
+them, and hung them up before the fire to dry.
+
+His example was followed by the Irish boy.
+
+They made themselves as comfortable as possible, and night came on,
+finding them in a much better frame of mind than they had expected to
+be.
+
+Frank succeeded in baking some bread in the stone oven. He found
+coffee, and a pot bubbled on the coals, sending out an odor that made
+the trio feel ravenous.
+
+There were candles in abundance, and two of them were lighted. Then,
+when everything was ready, they sat down to the table and enjoyed a
+supper that put them in the best of moods.
+
+The door of the hut was left open, and the light shone out upon the
+overturned canoe and the dark water beyond.
+
+After supper they cleaned and dried the rifles and shotgun.
+
+"By jingoes!" laughed Frank; "this is a regular picnic! I'm glad we took
+the wrong course, and came here!"
+
+"You may change your tune before we get out," said the professor, whose
+trousers were dry, and who was now feeling of his coat to see how that
+was coming on.
+
+"Don't croak, profissor," advised Barney. "You're th' firrust mon Oi
+iver saw thot wuz bound ter drown himsilf in thray fate av wather. Ha!
+ha! ha!"
+
+"Oh, laugh, laugh," snapped the little man, fiercely. "I'll get even
+with you for that some time! What fools boys are!"
+
+After supper they lay around and took things easy. Barney and Frank told
+stories till it was time to go to bed, and they finally turned in, first
+having barred the door and made sure the windows were securely fastened.
+
+They soon slept, but they were not to rest quietly through the night.
+Other mysterious things were soon to follow those of the day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+A WILD NIGHT IN THE SWAMP.
+
+
+Clang! clang! clang!
+
+"Fire!"
+
+"Turn out!"
+
+The boys leaped to their feet, and the professor came tearing out of the
+bedroom, ran into the table, which he overturned with a great clatter of
+dishes, reeled backward, and sat down heavily on the floor, where he
+rubbed his eyes, and muttered:
+
+"I thought that fire engine was going to run me down before I could get
+out of the way."
+
+"Fire engine!" cried Frank Merriwell. "Who ever heard of a fire engine
+in the heart of the Florida Everglades?"
+
+"Oi herrud th' gong," declared Barney.
+
+"So did I," asserted the professor.
+
+"I heard something that sounded like a fire gong," admitted Frank.
+
+"Pwhat was it, Oi dunno?"
+
+"It seemed to come from beneath the head of the bed in there," said
+Scotch.
+
+"An' Oi thought I herrud it under me couch out here," gurgled Barney.
+
+"We will light a candle, and look around," said Frank.
+
+A candle was lighted, and they looked for the cause of the midnight
+alarm, but they found nothing that explained the mystery.
+
+"Whist!" hissed the Irish boy. "It's afther gettin' away from here we'd
+better be, mark me worrud."
+
+"What makes you think that?" demanded Frank, sharply.
+
+"It's spooks there be around this place, ur Oi'm mistaken!"
+
+"Oh, I've heard enough about spooks! It's getting tiresome."
+
+The professor was silent, but he shook his head in a very mysterious
+manner, as if he thought a great many things he did not care to speak
+about.
+
+They had been thoroughly awakened, but, after a time, failing to
+discover what had aroused them, they decided to return to bed.
+
+Five minutes after they lay down, Frank and the professor were brought
+to their feet by a wild howl and a thud. They rushed out of the bedroom,
+and nearly fell over Barney, who was lying in the middle of the floor,
+at least eight feet from the couch.
+
+"What is the matter with you?" cried Frank, astonished.
+
+"Oi was touched!" palpitated the Irish lad, thickly.
+
+"Touched?"
+
+"Thot's pwhat!"
+
+"What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Oi wur jist beginning to get slapy whin something grabbed me an' threw
+me clan out here in th' middle av th' room."
+
+"Oh, say! what are you trying to make us believe!"
+
+"Oi'll swear to it, Frankie--Oi'll swear on a stack av Boibles."
+
+"You dreamed it, Barney; that's what's the matter."
+
+"Nivver a drame, me b'y, fer Oi wasn't aslape at all, at all."
+
+"But you may have been asleep, for you say you were beginning to get
+sleepy. There isn't anything here to grab you."
+
+"Oi dunno about thot, Frankie. Oi'm incloined to belave th' Ould B'y's
+around, so Oi am."
+
+"Oh, this is tiresome! Go back to bed, and keep still."
+
+"Nivver a bit will Oi troy to slape on thot couch again th' noight, me
+b'y. Oi'll shtay roight here on th' flure."
+
+"Sleep where you like, but keep still. That's all."
+
+Frank was somewhat nettled by these frequent interruptions of his rest,
+and he was more than tempted to give Barney cause to believe the hut was
+really haunted, for he was an expert ventriloquist, and he could have
+indulged in a great deal of sport with the Irish boy.
+
+But other things were soon to take up their attention. While they were
+talking a strange humming arose on every side and seemed to fill the
+entire hut. At first, it was like a swarm of bees, but it grew louder
+and louder till it threatened to swell into a roar.
+
+Professor Scotch was nearly frightened out of his wits.
+
+"It is the end of everything!" he shrieked, making a wild dash for the
+door, which he flung wide open.
+
+But the professor did not rush out of the cabin. Instead, he flung up
+his hands, staggered backward, and nearly fell to the floor.
+
+"The white canoe!" he faintly gasped, clutching at empty air for
+support.
+
+Frank sprang forward, catching and steadying the professor.
+
+"The white canoe--where?"
+
+"Out there!"
+
+Sure enough, on the dark surface of the water, directly in front of the
+hut, lay the mysterious canoe.
+
+And now this singular craft was illuminated from stem to stern by a
+soft, white light that showed its outlines plainly.
+
+"Sint Patherick presarve us!" panted Barney Mulloy.
+
+"I am getting tired of being chased around by a canoe!" said Frank, in
+disgust, as he hastily sought one of the rifles.
+
+"Don't shoot!" entreated the professor, in great alarm.
+
+"Av yer do, our goose is cooked!" fluttered Barney.
+
+Frank threw a fresh cartridge into the rifle, and turned toward the open
+door, his mind fully made up.
+
+And then, to the profound amazement of all three, seated in the canoe
+there seemed to be an old man, with white hair and long, white beard.
+The soft, white light seemed to come from every part of his person, as
+it came from the canoe.
+
+Frank Merriwell paused, with the rifle partly lifted.
+
+"It's th' spook himsilf!" gasped Barney, covering his face with his
+hands, and clinging to the professor.
+
+"That's right!" faintly said Scotch. "For mercy's sake, don't shoot,
+Frank! We're lost if you do!"
+
+Frank was startled and astonished, but he was determined not to lose his
+nerve, no matter what happened.
+
+The man in the canoe seemed to be looking directly toward the cabin. He
+slowly lifted one hand, and pointed away across the Everglades, at the
+same time motioning with the other hand, as if for them to go in that
+direction.
+
+"I'll just send a bullet over his head, to see what he thinks of it,"
+said Frank, softly, lifting the rifle.
+
+Then another startling thing happened.
+
+Canoe and man disappeared in the twinkling of an eye!
+
+The trio in the hut gasped and rubbed their eyes.
+
+"Gone!" cried Frank.
+
+"Vanished!" panted the professor.
+
+"An' now Oi suppose ye'll say it wur no ghost?" gurgled Barney.
+
+It was extremely dark beneath the shadow of the cypress trees, and not a
+sign of the mysterious canoe could they see.
+
+"It is evident he did not care to have me send a bullet whizzing past
+his ears," laughed Frank, who did not seem in the least disturbed.
+
+"What are your nerves made of?" demanded Professor Scotch, in a shaking
+tone of voice. "They must be iron!"
+
+"Hark!"
+
+Frank's hand fell on the professor's arm, and the three listened
+intently, hearing something that gave them no little surprise.
+
+From far away through the night came the sound of hoarse voices singing
+a wild, doleful song.
+
+"Hamlet's ghost!" ejaculated the professor.
+
+"Pwhat the Ould Nick does thot mane?" cried Barney.
+
+"Hark!" Frank again cautioned. "Let's see if we can understand the words
+they are singing. Be still."
+
+    "We sailed away from Gloucester Bay,
+      And the wind was in the west, yo ho!
+    And her cargo was some New England rum;
+      Our grog it was made of the best, yo ho!"
+
+"A sailor's song," decided Frank, "and those are sailors who are
+singing. We are not alone in the Everglades."
+
+"They're all drunk," declared the professor. "You can tell that by the
+sound of their voices. Drunken men are dangerous."
+
+"They're a blamed soight betther than none, fer it's loikely they know
+th' way out av this blissed swamp," said Barney.
+
+"They may bub-bub-be pup-pup-pup-pirates!" chattered the professor.
+
+"What sticks me," said Frank, "is how a party of sailors ever made their
+way in here, for we are miles upon miles from the coast. Here is another
+mystery."
+
+"Are ye fer takin' a look at th' loikes av thim, Frankie?"
+
+"Certainly, and that without delay. Come, professor."
+
+"Never!"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I am not going near those ruffianly and bloodthirsty pirates."
+
+"Then you may stay here with the spooks, while Barney and I go."
+
+This was altogether too much for the professor, and, when he found they
+really intended to go, he gave in.
+
+Frank loaded the rifles and the shotgun, and took along his bow and
+arrows, even though Barney made sport of him for bothering with the
+last.
+
+They slipped the canoe into the water, and, directed by Frank, the
+professor succeeded in getting in without upsetting the frail affair.
+
+"Oi hope we won't run inther the ghost," uttered the Irish boy.
+
+"The sound of that singing comes from the direction in which the old man
+seemed to point," said Frank.
+
+This was true, as they all remembered.
+
+The singing continued, sometimes sinking to a low, droning sound,
+sometimes rising to a wild wail that sounded weirdly over the marshland.
+
+"Ready," said Frank, and the canoe slipped silently over the dark
+surface of the water course.
+
+The singing ceased after a time, but they were still guided by the sound
+of wrangling voices.
+
+"They are quarreling!" exclaimed Frank, softly.
+
+"This is tut-tut-terrible!" stuttered the professor.
+
+Suddenly the sound of a pistol shot came over the rushes, followed by a
+feminine shriek of pain or terror!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+FRANK'S SHOT.
+
+
+Frank and his two companions were profoundly astonished. As soon as he
+could recover, Frank asked:
+
+"Did you hear that?"
+
+"Av course we hearrud it!" returned Barney, excitedly.
+
+"It sounded very much like the voice of a woman or girl," said Professor
+Scotch, who was so amazed that he forgot for the moment that he was
+scared.
+
+"That's what it was," declared Frank; "and it means that our aid is
+needed in that quarter at once."
+
+"Be careful! be cautious!" warned the professor. "There's no telling
+what kind of a gang we may run into."
+
+"To thunder with thot!" grated Barney Mulloy, quivering with eagerness.
+"There's a female in nade av hilp."
+
+"Go ahead!" directed Frank, giving utterance to his old maxim.
+
+The professor was too agitated to handle a paddle, so the task of
+propelling the canoe fell to the boys, who sent it skimming over the
+water, Frank watching out for snags.
+
+In a moment the water course swept round to the left, and they soon saw
+the light of a fire gleaming through the rushes.
+
+The sounds of a conflict continued, telling them that the quarrel was
+still on, and aiding them in forming their course.
+
+In a moment they came in full view of the camp-fire, by the light of
+which they saw several struggling, swaying figures.
+
+Frank's keen eyes seemed to take in everything at one sweeping glance.
+
+Six men and a girl were revealed by the light of the fire. Five of the
+men were engaged in a fierce battle, while the sixth was bound, in a
+standing position, to the trunk of a tree.
+
+The girl, with her hands bound behind her back, was standing near the
+man who was tied to the tree, and the firelight fell fairly on the faces
+of man and girl.
+
+A low exclamation of the utmost astonishment broke from Frank's lips.
+
+"It can't be--it is an impossibility!" he said.
+
+"Pwhat is it, me b'y?" quickly demanded Barney.
+
+"The man--the girl! Look, Barney! do you know them?"
+
+"Oi dunno."
+
+"Well, I know! There is no mistake. That is Captain Justin Bellwood,
+whose vessel was lost in the storm off Fardale coast! I am certain of
+it!"
+
+"An' th' girrul is----"
+
+"Elsie Bellwood, his daughter!"
+
+"Th' wan you saved from th' foire, Frankie?"
+
+"As sure as fate!"
+
+"It can't be possible!" fluttered Professor Scotch. "Captain Bellwood
+has a new vessel, and he would not be here. You must be mistaken,
+Frank."
+
+"Not on your life! That is Captain Bellwood and his daughter. There is
+no mistake, professor."
+
+"But how----"
+
+"There has been some kind of trouble, and they are captives--that is
+plain enough. Those men are sailors--Captain Bellwood's sailors! It's
+likely there has been a mutiny. We must save them."
+
+"How can it be done?"
+
+"We must land while those ruffians are fighting. We are well armed. If
+we can get ashore, we'll set the captain free, and I fancy we'll be able
+to hold our own with those ruffians, desperate wretches though they
+are."
+
+"Wait!" advised the timid professor. "Perhaps they will kill each other,
+and then our part will be easy."
+
+Frank was not for waiting, but, at that moment, something happened that
+caused him to change his plan immediately.
+
+The fighting ruffians were using knives in a deadly way, and one man,
+bleeding from many wounds, fell exhausted to the ground. Another, who
+seemed to be this one's comrade, tore himself from the other three,
+leaped to the girl, caught her in his arms, and held her in front of
+him, so that her body shielded his. Then, pointing a revolver over her
+shoulder, he snarled:
+
+"Come on, and I'll bore the three of ye! You can't shoot me, Gage,
+unless you kill ther gal!"
+
+The youngest one of the party, a mere boy, but a fellow with the air of
+a desperado, stepped to the front, saying swiftly:
+
+"If you don't drop that girl, Jaggers, you'll leave your carcass in this
+swamp! That is business, my hearty."
+
+Frank clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from uttering a great shout
+of amazement. The next moment he panted:
+
+"This is fate! Look, Barney! by the eternal skies, that is Leslie Gage,
+my worst enemy at Fardale Academy, and the fellow who ran away to keep
+from being expelled. It was reported that he had gone to sea."
+
+"Ye're roight, Frankie," agreed the no less excited Irish lad. "It's
+thot skunk, an' no mistake!"
+
+"It is Leslie Gage," agreed the professor. "He was ever a bad boy, but I
+did not think he would come to this."
+
+"An' Oi always thought he would come to some bad ind. It wur thot
+spalpane thot troied to run Frank through with a sharpened foil wan
+toime whin they wur fencing. He had black murder in his hearrut thin,
+an' it's not loikely th' whilp has grown inny betther since."
+
+"Keep still," whispered Frank. "Let's hear what is said."
+
+The man with the girl laughed defiantly, retorting:
+
+"You talk big, Gage, but it won't work with me. I hold the best hand
+just at present, and you'll have to come to terms. Keep back!"
+
+"You don't dare shoot," returned the young desperado, as he took still
+another step toward the sailor.
+
+In a moment the man placed the muzzle of the revolver against the temple
+of the helpless girl, fiercely declaring:
+
+"If you come another inch, I'll blow her brains out!"
+
+"The dastard!" grated Frank. "Oh, the wretch! Wait. I will fix him, or
+my name is not Merriwell!"
+
+He drew an arrow from the quiver, and fitted the notch to the
+bow-string. His nerves were steady, and he was determined. He waited
+till the man had removed the muzzle of the weapon from the girl's
+temple, and then he lifted the bow.
+
+Barney and the professor caught their breath. They longed to check
+Frank, but dared not speak for fear of causing him to waver and send the
+arrow at the girl.
+
+The bow was bent, the line was taut, the arrow was drawn to the head,
+and then----
+
+Twang! The arrow sped through the air, but it was too dark for them to
+follow its flight with their eyes. With their hearts in their mouths,
+they awaited the result.
+
+Of a sudden, the ruffian uttered a cry of pain, released his hold on the
+girl, and fell heavily to the ground.
+
+The firelight showed the arrow sticking in his shoulder.
+
+"Ugh!" grunted a voice close beside the canoe. "Very good shot for a
+white boy. Not many could do that."
+
+The trio turned in amazement and alarm, and, within three feet of them,
+they saw a shadowy canoe that contained a shadowy figure. There was but
+one person in the strange canoe, and he immediately added:
+
+"There is no need to fear Socato, the Seminole, for he will not harm
+you. He is the friend of all good white men."
+
+It was an Indian, a Seminole, belonging to the remnant of the once great
+nation that peopled the Florida peninsula. Frank realized this in a
+moment, and, knowing the Seminoles were harmless when well treated, felt
+no further alarm.
+
+The Indian had paddled with the utmost silence to their side, while they
+were watching what was taking place on shore.
+
+The arrow had produced consternation in the camp. The fellow who was
+wounded tried to draw it from his shoulder, groaning:
+
+"This is not a fair deal! Give me a fair show, and I'll fight you all!"
+
+"Where did it come from?" asked Gage, in dismay.
+
+The two canoes were beyond the circle of firelight, so they could not be
+seen from the shore.
+
+Gage's two companions were overcome with terror.
+
+"This swamp is full of Indians!" one of them cried. "We've been attacked
+by a band of savages!"
+
+Gage spoke a few words in a low tone, and then sprang over the prostrate
+form of the man who had been stricken down by the arrow, grasped the
+girl, and retreated into the darkness. His companions also scudded
+swiftly beyond the firelight, leaving Captain Bellwood still bound to
+the tree, while one man lay dead on the ground, and another had an arrow
+in his shoulder.
+
+Close to Frank's ear the voice of Socato the Seminole sounded:
+
+"Light bother them. They git in the dark and see us from the shore. Then
+they shoot this way some."
+
+"Jupiter and Mars!" gasped Professor Scotch, "I don't care to stay here,
+and have them shoot at me!"
+
+"White boys want to save girl?" asked Socato, swiftly. "They pay to get
+her free? What say?"
+
+"Of course we will pay," hastily answered Frank. "Can you aid us in
+saving her? If you can, you shall be----"
+
+"Socato save her. White man and two boys go back to cabin of Great White
+Phantom. Stay there, and Socato come with the girl."
+
+"Begorra! Oi don't loike thot," declared Barney. "Oi'd loike to take a
+hand in th' rescue mesilf."
+
+"Socato can do better alone," asserted the Seminole. "Trust me."
+
+But Frank was not inclined to desert Elsie Bellwood in her hour of
+trouble, and he said:
+
+"Socato, you must take me with you. Professor, you and Barney go back to
+the hut, and stay there till we come."
+
+The Indian hesitated, and then said:
+
+"If white boy can shoot so well with the bow and arrow, he may not be in
+the way. I will take him, if he can step from one canoe to the other
+without upsetting either."
+
+"That's easy," said Frank, as he deliberately and safely accomplished
+the feat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+YOUNG IN YEARS ONLY.
+
+
+"Well done, white boy," complimented the strange Indian.
+
+"Pass me one of those rifles," requested Frank.
+
+"White boy better leave rifle; take bow and arrows," advised Socato.
+"Rifle make noise; bow and arrow make no noise."
+
+"All right; what you say goes. Return to the hut, Barney, and stay there
+till we show up."
+
+"But th' spook----"
+
+"Hang the spook! We'll know where to find you, if you go there."
+
+"The Great White Phantom will not harm those who offer him no harm,"
+declared the Indian.
+
+"I am not so afraid of spooks as I am of---- Jumping Jupiter!"
+
+There was a flash of fire from the darkness on shore, the report of a
+gun, and a bullet whirred through the air, cutting the professor's
+speech short, and causing him to duck down into the canoe.
+
+"Those fellows have located us," said Frank, swiftly. "We must get away
+immediately. Remember, wait at the hut."
+
+Socato's paddle dropped without a sound into the water, and the canoe
+slid away into the night.
+
+The professor and Barney lost no time in moving, and it was well they
+did so, for, a few seconds later, another shot came from the shore, and
+the bullet skipped along the water just where the canoes had been.
+
+Frank trusted everything to Socato, even though he had never seen or
+heard of the Seminole before. Something about the voice of the Indian
+convinced the boy that he was honest, for all that his darkness was such
+that Frank could not see his face and did not know how he looked.
+
+The Indian sent the canoe through the water with a speed and silence
+that was a revelation to Frank Merriwell. The paddle made no sound, and
+it seemed that the prow of the canoe scarcely raised a ripple, for all
+that they were gliding along so swiftly.
+
+"Where are you going?" whispered Frank, observing that they were leaving
+the camp-fire astern.
+
+"White boy trust Socato?"
+
+"If I didn't, I shouldn't be here. Of course, I do."
+
+"Then keep cool. Socato take him round to place where we can come up
+behind bad white men. We try to fool 'um."
+
+"Good!"
+
+The light of the camp-fire died out, and then, a few moments later,
+another camp-fire seemed to glow across a strip of low land.
+
+"See it?" whispered the Indian, with caution.
+
+"Yes. What party is camped there--friends of yours, Socato?"
+
+"Not much!"
+
+"Who, then?"
+
+"That same fire."
+
+"Same fire as which?"
+
+"One bad white men build."
+
+Frank was astonished.
+
+"Oh, say! how is that? We left that fire behind us, Socato."
+
+"And we have come round by the water till it is before us again."
+
+This was true, but the darkness had been so intense that Frank did not
+see how their course was changing.
+
+"I see how you mean to come up behind them," said the boy. "You are
+going to land and cross to their camp."
+
+"That right. They won't look for us that way."
+
+"I reckon not."
+
+Soon the rushes closed in on either side, and the Indian sent the canoe
+twisting in and out amid their tall stalks like a creeping panther. He
+seemed to know every inch of the way, and followed it as well as if it
+were broad noonday.
+
+Frank's admiration for the fellow grew with each moment, and he felt
+that he could, indeed, trust Socato.
+
+"If we save that girl and the old man, you shall be well paid for the
+job," declared the boy, feeling that it was well to dangle a reward
+before the Indian's mental vision.
+
+"It is good," was the whispered retort. "Socato is poor."
+
+In a few moments they crept through the rushes till the canoe lay close
+to a bank, and the Indian directed Frank to get out.
+
+The camp-fire could not be seen from that position, but the boy well
+knew it was not far away.
+
+Taking his bow, with the quiver of arrows slung to his back, the lad
+left the canoe, being followed immediately by the Seminole, who lifted
+the prow of the frail craft out upon the bank, and then led the way.
+
+Passing round a thick mass of reeds, they soon reached a position where
+they could see the camp-fire and the moving forms of the sailors. Just
+as they reached this position, Leslie Gage was seen to dash up to the
+fire and kick the burning brands in various directions.
+
+"He has done that so that the firelight might not reveal them to us,"
+thought Frank. "They still believe us near, although they know not where
+we are."
+
+Crouching and creeping, Socato led the way, and Frank followed closely,
+wondering what scheme the Indian could have in his head, yet trusting
+everything to his sagacity.
+
+In a short time they were near enough to hear the conversation of the
+bewildered and alarmed sailors. The men were certain a band of savages
+were close at hand, for they did not dream that the arrow which had
+dropped Jaggers was fired by the hand of a white person.
+
+"The sooner we get away from here, the better it will be for us,"
+declared Leslie Gage.
+
+"We'll have to get away in the boats," said a grizzled
+villainous-looking, one-eyed old sailor, who was known as Ben Bowsprit.
+
+"Fo' de Lawd's sake!" gasped the third sailor, who was a <DW64>, called
+Black Tom; "how's we gwine to run right out dar whar de critter am dat
+fired de arrer inter Jack Jaggers?"
+
+"The 'critter' doesn't seem to be there any longer," assured Gage.
+"Those two shots must have frightened him away."
+
+"That's right," agreed Bowsprit. "This has been an unlucky stop fer us,
+mates. Tomlinson is dead, an' Jaggers----"
+
+"I ain't dead, but I'm bleedin', bleedin', bleedin'!" moaned the fellow
+who had been hit by Frank's arrow. "There's a big tear in my shoulder,
+an' I'm afeared I've made my last cruise."
+
+"It serves you right," came harshly from the boy leader of the ruffianly
+crew. "Tomlinson attempted to set himself up as head of this crew--as
+captain over me. You backed him. All the time, you knew I was the leader
+in every move we have made."
+
+"And a pretty pass you have led us to!" whined the wounded wretch.
+"Where's the money you said the captain had stored away? Where's the
+reward we'd receive for the captain alive and well? We turned mutineers
+at your instigation, and what have we made of it? We've set the law
+agin' us, an' here we are. The _Bonny Elsie_ has gone up in smoke----"
+
+"Through the carelessness of a lot of drunken fools!" snarled Gage. "She
+should not have been burned. But for that, we wouldn't be here now,
+hiding from officers of the law."
+
+"Well, here we are," growled Ben Bowsprit, "an' shiver my timbers if we
+seem able to get out of this howlin' swamp! The more we try, the more we
+seem ter git lost."
+
+"Fo' goodness, be yo' gwine to stan' roun' an' chin, an' chin, an'
+chin?" demanded Black Tom.
+
+"The fire's out, and we can't be seen," spoke Gage, swiftly, in a low
+tone. "Get the boats ready. You two are to take the old man in one; I'll
+take the girl in the other."
+
+"It's the gal you've cared fer all the time," cried Jaggers, madly. "It
+was for her you led us into this scrape."
+
+"Shut up!"
+
+"I won't! You can't make me shut up, Gage."
+
+"Well, you'll have a chance to talk to yourself and Tomlinson before
+long. Tomlinson will be jolly company."
+
+"You've killed him!" accused the wounded man. "I saw you strike the
+blow, and I'll swear to that, my hearty!"
+
+"It's not likely you'll be given a chance to swear to it, Jaggers. I may
+have killed him, but it was in self-defense. He was doing his best to
+get his knife into me."
+
+"Yes, we was tryin' to finish you," admitted Jaggers. "With you out of
+the way, Tomlinson would have been cap'n, and I first mate. You've kept
+your eyes on the gal all the time. I don't believe you thought the cap'n
+had money at all. It was to get the gal you led us into this business.
+She'd snubbed you--said she despised you, and you made up your mind to
+carry her off against her will."
+
+"If that was my game, you must confess I succeeded very well. But I
+can't waste more time talking to you. Get the boats ready, boys. I will
+take the smaller. Put Cap'n Bellwood in the larger, and look out for
+him."
+
+The two sailors obeyed his orders. Boy though he was, Gage had resolved
+to become a leader of men, and he had succeeded.
+
+The girl, quite overcome, was prostrate at the feet of her father, who
+was bound to the cypress tree.
+
+There was a look of pain and despair on the face of the old captain. His
+heart bled as he looked down at his wretched daughter, and he groaned:
+
+"Merciful Heaven! what will become of her? It were better that she
+should die than remain in the power of that young villain!"
+
+"What are you muttering about, old man?" coarsely demanded Gage, as he
+bent to lift the girl. "You seem to be muttering to yourself the greater
+part of the time."
+
+"You wretch! you young monster!" grated the old shipmaster. "Do you
+think you can escape the retribution that pursues all such dastardly
+creatures as you?"
+
+"Oh, you make me tired! I have found out that the goody-good people do
+not always come out on top in this world. Besides that, it's too late
+for me to turn back now. I started wrong at school, and I have been
+going wrong ever since. It's natural for me; I can't help it."
+
+"Spare my child!"
+
+"Oh, don't worry about her. I'll take care of her."
+
+"If you harm her, may the wrath of Heaven fall on your head!"
+
+"Let it go at that. I will be very tender and considerate with her.
+Come, Elsie."
+
+He attempted to lift her to her feet, but she drew from him, shuddering
+and screaming wildly:
+
+"Don't touch me!"
+
+"Now, don't be a little fool!" he said, harshly. "You make me sick with
+your tantrums! Come on, now."
+
+But she screamed the louder, seeming to stand in the utmost terror of
+him.
+
+With a savage exclamation, Gage tore off his coat and wrapped it about
+the girl's head so that her cries were smothered.
+
+"Perhaps that will keep you still a bit!" he snapped, catching her up in
+his arms, and bearing her to the smaller boat, in which he carefully
+placed her.
+
+She did not faint. As her hands were bound behind her, she could not
+remove the coat from about her head, and she sat as he placed her, with
+it enveloping her nearly to the waist.
+
+"Is everything ready?" asked Gage. "Where are all the guns? Somebody
+take Tomlinson's weapons. Let Jaggers have his. He may need them when we
+are gone."
+
+"Don't leave me here to die alone!" piteously pleaded the wounded
+sailor. "I'm pretty well gone now, but I don't want to be left here
+alone!"
+
+Gage left the small boat for a moment, and approached the spot where the
+pleading wretch lay.
+
+"Jaggers," he said, "it's the fate you deserve. You agreed to stand by
+me, but you went back on your oath, and tried to kill me."
+
+"And now you're going to leave me here to bleed to death or starve?"
+
+"Why shouldn't I? The tables are turned on you, my fine fellow."
+
+"Well, I'm sure you won't leave me."
+
+"You are?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why won't I?"
+
+"This is why!"
+
+Jaggers flung up his hand, from which a spout of flame seemed to leap,
+and the report of a pistol sounded over the marsh.
+
+Leslie Gage fell in a heap to the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A MYSTERIOUS TRANSFORMATION.
+
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" wildly laughed the wounded sailor. "That time he did not
+escape! Leave me to die, would he? Well, he is dead already, for I shot
+him through the brain!"
+
+"That's where you are mistaken, Jaggers," said the cool voice of the
+boyish leader of the mutineers. "I saw your move, saw the revolver, and
+dropped in time to avoid the bullet."
+
+Gage sprang to his feet.
+
+A snarl of baffled fury came from the lips of the wounded sailor.
+
+"The foul fiend protects you!" he cried. "See if you can dodge this
+bullet!"
+
+He would have fired again, but Gage leaped forward in the darkness,
+kicked swiftly and accurately, and sent the revolver spinning from the
+man's hand.
+
+"You have settled your fate!" hissed the boy, madly. "I did mean to have
+you taken away, and I was talking to torment you. Now you will stay
+here--and die like a dog!"
+
+He turned from Jaggers, and hurried back to the boat, in which that
+muffled figure silently sat.
+
+"Are you ready, boys?" he called.
+
+Captain Bellwood had been released from the tree, and marched to the
+other boat, in which he now sat, bound and helpless.
+
+"All ready," was the answer.
+
+"All right; go ahead."
+
+They pushed off, settled into their seats, and began rowing.
+
+Gage was not long in following, but he wondered at the silence of the
+girl who sat in the stern. It could not be that she had fainted, for she
+remained in an upright position.
+
+"Which way, cap?" asked one of the men.
+
+"Any way to get out of this," was the answer. "We will find another
+place to camp, but I want to get away from this spot."
+
+Not a sound came from beneath the muffled coat.
+
+"It must be close," thought Gage. "I wonder if she can breathe all
+right. I wish she would do something."
+
+At last, finding he could keep up with his companions without trouble,
+and knowing he would have very little difficulty in overtaking them,
+Gage drew in his oars and slipped back toward the muffled figure in the
+stern.
+
+"Elsie," he said, softly.
+
+No answer; no move.
+
+"Miss Bellwood."
+
+Still no answer.
+
+"You must not think too hard of me, Miss Bellwood," he said, pleadingly.
+"I would not harm you for anything. I love you far too much for that,
+Elsie."
+
+He could have sworn that the sound which came from the muffling folds of
+the coat was like a smothered laugh, but he knew she was not laughing at
+him.
+
+"I have been wicked and desperate," he went on; "but I was driven to the
+life I have led. Fate has been against me all along. When I shipped on
+your father's vessel it was because I had seen you and knew you were to
+be along on the cruise. I loved you at first sight, and I vowed that I
+would reform and do better if you loved me in return, Elsie."
+
+He was speaking swiftly in a low tone, and his voice betrayed his
+earnestness. He passed an arm around the muffled figure, feeling it
+quiver within his grasp, and then he continued:
+
+"You did not take kindly to me, but I persisted. Then you repulsed
+me--told me you despised me, and that made me desperate. I swore I would
+have you, Elsie. Then came the mutiny and the burning of the vessel. Now
+we are here, and you are with me. Elsie, you know not how I love you! I
+have become an outcast, an outlaw--all for your sake! Elsie, dear Elsie!
+can't you learn to love me? I will do anything for you--anything!"
+
+Again a sound came from beneath the coat. He was sure she was sobbing.
+It must be that he was beginning to break down that icy barrier. She
+realized her position, and she would be reasonable.
+
+"Elsie--little sweetheart!"
+
+He began to remove the muffling coat.
+
+"Do not scream, Elsie--do not draw away, darling. Say that you will love
+me a little--just a little!"
+
+He pulled the coat away, and something came out of the folds and touched
+cold and chilling against his forehead.
+
+It was the muzzle of a revolver!
+
+"Keep still!" commanded a voice that was full of chuckling laughter. "If
+you chirp, I'll have to blow the roof of your head off, Gage!"
+
+Leslie Gage caught his breath and nearly collapsed into the bottom of
+the boat. Indeed, he would have fallen had not a strong hand fastened on
+his collar and held him.
+
+It was not Elsie Bellwood!
+
+"I don't want to shoot you, Gage," whispered the cool voice. "I don't
+feel like that, even though you did attempt to take my life once or
+twice in the past. You have made me very good natured within the past
+few moments. How you did love me! How gently you murmured, 'Do not draw
+away, darling; say that you love me a little--just a little!' Ha! ha!
+ha! Really, Gage, you gave me such amusement that I am more than
+satisfied with this little adventure."
+
+"That voice--I know it!" grated Gage, through set teeth. "Still, I can't
+place you."
+
+"Indeed, you are forgetful, Gage. But it is rather dark, and I don't
+suppose you expected to see me here. We last met at Fardale."
+
+"Fardale?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And you are--Frank Merriwell!"
+
+Gage would have shouted the name in his amazement, but Frank's fingers
+suddenly closed on the fellow's throat and held back the sound in a
+great measure.
+
+"Now you have guessed it," chuckled Frank. "Oh, Gage! I can forgive you
+for the past since you have provided me with so much amusement to-night.
+How you urged me to learn to love you! But that's too much, Gage; I can
+never learn to do that."
+
+Leslie ground his teeth, but he was still overcome with unutterable
+amazement and wonder. That Frank Merriwell, whom he hated, should appear
+there at night in the wilds of the Florida Everglades was like a
+miracle.
+
+What had become of Elsie Bellwood? Had some magic of that wild and
+dreary region changed her into Frank Merriwell?
+
+Little wonder that Gage was dazed and helpless.
+
+"How in the name of the Evil One did you come here?" he finally asked,
+recovering slightly from his stupor.
+
+Frank laughed softly once more. It was the same old merry, boyish laugh
+that Gage had heard so often at Fardale, and it filled him with intense
+anger, as it had in the days of old.
+
+"I know you did not expect to see me," murmured Frank, still laughing.
+"I assure you that the Evil One had nothing to do with my appearance
+here."
+
+"It was trickery--magic! I left her in the boat a few moments. What
+became of her? How did you take her place?"
+
+"I will let you speculate over that question for a while, my fine
+fellow. In the meantime, I fancy it will be a good idea to tie you up so
+you will not make any trouble. Remember I have a revolver handy, and I
+promise that I'll use it if you kick up a row."
+
+At this moment, one of the sailors in the other boat called:
+
+"Hello, there, Mr. Gage! where are you?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII.
+
+GAGE TAKES A TURN.
+
+
+Gage was tempted to shout for help, but the muzzle of the cold weapon
+that touched his forehead froze his tongue to silence.
+
+"Hello! Ahoy, there, cap'n! Where are you?"
+
+Ben Bowsprit was growing impatient and wondering why Leslie did not
+answer. It had occurred to the old tar that it was possible the boy had
+deserted them.
+
+The voice of Black Tom was heard to say:
+
+"He oughter be right near by us, Ben. 'Smighty strange dat feller don'
+seem to answer nohow."
+
+"Shiver my timbers!" roared Bowsprit. "We'll pull back, my hearty, and
+take a look for our gay cap'n."
+
+They were coming back, and Gage was still unbound, although a captive in
+Frank Merriwell's clutch.
+
+Frank thought swiftly. There would not be enough time to bind Gage and
+get away. Something must be done to prevent the two sailors from turning
+about and rowing back.
+
+"Gage," whispered Frank, swiftly, "you must answer them. Say, it's all
+right, boys; I'm coming right along."
+
+Gage hesitated, the longing to shout for help again grasping him.
+
+"Do as I told you!" hissed Frank, and the muzzle of the revolver seemed
+to bore into Gage's forehead, as if the bullet longed to seek his brain.
+
+With a mental curse on the black luck, Gage uttered the words as his
+captor had ordered, although they seemed to come chokingly from his
+throat.
+
+"Well, what are ye doing back there so long?" demanded Bowsprit.
+
+"Tell them you're making love," chuckled Frank, who seemed to be hugely
+enjoying the affair, to the unspeakable rage of his captive. "Ask them
+if they don't intend to give you a show at all."
+
+Gage did as directed, causing Bowsprit to laugh hoarsely.
+
+"Oh, you're a sly dog!" cackled the old sailor, in the darkness. "But
+this is a poor time to spend in love-makin', cap'n. Wait till we git
+settled down ag'in. Tom an' me'll agree not ter watch ye."
+
+"Say, all right; go on," instructed Frank, and Gage did so.
+
+In a few seconds, the sound of oars were heard, indicating that the
+sailors were obeying instructions.
+
+At that moment, while Frank was listening to this sound, Gage believed
+his opportunity had arrived, and, being utterly desperate, the young
+rascal knocked aside Frank's hand, gave a wild shout, leaped to his
+feet, and plunged headlong into the water.
+
+It was done swiftly--too swiftly for Frank to shoot, if he had intended
+such a thing. But Frank Merriwell had no desire to shoot his former
+schoolmate, even though Leslie Gage had become a hardened and desperate
+criminal, and so, having broken away, the youthful leader of the
+mutineers stood in no danger of being harmed.
+
+Frank and Socato had been close at hand when Gage placed Elsie Bellwood
+in the boat, and barely was the girl left alone before she was removed
+by the Seminole, in whose arms she lay limp and unconscious, having
+swooned at last.
+
+Then it was that a desire to capture Gage and a wild longing to give the
+fellow a paralyzing surprise seized upon Frank.
+
+"Socato," he whispered, "I am going to trust you to take that girl to
+the hut where my friends are to be found. Remember that you shall be
+well paid; I give you my word of honor as to that. See that no harm
+comes to her."
+
+"All right," returned the Indian. "What white boy mean to do?"
+
+"Have a little racket on my own hook," was the reply. "If I lose my
+bearings and can't find the hut, I will fire five shots into the air
+from my revolver. Have one of my friends answer in a similar manner."
+
+"It shall be done."
+
+"Give me that coat. All right. Now skip with the girl."
+
+Frank took the coat; stepped into the boat, watched till Gage was
+approaching, and then muffled his head, sitting in the place where Elsie
+had been left.
+
+In the meantime, the Seminole was bearing the girl swiftly and silently
+away.
+
+Thus it came about that Gage made love to Frank Merriwell, instead of
+the fair captive he believed was muffled by the coat.
+
+When Gage plunged into the water, the small boat rocked and came near
+upsetting, but did not go over.
+
+But the fellow's cry and the splash had brought the sailors to a halt,
+and they soon called back:
+
+"What's the matter? What has happened?"
+
+"I rather fancy it will be a good plan to make myself scarce in this
+particular locality," muttered Frank.
+
+Gage swam under water for some distance, and then, coming to the
+surface, he shouted to the men in the leading boat:
+
+"Bowsprit, Black Tom, help! Turn back quickly! There is an enemy here,
+but he is alone! We can capture him, boys! Be lively about it!"
+
+"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Frank, merrily. "You will have a fine time
+catching me. You have given me great amusement, Gage. I assure you that
+I have been highly entertained by your company, and hereafter I shall
+consider you an adept in the gentle art of making love."
+
+"Laugh!" fiercely shouted Gage from the water. "You are having your turn
+now, but mine will soon come!"
+
+"I have heard you talk like that before, Gage. It does not seem that you
+have yet learned 'the way of the transgressor is hard.'"
+
+"You'll learn better than to meddle with me! I have longed to meet you
+again, Frank Merriwell, and I tell you now that one of us will not leave
+this swamp alive!"
+
+"This is not the first time you have made a promise that you were not
+able to keep. Before I leave you, I have this to say: If Captain
+Bellwood is harmed in the least, if he is not set at liberty with very
+little delay, I'll never rest till you have received the punishment
+which your crimes merit."
+
+Frank could hear the sailors rowing back, and he felt for the oars,
+having no doubt that he would be able to escape them with ease, aided by
+the darkness.
+
+Then came a surprise for him.
+
+When Gage stopped rowing to make love to the supposed Elsie he had left
+the oars in the rowlocks, drawing them in and laying them across the
+boat. In the violent rocking of the boat when the fellow leaped
+overboard one of the oars had been lost.
+
+Frank was left with a single oar, and his enemies were bearing down upon
+him with great swiftness.
+
+"I wonder if there's a chance to scull this boat?" he coolly speculated,
+as he hastened to the stern and made a swift examination.
+
+To his satisfaction and relief, he found there was, and the remaining
+oar was quickly put to use.
+
+Even then Frank felt confident that he would be able to avoid his
+enemies in the darkness that lay deep and dense upon the great swamp. He
+could hear them rowing, and he managed to skull the light boat along
+without making much noise.
+
+He did not mind that Gage had escaped; in fact, he was relieved to get
+rid of the fellow, although it had been his intention to hold him as
+hostage for Captain Bellwood.
+
+It was the desire for adventure that had led Frank into the affair, and,
+now that it was over so far as surprising Gage was concerned, he was
+satisfied to get away quietly.
+
+He could hear the sailors calling Gage, who answered from the water, and
+he knew they would stop to pick the fellow up, which would give our hero
+a still better show of getting away.
+
+All this took place, and Frank was so well hidden by the darkness that
+there was not one chance in a thousand of being troubled by the
+ruffianly crew when another astonishing thing happened.
+
+From a point amid the tall rushes a powerful white light gleamed out and
+fell full and fair upon the small boat and its single occupant,
+revealing Frank as plainly as if by the glare of midday sunlight.
+
+"Great Scott!" gasped the astonished boy. "What is the meaning of this,
+I would like to know?"
+
+He was so astonished that he nearly dropped the oar.
+
+The sailors were astonished, but the light showed them distinctly, and
+Gage snarled.
+
+"Give me your pistol, Bowsprit! Be lively!"
+
+He snatched the weapon from the old tar's hand, took hasty aim, and
+fired.
+
+Frank Merriwell was seen to fling up his arms and fall heavily into the
+bottom of the boat!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV.
+
+A FEARFUL FATE.
+
+
+"Got him!" grated the triumphant young rascal, flourishing the revolver.
+"That's the time I fixed him!"
+
+The mysterious light vanished in the twinkling of an eye, but it had
+shone long enough for Gage to do his dastardly work.
+
+The sailors were alarmed by the light, and wished to row away; but Gage
+raved at them, ordering them to pull down toward the spot where the
+other boat lay.
+
+After a time, the men recovered enough to do as directed, and the
+smaller boat was soon found, rocking lightly on the surface.
+
+Running alongside, Gage reached over into the small boat, and his hand
+found the boy who was stretched in the bottom.
+
+"Here he is!" cried the young rascal, gleefully. "I'll bet anything I
+put the bullet straight through his heart!"
+
+And then, as if his own words had brought a sense of it all to him, he
+suddenly shuddered with horror, faintly muttering:
+
+"That was murder!"
+
+The horror grew upon him rapidly, and he began to wonder that he had
+felt delight when he saw Frank Merriwell fall. The shooting had been the
+impulse of the moment, and, now that it was done and he realized what it
+meant, he would have given much to recall that bullet.
+
+"Never mind," he thought. "I swore that one of us should not leave this
+swamp alive, and my oath will not be broken. I hated Frank Merriwell the
+first time I saw him, and I have hated him ever since. Now he is out of
+my way, and he will never cross my path again."
+
+There was a slight stir in the small boat, followed by something like a
+gasping moan.
+
+"He don't seem to be dead yet, cap'n," said Ben Bowsprit. "I guess your
+aim wasn't as good as you thought."
+
+That nettled Gage.
+
+"Oh, I don't think he'll recover very fast," said the youthful rascal,
+harshly.
+
+He rose and stepped over into the smaller boat.
+
+"Give me some matches," he ordered. "I want to take a look at the chap.
+He must make a beautiful corpse."
+
+"You'll find I'm not dead yet!" returned a weak voice, and Frank
+Merriwell sat up and grappled with Gage.
+
+A snarl of fury came from the lips of the boy desperado.
+
+"So I didn't finish you! Well, you'll not get away!"
+
+"You'll have to fight before you finish me!" panted Frank.
+
+But Merriwell seemed weak, and Gage did not find it difficult to handle
+the lad at whom he had shot. He forced Frank down into the bottom of the
+boat, and then called to his companions:
+
+"Give me some of that line. I'll make him fast."
+
+A piece of rope was handed to him, and Black Tom stepped into the boat
+to aid him. Between them, they succeeded in making Frank fast, for the
+boy's struggles were weak, at best.
+
+"Now it is my turn!" cried Leslie, gloatingly. "At Fardale Frank
+Merriwell triumphed. He disgraced me, and I was forced to fly from the
+school."
+
+"You disgraced yourself," declared the defiant captive. "You cheated at
+cards--you fleeced your schoolmates."
+
+"And you exposed the trick! Oh, yes, I was rather flip with the papers,
+and I should not have been detected but for you, Merriwell. When I was
+exposed, I knew I would be shunned by all the fellows in school, and so
+I ran away. But I did not forget who brought the disgrace about, and I
+knew we should meet some time, Merriwell. We did meet. How you came here
+I do not know, and why my bullet did not kill you is more than I can
+understand."
+
+"It would have killed me but for a locket and picture in my pocket,"
+returned Frank. "It struck the locket, and that saved me; but the shock
+robbed me of strength--it must have robbed me of consciousness for a
+moment."
+
+"It would have been just as well for you if the locket had not stopped
+the bullet," declared Gage, fiercely.
+
+"By that I presume you mean that you intend to murder me anyway?"
+
+"I have sworn that one of us shall never leave this swamp alive."
+
+"Go ahead, Gage," came coolly from the lips of the captive. "Luck seems
+to have turned your way. Make the most of it while you have an
+opportunity."
+
+"We can't spend time in gabbing here," came nervously from Bowsprit.
+"Let's get away immediately."
+
+"Yes," put in Black Tom; "fo' de Lawd's sake, le's get away before dat
+light shine some mo'!"
+
+"That's right," said the old tar. "Some things happen in this swamp that
+no human being can account for."
+
+Gage was ready enough to get away, and they were soon pulling onward
+again, with Frank Merriwell, bound and helpless, in the bottom of the
+smaller boat.
+
+For nearly an hour they rowed, and then they succeeded in finding some
+dry, solid land where they could camp beneath the tall, black trees.
+
+They were so overcome with alarm that they did not venture to build a
+fire, for all that Gage was shivering in his wet clothes.
+
+Leslie was still puzzling over Frank Merriwell's astonishing appearance,
+and he tried to question Frank concerning it, but he could obtain but
+little satisfaction from the boy he hated.
+
+The night passed, and morning came.
+
+Away to the west stretched the Everglades, while to the north and the
+east lay the dismal cypress swamps.
+
+The party seemed quite alone in the heart of the desolate region.
+
+Leslie started out to explore the strip of elevated land upon which they
+had passed the night, and he found it stretched back into the woods,
+where lay great stagnant pools of water and where grew all kinds of
+strange plants and vines.
+
+Gage had been from the camp about thirty minutes when he came running
+back, his face pale, and a fierce look in his eyes.
+
+"I have heard of it!" he kept muttering. "I have heard of it! I have
+heard of it!"
+
+"Avast there!" cried Bowsprit, with an attempt at cheerfulness. "What
+are you muttering over? What is it you have heard about, my hearty?"
+
+"The serpent vine," answered Gage, wildly.
+
+"What is the serpent vine?"
+
+"You shall see. I did not believe there was such a thing, but it tangled
+my feet, it tried to twine about my legs, and I saw the little red
+flowers opening and shutting like the lips of devils."
+
+"Fo' de Lawd's sake! de boss hab gone stark, starin' mad!" cried Black
+Tom, staring at Leslie with bulging eyes.
+
+"Not much!" shouted Leslie, hoarsely. "But I have thought of a way to
+dispose of Frank Merriwell. I will feed him to the serpent vine! Ah,
+that will be revenge!"
+
+Frank had listened to all this, and he noted that Gage actually seemed
+like a maniac.
+
+Captain Bellwood, securely bound, was near Frank, to whom he now spoke:
+
+"God pity you, my lad! He was bad enough before, but he seems to have
+gone mad. He will murder you!"
+
+"Well, if that's to be the end of me, I'll have to take my medicine,"
+came grimly from the lips of the undaunted boy captive.
+
+"My child?" entreated the captain, anxiously. "What became of her? Can
+you tell me? Where is she now?"
+
+"She is safe, I believe. She is with friends of mine, and they will
+fight for her as long as they are able to draw a breath."
+
+"Thank Heaven! Now I care not if these wretches murder me!"
+
+"I scarcely think they will murder you, captain. They have nothing in
+particular against you; but Gage hates me most bitterly."
+
+"That's right!" snarled Leslie, who had overheard Frank's last words.
+"I do hate you, and my hatred seems to have increased tenfold since last
+night. I have been thinking--thinking how you have baffled me at every
+turn whenever we have come together. I have decided that you are my evil
+genius, and that I shall never have any luck as long as you live. I
+shall keep my oath. One of us will not leave this swamp alive, and you
+will be that one!"
+
+"Go ahead with the funeral," said Frank, stoutly. "If you have made up
+your mind to murder me, I can't help myself; but one thing is
+sure--you'll not hear me beg."
+
+"Wait till you know what your fate is to be. Boys, set his feet free,
+and then follow me, with him between you."
+
+The cords which held Frank's feet were released, and he was lifted to a
+standing position. Then he was marched along after Gage, who led the
+way.
+
+"Good-by," Frank called back.
+
+Into the woods he was marched, and finally Gage came to a halt,
+motioning for the others to stop.
+
+"Look!" he cried, pointing; "there is the serpent vine!"
+
+On the ground before them, lay a mass of greenish vines, blossoming over
+with a dark red flower. Harmless enough they looked, but, as Gage drew a
+little nearer, they suddenly seemed to come to life, and they began
+reaching toward his feet, twisting, squirming, undulating like a mass of
+serpents.
+
+"There!" shouted Leslie--"there is the vine that feeds on flesh and
+blood! See--see how it reached for my feet! It longs to grasp me, to
+draw me into its folds, to twine about my body, my neck, to strangle
+me!"
+
+The sailors shuddered and drew back, while Frank Merriwell's face was
+very pale.
+
+"It did fasten upon me," Gage continued. "If I had not been ready and
+quick with my knife, it would have drawn me into its deadly embrace. I
+managed to cut myself free and escape."
+
+Then he turned to Frank, and the dancing light in his eyes was not a
+light of sanity.
+
+"Merriwell," he said, "the serpent vine will end your life, and you'll
+never bother me any more!"
+
+He leaped forward and clutched the helpless captive, screaming:
+
+"Thus I keep my promise!"
+
+And he flung Frank headlong into the clutch of the writhing vine!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV.
+
+THE SERPENT VINE.
+
+
+With his hands bound behind his back, unable to help himself, Frank
+reeled forward into the embrace of the deadly vine, each branch of which
+was twisting, curling, squirming like the arms of an octopus.
+
+He nearly plunged forward upon his face, but managed to recover and keep
+on his feet.
+
+He felt the vine whip about his legs and fasten there tenaciously, felt
+it twist and twine and crawl like a mass of serpents, and he knew he was
+in the grasp of the frightful plant which till that hour he had ever
+believed a creation of some romancer's feverish fancy.
+
+Frank did not cry out. A great horror seemed to come upon him and benumb
+his body and his senses.
+
+He could feel the horrid vines climbing and coiling about him, and he
+was helpless to struggle and tear them away. He knew they were mounting
+to his neck, where they would curl about his throat and choke the breath
+of life from his body.
+
+It was a fearful fate--a terrible death. And there seemed no possible
+way of escaping.
+
+Higher and higher climbed the vine, swaying and squirming, the blood-red
+flowers opening and closing like lips of a vampire that thirsted for his
+blood.
+
+A look of horror was frozen on Frank's face. His eyes bulged from his
+head, and his lips were drawn back from his teeth. He did not cry out,
+he did not seem to breathe, but he appeared to be turned to stone in the
+grasp of the deadly plant.
+
+It was a dreadful sight, and the two sailors, rough and wicked men
+though they were, were overcome by the spectacle. Shuddering and
+gasping, they turned away.
+
+For the first time, Gage seemed to fully realize what he had done. He
+covered his eyes with his hand and staggered backward, uttering a low,
+groaning sound.
+
+Merriwell's staring eyes seemed fastened straight upon him with that
+fearful stare, and the thought flashed through the mind of the wretched
+boy that he should never forget those eyes.
+
+"They will haunt me as long as I live!" he panted. "Why did I do it? Why
+did I do it?"
+
+Already he was seized by the pangs of remorse.
+
+Once more he looked at Frank, and once more those staring eyes turned
+his blood to ice water.
+
+Then, uttering shriek after shriek, Gage turned and fled through the
+swamp, plunging through marshy places and jungles, falling, scrambling
+up, leaping, staggering, gasping for breath, feeling those staring eyes
+at his back, feeling that they would pursue him to his doom.
+
+Scarcely less agitated and overcome, Bowsprit and the <DW64> followed,
+and Frank Merriwell was abandoned to his fate.
+
+Frank longed for the use of his hands to tear away those fiendish vines.
+It was a horrible thing to stand and let them creep up, up, up, till
+they encircled his throat and strangled him to death.
+
+Through his mind flashed a picture of himself as he would stand there
+with the vines drawing tighter and tighter about his throat and his face
+growing blacker and blacker, his tongue hanging out, his eyes starting
+from their sockets.
+
+He came near shrieking for help, but the thought that the cry must reach
+the ears of Leslie Gage kept it back, enabled him to choke it down.
+
+He had declared that Gage should not hear him beg for mercy or aid. Not
+even the serpent vine and all its horrors could make him forget that
+vow.
+
+The little red flowers were getting nearer and nearer to his face, and
+they were fluttering with eagerness. He felt a sucking, drawing,
+stinging sensation on one of his wrists, and he believed one of those
+fiendish vampire mouths had fastened there.
+
+He swayed his body, he tried to move his feet, but he seemed rooted to
+the ground. He did not have the strength to drag himself from that fatal
+spot and from the grasp of the vine.
+
+It seemed that hours passed. His senses were in a maze, and the whole
+world was reeling and romping around him. The trees became a band of
+giant demons, winking, blinking, grinning at him, flourishing their arms
+in the air, and dancing gleefully on every side to the sound of wild
+music that came from far away in the sky.
+
+Then a smaller demon darted out from amid the trees, rushed at him,
+clutched him, slashed, slashed, slashed on every side of him, dragged at
+his collar, and panted in his ear:
+
+"White boy fight--try to git away! His hands are free."
+
+Was it a dream--was it an hallucination? No! his hands were free! He
+tore at the clinging vines, he fought with all his remaining strength,
+he struggled to get away from those clinging things.
+
+All the while that other figure was slashing and cutting with something
+bright, while the vine writhed and hissed like serpents in agony.
+
+How it was accomplished Frank could never tell, but he felt himself
+dragged free of the serpent vine, dragged beyond its deadly touch, and
+he knew it was no dream that he was free!
+
+A black mist hung before his eyes, but he looked through it and faintly
+murmured:
+
+"Socato, you have saved me!"
+
+"Yes, white boy," replied the voice of the Seminole, "I found you just
+in time. A few moments more and you be a dead one."
+
+"That is true, Socato--that is true! I owe you my very life! I can never
+pay you for what you have done!"
+
+In truth the Indian had appeared barely in time to rescue Frank from the
+vine, and it had been a desperate and exhausting battle. In another
+minute the vine would have accomplished its work.
+
+"I hear white boy cry out, and I see him run from this way," explained
+the Seminole. "He look scared very much. Sailor men follow, and then I
+come to see what scare them so. I find you."
+
+"It was Providence, Socato. You knew how to fight the vine--how to cut
+it with your knife, and so you saved me."
+
+"We must git 'way from here soon as can," declared the Indian. "Bad
+white men may not come back, and they may come back. They may want to
+see what has happen to white boy."
+
+Frank knew this was true, but for some time he was not able to get upon
+his feet and walk. At length the Indian assisted him, and, leaning on
+Socato's shoulder, he made his way along.
+
+Avoiding the place where the sailors were camped, the Seminole proceeded
+directly to the spot where his canoe was hidden. Frank got in, and
+Socato took the paddle, sending the light craft skimming over the water.
+
+Straight to the strange hut where Frank and his companions had stopped
+the previous night they made their way.
+
+The sun was shining into the heart of the great Dismal Swamp, and Elsie
+Bellwood was at the door to greet Frank Merriwell.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI.
+
+RIGHT OR WRONG.
+
+
+Elsie held out both hands, and there was a welcome light in her eyes. It
+seemed to Frank that she was far prettier than when he had last seen her
+in Fardale.
+
+"Frank, I am so glad to see you!"
+
+He caught her hands and held them, looking into her eyes. The color came
+into her cheeks, and then she noted his rumpled appearance, saw that he
+was very pale, and cried:
+
+"What is it, Frank? You are hurt? You are so pale!"
+
+Socato grunted in a knowing way, but said nothing.
+
+"It is nothing, Miss Bellwood," assured the boy. "I have been through a
+little adventure, that's all. I am not harmed."
+
+He felt her fingers trembling in his clasp, and an electric thrill ran
+over him. He remembered that at their last parting she had said it were
+far better they should never meet again; but fate had thrown them
+together, and now--what?
+
+He longed to draw her to him, to kiss her, to tell her how happy he was
+at finding her, but he restrained the impulse.
+
+Then the voice of Barney Mulloy called from within the hut:
+
+"Phwat ye goin' to do me b'y--shtand out there th' rist av th' doay?
+Whoy don't yez come in, Oi dunno?"
+
+"Come in, Frank--come in," cried Professor Scotch. "We have been worried
+to death over you. Thought you were lost in the Everglades, or had
+fallen into the hands of the enemy."
+
+"Your second thought was correct," smiled Frank, as he entered the hut,
+with Elsie at his side.
+
+"Phwat's thot?" shouted the Irish boy, in astonishment. "Ye don't mane
+to say thim spalpanes caught yez?"
+
+"That's what they did, and they came near cooking me, too."
+
+Frank then related the adventures that had befallen him since he started
+out on his own hook to give Leslie Gage a surprise. He told how Gage had
+made love to him in the boat, and Barney shrieked with laughter. Then he
+related what followed, and how his life had been saved by the locket he
+carried, and the professor groaned with dismay. Following this, he
+related his capture by Gage and how the young desperado flung him, with
+his hands bound, into the clutch of the serpent vine.
+
+The narrative first amused and then thrilled his listeners. Finally they
+were horrified and appalled by the peril through which he had passed.
+
+"It's Satan's own scum thot Gage is!" grated Barney, fiercely. "Iver let
+me get a crack at th' loike av him and see phwat will happen to th'
+whilp!"
+
+"I hate and despise him!" declared Elsie. "He is a monster!"
+
+Then Frank explained how he had been saved by Socato, and the Seminole
+found himself the hero of the hour.
+
+"Soc, ould b'y," cried Barney, "thot wur th' bist job ye iver did, an'
+Oi'm proud av yez! Ye'll niver lose anything by thot thrick, ayther."
+
+"Not much!" roared the little professor, wiping his eyes. "Man, give me
+your hand!"
+
+Then the Seminole had his hand shaken in a manner and with a heartiness
+that astonished him greatly.
+
+"That was nothing," he declared, "Socato hates the snake vine--fight it
+any time. Don't make so much row."
+
+When all had been told and the party had recovered from the excitement
+into which they had been thrown, Barney announced that breakfast was
+waiting.
+
+Elsie, for all of her happiness at meeting Frank, was so troubled about
+her father that she could eat very little.
+
+Socato ate hastily, and then announced that he would go out and see what
+he could do about rescuing Captain Bellwood.
+
+Barney wished to go with the Seminole, but Socato declared that he could
+do much better alone, and hurriedly departed.
+
+Then Frank did his best to cheer Elsie, telling her that everything was
+sure to come out all right, as the Indian could be trusted to outwit the
+desperadoes and rescue the captain.
+
+Seeing Frank and Elsie much together, Barney drew the professor aside,
+and whispered:
+
+"It's a bit av a walk we'd better take in th' open air, Oi think."
+
+"But I don't need a walk," protested the little man.
+
+"Yis ye do, profissor," declared the Irish boy, soberly. "A man av your
+studious habits nivver takes ixercoise enough."
+
+"But I do not care to expose myself outdoors."
+
+"Phwat's th' matther wid out dures, Oi dunno?"
+
+"It's dangerous."
+
+"How?"
+
+"There's danger that Gage and his gang will appear."
+
+"Phwat av they do? We can get back here aheed av thim, fer we won't go
+fur enough to be cut off."
+
+"Then the exercise will not be beneficial, and I will remain here."
+
+"Profissor, yer head is a bit thick. Can't ye take a hint, ur is it a
+kick ye nade, Oi dunno?"
+
+"Young man, be careful what kind of language you use to me!"
+
+"Oi'm spakin' United States, profissor; no Irishmon wauld iver spake
+English av he could hilp it."
+
+"But such talk of thick heads and kicks--to me, sir, to me!"
+
+"Well, Oi don't want to give yez a kick, but ye nade it. Ye can't see
+thot it's alone a bit Frank an' th' litthle girrul would loike to be."
+
+"Why should they wish to be alone?"
+
+"Oh, soay! did ye iver think ye'd loike to be alone wid a pretty swate
+girrul, profissor? Come on, now, before Oi pick ye up an' lug ye out."
+
+So Barney finally induced the professor to leave the hut, but the little
+man remained close at hand, ready to bolt in through the wide open door
+the instant there was the least sign of danger.
+
+Left to themselves, Frank and Elsie chatted, talking over many things of
+mutual interest. They sat very near together, and more and more Frank
+felt the magnetism of the girl's winning ways and tender eyes. He drew
+nearer and nearer, and, finally, although neither knew how it happened,
+their hands met, their fingers interlocked, and then he was saying
+swiftly, earnestly:
+
+"Elsie, you cannot know how often I have thought of you since you left
+me at Fardale. There was something wrong about that parting, Elsie, for
+you refused to let me know where you were going, refused to write to me,
+expressed a wish that we might never meet again."
+
+She caught her breath. Her head was bowed, and her cheeks were very
+pale.
+
+"All the while," she softly said, "away down in my heart was a hope I
+could not kill--a hope that we might meet again some day, Frank."
+
+"And we have met!" he cried, exultantly. "When we have to part again,
+Elsie, you will not leave me as you did before? You will let me write to
+you? You will write to me occasionally?"
+
+"Would it be right?"
+
+She was looking straight into his eyes now, her face was near his, and
+the temptation was too great for his impulsive nature to resist. In a
+moment his arm was about her neck, and he had kissed her.
+
+"Right!" he cried. "I do not know! Oh, we cannot always be right!"
+
+She quickly released herself from his hold and sprang to her feet, the
+warm blood flushing her cheeks.
+
+"We cannot always be right," she admitted; "but we should be right when
+we can. Frank, Inza Burrage befriended me. She thinks more of you than
+any one else in the wide world. Do not forget Inza!"
+
+He lifted his hand to a round hole in his coat where a bullet from
+Leslie Gage's revolver had cut through, and beneath it he felt the
+ruined and shattered locket that held Inza's picture.
+
+"I will not forget!" he said, his voice far from steady.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII.
+
+FRANK'S MERCY.
+
+
+The forenoon passed, and the afternoon was well advanced, but still
+Socato the Seminole did not return.
+
+But late in the afternoon a boat and a number of canoes appeared. In the
+boat was Leslie Gage and the two sailors, Black Tom and Bowsprit. The
+canoes were filled with Indians.
+
+"Great shnakes av Ireland!" cried Barney Mulloy, amazed. "Phwat th'
+dickens does this mane, Oi dunno?"
+
+"It means trouble," said Frank, quickly. "Have the rifles ready, and be
+prepared for hot work."
+
+"Indians!" gurgled Professor Scotch. "We're all dead and scalped!"
+
+"Those must be Seminoles," said Frank. "It is scarcely likely that they
+are very dangerous."
+
+The boat containing the three white persons ran boldly up to the shore,
+and Leslie Gage landed. Advancing a short distance toward the hut, the
+door of which was securely closed, he cried:
+
+"Hello in there!"
+
+"Talk with him, Barney," Frank swiftly directed. "The fellow does not
+know I am alive, and I do not wish him to know it just now."
+
+So Barney returned:
+
+"Hello, yersilf, an' see how ye loike it."
+
+"You people are in a bad trap," declared Gage, with a threatening air.
+"Look," and he motioned toward the water, where the canoes containing
+the Indians were lying, "these are my backers. There are twenty of them,
+and I have but to say the word to have them attack this hut and tear it
+to the ground."
+
+"Well, Oi dunno about thot," coolly retorted the Irish lad. "We moight
+have something to say in thot case. It's arrumed we are, an' we know how
+to use our goons, me foine birrud."
+
+"If you were to fire a shot at one of these Indians it would mean the
+death of you all."
+
+"Is thot so? Well, we are arrumed with Winchester repeaters, an' it
+moight make the death av thim all av we began shootin'."
+
+"They do not look very dangerous," said Frank. "I'll wager something
+Gage has hired the fellows to come here and make a show in order to
+scare us into submitting. The chances are the Indians will not fight at
+all."
+
+"You're not fools," said Gage, "and you will not do anything that means
+the same as signing your death warrant. If you will come to reason,
+we'll have no trouble. We want that girl, Miss Bellwood, and we will
+have her. If you do not----"
+
+He stopped suddenly, for there was a great shouting from the Indians.
+
+"The phantom! the phantom!" they cried, in tones that betokened the
+greatest terror.
+
+Then they took to flight, paddling as if their very lives depended on
+it.
+
+At the same time, the mysterious white canoe, still apparently without
+an occupant, was seen coming swiftly toward them, gliding lightly over
+the water in a most unaccountable manner.
+
+Exclamations of astonishment broke from the two sailors, and Leslie Gage
+stared at the singular craft in profound astonishment.
+
+When the attention of the crowd was on the remarkable sight, Frank
+unfastened the door and before Gage was aware of it, our hero was right
+upon him.
+
+"You are my prisoner, Gage!" Frank shouted, pointing a revolver at the
+fellow. "Surrender!"
+
+Gage saw the boy he believed he had destroyed, uttered a wild shriek,
+threw up his hands, and fell in a senseless heap to the ground.
+
+Frank swiftly lifted the fellow, and then ran into the cabin with him,
+placing him on the couch.
+
+The two sailors did not pursue. In fact, they seemed almost as badly
+scared as the Indians, and they got away in their boat, rowing as if for
+their very lives, soon passing from sight.
+
+"Well, begobs!" exclaimed Barney Mulloy; "this is phwat Oi call a
+ragion av wonders. It's ivery doay and almost ivery hour something
+happens to astonish ye."
+
+Gage was made secure, so he could not get away when he recovered from
+the swoon into which he seemed to have fallen.
+
+A short time after, Socato was seen returning, but he was alone in his
+canoe.
+
+"He has not found my father--my poor father!" cried Elsie, in distress.
+"Those terrible men will kill my father!"
+
+"Wait!" advised Frank. "Let's hear what he has to say. I have great
+confidence in Socato."
+
+"The bad white men leave their captive alone," said Socato, "and I
+should have set him free, but the great white phantom came, and then the
+white captive disappeared."
+
+"What's that?" cried Frank, in astonishment. "Make it plain, Socato.
+Whom do you mean by the great white phantom?"
+
+"The one who owns the canoe that goes alone--the one who built this
+house and lives here sometimes. Every one fears him. My people say he is
+a phantom, for he can appear and disappear as he likes, and he commands
+the powers of light and darkness. Socato knew that the bad white man had
+hired a hunting party of my people to come here and appear before the
+house to frighten you, but he knew you would not be frightened, and the
+bad men could not get my people to aid them in a fight. Socato also knew
+that the great white phantom sent his canoe to scare my people away, but
+he does not know what the great white phantom has done with the man who
+was a prisoner."
+
+"Well, it is possible the great white phantom will explain a few things
+we do not understand," said Frank, "for here he comes in his canoe."
+
+"And father--my father is with him in the canoe!" screamed Elsie
+Bellwood, in delight.
+
+It was true. The white canoe was approaching, still gliding noiselessly
+over the water, without any apparent power of propulsion, and in it were
+seated two men. One had a long white beard and a profusion of white
+hair. He was dressed entirely in white, and sat in the stern of the
+canoe. The other was Captain Justin Bellwood, quite unharmed, and
+looking very much at his ease.
+
+The little party flocked to the shore to greet the captain, who waved
+his hand and called reassuringly to Elsie. As soon as the canoe touched
+and came to a rest, he stepped out and clasped his daughter in his arms,
+saying, fervently:
+
+"Heaven be thanked! we have come through many dangers, and we are free
+at last! Neither of us has been harmed, and we will soon be out of this
+fearful swamp."
+
+The man with the white hair and beard stepped ashore and stood regarding
+the girl intently, paying no heed to the others. Captain Bellwood turned
+to him, saying:
+
+"William, this is my daughter, of whom I told you. Elsie, this is your
+Uncle William, who disappeared many years ago, and has never been heard
+from since till he set me free to-day, after I was abandoned by those
+wretches who dragged us here."
+
+"My uncle?" cried the girl, wonderingly. "How can that be? You said
+Uncle William was dead."
+
+"And so I believed, but he still lives. Professor Scotch, I think we had
+the pleasure of meeting in Fardale. Permit me to introduce you to
+William Bellwood, one of the most celebrated electricians living
+to-day."
+
+As he said this, Captain Bellwood made a swift motion which his brother
+did not see. He touched his forehead, and the signal signified that
+William Bellwood was not right in his mind. This the professor saw was
+true when he shook hands with the man, for there was the light of
+madness in the eyes of the hermit.
+
+"My brother," continued Captain Bellwood, "has explained that he came
+here to these wilds to continue his study of electricity alone and
+undisturbed. He took means to keep other people from bothering him. This
+canoe, which contains a lower compartment and a hidden propeller, driven
+by electricity, was his invention. He has arrangements whereby he can
+use a powerful search-light at night, and----"
+
+"That search-light came near being the death of me," said Frank. "He
+turned it on me last night just in time to show me to my enemy."
+
+"He has many other contrivances," Captain Bellwood went on. "He has
+explained that, by means of electricity, he can make his canoe or
+himself glow with a white light in the darkest night."
+
+"Begorra! we've seen him glow!" shouted Barney.
+
+"And he also states that he has wires connecting various batteries in
+yonder hut, so that he can frighten away superstitious hunters who
+otherwise might take possession of the hut and give him trouble."
+
+"Whoop!" shouted Barney. "Thot ixplains th' foire-allarum an' th' power
+thot throwed me inther th' middle av th' flure! Oi nivver hearrud th'
+bate av it!"
+
+"It is wonderful, wonderful!" gasped Professor Scotch.
+
+At this moment, a series of wild shrieks came from the hut, startling
+them all.
+
+"It is Gage," said Frank. "He seems to be badly frightened."
+
+They hurried toward the hut, Frank leading. Gage was still on the couch,
+and he shrieked still louder when he saw Frank; an expression of the
+greatest terror coming to his face.
+
+"Take him away! Take him away!" screamed the wretched fellow. "He is
+dead! I killed him! Don't let him touch me!"
+
+Then he began to rave incoherently, sometimes frothing at the mouth.
+
+"He is mad!" cried Professor Scotch.
+
+"It is retribution!" came solemnly from Frank's lips.
+
+Two days later a party of eight persons emerged from the wilds of the
+great Dismal Swamp and reached a small settlement. They were Frank
+Merriwell, Barney Mulloy, Professor Scotch, Leslie Gage, Captain
+Bellwood and his brother William, Socato the Seminole, and last, but far
+from least, Elsie Bellwood.
+
+"What shall be done with Gage?" asked Professor Scotch.
+
+"He shall be given shelter and medical treatment," declared Frank; "and
+I will see that all the bills are paid."
+
+"Thot's the only thing Oi have against ye, me b'y. Ye wur always letting
+up on yer inemies at Fardale, an' ye shtill kape on doin' av it."
+
+"If I continue to do so, I shall have nothing to trouble my conscience."
+
+Frank did take care of Gage and see that he was given the best medical
+aid that money could procure, and, as a result, the fellow was saved
+from a madhouse, for he finally recovered. He seemed to appreciate the
+mercy shown him by his enemy, for he wrote a letter to Frank that was
+filled with entreaties for forgiveness and promised to try to lead a
+different life in the future.
+
+"That," said Frank, "is my reward for being merciful to an enemy."
+
+If Jack Jaggers did not perish in the Everglades, he disappeared. Ben
+Bowsprit and Black Tom also vanished, and it is possible that they left
+their bones in the great Dismal Swamp.
+
+William Bellwood, so long a hermit in the wilds of Florida, seemed glad
+to leave that region.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII.
+
+IN THE MOUNTAINS AGAIN.
+
+
+Leaving their friends in Florida, Frank, Barney and the professor next
+moved northward toward Tennessee, Frank wishing to see some of the
+battlegrounds of the Civil War.
+
+The boys planned a brief tour afoot and were soon on their way among the
+Great Smoky Mountains.
+
+Professor Scotch had no heart for a "tour afoot" through the mountains,
+and so he had stopped at Knoxville, where the boys were to join him
+again in two or three weeks, by the end of which period he was quite
+sure they would have enough of tramping.
+
+Frank and Barney were making the journey from Gibson's Gap to Cranston's
+Cove, which was said to be a distance of twelve miles, but they were
+willing to admit that those mountain miles were most disgustingly long.
+
+They had paused to rest, midway in the afternoon, where the road curved
+around a spur of the mountain. Below them opened a vista of valleys and
+"coves," hemmed in by wild, turbulent-appearing masses of mountains,
+some of which were barren and bleak, seamed with black chasms, above
+which threateningly hung grimly beetling crags, and some of which were
+robed in dense wildernesses of pine, veiling their faces, keeping them
+thus forever a changeless mystery.
+
+From their eyrie position it seemed that they could toss a pebble into
+Lost Creek, which wound through the valley below, meandered for miles
+amid the ranges, tunneling an unknown channel beneath the rock-ribbed
+mountains, and came out again--where?
+
+Both boys had been silent and awe-stricken, gazing wonderingly on the
+impressive scene and thinking of their adventures in New Orleans and in
+Florida, when a faint cry seemed to float upward from the depths of the
+valley.
+
+"Help!"
+
+They listened, and some moments passed in silence, save for the peeping
+cry of a bird in a thicket near at hand.
+
+"Begorra! Oi belave it wur imagination, Frankie," said the Irish lad, at
+last.
+
+"I do not think so," declared Frank, with a shake of his head. "It was a
+human voice, and if we were to shout it might be---- There it is again!"
+
+There could be no doubt this time, for they both heard the cry
+distinctly.
+
+"It comes from below," said Frank, quickly.
+
+"Roight, me lad," nodded Barney. "Some wan is in difficulty down there,
+and' it's mesilf thot don't moind givin' thim a lift."
+
+Getting a firm hold on a scrub bush, Frank leaned out over the verge and
+looked down into the valley.
+
+"I can see her!" he cried. "Look, Barney--look down there amid those
+rocks just below the little waterfall."
+
+"Oi see, Frankie."
+
+"See the flutter of a dress?"
+
+"Oi do."
+
+"She is waving something at us."
+
+"Sure, me b'y."
+
+"She has seen us, and is signaling for us to come down."
+
+"And we'll go."
+
+"Instanter, as they say out West."
+
+The boys were soon hurrying down the mountain road, a bend of which
+quickly carried them beyond view of the person near the waterfall.
+
+It was nearly an hour later when Frank and Barney approached the little
+waterfall, having left the road and followed the course of the stream.
+
+"Is she there, Frankie?" anxiously asked Barney, who was behind.
+
+"Can't tell yet," was the reply. "Will be able to see in a minute, and
+then---- She is there, sure as fate!"
+
+In another moment they came out in full view of a girl of eighteen or
+nineteen, who was standing facing the waterfall, her back toward a great
+rock, a home-made fishing pole at her feet.
+
+The girl was dressed in homespun, the skirt being short and reaching
+but a little below the knees, and a calico sunbonnet was thrust half off
+her head.
+
+Frank paused, with a low exclamation of admiration, for the girl made a
+most strikingly beautiful picture, and Frank had an eye for beauty.
+
+Nearly all the mountain girls the boys had seen were stolid and
+flat-appearing, some were tall and lank, but this girl possessed a
+figure that seemed perfect in every detail.
+
+Her hair was bright auburn, brilliant and rich in tint, the shade that
+is highly esteemed in civilization, but is considered a defect by the
+mountain folk. Frank thought it the most beautiful hair he had ever
+seen.
+
+Her eyes were brown and luminous, and the color of health showed through
+the tan upon her cheeks. Her parted lips showed white, even teeth, and
+the mouth was most delicately shaped.
+
+"Hivvins!" gasped Barney, at Frank's shoulder. "Phwat have we struck, Oi
+dunno?"
+
+Then the girl cried, her voice full of impatience:
+
+"You-uns has shorely been long enough in gittin' har!"
+
+Frank staggered a bit, for he had scarcely expected to hear the uncouth
+mountain dialect from such lips as those but he quickly recovered,
+lifted his hat with the greatest gallantry, and said:
+
+"I assure you, miss, that we came as swiftly as we could."
+
+"Ye're strangers. Ef you-uns had been maounting boys, you'd been har in
+less'n half ther time."
+
+"I presume that is true; but, you see, we did not know the shortest way,
+and we were not sure you wanted us."
+
+"Wal, what did you 'low I whooped at ye fur ef I didn't want ye? I
+nighly split my throat a-hollerin' at ye before ye h'ard me at all."
+
+Frank was growing more and more dismayed, for he had never before met a
+strange girl who was quite like this, and he knew not what to say.
+
+"Now that we have arrived," he bowed, "we shall be happy to be of any
+possible service to you."
+
+"Dunno ez I want ye now," she returned, with a toss of her head.
+
+"Howly shmoke!" gurgled Barney, at Frank's ear. "It's a doaisy she is,
+me b'y!"
+
+Frank resolved to take another tack, and so he advanced, saying boldly
+and resolutely:
+
+"Now that you have called us down here, I don't see how you are going to
+get rid of us. You want something of us, and we'll not leave you till we
+find out what it is."
+
+The girl did not appear in the least alarmed. Instead of that, she
+laughed, and that laugh was like the ripple of falling water.
+
+"Wal, now you're talkin'!" she cried, with something like a flash of
+admiration. "Mebbe you-uns has got some backbone arter all. I like
+backbone."
+
+"I have not looked at mine for so long that I am not sure what condition
+it is in, but I know I have one."
+
+"An' muscle?"
+
+"A little."
+
+"Then move this rock har that hez caught my foot an' holds it. That's
+what I wanted o' you-uns."
+
+She lifted her skirt a bit, and, for the first time, they saw that her
+ankle had been caught between two large rocks, where she was held fast.
+
+"Kinder slomped in thar when I war fishin'," she explained, "an' ther
+big rock dropped over thar an' cotched me fast when I tried ter pull
+out. That war nigh two hour ago, 'cordin' ter ther sun."
+
+"And you have been standing like that ever since?" cried Frank, in
+dismay. "Lively, Barney--get hold here! Great Scott! we must have her
+out of that in a hurry!"
+
+"Thot's phwat we will, ur we'll turrun th' ould mountain over!" shouted
+the Irish lad, as he flew to the aid of his friend.
+
+The girl looked surprised and pleased, and then she said:
+
+"You-uns ain't goin' ter move that rock so easy, fer it's hefty."
+
+"But your ankle--it must have crushed your ankle."
+
+"I 'low not. Ye see it couldn't pinch harder ef it tried, fer them rocks
+ain't built so they kin git nigher together; but it's jest made a
+reg'ler trap so I can't pull my foot out."
+
+It was no easy thing for the boys to get hold of the rock in a way to
+exert their strength, but they finally succeeded, and then Frank gave
+the word, and they strained to move it. It started reluctantly, as if
+loath to give up its fair captive, but they moved it more and more, and
+she was able to draw her foot out. Then, when she was free, they let go,
+and the rock fell back with a grating crash against the other.
+
+"You-uns have done purty fair fer boys," said the girl, with a saucy
+twinkle in her brown eyes. "S'pose I'll have ter thank ye, fer I mought
+a stood har consider'bul longer ef 'tadn't bin fer ye. Who be ye,
+anyhow? an' whar be ye goin'?"
+
+Frank introduced himself, and then presented Barney, after which he
+explained how they happened to be in the Great Smoky Mountains.
+
+She watched him closely as he spoke, noting every expression, as if a
+sudden suspicion had come upon her, and she was trying to settle a doubt
+in her mind.
+
+When Frank had finished, the girl said:
+
+"Never heard o' two boys from ther big cities 'way off yander comin' har
+ter tromp through ther maountings jest fer ther fun o' seein' ther
+scenery an' ther folks. I s'pose we're kinder curi's 'pearin' critters
+ter city folks, an' you-uns may be har ter cotch one o' us an' put us in
+a cage fer exhibition."
+
+She uttered the words in a way that brought a flush to Frank's cheeks,
+and he hastened to protest, halting in confusion when he tried to speak
+her name, which he did not know as yet.
+
+A ripple of sunshine seemed to break over her face, and she laughed
+outright, swiftly saying:
+
+"Don't you-uns mind me. I'm p'izen rough, but I don't mean half I say. I
+kin see you is honest an' squar, though somebody else mought think by
+yer way that ye warn't. My name's Kate Kenyon, an' I live down toward
+ther cove. I don't feel like fishin' arter this, an' ef you-uns is goin'
+that way, I'll go 'long with ye."
+
+She picked up her pole, hooked up the line, and prepared to accompany
+them.
+
+They were pleased to have her as a companion. Indeed, Frank was more
+than pleased, for he saw in this girl a singular character. Illiterate
+though she seemed, she was pretty, vivacious, and so bright that it was
+plain education and refinement would make her most fascinating and
+brilliant.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIX.
+
+FRANK AND KATE.
+
+
+The boys did not get to Cranston's Cove that night, for Kate Kenyon
+invited them to stop and take supper at her home, and they did so.
+
+Kate's home was much like the rough cabins of other mountain folks,
+except that flowering vines had been trained to run up the sides and
+over the door, while two large bushes were loaded with roses in front of
+the house.
+
+Kate's mother was in the doorway as they approached. She was a tall,
+angular woman, with a stolid, expressionless face.
+
+"Har, mammy, is some fellers I brung ter see ye," said this girl. "This
+un is Mr. Merriwell, an' that un is Mr. Mulloy."
+
+The boys lifted their hats, and bowed to the woman as if she were a
+society queen. She nodded and stared.
+
+"What be you-uns doin' 'round these parts?" she asked, pointedly.
+
+Frank explained, seeing a look of suspicion and distrust deepening in
+her face as he spoke.
+
+"Huah!" she grunted, when he had finished. "An' what do you-uns want o'
+me?"
+
+"Your daughter invited us to call and take supper," said Frank, coolly.
+
+"I ain't uster cookin' flip-flaps fer city chaps, an' I don't b'lieve
+you kin eat the kind o' fodder we-uns is uster."
+
+The boys hastened to assure her that they would be delighted to eat the
+plainest of food, and their eagerness brought a merry laugh from the
+lips of the girl.
+
+"You-uns is consid'ble amusin'," she said. "You is powerful perlite. I
+asked 'em to come, mammy. It's no more'n fair pay fer what they done fer
+me."
+
+Then she explained how she had been caught and held by the rocks, and
+how the boys had seen her from the mountain road and come to her
+rescue.
+
+The mother's face did not soften a bit as she listened, but, when Kate
+had finished, she said:
+
+"They're yore comp'ny. Ask 'em in."
+
+So the boys were asked into the cabin, and Kate herself prepared supper.
+
+It was a plain meal, but Frank noticed that everything looked neat and
+clean about the house, and both lads relished the coarse food. Indeed,
+Barney afterward declared that the corn bread was better than the finest
+cake he had ever tasted.
+
+Frank was particularly happy at the table, and the merry stories he told
+kept Kate laughing, and, once or twice, brought a grim smile to the face
+of the woman.
+
+After supper they went out in front of the cabin, where they could look
+up at the wild mass of mountains, the peaks of which were illumined by
+the rays of the setting sun.
+
+Mrs. Kenyon filled and lighted a cob pipe. She sat and puffed away,
+staring straight ahead in a blank manner.
+
+Just how it happened Frank himself could not have told, but Barney fell
+to talking to the woman in his whimsical way, while Frank and Kate
+wandered away a short distance, and sat on some stones which had been
+arranged as a bench in a little nook near Lost Creek. From this position
+they could hear Barney's rich brogue and jolly laugh as he recounted
+some amusing yarn, and, when the wind was right, a smell of the black
+pipe would be wafted to them.
+
+"Do you know," said Frank, "this spot is so wild and picturesque that it
+fascinates me. I should like to stop here two or three days and rest."
+
+"Better not," said the girl, shortly.
+
+"Why?" asked the boy, in surprise.
+
+"Wal, it mought not be healthy."
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"You might be tooken fer revenue."
+
+"For revenue? I do not understand."
+
+"I wonder ef you air so ignerent, or be you jest makin' it?"
+
+"Honestly and truly, I do not understand you."
+
+"Wal, I kinder 'low you-uns is all right, but thar's others might not
+think so. S'pose you know what moonshine is?"
+
+"Yes; it is illicitly distilled whiskey."
+
+She nodded.
+
+"That's right. Wal, ther revenues say thar's moonshine made round these
+parts. They come round ev'ry little while to spy an' cotch ther folks
+that makes it."
+
+"By revenues you mean the officers of the government?"
+
+"Wal, they may be officers, but they're a difrrunt kind than Jock
+Hawkins."
+
+"Who is Jock Hawkins?"
+
+"He's ther sheriff down to ther cove. Jock Hawkins knows better'n to
+come snoopin' 'round, an' he's down on revenues ther same as ther rest
+o' us is."
+
+"Then you do not like the revenue officers?"
+
+"Like 'em!" cried the girl, starting up, her eyes seeming to blaze in
+the dusky twilight. "I hate 'em wuss'n pizen! An' I've got good cause
+fer hatin' 'em."
+
+The boy saw he had touched a tender spot, and he would have turned the
+conversation in another channel, but she was started, and she went on
+swiftly:
+
+"What right has ther gover'ment to take away anybody's honest means o'
+earnin' a livin'? What right has ther gover'ment to send spies up har
+ter peek an' pry an' report on a man as is makin' a little moonshine ter
+sell that he may be able ter git bread an' drink fer his fam'ly? What
+right has ther gover'ment ter make outlaws an' crim'nals o' men as
+wouldn't steal a cent that didn't b'long ter them if they was starvin'?"
+
+Frank knew well enough the feeling of most mountain folks toward the
+revenue officers, and he knew it was a useless task to attempt to show
+them where they were in the wrong.
+
+Kate went on, passionately.
+
+"Yes, I has good right to hate ther revenues, an' I do! Didn't they
+pester my pore old daddy fer makin' moonshine! Didn't they hunt him
+through ther maountings fer weeks, an' keep him hidin' like a dog! An'
+didn't they git him cornered at last in Bent Coin's old cabin, an' when
+he refused ter come out an' surrender, an' kep' 'em off with his gun,
+didn't they shoot him so he died three days arter in my arms! Hate 'em!
+Wal, I've got good reason ter hate 'em!"
+
+Kate was wildly excited, although she held her voice down, as if she did
+not wish her mother to hear what she was saying. Frank was sitting so
+near that he felt her arm quivering against his.
+
+"Hate 'em!" continued the girl. "I has more than that to hate 'em fer!
+Whar is my brother Rufe, ther best boy that ever drored a breath? Ther
+revenues come fer him, an' they got him. Thar war a trial, an' they
+proved ez he'd been consarned in makin' moonshine. He war convicted, an'
+he's servin' his time. Hate 'em! Wal, thar's nuthin' I hate wuss on this
+earth!"
+
+"You have had hard luck," said Frank, by way of saying something. "It's
+lucky for us that we're not revenues."
+
+"Yer right thar," she nodded. "I didn't know but ye war at first, but I
+changed my mind later."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Wal, ye're young, an' you-uns both has honest faces. Revenues is
+sneaks. They show it in their faces."
+
+"I don't suppose they have been able to check the making of
+moonshine--that is, not to any extent?"
+
+She laughed harshly.
+
+"Wal, I judge not! Did ye ever hear o' Muriel?"
+
+"Who is he?"
+
+"A moonshiner."
+
+"What of him?"
+
+"He makes more whiskey in a week than all ther others in this region
+afore him made in a month."
+
+"He must be smarter than the others before him."
+
+"Wal, he's not afeared o' ther revenues, an' he's a mystery to ther men
+ez works fer him right along."
+
+"A mystery?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How so?"
+
+"None o' them has seen his face, an' they don't know Who he is. They
+ain't been able to find out."
+
+"And they have tried?"
+
+"Wal, Con Bean war shot through ther shoulder fer follerin' Muriel, an'
+Bink Mower got it in ther leg fer ther same trick."
+
+"I rather admire this Muriel," laughed Frank. "He may be in unlawful
+business, but he seems to be a dandy."
+
+"He keeps five stills runnin' all ther time, an' he has a way o' gittin'
+ther stuff out o' ther maountings an' disposin' of it. But I'm talkin'
+too much, as Wade would say."
+
+"Who is Wade?"
+
+"He's Wade Miller, a partic'lar friend o' our'n sence Rufe war tooken by
+ther revenues. Wade has been good to mammy an' me."
+
+"I don't blame him. If I lived near, I might try to bother Wade
+somewhat."
+
+She glanced at him swiftly. It was now duskish, but he was so near that
+he could see her eyes through the twilight.
+
+"I dunno what you-uns means," she said, slowly, her voice falling. "Wade
+would be powerful bad to bother. He's ugly sometimes, an' he's jellus o'
+me."
+
+"Then Wade is paying attention to you?"
+
+"Wal, he's tryin' ter, but I don't jes' snuggle ter him ther way I might
+ef I liked him right. Thar's something about him, ez I don't edzac'ly
+like."
+
+"That makes it rather one-sided, and makes me think all the more that I
+should try to bother him if I lived near. Do you know, Miss Kenyon, that
+you are an exceptionally pretty girl?"
+
+"Go 'long! You can't stuff me! Why, I've got red hair!"
+
+"Hair that would make you the envy of a society belle. It is the
+handsomest hair I ever saw."
+
+"Now you're makin' fun o' me, an' I don't like that."
+
+She drew away as if offended, and he leaned toward her, eager to
+convince her of his sincerity.
+
+"Indeed, I am doing nothing of the sort," he protested. "The moment I
+saw you to-day I was struck by the beauty of your hair. But that is not
+the only beautiful feature about you, Miss Kenyon. Your mouth is a
+perfect Cupid's bow, and your teeth are like pearls, while you have a
+figure that is graceful and exquisite."
+
+She caught her breath.
+
+"Never nobody talked to me like that afore," she murmured. "Round har
+they jes' say, 'Kate, you'd be a rippin' good looker ef it warn't fer
+that red hair o' yourn.' An' they've said it so much that I've come to
+hate my hair wuss'n pizen."
+
+"Your hair is your crowning beauty. It is magnificent!"
+
+"Say!" she whispered, drawing toward him.
+
+"What?"
+
+"I kinder take to you."
+
+Her hand found his, and they were sitting very near together.
+
+"I took to you up by ther fall ter-day," she went on, in a low tone.
+"Now, don't you git skeered, fer I'm not goin' to be foolish, an' I know
+I'm not book-learned an' refined, same ez your city gals. We kin be
+friends, can't we?"
+
+Frank had begun to regret his openly expressed admiration, but now he
+said:
+
+"To be sure we can be friends, Miss Kenyon."
+
+"Partic'ler friends?"
+
+"I am sure I shall esteem your friendship very highly."
+
+"Wall, partic'ler friends don't call each other miss an' mister. I'll
+agree ter call you Frank, ef you'll call me Kate."
+
+Frank hesitated.
+
+"I am going away to-morrow," he thought. "It won't do any harm."
+
+"Is it a go?" she asked.
+
+"It is a go," he answered.
+
+"Frank!"
+
+"Kate!"
+
+A fierce exclamation close at hand, the cracking of a twig, a heavy
+step, and then a panther-like figure leaped out of the dusk, and flung
+itself upon Frank.
+
+
+[Illustration: "Kate grasped the assailant by the collar, and with
+astonishing strength, pulled him off the prostrate lad." (See page
+218)]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XL.
+
+A JEALOUS LOVER.
+
+
+The attack was so sudden and fierce that the boy was hurled to the
+ground before he could make a move to protect himself.
+
+"You shall not have her!" hissed a voice in his ear.
+
+A hand fastened on his throat, pinning him fast. The man's knee crushed
+into his stomach, depriving him of breath. The man's other hand snatched
+out something, and lifted it aloft.
+
+A knife was poised above Frank's heart, and in another moment the blade
+would have been buried to the hilt in the lad's bosom.
+
+Without uttering a sound, Kate Kenyon grasped the wrist of the
+murderous-minded man, gave it a wrench with all her strength, which was
+not slight, and forced him to drop the knife.
+
+"You don't murder anybody, Wade Miller!" she panted.
+
+"I'll choke ther life outen him!" snarled the fellow, as he tried to
+fasten both hands on Frank's throat.
+
+By this time the boy had recovered from the surprise and shock, and he
+was ready to fight for his life.
+
+Kate grasped the assailant by the collar, and, with astonishing
+strength, pulled him off the prostrate lad.
+
+In the twinkling of an eye, Frank came to his feet, and he was ready for
+a new assault.
+
+Snarling and growling like a mad dog, the man scrambled up and lunged
+toward the boy, trying to grasp him.
+
+Frank was a skillful boxer, and now his skill came into play, for he
+dodged under the man's right arm, whirled like a cat, and struck the
+fellow behind the ear.
+
+Spat! sounded the blow, sending the assailant staggering, and Frank
+followed it up by leaping after him and striking him again, the second
+blow having the force of the lad's strength and the weight of his body.
+
+It seemed that the man was literally knocked "spinning," and he did not
+stop till he landed in the creek.
+
+"Wal," exclaimed the girl, "I 'low you kin take keer o' yerself now!"
+
+"I rather think so," came coolly from the boy. "He caught me foul, and I
+did not have a show at first."
+
+"Look out fer his gun."
+
+"I will. Who is he?"
+
+"Wade Miller."
+
+Frank whistled. It was a case of jealousy, and he had aroused the worst
+passions of the man who admired Kate Kenyon. Miller came scrambling and
+snorting from the water, and Barney Mulloy rushed toward the spot,
+crying:
+
+"Pwhat's th' row, Frankie, me b'y? Do ye nade inny av me hilp?"
+
+"I think not. So far, I am all right, thanks to Miss Kenyon."
+
+"An' you kin fight!" breathed the mountain maid, in sincere admiration.
+"I didn't s'pose city chaps knowed how ter fight."
+
+"Some do," laughed Frank, keeping his eyes on Miller.
+
+"I'll have his life!" panted the man, springing toward Frank, and then
+halting suddenly, and throwing up his hand.
+
+"Look out!" screamed the girl. "He's got a pistol!"
+
+Frank knew this well enough, and he was expecting just such a move, so
+it happened that the words had scarcely left the girl's lips when the
+revolver was sent flying from Wade Miller's hand.
+
+The boy had leaped forward, and, with one skillful kick, disarmed his
+foe by knocking the weapon out of his hand.
+
+Miller seemed dazed for a moment, and then he started for Frank, once
+more grinding his teeth.
+
+"Oh, let me take a hand in this!" cried Barney Mulloy, who was eager for
+a fight. "Me blud is gittin' shtagnant."
+
+"Keep away!" ordered Frank. "I can look out for myself."
+
+"I'll kill ye! I'll kill ye!" snarled the infuriated man.
+
+"Well, you have tried that trick twice, but I do not see that you have
+succeeded to any great extent."
+
+"I'll hammer yer life out o' yer carcass with my bare hands!"
+
+"Possibly that will not be such a very easy trick to do."
+
+The boy's coolness seemed to add to the fury of his assailant, and the
+man made another rush, which was easily avoided by Frank, who struck
+Miller a stinging blow.
+
+"You'd better stop, Wade," advised the girl. "He-uns is too much fer
+you-uns, an' that's plain enough."
+
+"Oh, I'll show ye--I'll show ye!"
+
+There was no longer any reason in the man's head, and Frank saw that he
+must subdue the fellow some way. Miller was determined to grapple with
+the boy, and Frank felt that he would find the mountaineer had the
+strength of an ox, for which reason he must keep clear of those grasping
+hands.
+
+For some moments Frank had all he could do to avoid Miller, who seemed
+to have grown stolid to the lad's blows. At last, Frank darted in,
+caught the man behind, lifted him over one hip, and dashed him headlong
+to the ground.
+
+Miller lay still, stunned.
+
+"Wal, that's the beatenest I ever saw!" cried Kate Kenyon, whose
+admiration for Frank now knew no bounds. "You-uns is jes' a terror!"
+
+Barney laughed.
+
+"Whoy, thot's fun fer Frankie," he declared.
+
+Miller groaned, and sat up, lifting his hands to his head, and looking
+about him in a dazed way.
+
+"What's happened ter me?" he asked, speaking thickly.
+
+"Ye run ag'in' a fighter this time, Wade," said the girl. "He done ye,
+an' you-uns is ther bully o' these parts!"
+
+"It was an accident," mumbled the man. "I couldn't see ther critter
+well, an' so he kinder got----"
+
+"That won't go, Wade," half laughed the girl. "He done you fa'r an'
+squar', an' it's no us' ter squawk."
+
+"An' ye're laffin' 'bout it, be ye, Kate? Wal, I ain't done with him."
+
+The girl became serious instantly.
+
+"Better let him erlone, Wade. You-uns has made fool enough o' yerself.
+Ye tried ter kill me, an'----"
+
+"What I saw made me do it!" grated the man. "He war makin' love ter ye,
+Kate--an' you-uns liked it!"
+
+"Wal, Wade Miller, what is that ter you-uns?" she haughtily demanded.
+"He has a right ter make love ter me ef he wants ter."
+
+"Oh, yes, he has a right, but his throat'll be slit before long, mark
+what I say!"
+
+"Ef anything o' that kind happens, Wade Miller, I'll know who done it,
+an' I swa'r I'll never rest till I prove it agin' ye."
+
+"I don't keer, Kate," muttered the man, getting on his feet and standing
+there sulkily before them. "Ef I can't hev ye, I sw'ar no other critter
+shall!"
+
+"Be keerful, Wade Miller! I've stood all I kin from you, an' from now on
+I don't stan' no more. Arter this you-uns an' me-uns ain't even
+friends."
+
+He fell back a step, as if he had been struck a blow, and then he
+hoarsely returned:
+
+"All right, Kate. But I'll stick ter my oath. I ain't ter be thrown
+aside so easy. As fer them city chaps, ther maountings ain't big enough
+ter hold them an' me. Wade Miller has some power, an' I wouldn't give a
+snap for their lives. The Black Caps don't take ter strangers much, an'
+they know them critters is hyar. I'm goin' now, but that don't need ter
+mean that I'll stay away fer long."
+
+He turned, and, having picked up his revolver, strode away into the
+darkness, quickly disappearing.
+
+Kate's trembling hand fell on Frank's arm, and she panted into his ear:
+
+"You-uns must git out o' ther maountings quick as you kin, fer Wade
+Miller means what he says, an' he'll kill ye ef you stay hyar!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLI.
+
+FACING DEATH.
+
+
+Frank Merriwell's blood was aroused, and he did not feel like letting
+Wade Miller drive him like a hunted dog from the mountains.
+
+"By this time I should think you would have confidence in my ability to
+take care of myself against this man Miller," he said, somewhat testily.
+
+"Yo're ther best fighter I ever saw, but that won't 'mount ter anything
+agin' ther power Miller will set on yer. He's pop-ler, is Wade Miller,
+an' he'll have ther hull maountings ter back him."
+
+"I shall not run for Miller and all his friends. Right is right, and I
+have as good right here as he."
+
+"Hang me!" cried Kate, admiringly; "hang me ef I don't like you-uns'
+pluck. You may find that you'll need a friend afore yo're done with
+Wade. Ef ye do--wal, mebbe Kate Kenyon won't be fur off."
+
+"Thank you," said Frank. "It is a good thing to know I shall have one
+friend in the mountains."
+
+"Huah!" grunted a voice, and Mrs. Kenyon was seen stolidly standing in
+the dusk. "Mebbe you-uns will find my Kate ther best friend ye could
+have. Come, gal, it's time ter g'win."
+
+So they entered the cabin, and Barney found an opportunity to whisper to
+Frank:
+
+"She's a corker, me b'y! an' Oi think she's shtuck on yez. Betther be
+careful, lad. It's dangerous."
+
+"Don't worry," returned Frank.
+
+Shortly after entering the house, Mrs. Kenyon declared she was tired,
+and intended to go to bed. She apologized for the bed she had to give
+the boys, but they assured her that they were accustomed to sleeping
+anywhere, and that the bed would be a positive luxury.
+
+"Such slick-tongued chaps I never did see before," declared the old
+woman. "They don't seem stuck up an' lofty, like most city fellers.
+Really, they make me feel right to home in my own house!"
+
+She said this in a whimsical way that surprised Frank, who fancied Mrs.
+Kenyon had no sense of humor.
+
+Kate bade them good-night, and they retired, which they were glad to do,
+as they were tired from the tramp of the day.
+
+Frank was awakened by a sharp shake, and his first thought was of
+danger, but his hand did not reach the revolver he had placed beneath
+the pillow, for he felt something cold against his temple, and heard a
+voice hiss:
+
+"Be easy, you-uns! Ef ye make a jowl, yo're ter be shot!"
+
+Barney was awakened at the same time, and the boys found they were in
+the clutches of strong men. The little room seemed filled with men, and
+the lads instantly realized they were in a bad scrape.
+
+Through the small window sifted the white moonlight, showing that every
+man wore a black, pointed cap and hood, which reached to his shoulders.
+In this hood arrangement great holes were cut for the eyes, and some had
+slits cut for their mouths.
+
+"The Black Caps!" was the thought that flashed through Frank's mind.
+
+The revolvers pressed against the heads of the boys kept them from
+defending themselves or making an outcry. They were forced to get up and
+dress, after which they were passed through the open window, like
+bundles, their hands having been tied behind them.
+
+Other black-hooded men were outside, and horses were near at hand.
+
+"Great Scott!" thought Frank Merriwell. "We are in for it! We should
+have been ready for them."
+
+But when he thought how tired they had been, he did not wonder that both
+had slept soundly while the men slipped into the house by the window,
+which had been readily and noiselessly removed.
+
+It did not take the men long to get out as they had entered. Then Frank
+and Barney were placed on horses, being tied there securely, and the
+party was soon ready to move.
+
+They rode away, and the horses' feet gave out no sound, which explained
+why they had not aroused anybody within the cabin.
+
+The hoofs of the animals were muffled.
+
+Frank wondered what Kate Kenyon would think when morning came and she
+found her guests gone.
+
+"She will believe we rose in the night, and ran away. I hate to have her
+believe me a coward."
+
+Then he fell to wondering what the men would do with himself and Barney.
+
+"We are harmless travelers. They will not dare to do anything more than
+run us out of this part of the country."
+
+Although he told himself this, he was far from feeling sure that the men
+would do nothing else. He had heard of the desperate deeds perpetrated
+by the widely known "White Caps," and it was not likely that the Black
+Caps were any less desperate and reckless.
+
+As they were leaving the vicinity of the cabin, one of the horses
+neighed loudly, causing the leader of the party to utter an exclamation
+of anger.
+
+"Ef that 'rousts ther gal, she's li'bul ter be arter us in a hurry," one
+of the men observed.
+
+The party hurried forward, soon passing from view of the cabin, and
+entering the shadow that lay blackly in the depths of the valley.
+
+They rode about a mile, and then they came to a halt at a command from
+the leader, and Frank noticed with alarm that they had stopped beneath a
+large tree, with wide-spreading branches.
+
+"This looks bad for us, old man," he whispered to Barney.
+
+"Thot's pwhat it does, Frankie," admitted the Irish lad. "Oi fale
+throuble coming this way."
+
+The horsemen formed a circle about the captives, moving at a signal from
+the leader, who did not seem inclined to waste words.
+
+"Brothers o' ther Black Caps," said the leader, "what is ther fate
+we-uns gives ter revenues?"
+
+"Death!"
+
+Every man in the circle uttered the word, and they spoke all together.
+It sounded dismal and blood-chilling.
+
+"Right," bowed the leader. "Now, why are we assembled ter-night?"
+
+"Ter dispose o' spies," chorused the Black Caps.
+
+"Where are they?"
+
+"Thar!"
+
+Each one of the black-hooded band extended a hand and pointed straight
+at the captive boys.
+
+"How shall they be disposed uv?" asked the leader.
+
+"They shall be hanged," solemnly said the men.
+
+"Good!" cried the leader, as if well satisfied. "Produce ther rope."
+
+In a moment one of the men brought forth a rope. This was long enough to
+serve for both boys, and it was quickly cut in two pieces, while
+skillful hands proceeded to form nooses.
+
+"Frankie," said Barney Mulloy, sadly, "we're done for."
+
+"It looks that way," Frank was forced to admit.
+
+"Oi wouldn't moind so much," said the Irish lad, ruefully, "av we could
+kick th' booket foighting fer our loives; but it is a bit harrud ter go
+under widout a chance to lift a hand."
+
+"That's right," cried Frank, as he strained fiercely at the cords which
+held his hands behind his back. "It is the death of a criminal, and I
+object to it."
+
+The leader of the Black Caps rode close to the boys, leaned forward in
+his saddle, and hissed in Frank's ear:
+
+"It's my turn now!"
+
+"And you mean to murder us?" demanded Frank, passionately.
+
+"Not murder," answered the man. "We-uns is goin' ter put two revenues
+out o' ther way, that's all!"
+
+"It's murder," cried Frank, in a ringing tone. "You know we are not
+revenue spies! Men, we appeal to you. We can prove that we are what we
+claim to be--two boys who are tramping through the mountains for
+pleasure. Will you kill us without giving us a chance to prove our
+innocence?"
+
+The leader laughed harshly.
+
+"It's ther same ol' whine," he said. "Ther revenues alwus cry baby when
+they're caught. You-uns can't fool us, an' we ain't got time ter waste
+with ye. Git reddy, boys!"
+
+About the boys' necks the fatal ropes were quickly adjusted.
+
+"Stop!" Frank commanded. "If you murder us, you will find you have not
+killed two friendless boys. We have friends--powerful friends--who will
+follow this matter up--who will investigate it. You will be hunted down
+and punished for the crime. You will not be allowed to escape!"
+
+Again the leader laughed.
+
+"Pore fool!" he sneered. "Do you-uns think ye're stronger an' more
+po'erful than ther United States Gover'ment? Huah! Ther United States
+loses her spies, an' she can't tell who disposed o' 'em. We won't be
+worried by all yore friends."
+
+He made another movement, and the rope ends were flung over a limb that
+was strong enough to bear both lads.
+
+Hope was dying within Frank Merriwell's breast. At last he had reached
+the end of his adventurous life, which had been short and turbulent. He
+must die here amid these wild mountains, which flung themselves up
+against the moonlit sky, and the only friend to be with him at the end
+was the faithful friend who must die at his side.
+
+Frank's blood ran cold and sluggish in his veins. The spring night had
+seemed warm and sweet, filled with the droning of insects; but now there
+was a bitter chill in the air, and the white moonlight seemed to take on
+a crimson tinge, as of blood.
+
+The boy's nature rebelled against the thought of meeting death in such a
+manner. It was spring-time amid the mountains; with him it was the
+spring-time of life. He had enjoyed the beautiful world, and felt strong
+and brave to face anything that might come; but this he had not reckoned
+on, and it was something to cause the stoutest heart to shake.
+
+Over the eastern mountains, craggy, wild, barren or pine-clad, the
+gibbous moon swung higher and higher. The heavens were full of stars,
+and every star seemed to be an eye that was watching to witness the
+consummation of the tragedy down there in that little valley, through
+which Lost Creek flowed on to its unknown destination.
+
+How still it was!
+
+The silence was broken by a sound that made every black-hooded man start
+and listen.
+
+Sweet and mellow and musical, from afar through the peaceful night, came
+the clear notes of a bugle.
+
+Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra-tar! Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra-tar!
+
+A fierce exclamation broke from the lips of the leader of the Black
+Caps, and he grated:
+
+"Muriel, by ther livin' gods! He's comin' hyar! Quick, boys--finish this
+job, an' git!"
+
+"Stop, Wade Miller!" cried Frank, commandingly. "If that is Muriel, wait
+for him--let him pronounce our fate. He is the chief of you all, and he
+shall say if we are revenue spies."
+
+"Bah! You-uns know too much, fer ye've called my name! That settles ye!
+Ye must hang anyway, now!"
+
+Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra-tar!
+
+From much nearer, came the sound of the bugle, awakening hundreds of
+mellow echoes, which were flung from crag to crag till it seemed that
+the mountains were alive with buglers.
+
+The clatter of a horse's iron-shod feet could be heard, telling that the
+rider was coming like the wind down the valley.
+
+"Cut free ther feet o' ther pris'ners!" panted the leader of the Black
+Caps. "Work quick! Muriel will be here in a few shakes, an' we-uns must
+be done. All ready thar! Up with 'em!"
+
+The fatal moment had arrived!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLII.
+
+MURIEL.
+
+
+Ta-ra-tar! Ta-ra-ta-ra-ta-ra-tar!
+
+Through the misty moonlight a coal-black horse, bearing a rider who once
+more awakens the clamoring echoes with his bugle, comes tearing at a mad
+gallop.
+
+"Up with 'em!" repeats Wade Miller, fiercely, as the black-hooded men
+seem to hesitate.
+
+The ropes tighten.
+
+"Stop!"
+
+One of the men utters the command, and his companions hesitate.
+
+"Muriel is death on revernues," says the one who had spoken, "an' thar
+ain't any reason why we-uns shouldn't wait fer him."
+
+"That's so."
+
+More than half the men agree with the one who has interrupted the
+execution, filling Wade Miller with unutterable rage.
+
+"Fools!" snarled the chief ruffian of the party. "I am leadin' you-uns
+now, an' ye've gotter do ez I say. I order ye ter string them critters
+up!"
+
+Nearer and nearer came the clattering hoof-beats.
+
+"Av we can have wan minute more!" breathed Barney Mulloy.
+
+"Half a minute will do," returned Frank.
+
+"We refuse ter obey ye now," boldly spoke the man who had commanded his
+companions to stop. "Muriel has signaled ter us, an' he means fer us ter
+wait till he-uns arrives."
+
+"Wait!" howled Miller. "They sha'n't escape!"
+
+He snatched out a revolver, pointed it straight at Frank's breast, and
+fired!
+
+Just as the desperate ruffian was pulling the trigger, the man nearest
+him struck up his hand, and the bullet passed through Frank's hat,
+knocking it to the ground.
+
+Miller was furious as a maniac, but, at this moment, the black horse
+and the dashing rider burst in upon the scene, plunged straight through
+the circle, halting at the side of the imperiled lads, the horse being
+flung upon its haunches.
+
+"Wal, what be you-uns doin'?" demands a clear, ringing voice. "What work
+is this, that I don't know erbout?"
+
+The men were silent. Wade Miller cowered before the chief of the
+moonshiners, trying to hide the revolver.
+
+Muriel's eyes, gleaming through the twin holes of the mask he wore,
+found Miller, and the clear voice cried:
+
+"You-uns has been lettin' this critter lead ye inter somethin'! An' it's
+fair warnin' I gave him ter keep clear o' meddlin' with my business."
+
+The boys gazed at the moonshiner chief in amazement, for Muriel looked
+no more than a boy as he sat there on his black horse, and his voice
+seemed the voice of a boy instead of that of a man. Yet it was plain
+that he governed these desperate ruffians of the mountains with a hand
+of iron, and they feared him.
+
+"We-uns war 'bout ter hang two revernues," explained Miller.
+
+Muriel looked at the boys.
+
+"Revernues?" he said, doubtfully. "How long sence ther gover'ment has
+been sendin' boys hyar ter spy on us?"
+
+"They know what happens ter ther men they send," muttered Miller.
+
+"Wal, 'tain't like they'd be sendin' boys arter men failed."
+
+"That's ther way they hope ter fool us."
+
+"An' how do you know them-uns is revernues?"
+
+"We jest s'picions it."
+
+"An' you-uns war hangin' 'em on s'picion, 'thout lettin' me know?"
+
+"We never knows whar ter find ye, Muriel."
+
+"That is nary excuse, fer ef you-uns had held them-uns a day I'd knowed
+it. It looks like you-uns war in a monstr'us hurry."
+
+"It war he-uns," declared one of the black hoods, pointing to Miller.
+"He-uns war in ther hurry."
+
+"We don't gener'ly waste much time in dinkerin' 'roun' with anybody
+we-uns thinks is revernues," said Miller.
+
+"Wal, we ain't got ther record o' killin' innercent boys, an' we don't
+begin now. Take ther ropes off their necks."
+
+Two men hastened to obey the order, while Miller sat and grated his
+teeth. As this was being done, Muriel asked:
+
+"What war you-uns doin' with that revolver when I come? I heard ye
+shoot, an' I saw ther flash. Who did you-uns shoot at?"
+
+Miller stammered and stuttered till Muriel repeated the question, his
+voice cold and hard, despite its boyish caliber.
+
+"Wal," said Wade, reluctantly, "I'll have ter tell yer. I shot at
+he-uns," and he pointed at Frank.
+
+"I thought so," was all Muriel said.
+
+When the ropes were removed from the necks of the boys, Muriel directed
+that their feet be tied again, and their eyes blindfolded.
+
+These orders were attended to with great swiftness, and then the
+moonshiner chief said:
+
+"Follow!"
+
+Out they rode from beneath the tree, and away through the misty
+moonlight.
+
+Frank and Barney could not see, but they felt well satisfied with their
+lot, for they had been saved from death for the time being, and,
+somehow, they felt that Muriel did not mean to harm them.
+
+"Frank," whispered Barney, "are yez there?"
+
+"Here," replied Frank, close at hand.
+
+"It's dead lucky we are to be livin', me b'y."
+
+"You are quite correct, Barney. I feel like singing a song of praise and
+thanksgiving. But we're not out of the woods yet."
+
+"Thot Muriel is a dandy, Frankie! Oi'm shtuck on his stoyle."
+
+"He is no more than a boy. I wonder how he happened to appear at such an
+opportune moment?"
+
+"Nivver a bit do Oi know, but it's moighty lucky fer us thot he did."
+
+Frank fell to speculating over the providential appearance of the
+moonshiner chief. It was plain that Muriel must have known that
+something was happening, and he had signaled with the bugle to the Black
+Caps. In all probability, other executions had taken place beneath that
+very tree, for the young chief came there direct, without hesitation.
+
+For nearly an hour they seemed to ride through the night, and then they
+halted. The boys were removed from the horses and compelled to march
+into some kind of a building.
+
+After some moments, their hands were freed, and, tearing away the
+blindfolds, they found themselves in a low, square room, with no
+windows, and a single door.
+
+With his back to the door, stood Muriel.
+
+The light of a swinging oil lamp illumined the room.
+
+Muriel leaned gracefully against the door, his arms folded, and his eyes
+gleaming where the lamplight shone on them through the twin holes in the
+sable mask.
+
+The other moonshiners had disappeared, and the boys were alone in that
+room with the chief of the mountain desperadoes.
+
+There was something strikingly cool and self-reliant in Muriel's
+manner--something that caused Frank to think that the fellow, young as
+he was, feared nothing on the face of the earth.
+
+At the same time there was no air of bravado or insolence about that
+graceful pose and the quiet manner in which he was regarding them.
+Instead of that, the moonshiner was a living interrogation point,
+everything about him seeming to speak the question that fell from his
+lips.
+
+"Are you-uns revernues?"
+
+"Why do you ask us?" Frank quickly counter questioned. "You must know
+that we will lie if we are, and so you will hear our denial anyway. That
+can give you little satisfaction."
+
+"Look hyar--she tol' me fair an' squar' that you-uns warn't revernues,
+but I dunno how she could tell."
+
+"Of whom are you speaking?"
+
+Frank fancied that he knew, but he put the question, and Muriel
+answered:
+
+"Ther gal that saved yore lives by comin' ter me an' tellin' me ther
+boys had taken you outer her mammy's house."
+
+"Kate Kenyon?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"God bless her! She did save our lives, for if you had been one minute
+later you would not have arrived in time. Dear girl! I'll not forget
+her!"
+
+Muriel moved uneasily, and he did not seem pleased by Frank's words,
+although his face could not be seen. It was some moments before he
+spoke, but his voice was strangely cold and hard when he did so.
+
+"It's well ernough fer you-uns ter remember her, but ye'd best take car'
+how ye speak o' her. She's got friends in ther maountings--true
+friends."
+
+Frank was startled, and he felt the hot blood rush to his face. Then, in
+a moment, he cried:
+
+"Friends! Well, she has no truer friends than the boys she saved
+to-night! I hope you will not misconstrue our words, Mr. Muriel."
+
+A sound like a smothered laugh came from behind that baffling mask, and
+Muriel said:
+
+"Yo're hot-blooded. I war simply warnin' you-uns in advance, that's all.
+I thought it war best."
+
+"It was quite unnecessary. We esteem Miss Kenyon too highly to say
+anything that can give a friend of hers just cause to strike against
+us."
+
+"Wal, city chaps are light o' tongue, an' they're apt ter think that
+ev'ry maounting girl is a fool ef she don't have book learnin'. Some
+city chaps make their boast how easy they kin 'mash' such gals. Anything
+like that would count agin' you-uns."
+
+Frank was holding himself in check with an effort.
+
+"It is plain you do not know us, and you have greatly misjudged us. We
+are not in the mountains to make 'mashes,' and we are not the kind to
+boast of our conquests."
+
+"Thot's right, me jool!" growled Barney, whose temper was started a bit.
+"An' it's mesilf thot loikes to be suspected av such a thing. It shtirs
+me foighting blud."
+
+The Irish lad clinched his fist, and felt of his muscle, moving his
+forearm up and down, and scowling blackly at the cool chief of
+moonshiners, as if longing to thump the fellow.
+
+This seemed to amuse Muriel, but still he persisted in further arousing
+the lads by saying, insinuatingly:
+
+"I war led ter b'lieve that Kate war ruther interested in you-uns by her
+manner. Thar don't no maounting gal take so much trouble over strangers
+fer nothin'!"
+
+Frank bit his lip, and Barney looked blacker than ever. It seemed that
+Muriel was trying to draw them into a trap of some sort, and they were
+growing suspicious. Had this young leader of mountain ruffians rescued
+them that he might find just cause or good excuse to put them out of the
+way?
+
+The boys were silent, and Muriel forced a laugh.
+
+"Wal, ye won't talk about that, an' so we'll go onter somethin' else. I
+judge you-uns know yo're in a po'erful bad scrape?"
+
+"We have good reasons to think so."
+
+"Begorra! we have thot!" exclaimed Barney, feeling of his neck, and
+making a wry face, as if troubled by an unpleasant recollection.
+
+"It is a scrape that you-uns may not be able ter git out of easy,"
+Muriel said. "I war able ter save yer from bein' hung 'thout any show at
+all, but ye're not much better off now."
+
+"If you were powerful enough to save us in the first place, you should
+be able to get us out of the scrape entirely."
+
+"You-uns don't know all about it. Moonshiners have laws an' regulations,
+an' even ther leader must stan' by them."
+
+Frank was still troubled by the unpleasant suspicion that Muriel was
+their enemy, after all that had happened. He felt that they must guard
+their tongues, for there was no telling what expression the fellow might
+distort and turn against them.
+
+Seeing neither of the lads was going to speak, Muriel went on:
+
+"Yes, moonshiners have laws and regulations. Ther boys came nigh
+breakin' one o' ther laws by hangin' you-uns ter-night 'thout givin' ye
+a show."
+
+"Then we are to have a fair deal?" eagerly cried Frank.
+
+"Ez fair ez anybody gits," assured Muriel, tossing back a lock of his
+coal-black hair, which he wore long enough to fall to the collar of his
+coat. "Ain't that all ye kin ask?"
+
+"I don't know. That depends on what kind of a deal it is."
+
+"Wall, ye'll be given yore choice."
+
+"We demand a fair trial. If it is proven that we are revenue spies,
+we'll have to take our medicine. But if it is not proven, we demand
+immediate release."
+
+"Take my advice; don't demand anything o' ther Black Caps. Ther more ye
+demand, ther less ye git."
+
+"We have a right to demand a fair deal."
+
+"Right don't count in this case; it is might that holds ther fort.
+You-uns stirred up a tiger ag'in' ye when you made Wade Miller mad. It's
+a slim show that ye escape ef we-uns lets yer go instanter. He'd foller
+yer, an' he'd finish yer somewhar."
+
+"We will take our chances on that. We have taken care of ourselves so
+far, and we think we can continue to do so. All we ask is that we be set
+at liberty and given our weapons."
+
+"An' ye'd be found with yer throats cut within ten miles o' hyar."
+
+"That would not be your fault."
+
+"Wal, 'cordin' to our rules, ye can't be released onless ther vote ur
+ther card sez so."
+
+"The vote or the cards? What do you mean by that?"
+
+"Wal, it's like this: Ef it's put ter vote, one black bean condemns
+you-uns ter death, an' ev'ry man votes black ur white, as he chooses. I
+don't judge you-uns care ter take yer chances that way?"
+
+"Howly Sint Patherick!" gurgled Barney Mulloy. "Oi sh'u'd soay not!
+Ixchuse us from thot, me hearty!"
+
+"That would be as bad as murder!" exclaimed Frank. "There would be one
+vote against us--one black bean thrown, at least."
+
+Muriel nodded.
+
+"I judge you-uns is right."
+
+"Pwhat av th' carruds?"
+
+"Yes, what of them?"
+
+"Two men will be chosen, one ter hold a pack o' cards, and one to draw a
+card from them. Ef ther card is red, it lets you-uns off, fer it means
+life; ef it is black, it cooks yer, fer it means death."
+
+The boys were silent, dumfounded, appalled.
+
+It was a lottery of life and death.
+
+Muriel stood watching them, and Frank fancied that his eyes were
+gleaming with satisfaction. The boy began to believe he had mistaken the
+character of this astonishing youth; Muriel might be even worse than his
+older companions, for he might be one who delighted in torturing his
+victims.
+
+Frank threw back his head, defiance and scorn written on his handsome
+face.
+
+"It is a clean case of murder, at best!" he cried, his voice ringing out
+clearly. "We deserve a fair trial--we demand it!"
+
+"Wal," drawled the boy moonshiner, "I warned you-uns that ther more yer
+demanded, ther less yer got. Ye seem ter fergit that."
+
+"We're in fur it, Frankie, me b'y!" groaned Barney.
+
+"If we had our revolvers, we'd give them a stiff fight for it!" grated
+Frank, fiercely. "They would not murder us till a few of them had eaten
+lead!"
+
+Muriel seemed to nod with satisfaction.
+
+"You-uns has stuff, an' when I tell yer that ye'll have ter sta' ter
+vote ur take chances with ther cards, I don't judge you'll hesitate.
+It's one ur t'other."
+
+"Then, make it the cards," said Frank, hoarsely. "That will give us an
+even show, if the draw is a fair one."
+
+"I'll see ter that," assured Muriel. "It shall be fair."
+
+Without another word, he turned and swiftly slipped out of the room.
+They heard him bar the door, and then they stood looking into each
+other's faces, speechless for a few moments.
+
+"It's a toss-up, Barney," Frank finally observed.
+
+"Thot's pwhat it is, an' th' woay our luck is runnin' Oi think it's a
+case av heads they win an' tails we lose."
+
+"It looks that way," admitted Frank. "But there is no way out of it.
+We'll have to grin and bear it."
+
+"Pwhat do yez think av thot Muriel?"
+
+"He's an enigma."
+
+"Worse than thot, me b'y--he's a cat's cradle toied in a hundred an'
+sivintane knots."
+
+"It is impossible to tell whether he is friendly or whether he is the
+worst foe we have in these mountains."
+
+"Oi wonder how Kate Kenyon knew where to foind him so quick?"
+
+"I have thought of that. She must have found him in a very short time
+after we were taken from the cabin."
+
+"An' she diskivered thot we hed been taken away moighty soon afther we
+wur gone, me b'y. Thot is sure."
+
+"Remember one of the horses neighed. It may have aroused Kate and her
+mother, and caused them to investigate."
+
+"Loikely thot wur th' case, fer it's not mesilf thot would think she'd
+kape shtill an' let ther spalpanes drag us away av she knew it."
+
+"No; I believe her utterly fearless, and it is plain that Wade Miller is
+not the only one in love with her."
+
+"Who ilse?"
+
+"Muriel."
+
+"Mebbe ye're roight, Frankie."
+
+"It strikes me that way. The fellow tried to lead me into a trap--tried
+to get me to boast of a mash on her. I could see his eyes gleam with
+jealousy. In her eagerness to save us--to have him aid her in the
+work--she must have led him to suspect that one of us had been making
+love to her."
+
+Barney whistled a bit, and then he shyly said:
+
+"Oi wunder av wan of us didn't do a bit av thot?"
+
+"Not I," protested Frank. "We talked in a friendly manner--in fact, she
+promised to be a friend to me. I may have expressed admiration for her
+hair, or something of the sort, but I vow I did not make love to her."
+
+"Well, me b'y, ye have a thrick av gettin' all th' girruls shtuck on yez
+av ye look at thim, so ye didn't nade ter make love."
+
+"It's not my fault, Barney."
+
+"It's nivver a fault at all, at all, me lad. Oi wish Oi wur built th'
+soame woay, but it's litthle oice I cut wid th' girruls. This south av
+Oireland brogue thot Oi foind mesilf unable to shake counts against me a
+bit, Oi belave."
+
+"I should think Miller and Muriel would clash."
+
+"It's plain enough that Miller is afraid av Muriel."
+
+"And Muriel intends to keep him thus. I fancy it was a good thing for us
+that Kate Kenyon suspected Wade Miller of having a hand in our capture,
+and told Muriel that we had been carried off by him, for I fancy that is
+exactly what happened. Muriel was angry with Miller, and he seized the
+opportunity to call the fellow down. But for that, he might not have
+made such a hustle to save us."
+
+"Thin we should be thankful thot Muriel an' Miller do not love ache
+ither."
+
+The boys continued to discuss the situation for some time, and then they
+fell to examining the room in which they were imprisoned. It did not
+seem to have a window anywhere, and the single door appeared to be the
+only means of entering or leaving the place.
+
+"There's little show of escaping from this room," said Frank.
+
+"Roight ye are," nodded Barney. "This wur built to kape iverything safe
+thot came in here."
+
+A few minutes later there was a sound at the door, and Muriel came in,
+with two of the Black Caps at his heels.
+
+"Ther boys have agreed ter give ye ther chance o' ther cards," said the
+boy moonshiner. "An' yo're goin' ter have a fair an' squar' deal."
+
+"We will have to submit," said Frank, quietly.
+
+"You will have ter let ther boys bind yer hands afore ye leave this
+room," said Muriel.
+
+The men each held the end of a stout rope, and the boys were forced to
+submit to the inconvenience of having their hands bound behind them.
+Barney protested, but Frank kept silent, knowing it was useless to say
+anything.
+
+When their hands were tied, Muriel said:
+
+"Follow."
+
+He led the way, while Frank came next, with Barney shuffling sulkily
+along at his heels. The two men came last.
+
+They passed through a dark room and entered another room, which was
+lighted by three oil lamps. The room was well filled with the
+black-hooded moonshiners, who were standing in a grim and silent
+circle, with their backs against the walls.
+
+Into the center of this circle, the boys were marched. The door closed,
+and Muriel addressed the Black Caps.
+
+"It is not often that we-uns gives our captives ther choice uv ther
+cards or ther vote, but we have agreed ter do so in this case, with only
+one objectin', an' he war induced ter change his mind. Now we mean ter
+have this fair an' squar', an' I call on ev'ry man present ter watch out
+an' see that it is. Ther men has been serlected, one ter hold ther cards
+an' one ter draw. Let them step forrud."
+
+Two of the Black Caps stepped out, and Frank started a bit, for he
+believed one of them was Wade Miller.
+
+A pack of cards was produced, and Muriel shuffled them with a skill that
+told of experience, after which he handed them to one of the men.
+
+Miller was to draw!
+
+Frank watched every move, determined to detect the fraud if possible,
+should there be any fraud.
+
+An awed hush seemed to settle over the room.
+
+The men who wore the black hoods leaned forward a little, every one of
+them watching to see what card should be drawn from the pack.
+
+Barney Mulloy caught his breath with a gasping sound, and then was
+silent, standing stiff and straight.
+
+Muriel was as alert as a panther, and his eyes gleamed through the holes
+in his mask like twin stars.
+
+The man who received the pack from Muriel stepped forward, and Miller
+reached out his hand to draw.
+
+Then Frank suddenly cried:
+
+"Wait! That we may be satisfied we are having a fair show in this
+matter, why not permit one of us to shuffle those cards?"
+
+Quick as a flash of light, Muriel's hand fell on the wrist of the man
+who held the cards, and his clear voice rang out:
+
+"Stop! Unbind his hands. He shall shuffle."
+
+Frank's hands were unbound, and he was given the cards. He shuffled
+them, but he did not handle them with more skill than had Muriel. He
+"shook them up" thoroughly, and then passed them back to the man who
+was to hold them.
+
+"Bind him!"
+
+Muriel's order was swiftly obeyed, and Frank was again helpless.
+
+"Draw!"
+
+The cards were extended. Wade Miller reached out, and quickly made the
+draw, holding the fateful card up for all to see.
+
+It was the ace of spades!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIII.
+
+SAVED!
+
+
+"Death!"
+
+From beneath the black hoods sounded the terrible word, as the man
+beheld the black card which was exposed to view.
+
+The boys were doomed!
+
+Frank's heart dropped like a stone into the depths of his bosom, but no
+sound came from his lips.
+
+Barney Mulloy showed an equal amount of nerve. Indeed, the Irish lad
+laughed recklessly as he cried:
+
+"It's nivver a show we had at all, at all, Frankie. Th' snakes had it
+fixed fer us all th' toime."
+
+"Hold on thar!"
+
+The words came from Muriel, and the boy chief of the moonshiners made a
+spring and a grab, snatching the card from Miller's hand.
+
+"Look hyar!" he cried. "This won't do! Let's give ther critters a fair
+show."
+
+"Do you mean ter say they didn't have a fair show?" demanded Wade
+Miller, fiercely. "Do you say that I cheated?"
+
+"Not knowin' it," answered Muriel. "But ther draw warn't fair, jes' ther
+same."
+
+"Warn't fair!" snarled Miller, furiously. "Why not?"
+
+"Because two cards war drawed!" rang out the voice of the masked youth.
+"Look--hyar they be! One is ther ace o' spades, an' ther other is ther
+nine o' hearts."
+
+Exclamations of astonishment came from all sides, and a ray of hope shot
+into Frank Merriwell's heart.
+
+"Did I draw two cards?" muttered Miller, as if surprised. "Wal, what o'
+that? Ther black card war ther one exposed, an' that settles what'll be
+done with ther spies."
+
+"It don't settle it!" declared Muriel, promptly. "Them boys is goin' ter
+have a squar' show."
+
+It was with the greatest difficulty that Miller held himself in check.
+His hands were clinched, and Frank fancied that he longed to spring upon
+Muriel.
+
+The boy chief was very cool as he took the pack of cards from the hand
+of the man who had held them.
+
+"Release one of the prisoners," was his command. "The cards shall be
+shuffled again."
+
+Once more Frank's hands were freed, and again the cards were given him
+to shuffle. He mixed them deftly, without saying a word, and gave them
+back to Muriel. Then his hands were tied, and he awaited the second
+drawing.
+
+"Be careful an' not get two cards this time," warned Muriel as he faced
+Miller. "This draw settles ther business fer them-uns."
+
+The cards were given to the man who was to hold them, and Miller stepped
+forward to draw.
+
+Again the suspense became great, again the men leaned forward to see the
+card that should be pulled from the pack; again the hearts of the
+captives stood still.
+
+Miller hesitated. He seemed to feel that the tide had turned against
+him. For a moment he was tempted to refuse to draw, and then, with a
+muttered exclamation, he pulled a card from the pack and held it up to
+view. Then, with a bitter cry of baffled rage, he flung it madly to the
+floor.
+
+It was the queen of hearts!
+
+Each man in the room seemed to draw a deep breath. It was plain that
+some were disappointed, and some were well satisfied.
+
+"That settles it!" said Muriel, calmly. "They-uns won't be put out o'
+ther way ter-night."
+
+"Settles it!" snarled Miller, furious with disappointment. "It war
+settled afore! I claim that ther first draw counts."
+
+"An' I claim that it don't," returned the youthful moonshiner, without
+lifting his voice in the least. "You-uns all agreed ter ther second
+draw, an' that lets them off."
+
+"Oh, you have worked it slick!" grated the disappointed Black Cap. "But
+them critters ain't out o' ther maountings yit!"
+
+"By that yer mean--jes' what?"
+
+"They're not liable ter git out alive."
+
+"Ef they-uns is killed, I'll know whar ter look fer ther one as war at
+ther bottom o' ther job--an' I'll look!"
+
+Muriel did not bluster, and he did not speak above an ordinary tone, but
+it was plain that he meant every word.
+
+"Wal," muttered Miller, "what do ye mean ter do with them critters--turn
+'em out, an' let 'em bring ther officers down on us?"
+
+"No. I'm goin' ter keep 'em till they kin be escorted out o' ther
+maountings. Thar ain't time ter-night, fer it's gittin' toward mornin'.
+Ter-morrer night it can be done."
+
+Miller said no more. He seemed to know it was useless to make further
+talk, but Frank and Barney knew that they were not yet out of danger.
+
+The boys seemed as cool as any one in the room, for all of the deadly
+peril they had passed through, and Muriel nodded in a satisfied way when
+he had looked them over.
+
+"Come," he said, in a low tone, "you-uns will have ter go back ter ther
+room whar ye war a bit ago."
+
+They were willing to go back, and it was with no small amount of relief
+that they allowed themselves to be escorted to the apartment.
+
+Muriel dismissed the two guards, and then he set the hands of the boys
+free.
+
+"Thar ye are," he said. "Yo're all right fer now."
+
+"Thanks to you," bowed Frank. "I want to make an apology."
+
+"Fer what?"
+
+"Suspecting you of double-dealing."
+
+"You-uns did suspect me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"It looked that way once. It seemed that you had saved us from being
+hanged, but that you intended to finish us here."
+
+"Ef that war my scheme, why did I take ther trouble ter save ye at all?"
+
+"It looked as if you did so to please Miss Kenyon. You had saved us, and
+then, if the men disposed of us in the regular manner, you would not be
+to blame."
+
+Muriel shook back his long, black hair, and his manner showed that he
+was angry. He did not feel at all pleased to know his sincerity had been
+doubted.
+
+"Wal," he said, slowly, "ef it hadn't been fer me you-uns would be gone
+<DW53>s now."
+
+"Begobs! we know thot!" exclaimed Barney.
+
+"You-uns know I saved ye, but ye don't know how I done it."
+
+There was something of bitterness and reproach in the voice of the
+youthful moonshiner. He continued:
+
+"I done that fer you I never done before fer no man. I wouldn't a done
+it fer myself!"
+
+Frank wondered what the strange youth could mean.
+
+"Do you-uns want ter know what I done?" asked Muriel.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I cheated."
+
+"Cheated?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How?"
+
+"When I snatched ther first card drawn from ther hand o' ther man what
+drawed it. It war ther ace o' spades, an' it condemned yer ter die."
+
+"But there were two cards drawn."
+
+"No! Thar war one card drawed, an' that war all!"
+
+"But--but you showed two!"
+
+Muriel nodded.
+
+"That war whar I cheated," he said, simply. "I had ther red card in my
+hand ready ter do ther trick ef a black card war drawed. In that way I
+knowed I could give yer two shows ter escape death."
+
+The boys were astounded by this revelation, but they did not doubt that
+Muriel spoke the truth. His manner showed that he was not telling a
+falsehood.
+
+And this strange boy--this remarkable leader of moonshiners--had done
+such a thing to save them!
+
+More than ever, they marveled at the fellow.
+
+Once more Muriel's arms were folded over his breast, and he was leaning
+gracefully against the door, his eyes watching their faces.
+
+For several moments both boys were stricken dumb with wonder and
+surprise. Frank was not a little confused, thinking as he did how he had
+misunderstood this mysterious youth. Even now Frank could not understand
+him. It seemed most unaccountable that he should do such a thing for two
+lads who were utter strangers to him.
+
+A sound like a bitter laugh came from behind the sable mask, and Muriel
+flung out one hand, with an impatient gesture.
+
+"I know what you-uns is thinkin' of," declared the young moonshiner. "Ye
+wonder why I done so. Wal, I don't jes' know myself, but I promised Kate
+ter do my best fer ye."
+
+"You have kept your promise!" cried Frank, "kept it nobly! Muriel, you
+may be a moonshiner, you may be the leader of the Black Caps, but I am
+proud to know you! I believe you are white all the way through!"
+
+"Thar!" exclaimed the youth, with a show of satisfaction, "that makes me
+feel better. But it war Kate as done it, an' she's ther one ter thank;
+but it ain't likely you-uns'll ever see her ag'in."
+
+"Then, tell her," said Frank, swiftly, "tell her for us that we are very
+thankful--tell her we shall not forget her. I'll never forget her."
+
+Muriel moved uneasily. He seemed about to speak, and then checked
+himself.
+
+"You will tell her?" said Frank, appealingly.
+
+"I'll tell her," nodded Muriel, his voice sounding a bit strange. "Is
+that all you-uns want me ter tell her?"
+
+"Tell her I would give much to see her again," came swiftly from Frank's
+lips. "She's promised to be my friend, and right well has she kept that
+promise."
+
+"That's all?" questioned the boy moonshiner.
+
+"That is all."
+
+"Then I'll have ter leave you-uns now. Take it as easy as yer kin.
+Breakfast will be brought ter ye, and when another night comes, a guard
+will go with yer out o' ther maountings. Good-by."
+
+He was going.
+
+"Wait!" cried Frank. "Will you shake hands before you go?"
+
+He held out a hand, and Muriel seemed to hesitate. After a few moments,
+the masked lad shook his head, and, without another word, left the room.
+
+"Begorra!" cried Barney, scratching his head, "thot felly is worse than
+Oi thought! Oi don't know so much about him now as Oi did bafore Oi met
+him at all, at all!"
+
+The boys were given much food for conversation. They made themselves as
+comfortable as possible, and talked over the thrilling events of the
+night.
+
+"If Kate Kenyon had not told me that her brother was serving time as a
+convict, I should think this Muriel must be her brother," said Frank.
+
+"Av he's not her brither, it's badly shtuck on her he must be, Oi
+dunno," observed Barney. "An' av he be shtuck on her, pwhoy don't he git
+onter th' collar av thot Miller?"
+
+That was a question Frank could not answer. Finally, when they had tired
+of talking, the boys lay down and tried to sleep.
+
+Frank was beginning to doze when his ears seemed to detect a slight
+rustling in that very room, and his eyes flew open in a twinkling. He
+started up, a cry of wonder surging to his lips, and being smothered
+there.
+
+Kate Kenyon stood within ten feet of him!
+
+As Frank started up, the girl swiftly placed a finger on her lips,
+warning him to be silent.
+
+Frank sprang to his feet, and Barney Mulloy sat up, rubbing his eyes and
+beginning to speak.
+
+"Pwhat's th' matter now, me b'y? Are yez---- Howly shmoke!"
+
+Barney clasped both hands over his mouth, having caught the warning
+gestures from Frank and the girl. Still the exclamation had escaped his
+lips, although it was not uttered loudly.
+
+Swiftly Kate Kenyon flitted across the room, listening with her ear to
+the door to hear any sound beyond. After some moments, she seemed
+satisfied that the moonshiners had not been aroused by anything that had
+happened within that room, and she came back, standing close to Frank,
+and whispering:
+
+"Ef you-uns will trust me, I judge I kin git yer out o' this scrape."
+
+"Trust you!" exclaimed Frank, softly, as he caught her hand. "We have
+you to thank for our lives! Kate--your pardon!--Miss Kenyon, how can we
+ever repay you?"
+
+"Don't stop ter talk 'bout that now," she said, with chilling
+roughness. "Ef you-uns want ter live, an' yer want ter git erway frum
+Wade Miller, git reddy ter foller me."
+
+"We are ready."
+
+"Begorra! we're waitin'!"
+
+"But how are we to leave this room? How did you enter?"
+
+She silently pointed to a dark opening in the corner, and they saw that
+a small trapdoor was standing open.
+
+"We kin git out that way," she said.
+
+The boys wondered why they had not discovered the door when they
+examined the place, but there was no time for investigation.
+
+Kate Kenyon flitted lightly toward the opening. Pausing beside it, she
+pointed downward, saying:
+
+"Go ahead; I'll foller and close ther door."
+
+The boys did not hesitate, for they placed perfect confidence in the
+girl now. Barney dropped down in advance, and his feet found some rude
+stone steps. In a moment he had disappeared, and then Frank followed.
+
+As lightly as a fairy, Kate Kenyon dropped through the opening, closing
+the door behind her.
+
+The boys found themselves in absolute darkness, in some sort of a
+narrow, underground place, and there they paused, awaiting their guide.
+
+She came in a moment. Her hand touched Frank as she slipped past, and he
+caught the perfume of wild flowers. To him she was like a beautiful wild
+flower growing in a wilderness of weeds. The touch of their hands was
+electric.
+
+"Come."
+
+The boys heard the word, and they moved slowly forward through the
+darkness, now and then feeling dank walls on either hand.
+
+For a considerable distance they went on in this way, and then the
+passage seemed to widen out, and they felt that they had entered a cave.
+
+"Keep close ter me," directed the girl.
+
+"Here, give me your hands. Now you-uns can't git astray."
+
+At last a strange smell came to their nostrils, seemingly on the wings
+of a light breath of air.
+
+"What is that?" asked Frank.
+
+"Ther mill whar ther moonshine is made."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+Now the boys recognized the smell.
+
+Still she led them on through the darkness. Never for a moment did she
+hesitate; she seemed to have the eyes of an owl.
+
+All at once they heard the sound of gently running water.
+
+"Is there a stream near?" asked Frank.
+
+"Lost Creek runs through har," answered the girl.
+
+"Lost Creek? Why, we are still underground."
+
+"An' Lost Creek runs underground. Have ye fergot that?"
+
+So the mysterious stream flowed through this cavern, and the cave was
+near one of the illicit distilleries.
+
+Frank cared to know no more, for he did not believe it was healthy to
+know too much about the makers of moonshine.
+
+It was not long before they approached the mouth of the cave. They saw
+the opening before them, and then, of a sudden, a dark figure arose
+there--the figure of a man with a gun in his hands!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLIV.
+
+FRANK'S SUSPICION.
+
+
+"It's all right."
+
+Kate uttered the words, and the boys began to recover from their alarm,
+as she did not hesitate in the least.
+
+"Who is it?" asked Frank.
+
+"Dummy."
+
+"Who is Dummy?"
+
+"A cousin o' mine. He'll do anything fer me. I put him thar ter watch
+out while I war in hyar."
+
+They went forward. Of a sudden, Kate struck a match, holding it so the
+light shone on her face, and the figure at the mouth of the cave was
+seen to wave its hand and vanish.
+
+"Ther coast is clear," assured the girl. "But it's gittin' right nigh
+mornin', an' we-uns must hustle away from hyar afore it is light. We
+won't lose any time."
+
+The boys were well satisfied to get away as quickly as possible.
+
+They passed out of the dark cavern into the cool, sweet air of a spring
+morning, for the gray of dawn was beginning to dispel the darkness, and
+the birds were twittering from the thickets.
+
+The phantom of a moon was in the sky, hanging low down and half-inverted
+as if spilling a spectral glamour over the ghostly mists which lay deep
+in Lost Creek Valley.
+
+The sweet breath of flowers and of the woods was in the morning air, and
+from some cabin afar on the side of a distant mountain a wakeful
+watchdog barked till the crags reverberated with his clamoring.
+
+"Thar's somethin' stirrin' at 'Bize Wiley's, ur his dorg wouldn't be
+kickin' up all that racket," observed Kate Kenyon. "He lives by ther
+road that comes over from Bildow's Crossroads. Folks comin' inter ther
+maountings from down below travel that way."
+
+The boys looked around for the mute who had been guarding the mouth of
+the cave, but they saw nothing of him. He had slipped away into the
+bushes which grew thick all around the opening.
+
+"Come on," said the girl, after seeming strangely interested in the
+barking of the dog. "We'll git ter ther old mill as soon as we kin.
+Foller me, an' be ready ter scrouch ther instant anything is seen."
+
+Now that they could see her, she led them forward at a swift pace, which
+astonished them both. She did not run, but she seemed to skim over the
+ground, and she took advantage of every bit of cover till they entered
+some deep, lowland pines.
+
+Through this strip of woods she swiftly led them, and they came near to
+Lost Creek, where it flowed down in the dismal valley.
+
+There they found the ruins of an old mill, the moss-covered water-wheel
+forever silent, the roof sagging and falling in, the windows broken out
+by mischievous boys, the whole presenting a most melancholy and deserted
+appearance.
+
+The road that had led to the mill from the main highway was overgrown
+with weeds. Later it would be filled with thistles and burdocks. Wild
+sassafras grew along the roadside.
+
+"That's whar you-uns must hide ter-day," said Kate, motioning toward the
+mill.
+
+"Why should we hide?" exclaimed Frank. "We are not criminals, nor are we
+revenue spies. I do not fancy the idea of hiding like a hunted dog."
+
+"It's better ter be a live dorg than a dead lion. Ef you-uns'll take my
+advice, you'll come inter ther mill thar, an' ye'll keep thar all day,
+an' keep mighty quiet. I know ye're nervy, but thar ain't no good in
+bein' foolish. It'll be known that you-uns have escaped, an' then Wade
+Miller will scour ther country. Ef he come on yer----"
+
+"Give us our arms, and we'll be ready to meet Mr. Miller."
+
+"But yer wouldn't meet him alone; thar'd be others with him, an' you-uns
+wouldn't have no sorter show."
+
+Kate finally succeeded in convincing the boys that she spoke the truth,
+and they agreed to remain quietly in the old mill.
+
+She led them into the mill, which was dank and dismal. The imperfect
+light failed to show all the pitfalls that lurked for their feet, but
+she warned them, and they escaped injury.
+
+The miller had lived in the mill, and the girl took them to the part of
+the old building that had served as a home.
+
+"Har," she said, opening a closet door, "I've brung food fer you-uns, so
+yer won't starve, an' I knowed ye'd be hongry."
+
+"You are more than thoughtful, Miss Kenyon."
+
+"Yer seem ter have fergot what we agreed ter call each other, Frank."
+
+She spoke the words in a tone of reproach.
+
+"Kate!"
+
+Barney turned away, winking uselessly at nothing at all, and kept his
+back toward them for some moments.
+
+But Frank Merriwell had no thought of making love to this strange girl
+of the mountains. She had promised to be his friend; she had proved
+herself his friend, and as no more than a friend did he propose to
+accept her.
+
+That he had awakened something stronger than a friendly feeling in Kate
+Kenyon's breast seemed evident, and the girl was so artless that she
+could not conceal her true feelings toward him.
+
+They stood there, talking in a low tone, while the morning light stole
+in at one broken window and grew stronger and stronger within that room.
+
+Frank was studying Kate's speech and voice. As he did so a new thought
+came to him--a thought that was at first a mere suspicion, which he
+scarcely noted at all. This suspicion grew, and he found himself asking:
+
+"Kate, are you sure your brother is still wearing a convict's suit?"
+
+She started, and looked at him closely.
+
+"Sure o' it?" she repeated. "No, fer he may be dead."
+
+"You do not know that he is dead--you have not heard of his death?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Is he bold and daring?"
+
+Her eyes flashed, and a look of pride swept across her face.
+
+"Folks allus 'lowed Rufe Kenyon wa'n't afeard o' ary two-legged critter
+livin', an' they war right."
+
+"Perhaps he has escaped."
+
+She clutched his arm, beginning to pant, as she asked:
+
+"What makes you say that? I knowed he'd try it some day, but--but, have
+you heard anything? Do you know that he has tried it?"
+
+The suspicion leaped to a conviction in the twinkling of an eye. If Rufe
+Kenyon was not at liberty, then he must be right in what he thought.
+
+"I do not know that your brother has tried to escape. I do not know
+anything about him. I did think that he might be Muriel, the
+moonshiner."
+
+Kate laughed.
+
+"You-uns war plumb mistooken thar," she said, positively. "Rufe is not
+Muriel."
+
+"Then," cried Frank, "you are Muriel yourself!"
+
+Kate Kenyon seemed astounded.
+
+"Have you-uns gone plumb dafty?" asked the girl, in a dazed way. "Me
+Muriel! Wal, that beats all!"
+
+"But you are--I am sure of it," said Frank, swiftly.
+
+The girl laughed.
+
+"Well, that beats me! Of course I'm not Muriel; but he's ther best
+friend I've got in these maountings."
+
+Frank was far from satisfied, but he was too courteous to insist after
+this denial. Kate laughed the idea to scorn, saying over and over that
+the boy must be "dafty," but still his mind was unchanged.
+
+To be sure, there were some things not easily explained, one being how
+Muriel concealed her luxurious red hair, for Muriel's hair appeared to
+be coal-black.
+
+Another thing was that Wade Miller must know Muriel and Kate were one
+and the same, and yet he preserved her secret and allowed her to snatch
+his victims from his maws.
+
+Barney Mulloy had been more than astounded by Frank's words; the Irish
+youth was struck dumb. When he could collect himself, he softly
+muttered:
+
+"Well, av all th' oideas thot takes th' cake!"
+
+Having seen them safely within the mill and shown them the food brought
+there, Kate said:
+
+"Har is two revolvers fer you-uns. Don't use 'em unless yer have ter,
+but shoot ter kill ef you're forced."
+
+"Begorra! Oi'm ready fer th' spalpanes!" cried Barney, as he grasped one
+of the weapons. "Let thim come on!"
+
+"I feel better myself," declared Frank. "Next time Wade Miller and his
+gang will not catch us napping."
+
+"Roight, me b'y; we'll be sound awake, Frankie."
+
+Kate bade them good-by, assuring them that she would return with the
+coming of another night, and making them promise to await her, and then
+she flitted away, slipped out of the mill, soon vanishing amid the
+pines.
+
+"It's dead lucky we are ter be living, Frankie," observed Barney.
+
+"I quite agree with you," laughed Merriwell. "This night has been a
+black and tempestuous one, but we have lived through it, and I do not
+believe we'll find ourselves in such peril again while we are in the
+Tennessee mountains."
+
+They were hungry, and they ate heartily of the plain food that had been
+provided for them.
+
+When breakfast was over, Barney said:
+
+"Frankie, it's off yer trolley ye git sometoimes."
+
+"What do you mean by that, Barney? Is it a new sell?"
+
+"Nivver a bit. Oi wur thinkin' av pwhat yez said about Kate Kenyon being
+Mooriel, th' moonshoiner."
+
+"I was not off my trolley so very much then."
+
+"G'wan, me b'y! Ye wur crazy as a bidbug."
+
+"You think so, but I have made a study of Muriel and of Kate Kenyon. I
+am still inclined to believe the moonshiner is the girl in disguise."
+
+"An' Oi say ye're crazy. No girrul could iver do pwhat thot felly does,
+an' no band av min loike th' moonshoiners would iver allow a girrul
+loike Kate Kenyon ter boss thim."
+
+"They do not know Muriel is a girl. That is, I am sure the most of them
+do not know it--do not dream it."
+
+"Thot shows their common sinse, fer Oi don't belave it mesilf."
+
+"I may be wrong, but I shall not give it up yet."
+
+"Whoy, think pwhat a divvil thot Muriel is! An' th' color av his hair is
+black, whoile the girrul's is red."
+
+"I have thought of those things, and I have wondered how she concealed
+that mass of red hair; still I am satisfied she does it."
+
+"Well, it's no use to talk to you at all, at all."
+
+However, they did discuss it for some time.
+
+Finally they fell to exploring the old mill, and they wandered from one
+part to another till they finally came to the place where they had
+entered over a sagging plank. They were standing there, just within the
+deeper shadow of the mill, when a man came panting and reeling from the
+woods, his hat off, his shirt torn open at the throat, great drops of
+perspiration standing on his face, a wild, hunted look in his eyes, and
+dashed to the end of the plank that led over the water into the old
+mill.
+
+Frank clutched Barney, and the boys fell back a step, watching the man,
+who was looking back over his shoulder and listening, the perfect
+picture of a hunted thing.
+
+"They're close arter me--ther dogs!" came in a hoarse pant from the
+man's lips. "But I turned on 'em--I doubled--an' I hope I fooled 'em.
+It's my last chance, fer I'm dead played, and I'm so nigh starved that
+it's all I kin do ter drag one foot arter t'other."
+
+He listened again, and then, as if overcome by a sudden fear of being
+seen there, he suddenly rushed across the plank and plunged into the
+mill.
+
+He ran fairly upon Frank Merriwell.
+
+In the twinkling of an eye man and boy were clasped in a close embrace,
+struggling desperately.
+
+"Caught!" cried the fugitive, desperately. "Trapped!"
+
+He tried to hurl Frank to the floor, and he would have succeeded had he
+been in his normal condition, for he was a man of great natural
+strength; but he was exhausted by flight and hunger, and, in his
+weakened condition, the man found his supple antagonist too much for
+him.
+
+A gasp came from the stranger's lips as he felt the boy give him a
+wrestler's trip and fling him heavily to the floor.
+
+The man was stunned for a moment. When he opened his eyes, Frank and
+Barney were bending over him.
+
+"Wal, I done my best," he said, huskily; "but you-uns trapped me at
+last. I dunno how yer knew I war comin' har, but ye war on hand ter meet
+me."
+
+"You have made a mistake," said Frank, in a reassuring tone. "We are not
+your enemies at all."
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"We are not your enemies; you are not trapped."
+
+The man seemed unable to believe what he heard.
+
+"Why, who be you-uns?" he asked, in a bewildered way.
+
+"Fugitives, like yourself," assured Frank, with a smile.
+
+He looked them over, and shook his head.
+
+"Not like me," he said. "Look at me! I'm wore ter ther bone--I'm a
+wreck! Oh, it's a cursed life I've led sence they dragged me away from
+har! Night an' day hev I watched for a chance ter break away, and' I war
+quick ter grasp it when it came. They shot at me, an' one o' their
+bullets cut my shoulder har. It war a close call, but I got away. Then
+they follered, an' they put houn's arter me. Twenty times hev they been
+right on me, an' twenty times hev I got erway. But it kep' wearin' me
+weaker an' thinner. My last hope war ter find friends ter hide me an'
+fight fer me, an' I came har--back home! I tried ter git inter 'Bije
+Wileys' this mornin', but his dorg didn't know me, I war so changed, an'
+ther hunters war close arter me, so I hed ter run fer it."
+
+"Begorra!" exclaimed Barney; "we hearrud th' dog barruckin'."
+
+"So we did," agreed Frank, remembering how the creature had been
+clamoring on the mountainside at daybreak.
+
+"I kem har," continued the man, weakly. "I turned on ther devils, but
+when I run in har an' you-uns tackled me, I judged I had struck a trap."
+
+"It was no trap, Rufe Kenyon," said Frank, quietly.
+
+The hunted man started up and slunk away.
+
+"You know me!" he gasped.
+
+"We do."
+
+"An' still ye say you-uns are not my enemies."
+
+"We are not."
+
+"Then how do you know me? I never saw yer afore."
+
+"No; but we have heard of you."
+
+"How?"
+
+"From your sister Kate."
+
+"She tol' yer?"
+
+"She did."
+
+"Then she must trust you-uns."
+
+"She saved us from certain death last night, and she brought us here to
+hide till she can help us get out of this part of the country."
+
+Rufe Kenyon looked puzzled.
+
+"I judge you-uns is givin' it ter me straight," he said, slowly; "but I
+don't jes' understan'. What did she save yer from?"
+
+"Moonshiners."
+
+The man seemed filled with sudden suspicion.
+
+"What had moonshiners agin' you-uns? Be you revernues?"
+
+"No. Do we look like revenue spies?"
+
+"Yer look too young."
+
+"Well, we are not spies; but we were unfortunate enough to incur the
+enmity of Wade Miller, and he has sworn to end our lives."
+
+"Wade Miller!" cried Rufe, showing his teeth in an ugly manner. "An' I
+s'pose he's hangin' 'roun' Kate, same as he uster?"
+
+"He is giving her more or less trouble."
+
+"Wal, he won't give her much trouble arter I git at him. He is a snake!
+Look har! I'm goin' ter tell you-uns somethin'. Miller allus pretended
+ter be my friend, but it war that critter as put ther revernues onter me
+an' got me arrested! He done it because I tol' him Kate war too good fer
+him. I know it, an' one thing why I wanted ter git free war ter come har
+an' fix ther critter so he won't ever bother Kate no more. I hev swore
+ter fix him, an' I'll do it ef I live ter meet him face ter face!"
+
+He had grown wildly excited, and he sat up, with his back against a
+post, his eyes gleaming redly, and a white foam flecking his lips. At
+that moment he reminded the boys of a mad dog.
+
+Woe to Wade Miller when they met!
+
+When Kenyon was calmer, Frank told the story of the adventures which had
+befallen the boys since entering Lost Creek Valley. The fugitive
+listened quietly, watching them closely with his sunken eyes, and,
+having heard all, said:
+
+"I judge you-uns tells ther truth. Ef I kin keep hid till Kate gits
+har--till I see her--I'll fix things so you won't be bothered much. Wade
+Miller's day in Lost Creek Valley is over."
+
+The boys took him up to the living room of the old mill, where they
+furnished him with the coarse food that remained from their breakfast.
+He ate like a famished thing, washing the dry bread down with great
+swallows of water. When he had finished and his hunger was satisfied, he
+was quite like another man.
+
+"Thar!" he cried; "now I am reddy fer anything! But I do need sleep."
+
+"Take it," advised Frank. "We will watch."
+
+"And you'll tell me ef thar's danger?"
+
+"You may depend on it."
+
+"You-uns will watch close?"
+
+"Never fear about that."
+
+So the hunted wretch was induced to lie down and sleep. He slept soundly
+for some hours, and, when he opened his eyes, his sister had her arms
+about his neck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLV.
+
+THE GREATEST PERIL.
+
+
+"Rufe!"
+
+"Kate!"
+
+He sat up and clasped her in his arms, a look of joy on his face.
+
+It is quite unnecessary to describe the joys of that meeting. The boys
+had left brother and sister alone together, and the two remained thus
+for nearly an hour, at the end of which time Rufe knew all that had
+happened since he was taken from Lost Creek Valley, and Kate had also
+been made aware of the perfidy of Wade Miller.
+
+"I judge it is true that bread throwed on ther waters allus comes back,"
+said Kate, when the four were together. "Now looker how I helped
+you-uns, an' then see how it turned out ter be a right good thing fer
+Rufe. He found ye har, an' you-uns hev fed him an' watched while he
+slept."
+
+"An' I hev tol' Kate all about Wade Miller," said the fugitive.
+
+"That settles him," declared the girl, with a snap.
+
+Rufe explained.
+
+"Kate says ther officers think I hev gone on over inter ther next cove,
+an' they're arter me, all 'ceptin' two what have been left behind.
+They'll be back, though, by night."
+
+"But you are all right now, for your friends will be on hand by that
+time."
+
+"Yes; Kate will take word ter Muriel, an' he'll hev ther boys ready ter
+fight fer me. Ther officers will find it kinder hot in these parts."
+
+"I'd better be goin' now," said the girl. "Ther boys oughter know all
+about it soon as possible."
+
+"That's right," agreed Rufe. "This ain't ther best place fer me ter
+hide."
+
+"No," declared Kate, suddenly; "an' yer mustn't hide har longer, fer
+ther officers may come afore night. I'll take yer ter ther cave. It
+won't do fer ther boys ter go thar, but you kin all right. Ther boys is
+best off har, fer ther officers wouldn't hurt 'em."
+
+This seemed all right, and it was decided on.
+
+Just as they were on the point of descending, Barney gave a cry, caught
+Frank by the arm, and drew him toward a window.
+
+"Look there, me b'y!" exclaimed the Irish lad. "Phwat do yez think av it
+now?"
+
+A horseman was coming down the old road that led to the mill. He
+bestrode a coal-black horse, and a mask covered his face, while his
+long, black hair flowed down on the collar of the coat he wore. He sat
+the horse jauntily, riding with a reckless air that seemed to tell of a
+daring spirit.
+
+"Great Scott!" exclaimed Frank Merriwell, amazed. "It is Muriel!"
+
+"That's pwhat!" chuckled Barney. "An' it's your trate, me lad."
+
+"I will treat," said Frank, crestfallen. "I am not nearly so smart as I
+thought I was."
+
+"Muriel?" cried Kate, dashing to the window. "Where is he?"
+
+She did not hesitate to appear in the window and signal to the dashing
+young moonshiner, who returned her salute, and motioned for her to come
+out.
+
+"He wants ter see me in er hurry," said the girl. "I sent word ter him
+by Dummy that ther boys war har, an' that's how he happened ter turn up.
+Come, Rufe, go out with me. Muriel will be glad to see yer."
+
+"And I shall be glad ter see him," declared the escaped convict.
+
+Kate bade the boys remain there, telling them she would call them if
+they were wanted, and then, with Rufe following, she hurried down the
+stairs, and hastened to meet the boy moonshiner, who had halted on the
+bank at some distance from the old mill.
+
+Watching from the window, Frank and Barney saw her hasten up to Muriel,
+saw her speak swiftly, although they could not hear her words, saw
+Muriel nod and seem to reply quite as swiftly, and then saw the young
+leader of the Black Caps shake her hand in a manner that denoted
+pleasure and affection.
+
+"Ye're a daisy, Frankie, me b'y," snickered Barney Mulloy; "but fer
+wance ye wur badly mishtaken."
+
+"I was all of that," confessed Frank, as if slightly ashamed. "I thought
+myself far shrewder than I am."
+
+As they watched, they saw Rufe Kenyon suddenly leap up behind Muriel,
+and then the doubly burdened horse swung around and went away at a hot
+pace, while Kate came flitting back into the mill.
+
+"The officers are returnin'," she explained. "Muriel will take Rufe whar
+thar ain't no chance o' their findin' him. You-uns will have ter stay
+har. I have brung ye more fodder, an' I judge you'll git along all
+right."
+
+So she left them hurriedly, being greatly excited over the return of her
+brother and his danger.
+
+The day passed, and the officers failed to appear in the vicinity of the
+mill, although the boys were expecting to see them.
+
+Nor did Wade Miller trouble them.
+
+When night came Frank and Barney grew impatient, for they were far from
+pleased with their lot, but they could do nothing but wait.
+
+Two hours after nightfall a form suddenly appeared in the old mill,
+rising before the boys like a phantom, although they could not
+understand how the fellow came there.
+
+In a flash Frank snatched out a revolver and pointed it at the intruder,
+crying, sternly:
+
+"Stand still and give an account of yourself! Who are you, and what do
+you want?"
+
+The figure moved into the range of the window, so that the boys could
+see him making strange gestures, pointing to his ears, and pressing his
+fingers to his lips.
+
+"Steady you!" commanded Frank. "If you don't keep still, I shall shoot.
+Answer my question at once."
+
+Still the intruder continued to make those strange gestures, pointing to
+his ears, and touching his lips. That he saw Frank's revolver glittering
+and feared the boy would shoot was evident, but he still remained
+silent.
+
+"Whoy don't th' spalpane spake?" cried Barney. "Is it no tongue he has,
+Oi dunno?"
+
+That gave Frank an idea.
+
+"Perhaps he cannot speak, in which case he is the one Kate calls Dummy.
+I believe he is the fellow."
+
+It happened that the sign language of mutes was one of Frank's
+accomplishments, he having taken it up during his leisure moments. He
+passed the revolver to Barney, saying:
+
+"Keep the fellow covered, while I see if I can talk with him."
+
+Frank moved up to the window, held his hands close to the intruder's
+face, and spelled:
+
+"You from Kate?"
+
+The man nodded joyfully. He put up his hands and spelled back:
+
+"Kate send me. Come. Horses ready."
+
+Frank interpreted for Barney's benefit, and the Irish lad cried:
+
+"Thin let's be movin'! It's mesilf that's ready ter git out av thase
+parruts in a hurry, Oi think."
+
+For a moment Frank hesitated about trusting the mute, and then he
+decided that it was the best thing to do, and he signaled that they were
+ready.
+
+Dummy led the way from the mill, crossing by the plank, and plunging
+into the pine woods.
+
+"He sames to be takin' us back th' woay we came, Frankie," said the
+Irish lad, in a low tone.
+
+"That's all right," assured Frank. "He said the horses were waiting for
+us. Probably Kate is with them."
+
+The mute flitted along with surprising silence and speed, and they found
+it no easy task to follow and keep close enough to see him. Now and then
+he looked back to make sure they were close behind.
+
+At last they came to the termination of the pines, and there, in the
+deep shadows, they found three horses waiting.
+
+Kate Kenyon was not there.
+
+Frank felt disappointed, for he wished to see the girl before leaving
+the mountains forever. He did not like to go away without touching her
+hand again, and expressing his sense of gratitude for the last time.
+
+It was his hope that she might join them before they left the mountains.
+
+The horses were saddled and bridled, and the boys were about to mount
+when a strange, low cry broke from Dummy's lips.
+
+There was a sudden stir, and an uprising of dark forms on all sides.
+Frank tried to snatch out his revolver, but it was too late. He was
+seized, disarmed, and crushed to the earth.
+
+"Ha, ha, ha!" laughed a hateful voice. "Did you-uns think ye war goin'
+ter escape? Wal, yer didn't know Wade Miller very well. I knowed Kate'd
+try ter git yer off, an' all I hed ter do war watch her. I didn't waste
+my time runnin' round elsewhar."
+
+They were once more in Miller's clutches!
+
+Frank ground his teeth with impotent rage. He blamed himself for falling
+into the trap, and still he could not see how he was to blame. Surely he
+had been cautious, but fate was against him. He had escaped Miller
+twice; but this was the third time, and he feared that it would prove
+disastrous.
+
+Barney had not a word to say.
+
+The hands of the captured boys were tied behind their backs, and then
+they were forced to march swiftly along in the midst of the Black Caps
+that surrounded them.
+
+They were not taken to the cave, but straight to one of the hidden
+stills, a little hut that was built against what seemed to be a wall of
+solid rock, a great bluff rising against the face of the mountain. Thick
+trees concealed the little hut down in the hollow.
+
+Into this hut the boys were marched.
+
+Some crude candles were lighted, and they saw around them the outfit for
+making moonshine whiskey.
+
+"Thar!" cried Miller, triumphantly; "you-uns will never go out o' this
+place. Ther revernues spotted this still ter-day, but it won't be har
+ter-morrer."
+
+He made a signal, and the boys were thrown to the floor, where they were
+held helpless, while their feet were bound.
+
+When this job was finished Miller added:
+
+"No, ther revernues won't find this still ter-morrer, fer it will go up
+in smoke. Moonshine is good stuff ter burn, an' we'll see how you-uns
+like it."
+
+At a word a keg of whiskey was brought to the spot by two men.
+
+"Let 'em try ther stuff," directed Miller.
+
+"Begorra! he's goin' ter fill us up bafore he finishes us!" muttered
+Barney Mulloy.
+
+But that was not the intention of the revengeful man.
+
+A plug was knocked from a hole in the end of the keg, and then the
+whiskey was poured over the clothing of the boys, wetting them to the
+skin.
+
+"Soak 'em!" directed Miller.
+
+The men did not stop pouring till the clothing of the boys was
+thoroughly saturated.
+
+"Thar!" said Miller, with a fiendish chuckle, "I reckon you-uns is ready
+fer touchin' off, an' ye'll burn like pine knots. Ther way ye'll holler
+will make ye heard clean ter ther top o' Black Maounting, an' ther fire
+will be seen; but when anybody gits har, you-uns an' this still will be
+ashes."
+
+He knelt beside Frank, lighted a match, and applied it to the boy's
+whiskey-soaked clothing!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XLVI.
+
+THE MYSTERY OF MURIEL.
+
+
+Not quite! The flame almost touched Frank's clothing when the boy rolled
+over swiftly, thus getting out of the way for the moment.
+
+At the same instant the blast of a bugle was heard at the very front of
+the hut, and the door fell with a crash, while men poured in by the
+opening.
+
+"Ther revernues!" shouted Wade Miller.
+
+"No, not ther revernues!" rang out a clear voice; "but Muriel!"
+
+The boy chief of the Black Caps was there.
+
+"An' Muriel is not erlone!" thundered another voice. "Rufe Kenyon is
+har!"
+
+Out in front of Muriel leaped the escaped criminal, confronting the man
+who had betrayed him.
+
+Miller staggered, his face turning pale as if struck a heavy blow, and a
+bitter exclamation of fury came through his clinched teeth.
+
+"Rufe!" he grated. "Then it's fight fer life!"
+
+"Yes, it's fight!" roared Kate Kenyon's brother, as a long-bladed knife
+glittered in his hand, and he thrust back the sleeve of his shirt till
+his arm was bared above the elbow. "I swore ter finish yer, Miller; but
+I'll give ye a squar' show! Draw yer knife, an' may ther best man win!"
+
+With the snarl that might have come from the throat of a savage beast,
+Miller snatched out a revolver instead of drawing a knife.
+
+"I'll not fight ye!" he screamed; "but I'll shoot ye plumb through ther
+heart!"
+
+He fired, and Rufe Kenyon ducked at the same time.
+
+There was a scream of pain, and Muriel flung up both hands, dropping
+into the arms of the man behind.
+
+Rufe Kenyon had dodged the bullet, but the boy chief of the Black Caps
+had suffered in his stead.
+
+Miller seemed dazed by the result of his shot. The revolver fell from
+his hand, and he staggered forward, groaning:
+
+"Kate!--I've killed her!"
+
+Rufe Kenyon forgot his foe, dropping on one knee beside the prostrate
+figure of Muriel, and swiftly removing the mask.
+
+The face of Kate Kenyon was revealed!
+
+"Sister!" panted her brother, "be ye dead? Has that rascal killed ye?"
+
+Her eyes opened, and she faintly said:
+
+"Not dead yit, Rufe."
+
+Then the brother shouted:
+
+"Ketch Wade Miller! Don't let ther critter escape!"
+
+It seemed that every man in the hut leaped to obey.
+
+Miller struggled like a tiger, but he was overpowered and dragged out of
+the hut, while Rufe still knelt and examined his sister's wound, which
+was in her shoulder.
+
+Frank and Barney were freed, and they hastened to render such assistance
+as they could in dressing the wound and stanching the flow of blood.
+
+"You-uns don't think that'll be fatal, do yer?" asked Rufe, with
+breathless anxiety.
+
+"There is no reason why it should," assured Frank. "She must be taken
+home as soon as possible, and a doctor called. I think she will come
+through all right, for all of Miller's bullet."
+
+The men were trooping back into the hut.
+
+"Miller!" roared Rufe, leaping to his feet. "Whar's ther critter?"
+
+"He is out har under a tree," answered one of the men, quietly.
+
+"Who's watchin' him ter see that he don't git erway?" asked Rufe.
+
+"Nobody's watchin'."
+
+"Nobody? Why, ther p'izen dog will run fer it!"
+
+"I don't think he'll run fur. We've tied him."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Wal, ter make sure he wouldn't run, we hitched a rope around his neck
+an' tied it up ter ther limb o' ther tree. Unless ther rope stretches,
+he won't be able ter git his feet down onter ther ground by erbout
+eighteen inches."
+
+"Then you-uns hanged him?"
+
+"Wal, we did some."
+
+"Too bad!" muttered Rufe, with a sad shake of his head. "I wanted ter
+squar 'counts with ther skunk."
+
+Kate Kenyon was taken home, and the bullet was extracted from her
+shoulder. The wound, although painful, did not prove at all serious, and
+she began to recover in a short time.
+
+Frank and Barney lingered until it seemed certain that she would
+recover, and then they prepared to take their departure.
+
+After all, Frank's suspicion had proved true, and it had been revealed
+that Muriel was Kate in disguise.
+
+Frank chaffed Barney a great deal about it, and the Irish lad took the
+chaffing in a good-natured manner.
+
+Rufe Kenyon was hidden by his friends, so that his pursuers were forced
+to give over the search for him and depart.
+
+One still was raided, but not one of the moonshiners was captured, as
+they had received ample warning of their danger.
+
+On the evening before Frank and Barney were to depart in the morning,
+the boys carried Kate out to the door in an easy-chair, and they sat
+down near her.
+
+Mrs. Kenyon sat on the steps and smoked her black pipe, looking as
+stolid and indifferent as ever.
+
+"Kate," said Frank, "when did you have your hair cut short? Where is
+that profusion of beautiful hair you wore when we first saw you?"
+
+"That?" she smiled. "Why, my har war cut more'n a year ago. I had it
+made inter a 'switch,' and I wore it so nobody'd know I had it cut."
+
+"You did that in order that you might wear the black wig when you
+personated Muriel?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You could do that easily over your short hair."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, you played the part well, and you made a dashing boy. But how
+about the Muriel who appeared while you were in the mill with us?"
+
+She laughed a bit.
+
+"You-uns war so sharp that I judged I'd make yer think ye didn't know
+so much ez you thought, an' I fixed it up ter have another person show
+up in my place."
+
+"I see. But who was this other person?"
+
+"Dummy. He is no bigger than I, an' he is a good mimic. He rode jes'
+like me."
+
+"Begorra! he did thot!" nodded Barney. "It's mesilf thot wur chated, an'
+thot's not aisy."
+
+"You are a shrewd little girl," declared Frank; "and you are dead lucky
+to escape with your life after getting Miller's bullet. But Miller won't
+trouble you more."
+
+Mrs. Kenyon rose and went into the hut, while Barney lazily strolled
+down to the creek, leaving Frank and Kate alone.
+
+Half an hour later, as he was coming back, the Irish lad heard Kate
+saying:
+
+"I know I'm igerent, an' I'm not fitten fer any educated man. Still, you
+an' I is friends, Frank, an' friends we'll allus be."
+
+"Friends we will always be," said Frank, softly.
+
+After this little more was said.
+
+It was not long before our friends left the locality, this time bound
+for Oklahoma, Utah and California. What Frank's adventures were in those
+places will be told in another volume, entitled, "Frank Merriwell's
+Bravery."
+
+"We are well out of that," said Frank, as they journeyed away. "Am I not
+right, Barney?"
+
+"Sure, Frankie, sure!" was Barney's answer. "To tell the whole thruth,
+me b'y, ye're nivver wrong, nivver!"
+
+And Barney was right, eh, reader?
+
+THE END.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Frank Merriwell Down South, by Burt L. Standish
+
+*** 
\ No newline at end of file