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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4f0d45e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69968 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69968) diff --git a/old/69968-0.txt b/old/69968-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d3a06e0..0000000 --- a/old/69968-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6065 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Frank Allen at Gold Fork, by Graham B. -Forbes - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Frank Allen at Gold Fork - Locating the Lost Claim - -Author: Graham B. Forbes - -Release Date: February 7, 2023 [eBook #69968] - -Language: English - -Produced by: David Edwards, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD -FORK *** - - -[Illustration: HE SNATCHED UP A BURNING BRAND AND SENT IT WHIZZING -THROUGH THE AIR - - _Frank Allen at Gold Fork_ _Frontispiece_ (Page 121)] - - - - - FRANK ALLEN AT - GOLD FORK - - OR - - Locating the Lost Claim - - BY - - GRAHAM B. FORBES - - _Author of "Frank Allen and his Motor Boat," - "Frank Allen at Rockspur Ranch," etc._ - - [Illustration] - - GARDEN CITY NEW YORK - GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC. - 1926 - - - - -THE FAMOUS FRANK ALLEN SERIES - -BY GRAHAM B. FORBES - - -_See back of book for list of titles_ - - - COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY - GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. - - Frank Allen at Gold Fork - MADE IN THE U.S.A. - - - - -FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK - - - - -CHAPTER I - -AT THE HORSE CORRAL GATE - - -"There he is again, Frank! The same queer chap we saw before!" - -"That's a dead certainty, Lanky. But lower your voice a bit or he might -take the alarm and vamoose." - -"I sure wonder what he's prowling around Rockspur ranch-house for, and -on a moonlight night, at that. But, Frank, it isn't our old enemy, Nash -Yesson, is it?" cried Lanky Wallace explosively. - -"No. And I'm just as sure it isn't Lef Seller," came from Frank Allen, -referring to the bully of Columbia, Frank's home town. - -The scene was the living room of Rockspur Ranch in the far West, where -so many exciting things had already happened to Frank Allen and his -chums, Lanky Wallace--whose folks owned the ranch--and Paul Bird. Paul -was slumbering peacefully, totally unaware of what was taking place -outside. - -"There! You can see him plainer now, Frank!" went on Lanky. "He -seems to be a runt of a man, with a big head and bushy hair. An ugly -customer, I'd say. Do you reckon he's mixed up with the Yesson crowd?" - -"Looks that way to me. See him wriggling along now, like a snake in the -grass. He's up to some mischief, all right." - -"He's wearing a cowboy hat, you can see now, Frank; must belong over -with that tough gang at the Double Z Ranch." - -"Whatever his game is, he'd better watch his eye or he'll find Lige -Smith and his punchers hustling after him. Right now they're all radio -hounds, and bunched inside the bunk-house, listening to jazz dance -music." - -"Say, I wonder, Frank!" - -"What's struck you now, Lanky? Don't move, for that fellow's staring -straight at this window! Gee, I'm glad our fire's died down! There! -he's moving off again. What were you wondering about?" - -Lanky Wallace snickered, as though amused by his thoughts. - -"Why, don't you see, Frank? he's trying to find some way of getting -hold of the map we grabbed, along with the gold nuggets when we -watched Nash Yesson and Lef Seller dig up that rusty iron chest in the -underground cellar." - -Frank Allen considered the suggestion seriously, waiting a full minute -before replying. - -"Sounds reasonable, I must admit," he finally agreed. "We know that -it was the crude map Josh Kinney left hidden there, that pair was so -anxious to lay their hands on." - -"Sure! It contains valuable clues that would help a prospector locate -the long-lost gold claim Josh worked years ago." - -"Now he's moving off, for some reason or other," went on Frank Allen. -"It might pay us to slip outside and see if we can't get a line on his -scheme." - -"Bully! I was just wishing you'd say something that meant action," -whispered Lanky Wallace. "But I hope you're not thinking of rousing a -hornet's nest around his ears by poking a stick in the bunk-house and -stirring up the Rockspur punchers?" - -"Nope. We'll play this game by ourselves, Lanky. Sorry Paul happens -to be asleep and nursing his lame ankle. He's going to miss all the -excitement." - -"Lucky for us we chanced to take a squint out of this window in the big -living room before hitting the hay in our cubbyhole bedrooms." This -being followed by a series of boyish chuckles, told plainer than any -words could have done how pleased Lanky felt over the situation. - -"Come along, and we'll slip out by the back door." Saying this, Frank -led the way, with his chum trailing at his heels. - -Mrs. Wallace and Minnie Cuthbert--a Columbia girl who had come West for -the summer vacation, partly to be companion for Lanky's mother, and who -was also a tried and true pal of Frank Allen's--had retired some time -before, leaving the two boys to sit up and talk over their plans for -the near future. - -Softly Frank and Lanky passed into the kitchen, which they found empty -at that late hour of the night, Charlie Gin Sing, the slant-eyed -Chinese cook, having joined the bunch over at the bunk-house to listen -as the loud-speaker sent out weird jazz, which seem to appeal to his -sense of music. - -"Wait while I take a peep first and make sure he didn't swing around to -this side of the ranch buildings," Frank cautioned in his companion's -ear. - -"Coast Clear?" queried Lanky, with bated breath, a moment later. - -"Yes. And I could just make him out moving toward the horse corral!" -Frank informed him. - -"Say, you don't reckon he's got some funny game up his sleeve, do you, -Frank?" - -"What kind?" - -"Oh, such as would set the saddle band of broncos streaking it out on -the prairie, mad with fear, to leave the Rockspur punchers without a -single mount to saddle." - -"What good would that do him, Lanky? Though perhaps he might hope to -find a chance to steal that map while the men were all rushing after -the stampeding ponies. But we'll try to look out for that sort of game. -Come on!" - -The chums crept outside. One thing Frank Allen had already noticed that -seemed to be in their favor--the rear part of the house was in shadow. -Even the keenest of eyes could not discover that the kitchen door had -opened to give egress to a couple of bent-over figures. - -"See him still?" asked Lanky eagerly. - -"He ducked into that bunch of cottonwoods over there," Frank informed -him. "Just the same, you must remember that the corral lies at the far -end of that patch of woods. Now for some scout work! And it'll pay us -to keep as close to the ground as we can." - -"Whee! hope we don't run across any rattlers out here, Frank?" - -"No danger," whiffed the other over his shoulder, for he was advancing -steadily and cautiously; "those who ought to know say that snakes never -move around during the night." - -A soft sound like escaping steam told how greatly relieved Lanky felt; -for from early childhood his one horror had been serpents of any kind. -He had even been known to make a wry face when impaling an angleworm on -his hook, as if it reminded him of his pet aversion. - -Frank stuck to his original belief that the mysterious prowler was -heading for the horse corral, and he shaped his course so as to come -upon this fenced-in enclosure somewhere near the gate. - -The stockade was of such a height that even a prize jumper among the -broncos could never get its forelegs across the upper bar. Besides -this, in order to further insure the safekeeping of the restless -ponies, a hedge of thorny Osage orange had been cultivated, the mature -trees giving the animals considerable shelter from the scorching rays -of an August sun. - -Every dozen feet or so Frank would come to a pause, and at such times -seemed to be using both eyes and ears to discover any unusual movement -or sound around the corral. - -"You were right, Frank," whispered Lanky, catching hold of his -companion's arm with his fingers and pinching harder than he intended. -"I just glimpsed the fellow going inside. He's left the gate wide open -too! Listen to the ponies snort and plunge, will you?" - -"Get a move on, Lanky! We ought to be nearer the gate, so as to turn -the horses back if they try to break loose." - -Lanky was only too willing, since such a move promised to bring them to -close grips with the possible horse-thief should the fellow start to -rush from the corral after securing a mount. - -The confusion inside the pen grew rapidly worse. - -"He's trying to rope a pony he's picked out as a prize!" breathed the -excited Lanky. - -"We'd have him in a nice trap if we closed the gate of the corral and -whooped for the boys to come on the jump!" suggested Frank, spurred on -by the apparent necessity of doing something speedily. - -"Good idea, too!" the other burst out, no longer caring who heard his -voice, for the matter had by then about reached the crisis. - -"Quick! He's coming full tilt, Lanky! Swing the heavy gate around this -way and let me fasten it!" - -It might have turned out better, if only they had conceived it a few -seconds sooner. As it was, the rushing pony, urged on by savage kicks -from a pair of spurred heels, was bearing down straight upon the two -boys. - -"Look out, Frank!" shrilled Lanky, as he saw a towering form between -his eyes and the bright moon. At the same time he ducked in hopes of -getting out of the way of the bronco's furious rush. - -The frightened animal, seeing some moving object in its path, sheered -to one side. That saved Lanky from the full force of a collision; but -even as it was he received a push that sent him sprawling headlong to -the ground. - -Scrambling hastily to his feet, somewhat the worse for his upset, Lanky -looked around to see what luck had befallen his partner in the mad -attempt of trying to halt a frightened, galloping bronco. - -"Oh, Frank!" he called out; and then his heart seemed to stand still -with dread as he glimpsed a still figure huddled in a heap on the -prairie some ten feet away, showing that Frank Allen had also been -struck down. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE SUDDEN ALARM - - -Just before Lanky Wallace was struck by the rush of the stolen bronco -and knocked to the ground, he had let out the cowboy whoop for help. - -It reached the ears of Hoptoad Atkins, the smallest rustler in the -Rockspur bunch, as he was emerging from the bunk-house to see what the -weather promised for the morning, he having a long gallop before him. -At the same moment he heard the racket over at the horse corral, and -sensing trouble of some sort sprang back into the house with a shout. - -"Stampede of the ponies! Get out of here, everybody, with a rush!" - -The cowboys came pouring out, and made for the corral in a string, the -longest-legged being in the fore. Lanky, they found bending anxiously -over Frank, who, having been knocked senseless, was just beginning to -show signs of returning consciousness. - -"Thief got away with one of our mounts," hurriedly explained Lanky. "He -bowled both of us over when he came out of the corral like a tornado. -Little critter with the biggest head you ever saw--been prowling around -here at night, twice now. We tried to trap him in the circle, but he -was too quick on the get-away!" - -"Which way did he lope, Lanky?" demanded Lige Smith, the wiry and -experienced foreman of the ranch. - -"Reckon it was over west; but I'm a bit hazy after that knockout," -returned the boy. - -"I sure heard far-off hoofbeats in that quarter when I busted out of -the shack!" announced Zander Forbes emphatically. - -"Git ther ponies," broke in old Jerry Brime, a veteran puncher with the -enthusiasm of a man half his age. "Mebbe we kin straddle him yet before -he gits to the Double Z outfit! Whoopee!" - -A rush was made into the corral, and lively hustling followed as each -puncher picked out his special mount and roped him by the light of the -moon's bright rays. - -"Good luck, boys!" bellowed the still excited Lanky, as the cowboys -galloped madly away. There was a little regret in his heart because he -could not leave Frank Allen and join in the mad chase. - -By this time Frank had pretty well recovered after his painful -experience. He would feel a bit sore for some days, but could be -thankful his injuries were no more serious than a few bruises. - -"We made a fine mess of it that time, Lanky," he observed, when it was -found that no bones had been broken by his nasty fall. - -"Huh! didn't move quick enough! A matter of ten seconds; but that was -plenty to queer the game, all right." - -"He meant to stampede the whole bunch of ponies, looked like to me," -Frank Allen remarked. "I wish we knew just what his scheme was, hanging -around here and taking such big risks." - -"I'm still thinking he wanted to have a try for that paper," affirmed -Lanky doggedly, "and when he found he hadn't a ghost of a chance to lay -his paws on the same, why, he got mad, and reckoned he'd have the laugh -on our outfit by stampeding the range ponies." - -The two boys made their way to the house, followed by Charlie Gin -Sing. Here they found Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, as well as Minnie Cuthbert -and Paul Bird, up and partly dressed, they having been aroused by the -unusual clamor, and more than curious to understand what it all meant. - -"No sleep for me with all this stuff going on," announced Lanky, as -he sat before the resurrected fire in the big living room. "I mean to -stay right here till the cows come home--I mean the cowboys--and have a -close-up look at that skunk, if they overtake him." - -None of the others evinced any desire to seek their beds; so half an -hour afterwards when they heard the riders talking and laughing over by -the corral both Lanky and Frank went out to learn what the result of -the chase was. - -"Shucks, he got clean away!" Lanky ejaculated, after hearing what some -of the men had to say. - -"But, anyway," announced the effeminate-looking puncher with the high -voice, who had come West to build up his health and who rejoiced in the -name of Sally Keating, "the joke is on that coyote, because he had the -bad luck to pick out the worst pony in the whole outfit, with more mean -traits than you can shake a stick at." - -"You don't mean that white-eyed terror we call Whitey Knocker, do you -Sally?" shrilled Lanky, in great joy. Upon the other's wagging his head -in the affirmative, he continued with a bit of spite in his voice: -"Then he's in for a peck of trouble! I only hope that bronc will break -his own neck in the bargain when he goes down in a crash with his -rider." - -Lanky knew from experience what a pack of tricks Knocker had for all -occasions. There were several sore spots on the boy's person that he -could lay to his determination to beat the pony with that wicked white -eye at his own game, his father having finally been compelled to -forbid any repetition of the dangerous task. - -By degrees the excitement died out, and there was an exodus of tired -riders and others to their own quarters. - -With the morning the boys went over the ground to revive their -recollection of every incident connected with the previous night's -thievery. They even followed the tracks of Whitey Knocker for some -little distance, which could be done through a certain queer formation -of the pony's off hind hoof. - -"No use going any further, Lanky," said Frank finally. "The trail keeps -on getting fainter right along, as the soil changes." - -"Then, all we've learned," suggested his chagrined chum, "is that when -he flew the coop he headed about as straight as the bee flies for -Double Z Ranch." - -"But our boys all say they've seen every puncher in that outfit, and -what we could tell about this runt's looks with his big head didn't fit -any of that rough bunch. Still, he may be a newcomer, playing a lone -hand in hanging around Rockspur at night." - -Frank Allen had always been a leader among his boy friends in the home -town of Columbia in the East, as told in the first volume of this -series called "Frank Allen's School Days." - -Rockspur Ranch, a small cattle industry located on the plains, had been -left to Mrs. Wallace by her bachelor brother, George Rockford, and the -Wallaces had come out, partly for the banker's health, but also to -inspect the newly acquired property. - -Frank Allen and Paul Bird had been asked to become members of the -party, and Minnie Cuthbert, the prettiest and most sensible girl in all -Columbia--at least so Frank was firmly convinced--was along to keep -Mrs. Wallace company. - -A man by the name of Nash Yesson had tried to buy the property from the -new owner. That failing, he had, with the assistance of Lef Seller, -known as the bully and worst boy in Columbia, tried to get possession -of a treasure he knew to be buried in a cellar under the ranch pantry. - -The vigilance of Frank Allen and his chums defeated this effort, and -the plotters were chased off, leaving the old rusty iron box they -had dug up in the possession of the rightful owners. All of these -happenings have been narrated in the pages of the book just preceding -this, under the title of "Frank Allen at Rockspur Ranch." - -Lanky's uneasiness concerning the possible continued efforts of Yesson -and Lef to steal the valuable paper and chart that, with gold nuggets, -had lain in the iron box so many years, accounted for his suspicions -that the mysterious nightly visits of the man with the big head were -connected in some way with the long-buried treasure. - -One of the papers yellowed by age that fell into the Wallaces' -possession had been a rudely drawn chart of a mountainous section of -country where years before gold had been found in paying quantities and -a little mining settlement named Gold Fork was located. - -It was understood that this place was now deserted, the shacks in -ruins. So all hope of ever locating the long-lost mine worked in secret -by Josh Kinney, former owner of Rockspur Ranch, died away. - -This map had been drawn by Josh Kinney himself. Its existence was -known, but no human eye had ever beheld it save the maker's up to the -time it fell into the possession of Frank Allen and his two chums. - -Jerry Brime knew something about the lost claim, for he had worked -alongside Kinney at cattle raising and had himself tried, but without -success, to follow the other when he disappeared. Jerry believed that -Kinney was laying in a fresh stock of gold nuggets from the rich -deposit, or "pocket," in his secret mine when this happened. - -Brime and the three boys held many consultations as the days passed. -The boys were bent on making an effort to locate Kinney's source of -treasure-trove, and so asked a multitude of questions. Some of these -Jerry answered readily, but in other cases his memory failed him. - -"Wait till we-uns git up thar at Gold Fo'k," he would say. "Mebbe ole -Jerry's mind'll be freshened a bit by seein' the ole place agin. Thet -map's a-goin' to help a heap; an' I do reckon we'll git our paws on the -stuff thet's hidden away in the five-fingered cave." - -In the end Frank and Lanky came to believe that they must wait until -Mr. Wallace gave the word for the little expedition to set forth. Then, -if luck favored them, all might yet turn out well. - -"There's only one thing that bothers me," Lanky said the afternoon -they gave up trying to squeeze more information from the willing but -helpless Jerry Brime. - -"I can guess what it is," chucked Frank. "Nash Yesson?" - -"And his crony, Lef Seller," admitted the smiling Lanky Wallace. "They -may be hanging around here; for they are stickers, all right. Then -again, for all we know, the pair may be up at Gold Fork raking the -ground over with a fine-tooth comb, looking for the lost claim." - -"What of it?" Frank asked complacently. "A heap of others did that same -thing years ago and only found themselves up against a blank wall. I -tell you, Josh Kinney was a cute one and knew how to keep a secret." - -"Glad to see you feel so confident, Frank. With Jerry along to revive -his memory of things and that little chart to help, I guess we've got a -better chance to spot that claim than anybody ever had before. But that -was startling news you had in the last letter from Buster Billings, our -fat chum back in Columbia." - -"Well, I'm not much surprised about Lef," said Frank, shaking his head -as he spoke. "We always knew he was a bad egg, up to every kind of -mischief he could think of." - -"But to make away with something like two-hundred-and-fifty dollars -which his father had given him to pay some bills!" exclaimed Lanky. -"They said he lost it at the races, betting on losing nags," he added -musingly. - -"And now," Frank went on to say, "Buster tells us Mr. Seller reports -five thousand dollars in Liberty Bonds missing; and he adds that -suspicion strongly points to his own son, Lef, as the one who robbed -the home safe." - -"Well, Lef is in a section of country right now where Lynch law often -overtakes a rascal; and believe me, Frank, if he's caught red-handed in -any of his ugly tricks out here he'll not have an indulgent dad to help -him out of the fix." - -"As long as we have any reason to believe that precious pair still hang -out around here, Lanky, we've got to keep our eyes peeled for trouble. -What under the sun are you sniffing like that for? Think you smell a -skunk around?" - -"Made me think of the way we smoked that mountain lion out of his -den--smell of dried grass, all right. I wonder if the boys are burning -off a piece of meadow that's turned brown in this dry spell?" - -Frank himself was now busily engaged in "sniffing." - -"Well, there must be a fire where there's smoke," he said finally, at -the same time showing a trace of uneasiness. "Strikes me, it comes from -over that way." - -"Look at that burst of smoke shoot up on the other side of the house!" -cried Lanky. "Some fire, that must be as sure as-- There, listen to -Charlie Gin Sing giving tongue! The cook's as scared as a singed cat. -Let's scoot over that way, Frank, and see what they're doing. Now -others are yelling to beat the band! We were longing for excitement, -and, sure enough, here she comes full tilt!" - -"Lanky, it's the barn on fire, I do believe!" Frank managed to say as -the pair of them went at full speed, swerving so as to pass around the -house, when they would have a full unobstructed view. - -"With all that hay and the straw from last year in it, too!" added the -other. - -Then as the boys turned the corner where Gin Sing was now beating -wildly on a monster frying pan and making a dreadful din, Lanky -finished with a whoop, and increased his pace, if such a thing were -possible. - -No question about its being the barn that was ablaze, for vast -volumes of smoke were already pouring out from several places. These -continually grew in density, while wicked looking red tongues of flame -could be seen playing amidst the dense belching billows. - -Frank had gone as white as chalk. - -"Your mother--Minnie!" he gasped. - -"What of them?" cried the agitated Lanky. - -"I saw them go in some time ago! Oh, Lanky! what if they are still -inside the old barn, trapped like rats and blinded with all that -smoke?" - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TRAPPED IN THE BURNING BARN - - -Lanky Wallace apparently could find no words to express the feeling of -horror that gripped his heart. Never did any boy have a dearer mother -than his own "Mom." No wonder the possibility of losing her in such a -terrible tragedy seemed to freeze the very blood in his veins. - -It was indeed an exciting time at Rockspur Ranch. Men were shouting as -they ran toward the burning barn as only big-lunged cow-punchers can -shout. The excited cook meanwhile continued to whang away with his big -spoon, as though the frying pan he held might be a dinner gong and he -meant to summon those who were a full mile away. - -Too, the crackling of the leaping flames told that they were gathering -fresh headway with every passing second, and these sounds began to be a -factor in the conglomeration of noises that had so suddenly sprung into -existence on that sunny afternoon in early summer. - -Barns were not always to be found on cattle ranches, for it had -usually been the habit of cattlemen to let their herds shift the best -they could during ordinary winters. Usually there are sheltered nooks -on the range where forage may be found with unusual efforts by the -stock. - -But George Rockford, Lanky Wallace's deceased uncle and the late owner -of these hundreds of acres, had a mind of his own. He was not to be -governed by what had been good enough for his predecessors. - -So he had built a big barn, though lumber was difficult to secure and -had to be brought many miles, even from the mountain gorges. In this -barn he always kept a certain amount of hay and straw, for emergencies, -he explained to the scoffers. - -Several times during his occupancy of the place his forethought had -been rewarded. When an unusually severe winter rolled around, during -which stock out on the ranges suffered grievous losses through deep -snows and blustering blizzards, that reserve stock of feed had saved -the Rockspur herd from much privation. - -Lanky could see some of the cowboys bringing up a hose that was -attached to the tank of water meant for household use. The stock were -driven to a never-failing creek about two miles away for watering, -or, if they were loose on the range, they found their way there by -themselves. - -In his excitement Lanky made a dive for a bucket, and then gasped in -dismay when a furious burst of angry looking flame darted out from a -crack in the side of the barn, for all the world like the tongue of -some gigantic serpent. - -"Oh, Frank! what can we do?" he moaned. Even as he said these words he -realized that Frank was no longer at his side. - -Some instinct caused Lanky to turn his anxious gaze once more on the -doomed barn. Knowing Frank Allen as well as he did, he understood what -the other would be doing about that time. - -"He's gone--right inside--and I've got to follow my leader!" - -Lanky would have dashed blindly forward and despite the peril involved -enter the door where that choking smoke was pouring forth, only that -his father caught hold of him just in time. - -Mr. Wallace, on learning that his wife and Minnie had been seen -entering the barn some time before fire was discovered, had become -greatly alarmed and had tried to go in after them, only to be driven -back by the fierce flames. Now he would not listen for a moment the -wild plea of Lanky to be allowed to follow Frank. - -"I should have stopped Frank, too," said the gentleman, in a quivering -voice, "had I guessed what he meant to do when I saw him running -forward and taking off his coat. If he is lost it will be terrible! -And your mother, too! The boys have already done everything possible -for human strength and skill to accomplish. We can only pray they may -all be spared." - -"Zander Forbes is in there too, they say," blubbered the badly shaken -Lanky. - -"I shall never forget his heroism, and Frank's, too," said Mr. Wallace. -"If I thought I could make it--" His voice broke. "I tried it before -you came, but the flames drove me back." - -"There's one of the boys coming out now!" quavered Lanky, pointing his -finger as he spoke. "Why, he's leading Bessie, our pet milk cow! He has -put a blanket over her eyes to blind her." The cowboy had used this -covering as a blinder to the cow, knowing that otherwise it would be -utterly impossible to urge her along past shooting lances of flame. - -Lanky's voice died away in a low groan, for his suddenly aroused hopes -had been just as speedily shattered. Only a cow saved, while precious -human lives were hanging in the balance! - -When Frank was gripped by the feeling that he must make a desperate -attempt to find and save Mrs. Wallace and Minnie Cuthbert, he lost not -a second in debating whether it was safe or not. - -He could see that he would be met with considerable of that smothering -smoke the instant he stepped past the open door of the burning barn. -That was why he commenced to tear off his coat as he ran. Frank -wrapped his coat about his head in the endeavor to protect his mouth, -eyes, and nostrils as much as possible. - -He knew the die had been cast as soon as he entered the place, since -his retreat was cut off by a fresh burst of scorching flames and all he -could do was to make his way forward. - -From time to time he called at the top of his voice, but was staggered -to find what a small amount of noise he could make, owing to the -pungent smoke of the burning hay and straw. - -The covering his head gave him some relief at first; but in a very -short time he found his eyes smarting fearfully and tears helping to -blind his vision. - -Groping his way and trying as best he could to avoid those places -where the hay was fully in the grip of the fire, Frank presently found -himself falling. - -The boy did not know what sort of a hole he had incautiously stepped -into, for he had taken but a cursory view of the inside of the old barn -during his sole visit there. Throwing out both hands, he sought to find -some support, so as to stop the sickening downward movement. He came to -a halt with a thump, one of his feet becoming fast between two upright -timbers. - -His situation was now much more desperate than before, since, try as he -did, he seemed utterly unable to get his foot free from that clutch of -the V-shaped timbers. It was as though he had become enmeshed in the -tentacles of some unseen monster, which, gifted with enormous powers, -was bent on holding him there a prisoner until the oncoming flames -reached the spot. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A CLOSE SHAVE - - -Frank Allen was not one to give up easily. He continued to strive to -free the snared foot, his efforts being accentuated by the fierce heat -of the roaring furnace that ate its way through the tons on tons of -combustibles. In his extremity he shouted at the top of his voice, at -the same time doubtful whether his cries could reach outside of the -barn, with all that noise of crackling flames and roaring draughts. -Still he continued to call. - -"Help! Help!" - -Although calling for assistance, the youth did not cease his frantic -efforts to dislodge his trapped foot. He knew only too well what a -slender chance there was that any one should be close enough to hear -his cries and come to his rescue, even in the doubtful event of being -able to get through the flames. - -Then what was close to an inspiration flashed through his excited -brain, and he lost no time in trying anew to break loose. - -Luckily, he was able to bend over far enough to get at his shoe. With -eager fingers he tore the laces open, and then made a last desperate -effort to free his right foot. - -A thrill ran through the boy when he found that he could draw the foot -out of his shoe! He was saved--least, he was given a fresh chance to -escape the dreadful fate that threatened to overwhelm him! - -Sensible even in such a situation, Frank next tore his shoe loose, -and managed to get it on after a fashion. Then he turned away from -the furious blast of fire and groped through the dense smoke, heading -he knew not in which direction, only that he was fending off the -threatening catastrophe a little longer by fleeing. - -The fact that he was not acquainted with the interior of the barn -brought him fresh trouble. An avenue of escape might be close at his -elbow, an opening such as would afford him exit, and Frank would not be -aware of the fact. - -He was experiencing for the first time in all his life the sensation -that grips one who realizes he is lost. In the woods or among the -hills, with a sky overhead to give him the points of the compass, no -one could be better than Frank Allen at making his way to safety. But -it was vastly different in that smoke-filled structure. - -Once more he gave tongue, in the hope that if Zander Forbes or any -other of his cowboy friends were close by he would catch the call and -cheer the groping wanderer with an answering whoop. Meanwhile, what of -Mrs. Wallace and of Minnie? At thought of Minnie his heart sank. - -Once the situation took on new threats. A burst of flame straight ahead -warned Frank that he must sheer aside if he wished to escape being -singed. His heart seemed to be in his throat with the suspense that -continually gripped him. And, oh, how he yearned for a breath of fresh -air! - -Then he thought he caught the sound of a husky voice calling his own -name. Could Lanky have followed him into the barn, and was even then -wandering this way and that, chased by the fire, and in as great a -predicament as himself? - -Again Frank let out a whoop, and was cheered to catch an answering -cowboy yell. Then it was not his chum after all, but one of the -punchers. Somehow, this thought gave Frank renewed courage, for every -one of the Rockspur outfit must be well acquainted with the barn's -angles that had proved so confusing to him, and could thus lead the way -to an exit. - -Nearer came the booming voice, heard despite all the clamor around him. -Now the boy could glimpse a moving figure, pushing in a beeline for -the quarter where he chanced to be. - -"Jerry! is it _you_?" Frank shrilled, somehow touched by this evidence -of affection on the part of the old rustler who did not hesitate to -risk his own life in the endeavor to save that of his young friend. - -"It sure is, Frank! I'm comin' to git yuh out o' this hot box. Hain't -got much time to waste neither, 'case the hull pesky roof is shore to -drap in on us right quick." - -Jerry had taken hold of Frank's left arm while saying this, and -immediately commenced moving backward the way he had come. What a -feeling of confidence came over the imperiled boy when he felt those -friendly fingers in contact with his person. It seemed as though a -tremendous load rolled off his shoulders in the magic of that touch. - -Apparently Jerry was leading him toward what looked like a danger point -to be avoided; but, somehow, Frank felt no apprehension. Jerry must -know the barn like a book; indeed, possibly he himself had helped build -it in those days when as a much younger man he had worked on this ranch. - -Sure enough, by a sudden turn they managed to put the worst of the fire -behind them. Frank even believed he felt the first whiff of fresh air, -and, oh! how eagerly did he draw it into his tortured lungs. - -"Hyar we are, younker!" exclaimed the veteran cowboy as they pushed -past a last nest of fire and reached the open air. - -"Look, Dad! There's Frank, safe and sound!" a voice bellowed, and -Lanky, followed by the limping Paul, came rushing toward the pair who -had just emerged from the roaring furnace. - -How the other boys did squeeze Frank's hands and almost cried, such was -the tense condition of their strained nerves! - -Frank turned and looked back, shuddering. It was not his own narrow -escape that made him feel so weak, but the still haunting dreadful fear -that perhaps Lanky's mother and Minnie had been swallowed up in the -pitiless conflagration. - -"Oh! Lanky--is there any news--have you heard--Minnie--your mother?" - -His whole soul was in that cry, and although his eyes were still -burning and smarting from the effects of the smoke, he fastened his -gaze on his chum in a most entreating way. - -"Cheer up, Frank!" exclaimed Lanky, slapping his chum's shoulder in -what was intended to be an encouraging way. "We've reason to believe -Mom and Minnie weren't in the barn after all when the fire started." - -Frank drew a long breath and leaned on Lanky, his sensation of relief -leaving him weak and wobbling. - -"But I don't see them anywhere around here!" he exclaimed, looking to -the right and to the left, where the punchers were standing in groups -watching the barn and its contents go up in flames, for no puny human -efforts could now stay the march of destruction. - -Lanky was beckoning, and Frank saw that it was Charlie Gin Sing who -started toward them. The Chinaman had apparently managed to get over -the worst of his emotion at seeing such a sight for the first time in -his life; he looked more like his grinning self, Frank noticed, as he -trotted up to where the three boys were standing. - -"Charlie," said Lanky, taking hold of the cook's thin arm, "tell Frank -here what you say you saw. He's been afraid the ladies were caught in -the fire. That was what made him rush in there at the risk of his life." - -"Me see Missy Wally--young lady come out side door--yep, long time back -till I smell smoke and see barn he ketch fire." - -That was lucid, and positive enough to convince Frank that his fears -had after all been groundless. Charlie Gin Sing could be depended on to -tell a straight story. - -"Where were you when you saw them come out?" asked Frank. - -"Me standee kitchen door--get lungs full air--wave hand at Missy -Wally--she like Charlie his cooking--wave hand back--finest lady in all -land, Missy Wally." - -"Which way did they go after coming out of the barn?" continued Frank, -bent on getting at the full facts, for if those who were missing had -returned to the ranch house, it was strange they had not appeared on -the scene, with all that racket going on. - -"Walk away--hab lit basket 'long--come from China--ginger like all -Chinese eat." - -"Show me the direction they were heading when last you saw them, -Charlie. It's queer they haven't shown up by now, no matter where they -went." - -"That's straight goods, Frank," interrupted Lanky, his forehead -wrinkled with anxiety. - -"Think Missy Wally she go them woods--me tell her wild flowers grow -there where cattle drink at spring! Look! What tell you? Here come -runnin', you savvy, like in big hurry!" - -Lanky gave a whoop. - -"He's right, Frank--Paul! There they come, and running, too. Oh! I'm -so glad I could yell my head off. All this while they've been there in -that patch of trees they say Josh Kinney planted fifty years ago." - -Frank was about as much relieved as his chum; but, just the same, he -noticed something that apparently Lanky had missed. - -"Your mother acts as though exhausted, Lanky," he said. "See how Minnie -tries to buoy her up. Was it because of their fears the ranch house was -burning up and some lives in danger, or did something else happen to -frighten them?" - -Mr. Wallace was already hastening toward the approaching pair, and the -three boys started on the run, Paul hobbling bravely along, although -his ankle gave him frequent stabs of pain. - -The "woods," as the big clump of trees was called by the punchers, were -some distance away from the ranch buildings, and it took the boys an -appreciable length of time to draw near Mrs. Wallace and Minnie. - -"I was right," Frank kept telling himself, as he noted the looks of -both Mrs. Wallace and the girl. "Something dreadful has certainly -happened to make them act that way! Mrs. Wallace seems ready to drop, -and Minnie, too, is as pale as a ghost. But, anyway, they are safe -enough, and not caught in that fire-trap!" - -Now they reached the pair, and Lanky threw his arm around his mother. - -"Oh, what a scare we've had!" he told her. "We believed you had both -been caught in the burning barn. But Charlie Gin Sing gave us the -right stuff when he said he had seen you come out and head for the -woods." - -"But we have been in danger, after all," said his mother, in quivering -tones. "I shall never, never want to visit those awful woods again. -Only for Minnie's presence of mind I might have lost my life!" - -"Why, what happened?" asked the astounded and anxious Lanky. - -"Snakes--rattlesnakes! A whole den of them!" gasped the still -shuddering Mrs. Wallace. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A RATTLESNAKE ROUND-UP - - -Frank Allen could see now where Lanky got his horror of snakes, since -his mother seemed to have the same detestation and fear of them. - -He looked at Minnie, as though wondering whether she would back the -older lady up in that astounding assertion. One prairie rattler would -be bad enough, but to speak of a whole den, and so close to the ranch -house as that, seemed a bit as though Mrs. Wallace unconsciously -magnified things. - -But to his surprise Minnie immediately nodded her head. - -"Yes, there were ever so many of the nasty wriggling things, Frank," -she assured him in her convincing way. "Some were monsters, and others -teenty little bits of snakes, but full of fight just the same, big or -little." - -Frank could suspect there might be a story connected with their -adventure in which Minnie had played the part of heroine. He realized, -however, he must depend on Lanky's mother to tell the facts, for -Minnie had never been one to boast of anything she did. - -"What happened to stir them up so, do you know?" he asked Mrs. Wallace. - -"Oh! it was my ignorance--foolishness I'd better call it," she told him -frankly. "I certainly did think it was a locust buzzing, and stepped -over to see the little drummer, when--I almost stood on a bunch of -curled-up baby snakes. Why, Frank, there was a dreadful monster all -coiled with its head drawn back, ready to strike at me and that buzzing -sound going harder than ever." - -She shut her eyes as though once again seeing the fear-inspiring sight. - -"But--it didn't strike you Mom?" asked Lanky weakly. - -"No," replied Mrs. Wallace, turning a fond look on her companion. "Just -in the nick of time this brave girl snatched me back, exactly as if she -had all the strength of Lige Smith in her arm!" - -Frank felt prouder of Minnie than ever before--to hear how in time of -an emergency she could act promptly, instead of squealing as some girls -certainly would have done. - -"Then I fainted from the shock," the lady continued, "but not before I -saw that snake dart out of coil in the effort to reach me and, failing, -draw back again on the defensive. Minnie actually dragged me, with all -my weight, some distance away from the reptiles' den, and when later on -I came to, there was not a single snake in sight." - -"Min, you're just the finest trump ever," exclaimed Lanky. "I sure take -off my hat to a girl like you. But didn't you two hear all the noise -that was going on up around the ranch house?" - -"Yes, I heard it, and was puzzled to know what the shouting and all -that black smoke could mean," Minnie admitted. "But your mother still -lay in that swoon, and my first duty was to her." - -"She actually went past the den again, so as to get some cold water -from the spring," explained Mrs. Wallace, turning to her husband, who -arrived just then. "It was that that revived me. But I felt so weak and -shaky that although both of us were greatly concerned on account of the -dreadful sounds we heard and all that black smoke, we were some time in -getting started for the house." - -Minnie had left the group, knowing that Mrs. Wallace would be telling -it all over again to her husband, and of course repeating her praise. -Frank understand the modesty that could not bear to hear her own -heroism praised, and he hurried after Minnie, walking with her to view -the now almost gutted barn, which would soon be only a blackened pile, -never to be rebuilt. - -Great was the surprise of Lige Smith and the other punchers when they -learned from Frank what had happened to alarm the ladies. - -"Did you ever hear of such colossal nerve as those snakes showed in -locatin' so close to human beings and actually fixing up a vipers' -nest?" burst out Lige. "Boys, I take it that looks like a deadly -insult. Reckon as how we ain't no use around these diggings, since the -ole barn's a goner. Let's get busy and clean out that snake hole." - -Nothing could please the punchers better, and there was an immediate -scurrying around for poles and anything else that was likely to prove -useful in bringing destruction to the "owdacious rattler crowd," as -Jerry Brime remarked. - -Of course, all three boys went along with the crowd to see how the -extermination of the prairie rattlesnakes progressed. Lanky smothered -his abject dislike and vowed he would be the death of that big reptile -because of which his mother had just passed through such suffering. - -"I'd like to say I'd given one of the wrigglers a stiff crack on the -head so's to break his scaly neck," he confided to Paul, who limped -along, bent on seeing all the fun there was to see. - -"And you could get the rattles to show when you tell the yarn," -suggested Paul. "I've got three of the same at home--used to hunt -snakes every spring, just to know there was one less poisonous -creature laid out stiff." - -The crowd were soon on the spot. They found that the nest of snakes was -not a creature of the imagination. Several "bouncers," as Lanky called -them, set up a droning buzz as the party approached, and being quickly -located were attacked with the poles and pistols. - -Frank and Lanky were in the midst of the fray. A big rattler came for -Frank, but he caught the reptile in the head with a rock. - -"Look out!" yelled Lanky suddenly. - -Frank whirled around, to see a medium-sized snake in the act of -dropping from a bush just behind him. He flung another rock and at the -same instant Lanky hit the snake with a club he carried. - -"On your guard, boys!" yelled one of the cowboys. "We're in a nest of -'em." - -"This is too much for me!" gasped Paul, and lost no time in limping to -a distance. - -"Take that!" yelled Frank, and struck at another snake with a pole he -had picked up. - -"There you are," came from Lanky, and he quickly dispatched three small -snakes squirming from between some rocks. He had hardly done this when -he gave a mad yell as another snake wound itself around his ankle. - -Crack! It was the report of Lige Smith's pistol. He had aimed at the -snake's head. His aim was true and the reptile dropped to the ground -and went whipping out of sight in the bushes. - -"Gosh, but that was a narrow escape," murmured Lanky, his face growing -pale. - -"I'll say so," was the reply. "But come on, there are more snakes over -yonder." - -The work of fighting the reptiles went on, and when the big ones had -been settled even Paul took a hand in cleaning out what remained. - -"Say, Frank, did you see me get a crack at that corking big one?" -Lanky exclaimed, beaming with excitement and the knowledge that he was -gradually overcoming his excessive fear of the entire snake family. - -"It may be the granddaddy of the whole bunch," Frank told him, "and, as -like as not, the very one that struck at your mother." - -"I'm believing in that way, anyhow," affirmed the tall boy. "And now -for getting his rattle box." - -"Be sure to cut his head off first," warned Frank. "I've known of cases -where a rattler believed to be done for was able to coil up and strike -a fellow's leg with his poisoned fangs." - -When the punchers and the boys got through with their self-imposed job -there was not a live snake, small or large, in all that patch of woods. - -"We'll sure keep our eyes peeled after this," said Lige Smith, as they -started back to the ranch house "and it's a pipe cinch no snakes are -ever going to hole out again in our wood patch." - -Of course, Mr. Wallace was sorry to lose all the hay and straw that -had gone up in smoke and flames, for it might prove useful during the -coming winter season. - -"But for one thing," he told Frank, when on another day they were -talking over numerous plans, "we'll never think of rebuilding that -barn, not having the same apprehension of forage shortage that haunted -Uncle George. Besides, Lige assures me the winters are getting milder -every season up here in the shadow of the Rockies, and that there will -always be plenty of grass for our small herd." - -The three boys were by degrees preparing to start on the long cherished -trip to the mountains. Gold Fork and all its traditions of former -glories before the diggings panned out, lured them more and more every -day. - -Lanky had persisted in his endeavor to prove himself of real cowboy -caliber. He could ride any bronco that came his way, sticking on as he -called it "like a burr in a darky's wool." - -But one thing Frank noticed that roused his curiosity a bit. Somehow, -the often expressed intention on Lanky's part to own and proudly wear -as natty a pair of fringed and decorated "chaps" as any puncher could -boast, seemed to have died out completely. - -"What's happened to make you change your mind about those gaudy chaps, -Lanky?" Frank asked one day, as their preparations for their trip -neared completeness. - -Lanky grinned good-naturedly. - -"Shucks! I've only been looking around and observing some things that I -didn't know before, Frank." - -"As what, for instance?" demanded the other smilingly. - -"First off the bat, it isn't the chaps that make the genuine puncher. -I've noticed that generally the greenhorn has the niftiest outfit you -ever laid eyes on and struts around when decked out like he owned the -whole world." - -"But, Lanky, every puncher does have chaps, and often more than one -pair." - -"Sure does, Frank. But--and here's where my argus eyes came in -good--the finest rig he owns he keeps for extra occasions, like going -to a dance or when taking cattle to the station for shipment; because, -don't you see, on those special events he's apt to run across some of -the girls." - -Frank laughed at that, and wagged his head in appreciation. - -"Your sagacity does you credit, Lanky." - -"Look at our bunch at work on the range, rounding up strays, branding -the youngsters, or doing any sort of work like that. Why, some of 'em -even wear plain faded jean overalls, and the only things that would -tell you they were punchers are their cowboy hats and the ropes they -always carry." - -"I can see you're making the grade, all right, old chum," chucked -Frank. "And I give you a heap of credit for taking note of such -happenings. Not much gets past your eyes--while they're open, I mean, -Lanky." - -As it happened, when they had almost forgotten all about the hovering -peril that had given them so much concern a month and more previously, -it was fated to once more awaken into life to annoy them. - -It was Paul this time who made the discovery. He had been unfortunate -on this visit to Rockspur, in having sprained his ankle, which was slow -to heal. This had kept him in the background at times when his two -chums were meeting all sorts of lively adventures. - -Frank and Lanky had retired to the room which they shared in common, -and chose to confer regarding what they should take with them and what -leave behind. Paul was in the bunk-house listening-in, there being -something in the air that night which he particularly wished to hear. - -"Well, here's our corrected list," Lanky announced, holding up a bit -of paper. "I reckon we've cut it down as close to the bone as we can, -and everything I've not crossed off we believe we'll need. Dad will -do the same, for I happen to know he always used to travel light when -years ago he went into camp. But here comes Paul, so now we can hop -into bed and get some sleep. - -"Oh! will you?" said Paul, entering in time to overhear this last -remark from Lanky. "As our old chum, Jack Eastwick, used always to say, -'maybe, maybe not.' I'm bringing you news that may make you sit up and -take notice. That sly little rascal with the bushel head is skulking -around again! I glimpsed him while crossing over from the bunk-house!" - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -ON GUARD - - -"Douse the glim, first of all, Lanky!" said Frank Allen without a -second's hesitation. Frank seemed always ready for action, which was -one of his strong points. - -Lanky thereupon blew out the lamp, and the three boys found themselves -in vague darkness. The late rising moon was above the horizon, but the -western side of the ranch house was wrapped in the shadows. - -"Now, let's keep mum and watch," whispered Frank. "He'll think the last -comer has turned in, and the coast will soon be clear. Pretty near time -for the boys to shut up shop over there in the radio den." - -"Getting ready to wind-up when I left," murmured Paul. "Lige has a -rule, you know, that every puncher must hit the hay by eleven, so's to -be up with the sunrise." - -Silence fell upon them. - -Minutes crept on as the boys crouched by the window, eager for -the first glimpse of the strange little unknown man whose former -mysterious actions had so engrossed their curiosity. - -Now and then one of them would stir, or it might be heave a heavy sigh, -as though this pent-up enthusiasm was making serious inroads on his -patience. The cramped position in which they maintained their vigil -added to the discomfort of the situation. - -For some little time the boys heard the voices and subdued laughter of -the punchers, as some of them came out, to wander over in the direction -of the horse corral, in order to have a last look, so as to make sure -all was right in that quarter. - -Even that died out by degrees, and then absolute silence descended upon -the vicinity of the ranch buildings. Up to the coming of the guests -from the East there had been a pack of mongrel dogs connected with -Rockspur Ranch; but Frank and his pals had seen neither hide nor hair -of any for some time. - -The time began to drag terribly, and Frank himself feared none of them -would be able to stand it much longer. But presently Lanky pinched his -arm and breathed into his ear the words: - -"Saw something move just then--might have been a slinking coyote, but I -reckon it had only two legs, Frank!" - -"Where?" the other whispered back, feeling a thrill of expectation, as -it began to appear as though their weary vigil might meet with some -measure of success. - -"See that star low down near the horizon--just to the right of that -bush." - -"I get you, Lanky!" - -"I hit the bullseye, Frank, because there he is again!" continued the -owner of the eagle vision. - -All of the chums had their eyes glued on the point Lanky had mentioned, -for the brilliant setting star was plainly visible. Yes, something was -moving, for a fact, and it must be either a venturesome coyote prowling -around in search of a toothsome bone or else a man down on his knees, -crawling toward the ranch house. - -Closer came the object of their scrutiny. Presently Frank gave a low -and suggestive grunt. - -"A man, all right," he muttered. - -"Heading right this way, too," chucked Lanky, well pleased over the way -things were working out. - -A hiss from Frank warned the others that greater caution than ever was -now necessary. It would be too bad if after all some thoughtless act on -their part should frighten off the queer little "sawed-off," as Lanky -refereed to the moonlight visitor. - -Every few minutes they could see that he elevated his head as though to -take a wide survey, and thus made doubly certain he was not creeping -into a trap. - -"It's the runt, as sure as anything!" Lanky told himself. "Know that -bushy-top anywhere I could glimpse it! Gee whiz! I sure do wonder what -sort of a stunt he's meanin' to pull off this time." - -Just then, as the intruder was close enough to be fairly seen in the -moonlight, Lanky made a discovery that added to his keen curiosity. In -one hand the man carried what looked like an ordinary spade, as though -his purpose had something to do with digging. - -It was plain to be seen that the fellow meant to approach close to the -boys' shelter. He was heading in a direct line for the magnificent tree -growing near that corner of the low building, the very first one Josh -Kinney had planted, and now highly esteemed during the hot hummer days -for the grateful shade its foliage cast. - -Now the prowler reached a spot close to the thick trunk of this tree, -and, after a good look around, he seemed to be measuring with a -tape-line. - -The nerves of that trio of watchers so close by quivered with -excitement. As their lookout was bathed in deep shadow there was no -possibility of their being seen by the intruder, even though he looked -directly that way, if only the boys made no movement. - -Satisfied at length after several trials that he had struck the exact -location for which he searched, the man, still bending down, started to -push the spade into the turf. - -It was soft and pliable so near the house, where the shade of the -foliage above prevented the sun from baking the surface. Consequently, -the dwarf seemed to be having no great difficulty in digging. - -He worked in utmost silence. Not once did Frank catch the slightest -sound, as of the spade striking a root or a possible stone. Indeed, in -a way it was uncanny. Lanky, being gifted with a lively imagination, -could easily picture the queer little man as a ghostly grave-digger, -plying his trade at this hour approaching midnight. - -It was useless trying to guess what object the fellow had in view, for -the boys had not the remotest clue to guide them. But by exercising -patience they were likely to find the solution of the mystery when he -"struck oil." - -His caution still clung to him, it seemed, and he took nothing for -granted. As systematically as clock-work that bushy head would be -raised and turned around in every direction. Then, as if convinced he -had nothing to fear, the digger would once more get down to work and -deepen the hole he had already made. - -Apparently, whatever he was after must be buried at some considerable -depth below the surface. Already he had quite a good-sized pile of loam -heaped up. - -Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to take the alarm, for the boys saw -him flatten out until he "looked like a flapjack on the ground." - -At the same moment a distant sound, as of the regular beat of a pony's -hoofs, was faintly borne to the ears of the watching boys. They all -understood what it meant, knowing that Buster Lightfoot had been -missing at supper and was believed to be far off on the range looking -up strays. - -He was now returning on a tired pony, and doubtless himself as hungry -as a wolf. Yes, now the boys knew he was turning Buckskin into the -corral, after which they could see him heading for the bunk-house, his -burly frame looming up in the slanting rays of the failing moon. - -Buster knew better than to make any undue racket when returning at so -late an hour, for he would have had the rest of the boys about his ears -like a swarm of angry bees. He would find plenty of food laid aside for -him by the experienced Charlie Gin Sing, and after disposing of the -bread and meat and the hot coffee contained in an enormous thermos jug, -he was expected to turn in for the rest he so sadly needed. - -In due time all was quiet again, and the digger once more tackled his -job, with a stubborn spirit worthy of admiration. Lanky liked his nerve -in thus taking such great chances of being discovered and caught, when -he might expect to be given a good hiding. - -It would seem as though the man with the spade must attain the object -of his search before long, since the hole was already of some depth. As -a consequence the boys found themselves more worked up than ever. - -Lanky discovered that his right arm was feeling prickly all over. He -knew what that meant, for it was not the first time his arm or leg had -gone to sleep from a continuous pressure of some sort. - -His intention was to change around and lean with his left arm, if only -it could be managed, for he surely did not wish to lose sight of things -at this critical stage of the affair. - -It proved to be rather an unfortunate design on his part for his right -arm was as helpless as though paralyzed so when he tried to move it -played him a most dastardly and treacherous trick, actually crashing -through the window and shattering the pane of glass into a thousand -pieces! - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -IN THE BLACK BOTTLE - - -It is astonishing what a tremendous medley of sound usually follows the -smashing of a window, especially in the dead of night, with everything -around gripped in silence. - -Frank had a sensation almost of panic, hardly knowing what had -happened. Paul, on his part, involuntarily ducked down, as if under -the impression that the runt outside had hurled his spade through -the window and would possibly follow it with other things still more -dangerous. - -Lanky, who was himself the culprit, appeared to grasp the situation -and its undoubted disastrous consequences better than either of his -companions. This was proved when he made a vigorous bolt for the exit -of the room, leading outdoors. - -"Let's grab him, fellows!" he shouted back over his shoulder, just -before tearing open the door and leaping headlong through. - -In his haste he made some sort of miscalculation, and the next thing he -knew he tripped over some object and went headlong to the ground. - -Frank and Paul, having caught his idea, and being nimble enough to -follow close on his heels, also had the experience of taking headers, -so for a few seconds there was something of a mix-up. - -When they managed to untie the tangle and gain their feet, look as they -might there was no sign of the little man to be seen. He had vanished -as quietly as the wreaths of fog do in the morning when a puff of air -welcomes the rising of the sun. - -"Please somebody kick me for a duffer!" pleaded the disgusted Lanky. - -Loud voices attested to the fact that the smash and jingle of falling -fragments of glass had instantly awakened every sleeper in the near-by -bunk-house. - -Out they came running, helter-skelter, some in pajamas, others partly -dressed, as was their habit while sleeping, but all wildly excited. - -"What happened, boys?" bellowed Lige Smith, racing up barefooted. - -"That measly little runt with the big head's been nosing around here -again! But he got scared off when my elbow slipped and broke the -window." - -It was Lanky who made this hurried explanation, ready to shoulder all -the blame of the mishap. No one had accepted his invitation to indulge -in kicking him, he felt sure both Frank and Paul must feel as disgusted -as he was himself. - -"Which way did the critter vamoose?" asked Hoptoad Atkins, quite -savagely for such a diminutive specimen of a puncher. - -"None of us saw him skip out," admitted Lanky, "But say, he came from -over that way," and he pointed toward that part of the sky where some -time before the bright star had set beyond the level horizon. - -There was an immediate rush on the part of the rustlers, and Frank, on -noting their scantiness of attire, could not keep from chuckling. He -felt positive he would never see the equal of that picture again, and -its memory would always bring a laugh to his lips. - -Of course no vigorous search could be made, for many reasons. In -the first place, none of the punchers were more than half clad; -besides, chasing over the wide stretches of the prairie after such a -will-o'-the-wisp as that unknown but slippery runt, was out of the -question. - -Then again it might be he was only "tolling" them away, so that during -their absence he could stampede the horses or accomplish some other -species of mischief, such as might take form in a rattlebox brain. - -They went as far as the corral, to make sure the ponies were safe, and -then came drifting back again, their curiosity having been awakened by -seeing Frank hard at work with a spade, enlarging a hole in the ground -that some one had dug. - -Some of the punchers had gone back into the bunk-house to get into -warmer garments, sensing that the end of the strange midnight adventure -was not yet. These wise ones came straggling back, to find Frank had -handed over his task to the eager Lanky, who was making the dirt fly. - -Then came a sudden rifle shot and the thump of a bullet as it buried -itself in the tree trunk just over Lanky's head. - -Frank happened to be looking in a direction that enabled him to glimpse -the distant flash. - -"Git tuh kiver!" bawled Jerry Brime. - -Some dodged around the house while others flattened themselves out -on the ground, which they hugged assiduously. Frank was one of those -on the ground, while Lanky and Paul hurried around the corner of the -building. - -Two of those who had secured weapons as well as clothes when in the -bunk-house started on the run toward the quarter from which the shot -had come. Just then a second shot sounded, and the whine of the -projectile as it winged past close to their heads could be plainly -heard, giving the boys a queer sensation. - -Cowboy yells sounded as the pair of runners started directly toward -the marksman's stand, but it was answered by a mocking laugh. Then -followed the rapid pounding of a horse's hoofs, telling them that their -intended quarry was in no hurry for the punishment which they would -only too willingly bestow upon him, could he be overtaken. - -Of course, they could not pursue on foot, for cowboys as a rule are -badly handicapped when out of the saddle. After blazing away several -times in the vague hope of crippling the unseen pony or winging its -rider by a lucky shot, the two armed men ran for the corral, to get -astride their mounts. - -But all that of course consumed time, and when they were ready to start -it was too late. Listen as they might, the keenest of ears proved -unable to catch the least sound. Even the faint night breeze was -against them, for it came out of the wrong quarter. - -It was an angry bunch of punchers that gathered around where Frank once -more assumed the task of digging. He had seen how recklessly Lanky -worked, and considered it the part of wisdom to exercise a little more -caution, not knowing whether there might be dynamite or some other -explosive that lay buried there, and this action of the stranger only a -trap to lure them on to their own sorrow. - -It proved a wise move on Frank's part, as succeeding events turned out. -Those hovering close around him, watching with more or less curiosity, -heard a queer clicking sound. Evidently the carefully handled spade had -come in contact with some object. - -"Another iron box, I bet my dandy new quirt!" ejaculated Zander Forbes, -showing signs of unusual excitement. Probably he or the rest of the -bunch had never before been at the digging up of a treasure-trove until -that night when Josh Kinney's secret receptacle was unearthed deep down -in the cellar under the ranch pantry. - -"Pull off another one, Zander, old hoss!" snorted Hoptoad Atkins. -"Reckon I know the sound of metal hittin' glass." - -"Shoot, Frank, and let's see who's got the correct answer!" Buster -urged. - -Frank Allen was not to be hurried an atom. - -He leaned toward Hoptoad's guess, for the peculiar clink that followed -his gently striking some object made him think of a glass bottle. -The times were such that bootleggers drifted all over the prairie, -disposing of their illegal wares to customers on different ranches. - -Could it be possible that there was a regular cache of bottled goods -hidden here so close to the ranch house? He had heard that Lanky's -Uncle George had had more or less trouble with some of his former -employees along these very lines; for they seemed able to get the stuff -and go on protracted sprees in spite of all his precautions. - -So when he reached over and lifted a bottle out of the hole it was -with a feeling akin to bitter disappointment. Would this explain the -persistent attempts of the queer little man to carry out some plan? - -Low laughter and then grunts came from the group of punchers. - -"Nothin' but a leetle moonshine, looks to me," old Jerry remarked, as -he rubbed his pointed chin with finger and thumb. - -"No brand on the pesky bottle, you-uns notice," ventured Lige, the -foreman, trying to make the best of a bad bargain. - -"Mighty queer that little runt taking such big chances just to get hold -of a bottle of hot stuff," Zander Forbes from Yale remarked shrewdly. - -"Jerry, they tell me you used to be a good judge of such things," -observed Sally Keating. "Take a sniff, and see if you can name the -brand." - -"Hold on boys, you're all away off your trolley," Frank told them. -"This bottle has been buried here for a good many years, I'd say; as -long, it might be, as that old chest was in the cellar!" - -"Bully boy!" snapped Lanky enthusiastically. "Hit her again, Frank! Put -the pins up on the other alley and make a spare or a strike. Now go on -and tell us _how_ you know?" - -"Here, fetch that lantern over, Charlie Gin Sing," Frank called out to -the cook who had just appeared on the scene, understanding that all -firing had stopped and that it was safe for him to venture abroad. - -"Say, it does look mighty like the old bottle's been under the soil -for ages, boys," agreed Zander, after a close scrutiny of the object. -"Shake it, Frank, and see if you hear something gurgle." - -"Nixey! Never a solitary gurgle!" gloated Lanky. "There's something -else than liquid lightning inside that black bottle. Frank, knock the -head off, or I'll explode, I'm that stuffed with curiosity." - -Bang! went the bottle against the edge of the spade. As the glass flew -in a shower a curled paper yellowed with age, fell to the ground. On -this Frank pounced and straightened it out. Everybody crowded around, -eager to see, and among them old Jerry Brime pushed his beak forward, -to immediately cry out something that sent a thrill through the three -boys. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -STARTING FOR GOLD FORK - - -"By hokey!" Jerry ejaculated, mightily interested in the age-stained -paper. "Sure I've seen thet thar figgerin', 'fore now! Yep! It seems -like I kin' 'member ole Josh Kinney bottlin' the paper up wid a big -grin an' askin' how it looked fur a drawin' prize. I done tole him it -seemed to me a hen went an' crawled acrost the paper wid muddy feet!" - -It certainly did look a bit that way, as Frank and Lanky were forced to -admit. They studied their find for a few minutes; then Lanky rubbed his -nose and went on to remark sarcastically: - -"And, say, that same hen must have been some loco, to make such a bunch -of crooked tracks." - -"Well, it must be some sort of chart, or map," suggested Paul. - -"I take it that's right," Frank observed, nodding his head. "Perhaps -you might call it a supplementary one to the first we found." - -"Now you're shouting, Frank!" snapped Lanky eagerly. "We know that -other was mostly about the route to the place where Kinney pulled -out his nuggets. All right! Then this tells in some Greek way that he -undersold, but is a mystery to us, how to walk up and help yourself at -the feed-trough, after you get inside the cave." - -"About ah I can make out of it," said Mr. Wallace, "is that there seems -to be a five-fingered cave, and the stuff is located in the central -zone." - -"Well, that's something of a clue, anyhow," Lanky decided. "Besides -when we get to studying these queer marks closer maybe we'll run across -some sort of key that'll make it all plain as print." - -Frank noticed that Minnie was leaning out of the window of the small -room she occupied, clad in a pretty and becoming kimono. She seemed to -be drinking in every word that was being uttered. - -"Chances are," Frank told himself shrewdly, "Minnie will beg like -everything to go along with us. But of course that would be out of the -question! There'll be all kinds of danger afoot. Besides, I don't think -it's the trip for a girl to take, good pal as Min is." - -Since the enemy had been chased off, and, besides, what he sought to -secure possession of was already safe in their keeping, Mr. Wallace -decided it was useless to cheat themselves any longer of their sleep. - -As the boys had been chiefly instrumental in getting hold of this -second chart, buried in such a peculiar fashion by the old pioneer, -just as had been the case with the other, he asked Frank to keep it -safely. - -"We'll have plenty of time to pore over them both between now and our -start, as well as while on the trails," he told them, before going back -to his sleeping room. - -"How soon can we get a move on, Dad?" asked Lanky eagerly. "Gee whiz! -I'm all cluttered up with thinking about that trip and what strange -things we'll be apt to see in the mountain regions." - -"Not many days more, son," was all the reply his father gave, and with -this Lanky had to rest content; though as time passed he would likely -grumble more or less and show signs of ever growing restlessness. - -There was no further alarm that night, nor on the succeeding nights. It -seemed as though the activity of the Rockspur crowd had entirely broken -up any plans the conspirators may have formed, and a change of base -became necessary on their part. - -"Huh! bet you a cookey they've set out for Gold Fork ahead of us, -and we'll find the whole shooting-match camped on the ground when -we get there," Lanky said to Frank on the third day after the night -disturbance. - -"What's the odds if they are?" his chum demanded, unmoved by all this -display of feverish anxiety on Lanky's part. "They are no more apt to -find the location of Kinney's claim than those hundreds of miners were -in the old days, when Gold Fork was a bustling camp and men digging -like wild-fire in the hope of striking a bonanza deposit of nuggets." - -"Reckon that's so, Frank," Lanky acknowledged, won over by the coolness -and good judgment of his chum. "If we're going to have trouble getting -our paws on that cache of nuggets with both maps to set us on the right -track, why, those four-flushers haven't even a look-in." - -"Well, I've got a little news for you, Lanky, that ought to fetch a -grin to your face. Your father told me not ten minutes ago that it's -all settled." - -"Meaning when we start for Gold Forge? Is that the racket, Frank?" - -"To-morrow will be Sunday. We say good-by to Rockspur for a little -while on next Tuesday morning!" - -Lanky's face lighted up with joy. He threw his hat into the air and -gave a whoop that would have shamed almost any reckless, care-free -puncher. - -"That's bully news, Frank Allen!" he burst out. "When dad saps a thing -he sticks to it like a leech. My stuff is all packed, and I've even -knocked off nearly half I laid out in the start to pack along. Dad -told me we'd have to go light, as only one pack horse would be taken." - -Great excitement followed, particularly among the younger element at -Rockspur Ranch. Minnie hovered around and listened to everything the -boys said. She examined the two crude maps several times, as though -they held a strong fascination for her. - -Frank often shook his head as he noted these things. - -"She certainly does want to be one of the bunch, all right!" he told -himself. "I'm dead sure Mr. Wallace will never consent, although his -wife would let Minnie do anything she liked, she's so easy going, and -thinks such a courageous girl could always take care of herself. But -while I'm sorry to see her disappointed, I don't think she ought to go -on what may turn out to be a fighting trip." - -Of course the party would ride, and the ponies of the three boys were -carefully groomed, also allowed to rest as much as possible, so they -might be in the best of condition when the time arrived for the start. - -It was not to be a large party, just old Jerry Brime, Zander Forbes, -and Mr. Wallace, besides the trio of boys, with a pack animal to carry -such stores and necessities as they must take along in order to insure -a fair degree of comfort. - -They had secured all the information possible from Jerry, as well as -any of the other punchers who had by chance set eyes on the deserted -mining camp in the mountains or knew something about the route hither. - -To the best of their understanding, the boys figured they would have to -ride something like forty miles toward the southwest, then change to -face the setting sun. After going, possibly, for several days, in the -end they would reach the foothills along the base of the mighty Rocky -Mountains. - -It gave them many a thrill, just the picturing in their minds of the -new and wonderful sights that in all probability awaited them, while -making their way to their intended destination. - -"Wonder if well see any antelopes or mebbe a stray buffalo," Lanky -said to Paul, as they discussed things on Monday morning--the probable -state of the weather for the great day, now close at hand, how they -would stand the long gallop in the hot sun, whether those persistent -enemies who had pestered them so long would be lying in wait with other -evil designs in view, and kindred topics, of which there seemed to be -legions cropping up. - -"Somehow," Paul returned, with a note of yearning in his voice, "I've -been telling myself that I might have the ambition of my life granted -before we left the Rockies." - -"Now what could that be, I wonder?" quizzed Lanky. - -"Set eyes on a real Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep," explained the other, -with a little laugh. "Sounds queer, I know, Lanky, but I've never -forgotten one I saw in a zoo, and it's haunted me ever since--those big -curving horns on which they say it often alights when bounding from a -cliff to a plateau thirty feet lower down. I've even dreamed of seeing -that marvellous stunt." - -Lanky rubbed the tip of his nose reflectively. - -"I never thought of seeing a genuine bighorn in its native haunts, -Paul. But if only I could have the glory of knocking a rousing big chap -off his perch and getting a pair of horns to take back to Columbia as a -trophy! Shucks I wouldn't mind going to some trouble over _such_ a job!" - -That was the difference between Lanky and Paul. Paul seemed satisfied -just to see and admire objects in Nature's vast domain; but Lanky, -having the hunter instinct developed in his nature, thought only of -possession--the monster bass swimming in the shallow water of the lake -did not interest him one-tenth as much as when it was leaping at the -end of his line and giving him a succession of thrills in a frantic -endeavor to escape. - -Tuesday morning dawned with a dear sky. It promised to be a hot day, -as all the weather sharps could easily predict; but then such a minor -detail did not bother any of the members of the expedition a particle. - -The boys were keyed up to a high tension, and ready--as Lanky put it, -"to buck up against any old thing that might come along, from cyclones -and waterspouts to attacks from hostile men who might take them for -government agents spying on boot-legger operations." - -Every soul on the ranch from Charlie Gin Sing to Mrs. Wallace was on -the spot to wish them a safe and prosperous journey. Minnie hovered -around and smiled in a way that puzzled Frank. - -"Now I wonder what kind of a bee that girl has got working in her -brain?" Frank said to himself more than once. Somehow, it made him a -bit uneasy. "I hope she hasn't the feast idea of trying to follow us! -That would be the maddest of pranks." - -The good-byes were said, and the little cavalcade rode bravely off, -those in the saddle turning to send back last words to those left -behind, and particularly Minnie and Mrs. Wallace. - -The cowboys who were to stay at home and perform the regular routine of -ranch duties accompanied the party for several miles; then at a sign -from Lige Smith they gave a parting yell and turned back. - -At last the treasure seekers were off in good shape, with all sorts -of possible adventures lying ahead in the unknown lands they must -traverse. Frank, however, could not keep Minnie's queer manner from -filling his thoughts as he rode on his way. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -LANKY'S SCHEME WOBBLES - - -Knowing the magnitude of the journey they had before them, the -adventurers did not intend to make any attempt at speed. They must -preserve the strength of their mounts for the hard part of the trip -after arriving in the rough region of the mountainous country. - -They had a cold snack and rested their mounts at noon. The forty miles -in a southwesterly direction was passed over before a halt was again -made for supper. Jerry and Zander Forbes were in charge, the one as -"big boss," the other in the guise of a guide; though most of Jerry's -work was apt to come after they reached their goal and found themselves -at the old mining camp. - -When they put saddles on the ponies, and started off, they faced due -west and a setting sun. - -"Only for that heat haze over there," raid Zander to the boys close at -his side, "you might glimpse the tops of the mountains if you happened -to have sharp eyes and knew just where to look. Most green-horns would -be apt to reckon it was only the dim outline of a low-hanging line of -white clouds." - -Lanky strained his eyes to stare in that direction. Sometimes he felt -pretty certain he could just discern a faint line above the level -horizon, which he fondly told himself must really be the outline of the -lofty Rockies, the object of their long ride. - -When the day was done the sun had finally disappeared and the glorious -bed of crimson and gold that awakened lively feelings of admiration in -the souls of the boys had turned to dark blue, it was decided to camp -for the night on the prairie. - -This was now nothing new to Frank and his chums, since they had been -out overnight several times with some of the punchers, riding range -after straying stock. - -"I'm glad of one thing, though," Lanky told Paul, as a fire was kindled -of such stuff as they had managed to pick up on the way. - -"Shoot!" exclaimed the other, when Lanky held back, as was his habit -when he wanted, to enliven the curiosity of those in his company. - -"We didn't run across the rough-house gang of punchers that hold out -over at the Double Z Ranch, nor yet any of the sheep-herders from -over near Skidmore Station. We're trying to mind our own business and -looking for trouble with no outfit, though of course we don't mean to -be stood on." - -The night passed in comparative peace, though a pack of coyotes -persisted in keeping up an all-night chorus of yelps and long-drawn -howls that sounded more wolf than otherwise. - -With the morning they were early in the saddle. It was so hot that Mr. -Wallace had decided to lay off for several hours toward the middle of -the day, making up for lost time by the early start, also a ride after -nightfall, when the cooler airs would creep down from the mountains -ahead. - -They could plainly see these mighty elevations now at any time they -chose to cast their eyes up and down the horizon toward the west. - -"But the atmosphere out here on the level plains is mighty deceptive, -you must remember, boys," Zander Forbes had warned them. "A horseman -can keep riding for ten hours steadily in a straight line, and at the -end of that time seem to be hardly any closer to the mountains than -when he started." - -"But we understood there'd be only two days of hard riding after we -headed into the west!" remonstrated Lanky. - -"Well, by late afternoon to-morrow we ought to be inside of fifteen or -twenty miles of the foothills. But like as not we'll have to make a -third camp on the prairie." - -This turned out to be the case; and when the towering Rockies seemed to -be so close, the boys wondered why Mr. Wallace decided to defer the -remainder of their ride until the next morning. - -"Fresh mounts in good condition," the gentleman explained, "are worth -much more to us than the gaining of a little time." - -In his younger years Mr. Wallace had been considerable of a sportsman, -taking his holidays each fall in a camping trip to the Canada bush, -where he hunted the moose in a primitive wilderness. - -Of late he had not taken any such trips, and his health had suffered in -consequence, which helped to bring about this present outing. - -The coyotes were as noisy as ever that night. Besides, Lanky heard -a new and more thrilling sound, with which he was making his first -acquaintance. Jerry told them it was the long-drawl howl of the big -gray timber wolf, savage creatures that traveled in packs, and when -beset by hunger seldom hesitated to attack a lone hunter. - -"If yuh find yuhself beset by sech a pack o' varmints," was the sage -advice of the veteran range rider and hunter, "don't keer a picayune -'bout showin' the white feather. If so be thar's a tree handy, shin up -it like a streak. Then take yuh pick o' the pesky wolves an' knock 'em -over in a row." - -"I tried fighting a pack once," observed Zander, with a grimace. "Got -the marks of them fangs on my legs and arms to this day. I'd have gone -under to boot, only a storm broke and a terrific peal of thunder and -a blinking flash of lightning as a tree was struck close by scared the -graycoats off and gave me a chance to climb a tree." - -With the coming of morning the journey was resumed, and the rising sun -saw them almost half-way to the base of the foothills that served as an -advance guard to the mountains themselves. - -It was just nine by Frank's wrist watch when they arrived. Jerry showed -them a trail that led over the range of hills to a canyon zigzagging up -the great divide, it having once been the bed of a mighty torrent. - -By noon they were fairly over the ridge. Beyond lay a small valley, -and Jerry was able to locate and point out the canyon he expected to -utilize in climbing to the plateau where Gold Fork lay. The place, -they understood, was now the picture of desolation, with tumble-down -shanties and stores marking it as a long since abandoned mining camp, -where an alluring boomlet bubble had burst, to disappoint and ruin -hundreds. - -The ponies were somewhat winded after that stiff climb, so when the -ride was continued they took their time in making the descent. - -"Shucks! two to one we've got to lay over in this washbowl of a -valley," grumbled Lanky, "and won't get to the old camp till to-morrow -night." - -Frank, being more disposed to take things as they came and not show -undue eagerness, only laughed at his disappointed chum. - -"Plenty of time, your dad told you, Lanky," he remarked. - -"Yes, he's always telling me that Rome wasn't built in a day. But I -certainly hate to waste the hours. What makes you look up at the sky so -often, Frank? Expecting to have a storm break loose on our heads, are -you?" - -"Nothing in sight to say so," replied the other. "I was watching the -wheeling movements of those big birds a mile or so high. Jerry tells me -they are vultures, the largest carrion birds we have in this country, -known as California vultures." - -"Wow, so _that's_ what they are! I saw them some time ago, but took it -for granted they must be only turkey buzzards skimming around on the -lookout for some eats. Vultures! Are they related to the monster South -American condor?" - -"First cousins, Zander Forbes told me, and nearly as big, though not -so powerful. Why, those condors can carry off a good-sized lamb, I've -read. The buzzard of the East and South belongs to the same family, as -does the fish-crow of Florida, though of course they're a lot smaller." - -"Vultures! Well, I never expected to set eyes on such birds on this -trip. When Zander was telling that story the other night about an -adventure he had when trying to secure an egg for a big museum and -near losing his eyes from pecks of the mother, he said this California -specimen was hardly ever seen except west of the Rockies; and just now -we're on the east side of the big divide." - -"I don't know anything about that, but he seemed a bit surprised to see -them around here. I reckon they go where the feeding is best, even if -it takes them across the snow-capped summits of the Rockies." - -Lanky kept looking up frequently after that, as though some freakish -scheme had been hatched in that fertile brain of his which he meant to -try out, if only an opportunity offered. - -At least, his guess concerning their camping in that valley turned out -quite true, for when they were half-way across the basin Zander gave -the order to pull up. - -They were going to enjoy a hunter's feast that night, for the first -time on the trip. Zander had managed to creep up on a feeding antelope, -by keeping to leeward of the timid animal, and with a remarkably long -and clever shot dropped his quarry. - -So they expected to eat fresh venison to their hearts' content, and the -three boys anticipated a delightful meal. - -"Say, Frank, they're scooping down closer right now," Lanky observed, -as he caught hold of his chum. "I wonder if they smell our fresh meat -and hope to get the leavings of our supper." - -Frank, however, shook his head skeptically. - -"More than likely they've sighted some sort of carrion lying in the -valley here, and are making for that. You can see that they keep -wheeling in big circles over a spot lying to the north of us, and not -more than a couple of hundred yards away from here." - -"I'm glad it's to the north," said Paul; "for if there's a dead animal -over yonder, so long as the breeze keeps in the southwest we're not -going to hold our breath half the night. See! One of the big birds has -dropped down to the ground. What monster wings they have; and they keep -flapping them up and down as if ready for a scrap as they hop around -sideways." - -"Zander told me these vultures are about four feet in length from beak -to the end of their tails, but that they have a wing spread of over ten -feet!" - -"Some birds, I'd say," replied Paul. Lanky was only grinning as he -eagerly watched the other scavengers of the air drop down and commence -to copy the gyrations of the first pilgrim. - -"Gee! I'd sure like to try it out," Frank heard him mutter. But what -Lanky meant he did not bother to explain, and Frank in the rush of -other things forgot to ask him. - -"I wonder now," mused Frank, as he watched the big birds hopping about -with their wings often used in fighting one another over the spoils, -"if he remembers how old Sindbad the Sailor caught a giant roc when a -prisoner in that valley and climbing on its back was carried to safety? -That would be just like harem-scarem Lanky, with his queer schemes for -fun." - -A little later he noticed Lanky talking with Zander Forbes, who seemed -to be more or less amused at what the boy was saying. The others were -all busily engaged at various tasks, and so Lanky was left to his own -devices. - -Frank's attention was later on attracted to the vultures when he heard -a confused sound as of many great wings in motion. Looking out toward -the spot they had been feeding he saw they had jumped off the ground -and were circling in the air, but keeping within landing distance of -their supper table. And there was Lanky, as big as life, stalking -toward the spot! - -Frank whistled softly in surprise, and then chuckled. - -"What under the sun is that chum of mine figuring on doing?" he asked -himself. "He's got something on his arm that looks mighty like the -fresh skin Zander peeled from the antelope he shot to-day. Yes, and -that's a rope he's trailing, too. Something's up, it strikes me." - -He kept an eye on Lanky, to see the other stretch himself on the earth -and draw the deerskin over him, hair-side down. - -"Well, that sticks in my craw," Paul remarked disgustedly as he joined -Frank and stared toward the scene of operations. "That chump must have -a tougher stomach than I happen to own, to deliberately camp down out -there so close to where those monster birds were feeding. Ugh! what -wouldn't Lanky risk just to carry out what he'd call a joke?" - -"We can soon get a wrinkle on his game by keeping an eye on the spot," -vouchsafed Frank. "You see the vultures are already getting over their -alarm and are swinging closer to the place with every circle they make." - -"You hit the nail on the head that time for keeps, Frank. He keeps -lying there as if asleep. What's he got covering him, do you happen to -know?" - -"Looked to me like the fresh skin of that little deer Zander brought -down at such a long distance to-day." Frank informed Paul. "Besides, I -saw Lanky talking to Zander, who seemed tickled at something our chum -was explaining." - -"Oh, well, there's got to be something doing all the time with Lanky, -and when it doesn't come along promptly, trust him to rig up a trick to -fetch out a little excitement." - -"All I hope," added Frank uneasily, "is that he doesn't find he's -bitten off more than he can chew this time." - -"You don't like the looks of those vultures, then, I take it?" queried -Paul. - -"No. They're powerful and ugly-tempered birds, Paul. There, the -boldest in the bunch has dropped down, and is heading up to his feed -trough again, with those queer jumps and his wings flopping, as if in -challenge to the gang to beat him to it." - -"Yes, and the rest have forgotten their alarm, for they're dropping -down in hot haste. I reckon they're afraid that chap will gobble the -whole meal before they can carry off a snack. Now one curious bird is -making for that fresh deer-hide, thinking it's manna that dropped down -from the clouds. What fool game has Lanky got up his sleeve?" - -"No telling," was the brief reply. - -A couple of minutes passed. Then suddenly the entire assemblage of -giant birds once more jumped off the ground, just as the boys had often -seen buzzards do, to start their circling again on wide-spread pinions. - -"Look! Oh, look, Frank," cried the excited Paul. "Lanky's slipped a -noose around the leg of that biggest one, for it's only gone up a -short way and is beating its wings like a crazy thing! There's Lanky -now, trailing along the ground. But, Frank, why's he going feet first?" - -"He's made a fool play, and got the rope twisted around one of his -legs!" exclaimed the astounded as well as alarmed Frank. "He's being -dragged along by the vulture! Paul, he may be killed!" - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE LOCOED BUFFALO - - -The loud talking of the two boys and the flight of the flock of -scavengers--of all but that lone captive--soon attracted the attention -of the other members of the party. - -Mr. Wallace gaped in wonder and annoyance at seeing his son being -dragged along, frantically clutching at every object in sight, in the -hope of anchoring, and thus staying, his progress. Jerry Brime stared, -hardly believing his eyes at witnessing such a curious happening. But -Zander Forbes, who had been made Lanky's confidant in the matter, -stopped laughing and jumped toward the spot where his rifle lay, the -gravity of the situation coming to him like a sudden blow. - -Lanky had fortunately succeeded in laying hold of what looked like a -sturdy tuft of wiry buffalo grass, and to this he was clinging with -might and main. At the same time with his other hand he was stretching -down, trying to release his leg from the binding coil of rope. - -As long as the strong wings of the frightened and now angry vulture -continued to beat the air so wildly, this was rendered utterly out of -the question; for the rope was kept taut, and all Lanky's desperate -efforts to unfasten it failed. - -"The bird's got tired of trying to yank him up into the air, Frank!" -called out Paul. "See, he's dropped back to the ground again, and, as -sure as you live, he's hopping straight at Lanky as if he meant to give -him a licking for his meanness! Wow! I'm glad it isn't me out there." - -"Lanky doesn't seem able to get clear of that loop of the rope!" -snapped Frank, "and unless something happens to prevent it he's going -to be in danger of having that terrible bird pecking at his eyes!" - -"What can we do, Frank, to stop that?" gasped the aroused and now -alarmed Paul. - -"Let's run, and shout to try and scare the bird off!" suggested the -other loyal chum of the reckless Lanky. - -"Wait! There's Zander with his gun, Frank. I guess he's got the number -of that bird's mess, all right." - -Paul had hardly spoken when there came the sharp report of a rifle. -Frank, to his great joy, saw the angry vulture fall over and kick -as though its finish had indeed come with the pressure of Zander's -fore-finger on the trigger. - -"Bully! Bully!" shouted the relieved Paul. "He cooked that old -fighter's goose for him all right! Now Lanky's managed to get his leg -free, and is coming back to camp, carrying the rope and the antelope -hide. His little game worked all to the good, but took a turn he didn't -count on. See him limp, will you? That left leg feels sore, I bet you!" - -"I reckon it serves him about right, as his dad will tell him," -observed Frank. "Of all the fool tricks I've ever known that boy to try -out, this wanting to lasso a live vulture takes the cake! Most people -wouldn't want to touch the horrible things with a ten-foot pole." - -Lanky looked foolish as he reached the place where Jerry had a little -cooking fire burning, although he grinned, and tried to pass the whole -thing off as a mere incident. - -His father said nothing to him just then. But Frank and Paul knew that -in the end Mr. Wallace would have a confidential talk with his son, in -which Lanky would "eat humble pie," admitting that his had been a silly -scheme that gave him only what he deserved. - -Jerry managed to broil enough of the antelope meat for all, even though -the three boys did come back repeatedly for further portions, things -tasted so good to them. - -Mr. Wallace understood, for he had eaten in the open many times -himself. - -"Food always does taste different when the surroundings are Nature's," -he said, as they still sat around and "stoked up," as Lanky termed it. - -"It does to me, for one," admitted Frank. "Chances are that if we had -this spread at home, with a white tablecloth and china to serve it on, -none of us would care a great deal for this venison. It might seem -tough and dry unless cooked with bacon slices between. But out here, -with appetites like woodchoppers in the cold North, it's a whole lot -different." - -Lanky was unusually quiet that evening, Frank noticed. Undoubtedly he -realized that sometimes what are meant to be pranks turn out to border -perilously close to tragedies. - -When morning came the boys noticed that no haste was made to get -started, and presently the reason for this was made known. - -"Would you believe it," said Frank, coming over to where the other two -boys were sitting after breakfast was over, "that miserable pack pony -has wandered off during the night. It's going to bother us a heap, I -reckon." - -"Do you mean we'll be held up here in this little valley while a hunt -is made for the pony?" demanded Lanky, looking anything but pleased -over the possibility of further delay. - -"All of us are to start out and search," admitted Frank. "Your father's -given us the job of combing the valley to the north, while the others -head south. We are to get back to camp by noon, and if the beast hasn't -been found by that time we'll have to divide the stores among the -bunch, for your dad says he can't be delayed any longer." - -"I know what he's thinking about," said Lanky. "He's expecting a mighty -important letter from New York that means a whole lot to him in the way -of money. It may not arrive before we get back to Rockspur; but if it -does I heard him telling Lige to send along one of the other boys to -find us at Gold Fork." - -According to the plan resolved on, the three boys left camp, going to -the north in search of the pack pony, just as Zander and Jerry started -toward the south. - -"It'll be a nice little gallop for us, anyway," said Frank, who always -looked at the bright side of things. - -Paul, however, shrugged his shoulders and he called out: - -"I'm not quite so keen about a side gallop as you fellows. Fact is, I'm -getting pretty well filled up on pony riding. Three days straight is -going some for a greenhorn like me. But I'm game to stick it out to a -finish. Only I do hope we run across that Wandering Willie of a pony -inside of an hour or two, so as to strike back to camp again." - -For some time the boys rode along, keeping a lookout on every side. -It kept growing warmer all the while, for the mountains shut off any -breeze from the west, while a ridge called foothills did the same in -the opposite quarter. - -An hour passed, and not a single glimpse did the boys get of the -missing pack pony. - -"Looks as if he had gone south instead of this way," commented Frank. -"Though it's possible the beast had intelligence enough to head over -the rise and start back home." - -"Homesick, you mean, Frank?" laughed Paul. - -"Some horses are affected that way, I'm told." - -Lanky was unusually quiet all this while. Frank wondered whether the -ludicrous adventure with the lassoed vulture had given him a lesson in -prudence he would not soon forget. - -He looked toward the towering peaks to the immediate west, as though -aggrieved because things had happened in such a fashion as to prevent -their ascent of those rugged slopes by way of the friendly canyon. - -That was what Frank was thinking, but after all it appeared that he did -Lanky an injustice, for presently the other broke his silence to say: - -"Once or twice last evening, just before dark set in, boys, I had a -sort of hunch I could faintly glimpse smoke rising up on the side of -the mountains." - -"But you didn't mention a word about it to us, Lanky!" Frank put it to -him reproachfully. - -"I didn't, for a fact," admitted the lad. "To tell the truth, I was -feeling kind of punk over the fool game I set out to pull off, and so I -just concluded to keep mum and not jump out of the frying pan into the -fire. But the more I think about it, the stronger is my belief that it -was an occasional wreath of blue smoke I glimpsed." - -"That would mean a campfire," said Frank. "And of course you feel dead -certain you could say who'd be sitting near that same blaze, having -supper?" - -"Just what I could!" Lanky chuckled. "For one, Nash Yesson. Then, close -by, you'd see a slinking sort of chap known in Columbia as a bully, and -chock full of meanness. Lef Seller, who robbed his own father. Yes, and -just as like as not you'd set eyes on a queer little runt with a head -three sizes too big for his body, name unknown to us, but particularly -fond of trying to find hidden things on moonlight nights." - -"Well, I agree with you, Lanky," admitted Frank. "If there was a fire, -those were the three chaps who'd be sitting beside it and talking about -their chances for finding Kinney's secret cave where the gold nuggets -were cached." - -"Frank," said Paul just then, "did you hear what Zander was saying -about the report brought to Rockspur one day last week?" - -"What was that?" - -"That Buffalo Smith's herd of bison had broken from their range and -gone back to the free life of their kind. They skedaddled in a night." - -"Yes, I heard about that," came the reply. "And Zander told me as his -own private opinion that Captain Smith would have trouble rounding -up the run-aways, because they'd separated in every direction, each -seeming to want to look out for himself." - -"Wasn't that a queer way for buffaloes to act?" queried Lanky. "I -always understood they kept together in a bunch, just as our cattle do -unless they've been stampeded and badly frightened, when they go into a -panic." - -"Zander, who seems to know lots about the animals, told me," commented -Frank, "that you never can tell what a buffalo will do. He says they -often seem to get wild and crazy, as if they'd been eating the loco -weed that's found sometimes on the plains. But what made you bring up -that subject, if it's a fair question, Paul?" - -"Oh, just because we're pretty close to one of that same run-away herd -right now," came the cool and astonishing reply. - -"What's that?" exclaimed Lanky, perking up instantly. - -"Where do you see a buffalo?" asked Frank, also interested, although -believing the other must have deceived himself. - -Paul pulled in his pony and pointed toward the foot of the mountain -chain. - -"Right alongside that patch of trees growing in front of the big -boulder. There, he's raised his shaggy head and is staring straight at -us!" - -The others took one good look, and then while Lanky whistled to mark -his surprise, also delight, Frank hastened to give his opinion. - -"Good eyes you've certainly got, Paul, for I looked that way myself, -and if I noticed anything at all I must have believed that object was -only a shadow. But it's as plain as print to me now. That's a buffalo -bull--his bulk tells us that." - -"Shall we ride over and take a squint at the beast?" asked Lanky. - -"For one," Paul told him, "I'd like to say I'd seen a genuine wild -buffalo on his native ground, and me astride a cow pony." - -"Let's go!" was Frank's terse way of saying he found himself of the -same mind as the others. No one had to ask Lanky what he wanted to do, -since he invariably proved ready for action of any kind. - -Accordingly they turned to the left and cantered forward. Already did -the cow ponies scent the presence of the lumbering beast near by. This -was made evident by the way in which they snorted and took brisk, -chopping steps, indicating their extreme excitement. - -"They're not used to coming so close to buffaloes," explained Frank. -"Fact is, I hardly think any one of the three has ever before glimpsed -such a sight as this." - -"But their noses have caught the wild animal scent, you can see," Lanky -ventured, he being much at home in the doings of four-footed creatures. - -"Why doesn't the silly thing start running off?" cried Paul. "I thought -they were always reckoned a timid bunch in spite of their bulk and -savage-looking mop of hair about their heads." - -"Slow up, fellows!" called out Frank just then. - -"Why, what's the matter?" demanded Paul, turning toward Frank. - -Lanky kept going on, as if to say: - -"Shucks! who's afraid of a lonely lost buffalo? Not me!" - -"I don't quite like the way old Boss acts," continued Frank. "See him -shake his head and lower his ugly black horns. You've both seen a bull -in the pasture do that many a time, boys, when he was getting primed -for a charge." - -"Yes; and I don't like the looks of it!" asserted Paul emphatically. - -"Say, do you think he's got the same objection to my red handkerchief -that a tame Jersey bull shows?" and Paul threw up his hand, ready to -tear the offending fiery cowboy neck-piece loose, so he might cram it -into his pocket. - -"It might be that," Frank told him. "Then again, wasn't there something -said about the herd of bison having made a meal off that terrible loco -weed that grows in places and affects cows and sends 'em off like mad -dogs?" - -Even Lanky pulled up when Frank said that. His recent experience in the -realm of adventure was too fresh for him to forget the humiliation that -followed close on its heels; and prudence, as his father had counseled -him, began to urge that from now on he go a bit slow. - -The ponies seemed to understand intuitively that the buffalo was not -the ordinary docile domestic beast, accustomed to the presence of man. -They snorted worse than ever, acting as though eager to whirl about and -leave that part of the valley as fast as four legs could carry them. - -"Whoop! here he comes licketty-split!" yelled Lanky. "I've got a -date somewhere else, believe me! I sure haven't lost any buffalo! -Tra-la-la! Old Boss, here's giving you the grand bounce! It's not me -you want!" - -He let his frantic pony turn as on a pivot, and shoot away, with Frank -a good second. - -Paul, never a good rider, tried to do likewise. He had the ill-fortune -to lose his seat, and be thrown to the ground. He looked back to see -that black-horned and shaggy-headed beast charging wildly toward him! - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -A CAMP IN THE CANYON - - -"Hold up, Lanky!" - -Hearing these words shouted suddenly by Frank, Lanky Wallace turned -in his saddle. Seeing Paul's peril, he drew his unwilling pony's head -around, and commenced to gallop back again just as fast as he had taken -flight. - -"Look lively, Paul!" shrilled Frank, fervently wishing he had his rifle -along, when he might trust everything to a shot, in the hope of at -least crippling the locoed buffalo bull. - -"Hi! Paul!" bellowed Lanky. "The tree! Make for the tree! Only chance -to give him the grand laugh! Hey! Side-step it in a hurry! Good jump, -Paul, old boy! See him get over the ground for that tree, will you, -Frank? Talk to me about home-runs, Paul's got it all plastered over his -old mates on the Columbia High team. He's after you, Paul! Dodge those -shiny horns again! One more whirl like that, and you'll arrive! Got him -again, but he's on to your curves. Beat it!" - -Paul did, and in great shape. He arrived at the lonesome tree in time -to scramble up amidst its low-hanging branches before the furious -buffalo came lumbering along, foam flecking each corner of his mouth. - -"Hold up, Lanky!" cried Frank. - -"What's the next thing on the program?" asked the impetuous one, -pulling in his rearing steed and holding the bridle as tight as he -could--one run-away pony was surely sufficient without having the -others take their leave. - -"Chase Paul's nag and fetch him back." Frank had assumed charge of the -situation; for he was accustomed to being the captain in baseball and -football games, his companions gladly looking to him for leadership. - -"You'll find a way to get Paul out of his fix, will you, Frank? All -right, here goes for a pony chase!" - -With that Lanky was off on the jump. He never even bothered to ask -Frank how he meant to maneuver, in order to get Paul out of the bison's -reach. - -When Frank next turned his attention to the strange scene before him he -found that Paul, having recovered his breath, was taking things in a -matter-of-fact way that rather amused his chum. - -Leaning down from his safe perch he was talking to his guard. The -buffalo bull was staring up at his prisoner in the tree with those -small but wicked-looking eyes and at certain points in Paul's harangue -Frank was highly amused to see the animal scrape the ground violently -with a fore hoof, as if he did not agree with the argument at all. - -"Looks as if the old scamp might be saying," chuckled Frank, "'you just -drop down here once, and I'll show you how I can polish you off slicker -than anything you ever saw. Try me, that's all.'" - -"Hey! Frank!" called out the boy up in the tree, noticing for the first -time that his chum had drawn somewhat closer and was holding in his -prancing and snorting pony with a firm hand. - -"All right, Paul. You sure did climb some that time!" - -"Well, anybody would be apt to, with those black horns right behind -him," the other retorted in self-defense. - -"They say a miss is as good as a mile, and you did have a close shave." - -"But how'm I going to get out of this scrape? That's what's bothering -me!" - -"Forget it, and trust to your Dutch uncle to hatch up a scheme to fool -old Woolly Head. Now listen, and I'll unfold the plan." - -"Shoot!" - -"Notice that Lanky's galloped after your run-away pony?" - -"That's mighty fine of him," ventured Paul. "I'd begun to believe I'd -have to do considerable hiking before landing in camp again; or else -double-up with one of you fellows. Well, what's next?" - -"I'm going to lure that bison of yours off by his lonesome, if I can -fix things right." - -"Sounds good to me," came the reply. "But first of all, don't -denominate this _shaggy_ monster as _my_ property. I don't claim to own -a solitary share in him hair, hide, or horns. He belongs to Buffalo -Smith; though I'd like to convert him into tough steaks, if only I had -a rifle handy." - -"I've managed to snatch up that offensive red handkerchief of yours," -explained Frank, "from where you threw it when chasing for refuge. -It must have been the innocent cause of all your trouble and as -tit-for-tat I mean to make it help you out of this pickle." - -"Oh! now I get you! You expect to coax the old lummix to chase after -you for a mile or so, and so give me a chance to climb down?" - -"That's the little game, partner. When you see me wave my hat get a -move on, and drop." - -"But if he sees me on the ground he's dead sure to come back with a -rush, and I'd have to take to the mountains to keep clear of those -shiny short horns!" - -"Oh, I expect to keep him employed till I see that Lanky's shown up, -leading your pony. Get that, Paul?" - -"A regular old booster of a scheme, Frank, if only everything works in -a groove. Get busy then, and flag him. I'll lie low, so he'll forget -all about poor little Paul up a tree!" - -Frank delayed no longer, but started waving the red neckerchief -violently in the most insolent fashion he could devise. At the same -time he called out tantalizingly at the buffalo, daring him to come out -and have a nice little run for his money. - -More pawing at the ground followed, accompanied with low, hollow sounds -that stood for bellows. Evidently the bull was thus engaged in working -himself up to a certain pitch of rage, when he would be unable to -resist the lure of that flaunting and much hated red flag. - -"Whoop! he's off. Frank, get going before he takes a whack at you!" -shouted Paul, as the animal suddenly tore away with lowered head, eager -to give battle to the reckless enemy who thus dared him. - -If Frank had possessed three hands to pull at the reins he could not -have held in that frantic cow pony when the little beast saw that -lumbering bull charging. - -Whirling around, he went off like a shot, only desirous of placing -plenty of ground between himself and the mad creature. Accustomed to -cattle as he must be, nevertheless there was something terrifying about -the bunchy-headed buffalo that sent the pony into equine spasms. - -Frank managed to pull him in a bit, so as not to outdistance the -charging bull, lest he go back to his prisoner again. He also continued -to flaunt that offensive red flag and send jeering whoops over his -shoulder that kept his pursuer spurred up to fever heat. - -A full mile was covered in a short time. Then a distant shout was -borne to Frank's ears. On investigating he discovered that Lanky had -succeeded in capturing the run-away mount and was already close to the -tree, from which Paul could be seen descending in eager haste. - -"Now then, get a move on you, Chestnut!" Frank called out to his pony, -at the same time kicking his heels into the animal's sides. - -Gradually he began to gain on the bull, which after another mile lost -heart, and dropped out of the race. Frank, seeing his two chums coming -in a round-about way, waited for them to join him. Paul was grinning -amiably, as if he had rather enjoyed having been in the spotlight. -Things looked different to him, now that it was all over but the -shouting. - -They again took up the search for the pony that was so badly needed to -carry the pack, and were fortunate enough to glimpse the animal feeding -on some luxuriant grass that had tempted him to forget his love of -freedom. - -Having captured the run-away, the boys once more turned their faces -toward the south, and in due time reached camp. The others did not -return for another hour or more, and were of course pleased to learn of -the recovery of the pack animal. - -It was now noon, so they had a bit of cold lunch, and after that a -start was made. - -Jerry was in the lead, it being their intention to make for the canyon. -If this was followed up the face of the mountain range it would in due -time take them to the plateau where Gold Fork lay in its desolation. - -The boys now had a chance to see a real Rocky Mountain canyon, where -ages ago a torrent used to come tearing down from the snow-capped peaks -above, gradually to wear away the earth lying between solid walls of -rock, until they loomed up a hundred feet or more on either hand. - -It was now a dry defile, the lads noticed, although they fancied that -once in a great while, during some cloudburst, there might be a deluge -of water come roaring and tossing down the canyon, carrying everything -before it. - -They found it hard work picking their way upward; but Jerry knew pretty -well how to avoid the worst of the difficulties. - -"This means we're going to pitch camp in this channel of an old-time -torrent," remarked Frank, as the long afternoon wore away and their -hard-worked ponies gave signs of being very tired. - -"It'll be a new experience," observed Lanky, looking around at the -lofty walls that rose on either side. "Gee whiz! but I'd hate to be -caught in this hole if a storm broke and the rain came down as it does -sometimes out here in the Rockies. We'd soon be swimming I reckon." - -Paul Bird looked uneasy, but made no remark, for he rather suspected -that Lanky was saying what he did in anticipation of "getting a rise" -from him. As long as Paul had known Lanky, he had never learned to tell -with certainty when the tall fellow was joking and when he was serious. - -As evening approached Jerry called a halt. He must have had reasons -for choosing that particular spot to pitch camp, Frank decided, after -noticing how the veteran puncher and prospector looked around him from -time to time, as if renewing old-time recollections of the place. - -A fire was made, there being an abundance of dead wood at hand, coming -from the stunted trees that grew out of clefts in the surrounding -walls. - -"What makes it seem so hot here?" asked Paul, wiping his reeking -forehead with the same red neckerchief that had excited the buffalo -bull. - -"Oh, it's nearly always hot around these mountains," replied the artful -Lanky. "Folks say it's because some of them used to be volcanoes ages -and ages ago, and the fires must still be burning deep down." - -But Paul scoffed at the fantastic idea, knowing full well Lanky was -only "drawing the long bow" for his especial benefit. - -"If you look," remarked Frank quietly, "you'll notice that it's clouded -up; and with all this high temperature I wouldn't be surprised if we -had some rain before morning." - -"Let's hope, then," added Lanky, and really meaning what he said, "that -it isn't to be one of those terrific cloudbursts Zander was telling us -about at supper. I like swimming, all right! But excuse me from being -swept on a boiling torrent down an old canyon half a mile long, to be -kicked out on the prairie like a knocked-about bag of meal." - -"Well, Jerry knew what he was about when he picked out this particular -point for our camp," Frank went on to say confidently. - -"We'll pin our faith on Jerry, then," said Paul, trying to appear -quite unconcerned, though his heart did beat faster than its wont as -he surveyed the myriad of sharp-pointed rocks and enormous boulders -marking the course of the crooked defile. - -Another thing the watchful Frank noticed later on told him Jerry Brime -did not mean to be caught entirely unprepared, should any sort of -impending disaster break over their heads. - -He himself took the trouble to do up their pack of stores after supper -was over, a most unusual thing, and arrange so that at a moment's -notice it could be secured on the back of the pony. - -The animals, too, were kept saddled and bridled, as though in readiness -for sudden flight. Frank wondered what sort of time they could make -going down that dreadful gap in the face of the mountains in the dead -of night, and with a million obstacles lying in wait to bring about -trouble. - -They needed no blaze that night to keep the chill away; it seemed -strangely suffocating, a fact that might account for the unusual -wakefulness on the part of the three boys. - -"Don't know what ails me," grumbled Lanky who was stretched out in his -beloved checkered blanket close to Frank. "I keep turning from one side -to the other, and just can't get asleep, tired as I am. Guess mom would -say I'd got the 'fidgets,' while dad'd likely tell me I was too greedy -with that campfire-cooked venison. Shucks! something's going to happen, -I reckon." - -"It sure will, if you don't quit that mumbling," chuckled Frank, "for I -can see Zander popping his head up and looking this way, as if he had -half a mind to make you go off and herd by yourself." - -"You said it, Frank," came from Paul, on the other side of Lanky. "I'm -no knocker, but he keeps digging his elbows into my ribs every time he -turns over. Please quit it, Lanky, and settle down." - -Somehow or other, the uneasy one did manage to control his -restlessness, and he soon lay sprawled out on his back and breathing -hard, which was a pretty good indication that he had passed over into -dream-land. - -Frank did not have the slightest idea how long he was lost to the world -after Lanky quieted down. It may have been several hours, for there -was nothing to tell him what the time was when he was aroused by a -frightful crash of thunder that seemed to make the solid rocks under -him tremble with the vibration. - -Then came a dash of rain that almost instantly deluged every one, so -that clothes and blankets were soaking wet. - -When a flash of lightning lit up the canyon as by bright sunlight, -Lanky was seen threshing around in the endeavor to get free from his -blanket that had crept up about his ears as he slept. At the same came -his triumphant shout: - -"What did I tell you? Something's happened all right, hasn't it?" - -But Jerry Brime gave them no time to dispute. - -"We got to git outen this right smart, 'case that looks like a -cloudburst to me. This hyah canyon she'll be ten feet deep in a flood -afore yuh knows what's comin' down on yuh. Everybody git yuh duffle, -an' foller old Jerry!" - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -A RACE WITH THE CLOUDBURST - - -It was a scene of the wildest commotion, as the almost continually -flashing lightning depicted. The three boys had it seared on their -minds so that they would never forget the thrill of the occasion as -long as they lived. - -But for that rare forethought and preparedness on the part of Jerry -Brime, it would have been many times worse. His arrangements for sudden -flight allowed the party to make a move without wasting a single minute -of precious time. - -The ponies gave them some trouble, for they seemed to sense impending -calamity, and were nearly frantic. But by now even the tenderfeet had -learned how to manage frightened mounts; and as each one had his own -cayuse to lead, once he got a firm grip on tin bridle near the bit it -was not a very difficult task. - -At least the lightning, coming so incessantly, proved of immense -advantage to the party. Frank shuddered to think what dreadful -stumbling, with resulting injuries, would have been their portion -had they been compelled to make their way down the defile in utter -darkness, with those flinty and jagged-edged rocks strewing their path. - -So the camp was abandoned in much less time than it had taken them to -arrange things. There was great need of haste, too, it soon proved. - -"Oh! listen, Frank!" cried Paul, as he turned toward his chum, who -managed to keep close by, ready to give a helping hand should the need -arise. - -"Yes, I hear it, Paul!" - -"It sounds like a river broken loose!" continued the other, in an -agitated voice. - -"Just what it is, I reckon--a fresh river--the flood!" Frank told him. - -"Faster, everybody!" called Mr. Wallace, conscious of the magnitude of -their danger. - -"Yep, move lively, 'case she's a-tearin' down the mountain like greased -lightning!" Zander Forbes called out; lapsing into cowboy lingo, -college graduate as he claimed to be. - -As Jerry had to be in the van to serve as their guide, Zander had taken -it upon himself to tow the pack-pony as well as his own mount. This was -a tremendous responsibility under such conditions, and few punchers -there were who could have managed it; but then Zander seemed to be -little short of a wizard among animals. - -The thunder still bellowed, while the rain fell in almost solid sheets, -so that in all there was a hurricane of sound around the fleeing party. -Still above this noise they could plainly distinguish that awful roar -of rushing waters on the rampage, than which there can be no more -terrifying sound possible. - -Paul Bird had to clinch his teeth until his lips bled in order to -master the deadly fear that gripped his very soul and made him feel -sick. In imagination he was picturing the scene Lanky had drawn when he -spoke so jokingly about "swimming down on the boiling flood to be swept -out into the little valley with broken bones and life extinct." - -So far as Frank could see, those grim and lofty and forbidding walls -continued to hem them in on either side--utterly unscalable, and -looking like the jaws of a trap that was destined to be their doom. -But he felt positive that Jerry knew of some avenue of escape from the -canyon, if only they were given the time required to reach the opening. -Once the flood caught up with them, all would be lost. - -He had never looked upon such a spectacle in all his life, but he -understood that the first wave might be something like ten feet high, -and making the descent of the abrupt mountainside with incredible -velocity, so that it was bound to carry horses and human being off -their feet when it struck them, and as the downpour still continued -the chances were that the torrent would gain additional volume with -every rod it rushed along. - -On the fugitives pressed, making better time than could have been -attained under any other conditions, for there is nothing equal to the -dread of death to spur men and beasts on to herculean efforts. - -Fortunately none of the ponies had thus far stumbled. Although the -time lost by such an accident might be only the fraction of a minute, -even such a brief delay was apt to cost them dear when the race was so -close. Frank's pony seemed to lag a bit, having hit upon a section of -ground that was rougher than the rest, being strewn with more loose -rocks, and in this way the lad found himself the last member of the -sextette. - -In a flight such as this, it is usually every one for himself, since -there is no time given to double-up. As Lanky would have stated it, -"Every chap must look out for himself." - -Jerry was calling out now at the top of his voice, and despite all the -other booming sounds they could catch the drift of his words, meant -solely to encourage them at this crisis. - -"It's right ahead of us! We're bound to git thar all hunk! Keep a-goin' -like hot cakes, fellers! I know whar I'm at, yuh kin bet yuh boots!" - -He finished this rush of shouted words with his familiar old cowboy -yell, as if to defy the rush of the flood and the fury of the summer -storm. - -If they attained their goal and managed to get out of reach of the -avalanche of water, it would be by the skin of their teeth. Lanky could -not have uttered a word just then, no matter how desperately he tried, -for his lips felt as dry as those of a fever-stricken mule-skinner in a -caravan, and his breath was coming in pants, as of a hound that had run -a long race in chase of a hare. - -Just when he was almost on the point of despairing and under the -belief that Jerry must have miscalculated the time required to reach -his escape valve from the canyon trap, Lanky heard the veteran give a -joyous cry: - -"Hyah she is, boys, and the kentry's saved!" - -Never had such welcome words come to the ears of those fugitive -treasure-seekers. It inspired them to keep up their efforts a fraction -of a minute longer, though the closeness of the coming flood was enough -in itself to urge them to astonishing agility. - -Jerry and his mount were turning abruptly to the left. Lanky wondered -how it came he had failed to notice this single break in the continuity -of those cruel granite walls when they were slowly ascending the face -of the mountain chain. But it was there, just the same, and a good -thing for the hard-pressed outfit. - -They straggled out of the canyon bed and climbed to higher ground with -all the speed they could muster. There were not half a dozen seconds to -spare, Lanky realized, with a shiver of horror, when he heard the sweep -of the crest of the flood go rushing madly past, and even found his -legs in water up to his ankles. - -How thankful they must feel, and with what lighter hearts would they -stick to their isle of safety until the flood went down again. Paul -could not contain himself, even though his wind was scant after his -recent efforts. - -"Lanky, look! Oh, look! Here's Frank's pony close at my heels! But -where is Frank?" - -At the words all of the party came to an abrupt halt, a feeling like -ice gripping every heart. The roar and sweep of the flood was not quite -so frightful as before, since its crest had gone by but a new terror -now seized them. - -Was Frank caught in its terrifying grip? - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -WASHED AWAY - - -What had actually happened to Frank Allen might easily be termed -tragedy. What made it all the stranger was the fact that he owed it to -the frantic eagerness of his pony to escape the clutch of the oncoming -flood. - -Having been detained a little because meeting more obstacles than the -others of the party, Frank was still in the canyon when the others -turned out of it. Fascinated by the spectacle behind him, he turned his -head in the act of climbing out to take one last fleeting look up the -cut. - -What he saw by the aid of the lightning was a sight that must always -give him a queer chill, because of what followed so closely in its -train. - -A mighty wave was pouring down upon him, its crest foamy and leaping as -if in glee. It was eight or ten feet high at most, but to the excited -imagination of the boy it seemed doubly that. - -The mere turning of his head as he did caused him to lose a fraction -of his steadiness. At the same instant the pony made such a frantic -leap forward that Frank lost his hold on the bridle. The next thing he -knew something hit him squarely in the chest as with a sledge hammer, -knocking him backward. It must have been one of the pony's recklessly -flung hind hoofs, in the way of which Frank had tumbled. - -Before the starred boy could more than struggle to his knees in the -effort to escape his fate he was picked up by that roaring flood and -borne swiftly along. - -Fortunately for his own good, Frank managed to retain his wits, awkward -and perilous as his situation now was. He threw out both arms and tried -to clutch hold of such rocks as he came in contact with, usually the -projecting knobs that were connected with the near wall, and perhaps -six or more feet from the bed of the canyon. - -Several times he managed to get some sort of a grip on such a welcome -anchor, only to find he was utterly unable to maintain his hold. On -each occasion the fierce current snatched him loose again, after almost -dislocating his shoulder or his elbow. - -One thing these several detentions did accomplish, and that was to -retard his downward rush a little each separate time. So he was -gradually falling back a dozen feet or more from the apex of that -leading billow. Thus he presently found the water somewhat less -agitated, though still mighty in its pull. - -Buffeted and tossed like a chip, Frank Allen was fast losing the best -of his strength, although his grit still held out. The never-say-die -spirit such as he had exhibited on many a hard fought football field or -a struggle for supremacy on the diamond, was fated to stand back of him -again in this tussle with the on-rushing torrent. - -When for the fourth time he managed to fasten his fingers, like the -talons of that vulture Zander had shot on a projecting point of rock, -he summoned every fibre of his whole being to conquer the drag of the -current. - -Inch by inch he felt he was succeeding. Past him the torrent still -rushed, but he had reason to believe it did not have him wholly in its -power as before. - -So in another minute Frank was able to drag himself on to a friendly -rock. He was so nearly spent by that time that it was with extreme -difficulty he managed to keep his seat. Several times he almost toppled -off his perch, which would have undoubtedly been his end, since he was -now very weak. - -By slow degrees his strength and will power came back, and a sense of -deep gratitude filled his heart because of the Hand that seemed to have -thus plucked him directly out of deadly danger. - -But what should he do next? - -He realized that of course the others of his party would be mystified -on account of his absence and the appearance of his pony among the rest -of the animals. There was no possible way, however, by which he could -acquaint them with his wonderful escape from a terrible fate. - -His first plan was to remain where he was until hours had passed and -the flood fully subsided. Then, by dropping down into the canyon's -bed once more, he could ascend its tortuous course until he found the -fissure by means of which the party had climbed as he hoped, to safety. - -Moving backward in order to make more certain that he would not slip -and thus get into fresh trouble, Frank found that a crevice opened up -in the wall of the cleft, wide enough for him to pass along. - -It ascended, too, which was a plain invitation for him to continue as -long as the going proved to be possible. All the while, he realized, he -must be getting nearer the top of the lofty canyon wall, where he would -find the surface of the mountainside. - -One thing he discovered that pleased him--the rain had ceased. Also the -roar of the thunder had dwindled to mere growlings in the distance. - -"The storm's gone past," Frank told himself, eager to hear the sound -of his own voice once more, for it would make his strange surroundings -seem less gruesome. "At the worst, I'll only have to spend the rest of -the night by myself on the mountain." - -Such a possibility did not much concern a boy who had made many a lone -camp in his days of hiking. Sometimes this had even been across an -entire state, so as to enlarge his faculties and observe the wonders -of nature, as well as rub up against such people as could be found in -country backwoods and charcoal burners' camps. - -Then came still another discovery. On looking up to find just how far -above him the surface might be, what was his delight to see a bright -star peeping in between the sides of the cleft in the rocks. - -When three minutes afterwards Frank crept out of his "Jacob's Ladder," -as he meant to call the friendly fissure, he found that the clouds -had begun to roll away to leeward and many stars dotted the heavens -overhead. - -At any rate, he had nothing more to fear from the storm. But it had -come close to being an expensive experience for him. As his nerves -quieted down by degrees he felt more like himself, and able to grapple -with any ordinary difficulty that might come along. - -Everything was soaking wet, water even running from each outlying -rock's surface. He himself was completely saturated; but as it still -remained fairly warm Frank minded that not at all. - -"Now what's to be done?" he asked himself, meaning to form his plan on -the spot and then carry it out as best he could. - -Of course, it was utterly useless to dream of attempting to find his -party while darkness lasted. They might be far distant, unable to hear -his shouts in case he raised his voice. - -"More than that," Frank added, as an after-thought, "it would be a -crime to tempt Lanky, or any of the others, to come down the face of -this rocky mountain, risking all sorts of dangers they would not see -in the dark. There must be many a precipice between their new camp and -here, where a slip would spell death." - -That point settled, Frank decided to try to pick out some half-way -decent camp site and make the best of a bad bargain. - -He had much to be grateful for, and, besides that, Frank Allen was -never the boy to grumble because things did not chance to run as -smoothly as he might have wished. - -After looking as best he could around the vicinity, he settled on a -certain spot as well adapted for his purposes. For one thing, there -were several stumps of trees near by; and if only he could knock one of -these to flinders by using a big rock in lieu of an ax, he conceived -the idea that he would yet have a cheery blaze started. - -Among other symptoms of eternal preparedness that were characteristic -of Frank was his always making sure to carry a waterproof metal -matchsafe, filled with "fire-sticks," in his pocket. - -He had not been immersed in the water a great while, and felt -absolutely certain his precious matches would be dry and ready for use. -With this desire for comfort, as well as an opportunity for drying his -clothes, spurring him on, Frank started work on what seemed to be the -most promising of three stumps. - -There was an abundance of half-dead wood lying around, wet, of course, -after such a deluge; but he fancied he would have little difficulty -in keeping a fire going, if only he found enough dry stuff to start -kindling it. - -His guess in connection with the heart of that stump proved to be a -good one, for he soon had taken out sufficient dry stuff to answer -all purposes. So, striking a match, he applied it to the tinder thus -collected, and had the satisfaction of seeing a flame start up at once. - -This he carefully and assiduously cherished and fed until he had -collected quite a nice mess of red embers. Then he began to put on -some of the other wood, and, as he anticipated it soon burst into a -crackling blaze. - -How good it felt to the wet boy, words could hardly tell. By degrees he -managed to dry his clothes by keeping turning around like a teetotum, -from one side to another, standing the heat as long as possible. - -An hour had perhaps gone--Frank could tell only by the movement of the -heavenly bodies, since water had got into his wrist watch and stopped -the wheels from turning. - -He found himself turning every little while toward the east, in the -hope of seeing signs of dawn, even though good common sense told him -that must still be an hour and more away. - -Just as he began to feel what he called "dopey," sitting there by the -warm fire, his head nodding, Frank caught a sound that disturbed his -growing confidence that the worst was past. It was a series of queer, -blood-curdling yelps that he guessed came from a pack of those fierce, -mountain gray wolves Jerry had told him about. From the tenor of their -eager howls, the boy knew they must be hunting for something toothsome -with which to sate their ferocious appetites! - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE TIMBER-WOLF PACK - - -"That sounds bad to me," Frank told himself, as he listened to the -long-drawn howls of the carniverous wolves, echoing so drearily along -the side of the mountain. "Seems like this is my night for shaking -hands with Old Man Trouble right along. Whew, there must be as many as -half a dozen hungry creatures in that pack!" - -He fed more sticks to his snapping blaze, and a minute or two later had -made up his mind. - -"Doesn't seem to be a decent-sized tree left around these diggings. I -reckon an avalanche must have carried them all down to the foot of the -mountain, and these saplings are second-growth timber. That means I'm -not going to follow Paul's example, and roost in a tree." - -Frank, of course, was well acquainted with the fact that nearly all -wild animals to be found in western wilds are afraid of fire. That -would mean he must have sufficient fuel close at hand to keep his blaze -going for several hours; really until the coming of dawn should send -the ravenous beasts skulking off to their dens, they being creatures of -the night. - -"Time I got busy and collected all the stuff that will burn," he said, -after making this decision to stand by the fire as his best resort. -"It might even be I'll have to start a second blaze, to keep them from -creeping up from the rear and taking me off my guard." - -He went to the task with great energy, forgetting all about sore arms -in his desire to pile up the wood. - -Crash! and down came the heavy rock again and again, breaking the wood -in short lengths suitable for his purpose. It was wonderful how rapidly -his pile grew, but then Frank was fully aware of the tremendous amount -of fuel an open campfire can devour in the course of several hours, and -if his supply gave out just at a critical moment he would be undone. - -Now and then he would stop to listen. - -"Their keen ears must have heard this noise of my wood-smasher at work, -and chances are they'll get wise," he remarked between his gasps for -breath at one period of his energetic labors. "Yes, their howls are a -whole lot closer than when I first heard them." - -That caused a quick return to work, for his wood-pile was not as large -as caution dictated. How Frank wished he had his rifle with him, for -then he could rapidly diminish the pack until the rest took fright and -left for some distant refuge. - -The doleful sounds continued to break the silence of the night with -a horrible significance. No one who has never heard the howling of -wolves, with not any weapon other than his hunting-knife to defend -himself against their sharp teeth and terrible claws, can realize what -a strange feeling assails even a valiant heart as the sounds draw -steadily nearer and nearer. - -Frank picked out a good stout cudgel, and kept it handy for use in case -it came to a fight with the pack. Still the boy hoped he might fend off -the animals by a judicious use of flaming brands, hurled from time to -time into their midst. - -So rapidly had they come that now he felt sure he could hear the rush -of their bodies through the bushes close by. Then he caught sight of a -moving figure seen dimly by the firelight, and which crouched low as it -came toward him. - -Frank uttered a yell, and, springing to his fire, stirred it to greater -efforts. Not content with this, since the wolf still lay only thirty -feet or so away, he snatched up a burning brand and sent it whizzing -through the air. - -"My old cunning as a baseball pitcher comes in handy on such an -occasion as this," chucked Frank, when he plainly caught the "plunk" -that announced the collision of the whirling faggot of wood with the -crouching beast. - -He heard the surprised beast give a snap and a snarl. The hard-flung, -blazing missile had burnt its hide, and Frank saw the animal scuttle -off in great haste. - -"So long, Mr. Wolf!" he shouted, in great glee over the success of his -initial effort at bombardment. "Got your number that time, and three -strikes means you're out! Plenty more tricks in the bag, you want to -know. Who's the next victim? Don't be backward about stepping forward; -all coons look alike to me when I'm pitching gilt-edged ball." - -Before long he was aware that his enemies had his camp completely -surrounded. Glance whichever way he might, Frank could glimpse a pair -of yellow, wicked-looking eyes fixed hungrily upon him. - -"Now I've got to mind myself, all right," he muttered, holding in -readiness for quick action in case the beasts attempted to rush his -fortress in a body. "I don't like them creeping so near, and I'd better -put a few more of these red brands to good use." - -He seized upon one, and sent it hurdling through space; then a second -followed in rapid succession, the bombardment being maintained until he -had given the whole circle a share of the blazing faggots. - -"All pins down, and a count for me," the undaunted boy called out, -partly because the sound of his own voice helped keep his spirits up. -"Set 'em up in the other alley, boy! Huh! didn't just like having it -rain fire, did you, old Graybacks? Moved back a bit, too. And I'd feel -a whole lot easier, if you'd keep that distance from now till daylight!" - -But the scare of the wolves was of short duration. Inside of ten -minutes they had crept back once more to their former advanced line, so -that again the boy could see those glaring orbs whichever way he looked. - -He had to repeat the barrage, using up more of his precious wood than -he could well spare. - -"Retreated again," he told himself, though with a lack of his former -enthusiasm. "But I can't keep that sort of thing going right along. -I'll hold off longer, and then jump for them with a brand in each hand." - -He waited until he could actually glimpse the grim crouching figures -of the determined wolves flattened on the ground, just as he had many -times seen the pet cat at home do when ready to pounce on a robin or -a sparrow. Then he started for them, shouting at the top of his now -hoarse voice, and at the same time flourishing two torches with great -vigor. - -The animals could not stand such a display of fireworks, and beat a -retreat once more. Frank was shrewd enough not to be tempted into -going any great distance away from his best friend, the fire. - -Time passed on leaden wings as Frank Allen kept up this strange vigil. -By judicious management he succeeded in husbanding his shortening -supply of available fuel. On discovering signs of coming dawn over in -the east Frank took fresh heart, and began to believe he would win his -battle with the wolf pack. - -Stronger grew the oncoming daylight. - -"Showing signs of meaning to throw up the sponge, are you?" he called -out tauntingly, as he discovered one of the animals turning tail and -slinking away, heading along the mountainside, evidently having a den -in that quarter. "Well, here's wishing you better luck in getting -supper another time, when it's venison you're stalking and not a poor -tenderfoot cowpuncher. Good riddance to bad rubbish. There goes a -second chap, licking his chops like all hungry disappointed animals do." - -So the pack disintegrated, until so far as Frank could see there -remained only a solitary sentry out in the scrub. - -"Seems to be a whole lot more tenacious than the rest of his bunch," -chuckled the greatly relieved besieged boy. "I'll fix him, all right. -Plenty of ammunition now, and to spare." - -He boldly charged the last member of the once threatening pack, and -pelted him with a number of burning sticks in rapid succession. It was -some gratification to score several "hits," and in the end he had that -wolf running for shelter, with a badly singed hide to make him remember -with regret his close acquaintance with one of the elements that he -held in fear. - -"Coast seems to be all clear now, but I'd better hang around for -another half hour or so," Frank told himself. "Gee! what a dandy fire -for cooking bacon and eggs over, if only I had them." - -When he took it for granted that the time set had passed, Frank started -off. The sun was already above the low and level horizon beyond the -foothills lying to the east, and Frank gave a fond look that way, -remembering that over in that quarter lay Rockspur Ranch, with its -familiar surroundings and the friends who occupied so much of his -waking thoughts. - -He found the going anything but easy, so rough was the mountainside in -every direction. Now and then he was afforded wonderful views, as some -new vista opened up. Frank hoped he was through with adventure for some -time; though remembering that these wild mountain regions were said to -be the hunting-grounds of certain savage animals, such as the grizzly -bear. - -"I'd sure hate" he was muttering at one time as he climbed, "to run -smack into one of those old Mountain Charlies, as Jerry said they are -called over on the coast side of the Rockies. I'll try to keep my eye -fixed on some nice tree that I can shin up, in case there's any need of -a change of base." - -By slow degrees he was making fair headway up the rugged slope. Several -times he found it necessary to detour, on account of a cliff that -loomed up in his course and that could not be scaled, even should he -take his courage in both hands and make the attempt. - -"They do say the longest way around is sometimes the shortest in the -end," he buoyed up his spirits by saying; "and I'd a heap rather go an -extra half-mile than fall from that rocky wall." - -He was wondering how much farther he ought to climb and if it might not -be the part of wisdom on his part to start yelling on the chance of -being overheard by the others of his party, when he fancied he caught -the sound of a human voice. - -The more he listened the better convinced he felt that he had not been -deceived by his ears. Some one was grumbling, and talking in a fretful -tone. - -"Hello!" called Frank, cupping his hands and sending out the shout in -the direction the sounds seemed to come from. - -"Oh, help! Help!" came back almost instantly and in piteous tones. - -"I ought to know that voice!" snapped Frank. - -Thrilled by the anguish which he had caught with Lanky's muffled appeal -for assistance, Frank Allen hurried as much as he dared. As he advanced -he continued to call out reassuring words. - -"Hey, Lanky, I'm coming!" - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -WHAT HAPPENED TO LANKY - - -"Come as quick as you can--nearly all in, and feel like I'm going -to--faint, you know. Think of _me_, Lanky Wallace, actin' like that! -But--it's awful--being turned upside-down this way! Hurry along!" - -Lanky's words greatly mystified Frank, for as yet he had failed to get -the first glimpse of his chum in trouble. Not for long, however, did -this ignorance last. - -"Well, Lanky Wallace sure has pulled a stunt I never saw equaled!" -burst from the lips of the amazed and startled Frank, when, bursting -through a barrier of thorny brushwood, he saw a swinging figure hanging -head downward over the edge of a sheer drop that would measure a full -twelve feet. - -It was Lanky all right, though few of his friends would be able to -recognize him if discovered in that awkward and ridiculous posture. One -of his feet seemed to be entangled in a vine that grew from a fissure -close to the top of the diminutive cliff, which, of course, assumed -the size of a precipice to the unfortunate human pendulum. - -But it was no laughing matter to Lanky. If left too long, he would come -to a dangerous pass, since all the blood would go to his head, and so -encompass his death. - -He must have twisted and writhed with might and main in the endeavor to -reach up a groping hand and obtain some sort of grip upon the vine that -was the cause of his stumbling over the edge of that cliff. - -Now he had stopped all that useless work and was swinging back and -forth, for all the world like the weight in a great grandfather clock -in the Allen home at Columbia. - -Losing not a second in inaction, Frank hastened to make his way up -one side of the rocky wall, which he was able to do by searching for -toe-holds. - -These did not always prove as substantial as he would have wished, for -once he slipped and slid backward several feet, amidst a vast falling -of shale and earth. - -Poor despairing Lanky gave vent to an agonized howl on hearing the -racket thus made. He naturally fancied, not being able to see a thing -on account of the coat dangling over his head, that his rescuer had -gotten himself into some serious predicament, which would "settle -his--Lanky's--goose," since further delay must drive him frantic. - -"Nothing gone wrong, Lanky. Only lost my grip. Be with you in three -shakes of a dog's tail. Don't worry, it's Frank talking to you! Now I'm -at the top, and going over!" - -The knowledge that Frank was actually alive after all the dreadful -fears that had oppressed both himself and Paul, helped revive Lanky's -drooping spirits considerably. He stopped groaning, and Frank thought -he heard him say in a fearfully weak voice something like: - -"Bully--it's Frank! Oh, bul--ly boy!" - -Now Frank was crawling along the edge of the little precipice toward -the spot below which his chum dangled like a mason's plumb-line down -the wall he was building. - -"Here I am, Lanky, right above you!" he called out cheeringly. "Yes, I -can see where you went headlong over, your foot trapped in this vine!" - -He leaned cautiously over the brink. Lanky was directly below, and -Frank was pleased to see that it would not be difficult for him to get -a firm grip on the other's ankle; though just how he was to raise Lanky -gave him immediate concern. - -Some object caught his eye--it looked a bit like a coiled snake of -tremendous proportions, lying there almost on the edge of the abrupt -descent. Then Frank realized that it was a coiled rope. Lanky himself -had undoubtedly fetched it from the temporary camp, under the -impression that he could find a good use for such a thing, if only he -should run across his missing chum. - -As a plan flashed into his active mind Frank snatched up the strong -rope, leaned over, and managed to get its end around Lanky's ankle. As -speedily as he could he fastened it securely. - -"Listen, Lanky!" he cried out. "I've got the rope fixed so I can lower -you down to the ground, once I've cut that vine apart. Here goes, then!" - -First Frank took a single hitch of the rope around a small sapling that -chanced to be within reach, a most fortunate thing. This he did so it -would be doubly easy and safe to lower a heavy weight, without risking -being pulled over the edge himself. - -Then out came his knife. How glad he was he had always made it a point -to keep a razor-like edge on his handy blade. Two, three slashes were -all that was required, when the tough vine parted and, by easy little -jerks, Lanky commenced to go down toward the rocks below. - -No sooner did Frank see that his chum had landed than he fastened the -rope in a knot, swung himself over the edge and slid down as if he -clasped a greased pole, in the customary doing at the annual Harvest -Home fair at Columbia. - -Lanky was groaning and moving a little, as Frank knelt down beside him. -When he drew the other's coat away from his face Frank was alarmed to -discover how black Lanky looked. Evidently a short time longer of that -hanging must have quite finished him. - -Hearing water gurgling close by, Frank hastened to the small rivulet -that came leaping and bubbling down from the snow-clad heights -above. He filled Lanky's hat--his own had gone down with that raging -torrent--and was speedily back at the other's side. - -First of all he made Lanky drink a little of the icy water. Next he -bathed the flushed and discolored face with some of the same fluid. -The result was gratifying, for by slow degrees that dreadful, purple -hue faded from Lanky's features, and he even smiled wanly, his eyes -kindling with the awakening joy he felt at once more seeing his best -chum bending over him. - -"We thought--you must have gone,--Frank!" he managed to say, trying to -lift his hand, which Frank had been patting affectionately. - -"Well, I had the closest shave of my whole life," replied the other, -wincing at the vivid recollection of that never-to-be-forgotten -experience. "But you'll hear all about it later on, Lanky; also how -I've been keeping a lively pack of gray wolves at bay for several -hours by throwing burning brands from my fire at them as they hovered -around." - -"Whew!" breathed Lanky, gazing at his chum with admiring eyes. "And all -I've managed to do along the line of adventure was to trip over a vine, -hang head down over a precipice and yell for help!" - -After a while Lanky felt so much stronger that it was decided to make -a move. He had kept his bearings while starting out at break of day in -the hope of finding Frank so now he was able to serve as guide. - -They took their way slowly, for neither of them felt very robust. -Accordingly it was well on to the middle of the morning when at last -Lanky pointed ahead, to remark with a sigh of relief: - -"You can see the smoke of their fire right over that big boulder, -Frank. They're sticking close to the place where we came out of the -canyon, because Jerry says there isn't any other trail he knows of by -which to reach Gold Fork camp." - -When they were discovered there arose a great shout. Paul waved his hat -enthusiastically. Mr. Wallace did the same while both Jerry Brime and -Zander Forbes joined in the hearty greeting. The latter had just come -back, after combing the lower reaches of the canyon, the flood having -passed away, leaving only a bare trickle of water to hint at the almost -tragic event of the preceding night. - -By degrees the story was told, and everybody seemed to think Frank -must surely bear a charmed life, to pass unscathed through two such -exciting and hazardous adventures in one night. - -It had been agreed upon between the two boys that they would say -nothing about what had happened to Lanky. For one thing, he felt -ashamed at having been so easily caught napping, and placed in such a -ridiculous position. Then, again, he did not want to worry his father -with such harrowing details as must follow on his being questioned. - -"Of course you can tell Paul all about my silliness," Lanky had said at -the time this arrangement was made. "I know he can keep a secret. But -I'd never hear the last of it if the fellows in Columbia ever got wind -of my fool play." - -As Lanky had partaken of no breakfast, being in such a hurry to -commence his search, and Frank had fasted since the preceding night, an -early hot lunch was made ready, after which they started on again. - -Jerry led the way down into the bed of the canyon, whose treachery none -of these travelers would ever forget. Once more their faces were turned -upward, as the sure-footed ponies made their way among the loose rocks -that dotted the bottom of the defile. - -In years long gone past all those headed for the new gold discovery -had covered this identical ground. The boys could easily imagine them -toiling upward--grizzled prospectors and regular miners, some toting -all their possessions on their backs, others enjoying the luxury of a -donkey to carry burdens. - -"And like as not every mother's son of the whole bunch," Paul Bird -remarked, on talking with his two chums concerning these things, "was -as enthusiastic and hopeful as we are right now, expecting to be lucky -enough to run across some wonderful pocket of nuggets, like Josh Kinney -had done." - -"Yes, that's true enough, Paul," replied Lanky. "But none of them -happened to have a neat little homemade chart made by Kinney himself -and telling where his cache was hidden in that five-fingered cave. -There's a whole lot in having the inside track, you know." - -Several hours passed. - -They had been making fair and steady progress upward, and Frank could -more than half guess they were presently coming to a break in the -abrupt steepness marking the sheer mountainside. - -"We must be close on that plateau, where we understand the deserted -camp lies," he told the other boys. - -"What makes you think so?" asked the pleased yet skeptical Paul. - -"The lay of the land, for one thing," came the reply. "Then, again, -I've been keeping my weather eye fixed on Jerry." - -"Clever idea," admitted Paul; while Lanky grinned, proving that he -himself must have been doing something similar. - -"He's been getting more and more worked up right along," continued -Frank, who made it a practice to observe everything around him, and -form his own conception of its meaning. - -"Reckons he's back again in the good old days," Lanky broke in just -then, "when Gold Fork was on the boom, with everybody figuring on being -a millionaire before the sun went down six more times. Huh! makes me -laugh, the innocence of those old codgers! Poor sillies!" - -Even as Lanky spoke, Jerry turned around with uplifted hand. - -"We're right thar, boys, and yuh goin' to set eyes on the remains afore -yuh's five minuits older. Don't laugh, please, 'case to me it's like -a-goin' to a funeral of an old friend. Seen some right lively times -hyah in Gold Fork, an' I sumtimes dream 'bout the real men I nudged -shoulders with in them rushin' days o' the long ago." - -"Let's remember that, fellows," said Frank softly, "and respect Jerry's -feelings in the matter. If we have to be amused we can pick out times -when the old man isn't around." - -"I'll not forget, Frank," said Paul instantly. "I think I can -understand about how he feels. To see this familiar stamping-ground -again will be like having ghosts walk." - -"Ditto here," grunted Lanky, though not quite so given to sentiment. - -The stipulated five minutes had not passed when on breaking through a -barrier of wild-looking brush and bushes the party came fully upon the -wreckage of one of the oldest and most talked-of mining camps in all -that region. - -To Frank especially, with Jerry and his memories in mind, the picture -was intensely desolate, weird, and impressive. All of the pilgrims drew -in their tired ponies and stared at what was spread there before them. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -AT THE DESERTED MINING CAMP - - -"Look at the buzzards sitting on that ridge of a two-story building, -will you?" exclaimed Lanky, pointing as he spoke. - -"There! They're off, flying," said Paul, "each starting with a queer -little jump that sends the big bird up several feet before its wings -begin to carry it. Always liked to watch turkey-buzzards roosting on a -dead tree or dropping down to feed. Make me think of the clowns at a -circus, they're so comical." - -"I'd call this Camp Desolation, if you asked me," observed Frank, in an -aside to his chums. - -"Never did set eyes on its equal in all my life," Lanky admitted. "I -reckon nobody's been around here for years, to look at the way those -shacks and stores and huts have decayed." - -"That's where you're away off your trolley then," chuckled Frank. - -"Seen something, or you wouldn't talk that way," ventured the other, a -bit annoyed because Frank had again beaten him at woodcraft, in which -Lanky fancied himself a master. - -"Lots of times, when we were climbing the canyon bed to top the rise," -Frank told him, with a nod; "especially during the last half hour. -Signs of horses coming and going--lately, too--little stones displaced, -even the plain print of hoofs when there chanced to be a layer of earth -to make them show. I'm a whole lot surprised that _you_ missed them, -Lanky." - -"Huh! even the best scouts trip up once in a long time," grunted Lanky. -"I must have been watching Jerry so closely and squinting up at the -rock walls above, thinkin' about what a nice place it'd be for an old -grizzly to make a den." - -"There, you can see the tracks as plain as print right now," Frank at -that juncture told his chums, pointing toward the ground just ahead. - -Apparently fifty years back many animals and treasure-hunting -prospectors must have made a well-beaten trail, coming up by way of the -canyon and arriving at the open place marking the plateau. - -"Easy enough," acknowledged Lanky, one of whose best qualities was -frankness when owning up to being surprised in anything. "But there! -Jerry's started to lead the way into the ghostly camp. Let's go!" - -No one joked or laughed as thus solemnly they walked their winded -ponies among those amazing wrecks of old-time life and bustle; it was -too much like passing through a cemetery long since abandoned and -fallen upon evil times. - -"Most of them seem to have been roughly built shacks, made out of pinon -trees cut on the side of the mountain, though I can see some cedar -among them--yes, and oak, besides. It's the story of the 'Deserted -Village' all over again, only no pestilence brought about this -desolation." - -"The whole bunch was wild to pick up gold nuggets," said Lanky. -"Anyway, that's what Jerry told us; and when the bubble burst they -cleared out bag and baggage." - -"What do you suppose that largest building was for?" asked Paul. - -"The only two-story one in the whole caboodle, you mean?" Lanky -replied. "I'd judge it might have been used as a hotel, or tavern, -where the fresh arrivals could put up and be fleeced till they found -time to throw a shack together." - -"There's an old faded sign over the door," Frank put in. "As near as -I can make out it reads: 'El Dorado Hotel, Accommodations for Man and -Beast.'" - -"Lots of good eats served in that place, I'd say," ventured Lanky, who -himself was hungry. - -"Here's a place that looks as if it used to be one of those dance -halls, where the miners gathered at night to have a lively time, what -with gambling, carousing, and the like." - -Frank felt certain he had struck close to the truth when he made that -assertion; for surely the large room could not have been used for any -other purpose. - -So they quietly rode through the whole village, stopping at the farther -end, while Mr. Wallace conferred with the other two men. - -"Now I wonder," Paul said as he stared around, sometimes having to -repress an involuntary shudder, everything was so dreadful, "what all -those queer little mounds can mean--they are side by side, too, as if -meant for stepping stones to some temple the miners meant to build, -after they'd all gotten to be millionaires." - -Lanky made an odd grimace. - -"Hobble your horse, Paul, and take another look. You'll guess then what -they stand for. Every mining camp started a cemetery the first thing; -because, you know, the mortality ran high in those lawless days, when -each man carried a big six-shooter on his hip and the one who could -draw the quickest lived to see another sun rise." - -Paul could not hold back the shiver that ran over him. - -"Why, there must be all of a hundred graves, if there's one," he said, -and then added weakly, suspicion having awakened in his mind, knowing -Lanky's inveterate liking for playing jokes on innocents: "If you're -not stringing me, I mean." - -"Give him the air, Frank! After I vowed not even to _grin_ while in -this haunted camp. Those are what I said, and yet Jerry told us the -camp didn't hold out more than one year. Life was held cheap in such -crazy times, Paul, and they planted somebody every other day, I reckon." - -Mr. Wallace just then turned to the three boys; the other men were -dismounting, as though not meaning to use the ponies any more that day. - -"I'm going off with Jerry and Zander," said the gentleman, "to scour -the neighborhood for what has always been known as 'Lost Mountain,' -though it's hard to understand how such a vast elevation could escape -notice. Plenty of eyes have doubtless fallen on it, but without knowing -that it was anything out of the ordinary. But we believe it contains -the mine Kinney worked." - -"And the five-fingered cave to boot," added Lanky. - -"What do you want us to be doing while you're away, Mr. Wallace?" -queried Frank. - -"Simply amuse yourselves," replied Mr. Wallace. "But keep a bright -lookout for those scamps we suspect are somewhere around this region, -ready to spy on us, in the hope of snatching the prize away in case we -find it. Yes, and you might take the entire bunch of ponies along that -rocky trail to the right." - -"Where does it lead, Dad?" asked Lanky. - -"Jerry told me," replied his father, "that there is a queer little -walled-in strip of land about a quarter of a mile further on, where, -strangely enough, the finest of green forage could always be found, -winter and summer. They used to turn their animals in there to feed and -drink at the spring." - -"Shall we stake them out?" asked Frank. - -"No need of that," he was informed smilingly. "Nature took charge, and -left only one narrow exit and entrance to this highly favored pasture. -There are, it seems, several rocks that can be easily moved, and which -when placed in position form an excellent barrier that the smartest -cow-pony would be unable to jump." - -"This sure is the land of marvels," grinned Lanky. - -"We'll take all the ponies out there, and shut the gate of the corral -on them," promised Frank. - -"You might unload the pack-pony, boys, and put the stuff for our -rations in one of these shacks, covering it all over, so that no -possible curious eyes would suspect its presence." - -With these words Mr. Wallace handed over the bridle of his mount, -and in company with the other men made ready to go forth in a first -attempt, under Jerry's reawakened memory of his surroundings, to -locate the Lost Mountain of Gold Fork. - -Left to themselves, the boys deposited the stores in one of the huts -that seemed to have a better roof than any of the rest. This had been -proved in the recent cloudburst, for some of the ruined buildings were -soaked, while the earthen floor of their choice seemed quite dry. Then -they set off with the bunch of weary animals. - -Sure enough, after leading their four-footed charges along the still -well defined if ancient trail, they presently arrived at the pasture. - -"Worth coming a long way to see such a curiosity," announced Lanky, -as they took saddles and bridles off the ponies and turned them into -the rock-surrounded enclosure one by one, to feed and rest. "Beats any -man-made corral I ever set eyes on, and so simple, too." - -"All we have to do now," Frank observed, after the last cayuse had -kicked up his heels and galloped off to join its mates, already eagerly -nibbling at the sweet green grass, "is to work these rocks into place -so they'll close the gap, and the bunch is safe from any stampede." - -"That wash over there, with the low bank," ventured Lanky, "must be -where some sort of stream passes through. The water would be cold as -ice, for it comes down from the mountain tops, where there's always -heaps of snow, summer and winter." - -A short time later the boys again found themselves in the decayed -mining camp, with its numerous wrecks of buildings, in which no man had -laid his head for more than a score of years, perhaps twice that. - -Filled with curiosity, the three boys started making the rounds. - -"Might as well see everything there is while we have the chance," Lanky -told his mates. "'Tisn't every day you can run across such a thrilling -sight as this. See the bats whirr out of that old shack, will you? -Must have picked it for a place to hang their tired old bodies, after -swinging around the circle all night long." - -When the lads peeped cautiously in through the opening which a rotten -door, hanging by its last rusty hinge, faded to shut entirely, it was -indeed a sight worth impressing on their minds. - -"Gee whiz!" barked Lanky, his eyes opening unusually wide. "See the -ugly things dangling there from every rafter, will you?" - -"Is _that_ the way bats sleep, hanging by their toes with their heads -downward?" exclaimed Paul, intensely interested. "What strange things -you often see when you haven't got a gun. I'll know now what they mean -when they say a fellow has 'bats in his belfry'!" - -"Let's have a peep-in at that old hotel," Lanky Wallace suggested. -"That may have sheltered more millionaires--in their mind's eye--than -ever any up-to-the-latest in New York City could claim." - -"Second the motion," quickly added Paul. - -"Lead me to it," Frank laughed, "for I was just going to put it up to -both of you." - -"Come on then," cried Lanky. - -Led by the tall boy, the three of them were speedily inside the -abandoned building, possibly once the pride of Gold Fork; but with now -not a shadow of its former grandeur remaining in its skeleton walls, -and the shaky stairs leading to unseen upper regions. - -"Huh! a peach of a place this would be for us to camp out in," Lanky -remarked, as they started to look things over. - -"Wow! I hope you don't try it," Paul cried out. "I'm dead certain it's -just swarming with rats!" - -"Say," demanded Lanky disdainfully, "what could the sillies find to -live on all these years since any meal was served in this dining room?" - -"Ask me something easy, Lanky," urged Paul. "But I'm sure there are -rats in plenty around, for I saw one--a monster, too, if as thin as a -rail--when I said what I did." - -"All I hope then," continued Lanky, with a shrug, "is that the varmints -don't swarm around our grub and clean us out. We'd have to live off the -country then, and eat all sorts of queer dishes--grizzly bear steaks, -coyote chops, prairie-dog stews, and such delicacies." - -"Let up, Lanky," urged Frank. "You know Paul's a bit squeamish about -his stomach, and you'll get him off his feed. Listen! What was that?" - -"Sounded like a horse neighing," said Lanky, looking startled. - -"I hear hoofs beating the rocks!" Frank ejaculated. "And I'd judge it -was a right big bunch of nags, to boot! We can't pass out of that door -because they're coming from that direction and heading right this way!" - -Paul turned his eyes on Frank, who, he realized, must solve the -problem. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -WHEN ZEKE CAME BACK - - -"The window at the rear!" Frank Allen instantly suggested. - -"I get you, Frank!" gasped the relieved Paul. - -"Great stuff!" was the energetic way Lanky agreed with the leader. - -The sound of many hoofbeats was coming closer, steadily, and what the -boys meant to do must be undertaken without wasting any more precious -seconds. - -"Follow me!" With the words the agile and energetic Lanky was already -half-way through the window. This had no sash, time having relieved it -of both glass and frames, leaving only an aperture in the wall. - -Frank pushed Paul forward, signifying that it was his intention to be -the last to quit the place, just as all captains of sinking vessels at -sea make sure everybody else has left before they will consent to step -into the last crowded boat that leaves before the foundering occurs. - -Once outside, the boys were quick to scurry in among some old junk and -scrambled rocks. This lay but a few feet away from the back of the -tavern, and offered excellent hiding places for them. - -Besides, what pleased Lanky considerably, they could doubtless overhear -any talk that came about. Yes, and even catch fleeting glimpses of the -new-comers, if so be they entered the old hotel. - -Another minute--less than that, even--and the boys were able to -congratulate themselves over their smartness in leaving in such a -hurry. The ponies came to a halt directly before the door of the former -hostelry. Throwing the lines over the heads of their mounts, cowboy -fashion, so that the animals would remain at a stand under all ordinary -conditions, the riders entered. - -Frank and his chums could hear loud and rough voices. - -"That was Nash Yesson who spoke then!" whispered Lanky in Paul's ear, -for they were all bunched close together on purpose, and had their ears -doing almost double duty in the endeavor to learn all they could. - -"It was Lef Seller he called down, too," observed Frank, with great -caution, for it would invite a ruction little short of a calamity if -those angry men discovered the boys crouching there and listening to -what went on. - -"I just glimpsed Lef," Lanky communicated in his softest tone; "and you -ought to see how bad he looks. He's had nothing but hard knocks ever -since he ran up against that Yesson. The tough boys over at Double Z -Ranch must have rubbed it in hard, too." - -"He's only getting what he deserves," Paul muttered, half to himself, -thinking of the base duplicity and deceit toward his own father Lef had -been guilty of. - -"'Sh! Let's listen for all we're worth, and perhaps we'll pick up some -news," suggested Frank, who disapproved of all this whispering that was -taking place. - -He himself had taken several cautious looks, and had learned that -besides Lef Seller and Nash Yesson there were four other persons in the -crowd that had entered the forsaken tavern. - -"That queer fish with the body of a runt and the head of a giant seems -to answer to the name of Rick Muddy," Frank told himself. "The name -about fits his crooked body, I'd say. Those other three tough-looking -citizens must hang up their hats at the Double Z when they're at home, -for they've got the make-up of cow-punchers, heavily armed, and out for -business." - -One of these men he heard called Malachi and another Zeke, but the -third one's name was never made known. - -Nash Yesson was not knuckling down to anybody, it appeared, from the -way he turned from one to another with snarls and hard language. -Continual disappointments while on the way to Rockspur Ranch and -afterwards had roiled him unmercifully, so that, as Lanky afterwards -expressed it in his customary picturesque language "the man was like a -bear with a sore head." - -"And as for you, Rick Muddy," the boys could hear Yesson pouring out -his wrath upon the head of the pudgy chap, "even after you'd been given -complete directions you had to go and fizzle the worst kind. Why, those -kids got the better of you and grabbed the second chart after you'd -nearly dug it up! You're a rank failure and ought to be kicked out of -camp for being such a gink." - -"I own up they bamboozled me some," grumbled the small man. "But other -dubs livin' in glass houses oughtn't to throw stones." - -"What d'you mean by that, you fool?" gritted Yesson threateningly. - -"Only that you done the same stuff when you nearly had that first -map," retorted the other, probably relying on the fact that the three -hard-riding cow-punchers were pals of his and would not see him -knocked down by Yesson. "If you'd jumped your claim then we'd be all -fixed right now to walk in on that nugget cache! Ain't that so boys?" - -"It sure is," replied the tallest of the wranglers in a voice that -rumbled like the sound of approaching thunder. "But all bets are off, -and we don't want to eat each other up for nothin'. When we grab what -we've got hidden here, we'll be fixed so's to start off fresh again and -locate that Lost Mountain." - -"That's the stuff!" chanted the fellow answering to the name of -Malachi. "What Zeke here managed to pick up from that wrinkled old -Indian squaw ought to help us find the cave. And once we get our paws -on the jack, we'll fight anybody to the death who tries to pry it away -from us." - -"You said it, Malachi!" retorted Nash Yesson grimly. "I've been -stalkin' that nugget claim too long now to show the white feather to -a dozen pikers who are tryin' to chase me off the trail. We're close -to it right now, and if those other guys come walkin' up to close the -deal, why, here's six little boys ready to say 'hands up, gents!'" - -This was all heard by the eagerly listening boys, concealed so close -at hand. Very interesting it all sounded, too; although Frank did not -see that they were really adding to their stock of information, except -that they knew now the number of those who opposed their aims and -to what infamous ends Yesson and his companions were ready to go to -further their schemes. - -"Then let's clear out and get busy," suggested Malachi, who seemed to -be an aggressive type of fellow. "Get busy, Rick Muddy, an' hustle that -stock of grub along, to load on your cayuse, you bein' the lightest -built in the whole bunch." - -This told the story. It was these men who had visited the deserted -mining camp shortly before Mr. Wallace and his prospecting party -reached Gold Fork. Frank had already discounted this fact. Indeed, he -had reached that decision at the time he first discovered the marks of -hoofs along the upper canyon. - -The small man with the big head showed no sign of disobeying orders. -Undoubtedly he knew Malachi's bad qualities, and did not dare rebel. - -So the peeping boys in the junk heap among the friendly rocks watched -the men carry forth some packages. These undoubtedly contained their -store of food to carry them over during their stay in that unalluring -vicinity. - -When the clatter of hoofs finally announced the men had indeed gone, -every boy from Frank down breathed a sigh of relief and they came out -of hiding. - -"A rough crowd, take it from me!" exclaimed Lanky Wallace. - -"Are you sure they're all gone?" asked nervous Paul Bird. - -Lanky chuckled. - -"What do you take me for, Paul--a bonehead?" he asked. "Sure, I counted -'em as they rode off, and there were six in the lot. From the way that -ugly-looking Zeke turned and looked back several times, I kind of -imagined he had some scheme in view that he was half tempted to pull -off." - -"Good riddance then to bad rubbish," Paul remarked, showing by his -manner that he had feared there might be a discovery made, when the -results would hardly have been pleasant for the boys from Rockspur -Ranch. - -"Lucky for us we hid our stores and took the ponies off to pasture," -Frank observed, as they re-entered the deserted hotel. "If they'd seen -the bunch it would have been good-bye to our chances for riding back -home. As it is, they've seen nothing to tell them that the Wallace -treasure-hunters are already on the ground and ready to follow their -noses to Josh Kinney's lost claim." - -"Why, look here!" burst out Paul just then. "What's this mean?" - -He was holding some object up gingerly. It turned out to be a cowboy -hat, once a beautiful Stetson, but now horribly shabby, as though it -must have seen several years' hard usage. - -Both Lanky and Frank experienced fresh interest. - -"Say, that wasn't on this old three-legged table when we came into this -place!" exclaimed Lanky, frowning, as he took the article in his own -hands, and turned it around. - -"I wondered," Frank broke in, "when I noticed that the big, -ugly-looking puncher called Zeke was riding off bare-headed. Still, -I've seen Lige Smith, yes, and Hoptoad Atkins, go off on the range with -bare heads, and the sun scorching hot. But then they both have thick -hair, while Zeke--well, if he wasn't as close to being bald-headed as -any cowboy could be, I'm mistaken." - -"I'd say it was a bum go he forgot his hat," ventured Paul. - -"Perhaps he didn't!" Lanky told him. - -"But here's his old hat, and Frank just said the man rode off -bare-headed! What can you mean by saying that, Lanky?" - -"To get you guessing, Paul," chirped the satisfied Lanky. "What I had -in mind was that maybe Zeke left his lid here on purpose." - -"Now you're balling me all up again!" complained Paul. - -"Didn't you hear me say the man kept looking around as he rode off with -his pals, just as if he had half a notion to turn and come back? Well, -I reckon Zeke's a cute one, and has set up the pins in his alley so he -can knock 'em down with his first roller and make a clean sweep!" - -"Do you mean," asked Paul, "that he actually means to come galloping -back here for some reason or other and has left his hat behind so's to -make some sort of excuse for leaving his mates?" - -"Listen!" - -As Lanky hissed that emphatic word the other boys strained their ears -to catch any sound. Clearly on the gentle breeze that chanced to be -blowing came the unmistakable pounding of a pony's hoofs on the rocks! - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE UNSEEN WATCHERS - - -There was a concerted rush to the window situated on that side of the -building toward which the oncoming rider seemed to be heading. - -"Careful!" warned Frank hastily. "He may be looking ahead and see us!" - -What he said caused both the others to drop down to the floor and crawl -forward until they could look out. This was easily done, for the reason -that not a single pane of glass remained in any sash. - -"I see him just dropping down into that little hollow!" snapped the -keen-eyed Lanky almost instantly. - -"Was it Zeke?" asked Paul, in palpitating tones. - -"Sure was," came the reply. "Leastways, I glimpsed a shiny bald head, -and as Frank observed he owned to such." - -"Then we'd better be getting back to our hiding place in that clump of -rocks, hadn't we?" Paul continued. - -"Can't be done! He's coming from that quarter, you notice, and the -chances are we'd be seen," Lanky informed him. - -"The door, then! Could we risk that?" demanded the other. - -Frank shook his head in the negative. - -"Before we could get under shelter he'd be up out of that hollow and -have a square open stretch ahead. We've just got to stick to the -rookery here, that's all." - -"Hide, you mean, Frank?" - -"Yes, Paul," came the ready answer, as Frank looked hurriedly around, -up and down, and then went on to say: "There may be a cellar under the -tumble-down hotel, but so far we haven't seen anything of it." - -"What's wrong with our skipping up-stairs and lying low?" Lanky wanted -to know. - -"Our only chance, boys!" jerked out Frank. - -"Go to it then, fellows!" said Lanky, acting as if he meant to make a -mad dive for the stairs, and go up helter-skelter. But Frank caught him -by the arm. - -"Slow and sure, Lanky!" came the warning. "Take things easy! Plenty of -time to get there! If we all went in a mob those ricketty stairs would -probably come down with a smash and dump us in a heap. You go first, -Lanky, then Paul, and I'll bring up the rear." - -"I'm game for anything, even a fight!" retorted the tall boy, as he put -his foot on the first step and started upward. - -Paul was listening. The hoofbeats sounded much closer than before, as -if Zeke continued to make good progress toward the old tavern. How -those stairs did wobble and creak and groan, even though Lanky was -trying to climb as softly as possible. - -Now he was at the top, and, beckoning for Paul to take his turn, Frank -stood waiting until he saw that the time had come for him to follow. It -was a queer feeling that gripped him as he felt the swaying movement -under his feet, such as one might expect to encounter on a crude -swinging grapevine bridge stretched across some torrent. - -He felt considerable satisfaction when he gained the landing above -without any accident spoiling the hastily conceived program. - -"Now let's get in the room over that big one below stairs," he -suggested, on the spur of the moment. - -"Good scheme, Frank!" whispered Lanky. "It's got open seams in the -floor, and we ought to be able to spy on Zeke. I'm curious to know what -did bring him back, after laying that lid of his on the table and not -seeming to notice he'd left it behind till the crowd had got some way -off. Here he comes!" - -A sharp hiss from Frank cut the garrulous one off. After that the -three boys lay there on the floor, hardly daring to stir, since the -slightest movement on any one's part caused the rotten boards to creak -and give ominously. - -They heard the pony come close to the door of the tavern, and then -caught the heavy thud of heels as the rider jumped off. It was Zeke, -just as they had expected. He came hurrying through the open door, -going directly to the three-legged table, to pick up his hat and slap -it on his bald head. - -At the same time the boys saw him half double-up, bring a hand down -with a slap on his knee, and laugh hoarsely. Evidently Zeke was pleased -with the success of this expedient that permitted him to gallop back to -the mining camp without arousing suspicion on the part of his mates. - -Eagerly the unseen watchers in the loft above kept their eyes glued -upon his every movement. Lanky, in particular, was filled with -curiosity to learn the reason for such queer actions on the part of the -gruff and tough-looking puncher. - -He moved about as though accomplishing something that had been on his -mind. Once Frank even saw him bend down and lift what seemed to be a -trapdoor in the rotten floor below. Zeke stared down into the cellar -there, and gave evidences of being considerably worked up. - -Frank made up his mind, on witnessing the man's grim face, that -whatever secret he had gripping his soul, it was connected with -something that lay hidden down in the cellar of the abandoned inn. - -They could hear him moving around after that, but he no longer came -within the radius of their vision; those cracks had served their -purpose fairly well, but there was a limit to their range. - -Lanky fussed a bit, moving restlessly, discontented because he could no -longer keep his eyes on the man. Frank almost feared his impetuous chum -might feel inclined to creep over to the head of the stairs, in the -hope of once more glimpsing Zeke and discovering what he was busy doing. - -To avoid the possibility of unpleasant consequences, Frank laid a -restraining hand on Lanky's arm. - -Just then they again caught a fleeting glimpse of the man, who was -heading toward the outer door. Evidently he had accomplished whatever -mission it was that had brought him hurrying back, and was now making -ready to gallop off. - -This caused the boys more or less satisfaction. While Zeke was below -there must always be a chance of discovery. If he had such a deep -interest in what happened to lie in the cellar, why should this concern -not go farther and cause him to start up-stairs? - -But the suspense was about over, now that he had commenced to take his -departure. Once again did the trio creep across the shaky floor to the -window, so as to watch his going. - -"There he is," whispered Lanky, breaking what had been a long and -agonizing silence for a boy who liked to hear himself talk as much as -he did. "Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest. So long, Zeke! -Your room is better'n your company!" - -"Hold on, Lanky," said Paul, very softly. "You're talking through your -hat, I'm afraid. He's stopped right over there, turned his pony, and is -sitting with one leg up over the pommel of his saddle, watching this -same old house like a hawk. Do you think he suspects we're around?" - -"Not on your life, Paul! I don't know why he keeps on sitting there, -and looking so mighty well satisfied with himself; but like as not it's -got something to do with his coming back." - -"He's got a rifle across his knee," continued Paul, "and you'd think he -was planning to throw a few bullets into this shack." - -"Oh, rats! Nothing like that is going to happen!" sneered Lanky, for -the horseman was far enough away to prevent their low voices from -reaching his ears. "He's just taking a last look at the rookery here, -that's all. - -"What sort of a crackling sound was that just then?" demanded Paul -suspiciously. - -"Didn't happen to catch anything. What did it sound like?" asked Lanky, -carelessly enough and continuing to watch the sitting Zeke. - -"Just like you'd started your cooking fire, Lanky. And say, I smell -smoke right now, I tell you!" - -"That settles the question of why he's hanging around so!" exclaimed -Frank. "He's set fire to this old hotel, and wants to see it blaze up!" - -"Gee, whiz, that makes it look bad!" ejaculated Lanky Wallace, as he -too grasped the serious dilemma by which they were now confronted. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -SEARCHING FOR LOST MOUNTAIN - - -If the three boys attempted to flee from the burning rookery they would -of course be discovered and possibly fired upon by that grim watcher. - -"Frank, do you reckon he guessed we were squatting up here and means to -give us a chance to be roasted?" asked the now thoroughly alarmed Paul, -not so capable of meeting trouble coolly, as Frank Allen had always -shown himself to be. - -"I hardly believe it's quite as bad as that," the other replied. "After -firing the shack, he's felt inclined to hold up and watch how his work -gets to moving." - -"Then you think he may skip out in time to let us drop out of a window -or slip down those ricketty stairs, do you?" - -"Let's hope so, anyhow, Paul." - -Lanky, however, was almost boiling over with poorly suppressed disgust. - -"Huh! does that Zeke think we're a bunch of Thanksgiving turkeys that -he starts a fire under our feet, which, given a little free scope is -going to make this place feel like a Dutch oven? I object to being -finished in such a cheap way." - -He moved his gun menacingly as he said this. - -"Do you mean you want to get a crack at Zeke, and tumble him off his -pony out there?" queried Paul. - -"Well, maybe it'd do the job just as well if I shot the cayuse -instead," Lanky suggested, drawing the line at taking human life, -something that so far in his existence he had never tried to do. - -"Hold your horses, Lanky," advised Frank. "He may be going in another -minute or two, and it'll be some little time before that blaze can -reach us. As a last resort, if all else fails, I'll agree to let you -shoot at Zeke to cripple him or his bronc so that he'll not be able to -ride away to warn Yesson, or, on the other hand, harm us here." - -Three minutes more passed. So worked up were Lanky Wallace and Paul -Bird that it seemed double that time to them. - -The fire downstairs was now roaring, and the eyes of the boys began to -smart because of the fumes of acrid smoke that ascended the open stairs. - -"Oh, bully! Bully! He's whirled his pony around and is going off on a -gallop!" announced Paul. - -"About time, if he wanted to save his bacon; because I'd have got a -bead on his pony in another minute," Lanky said in tones that breathed -both jubilation and threats. "Me for the window and a long jump!" - -"Take things coolly, Lanky," came from Frank. "You may break a leg if -you go over in a hurry. The fire hasn't done much on this side of the -house so far, and we can take our own time in getting down. Since the -stairs are all ablaze, of course our only road is by way of the window. -Here's a rope on this old bed mattress. If it's strong enough we can -make good use of it." - -A test proved this to be a fact, so Frank insisted that Paul go first, -to be followed by Lanky Wallace. Then he himself left the room. His -last glimpse of the interior of the upper story of the doomed hotel -showed him that hungry tongues of flame were beginning to flash through -the open doorway, as though reaching out for victims. - -Once safely on the ground, the boys moved back, since the heat of the -burning structure made it uncomfortable. - -"Bully bonfire, all right!" declared Lanky. "Wonder if it's bound to -tackle any of these other ghosts of shacks and clean off the whole of -Gold Fork?" - -"Let's hope not," Frank told him. "If there's any danger that way, -we've got to get busy and hustle our stores out of the cabin where we -hid the lot." - -"You said something that time, Frank," declared Lanky. "After all, I'm -not hankering for a diet of grizzly bear steaks, wolf chops, or gopher -hash," and he looked at Paul with a sparkle in his eyes. - -"Lanky," put in Frank, "you do love to stuff any gullible comrade, -whenever the opportunity arises." - -It turned out that fortune favored the boys in some ways. First of all, -there was an utter absence of wind, so that the fire did not sweep -wildly out toward the other dry and flimsy structures. Then again the -recent downpour, called by Jerry a cloudburst, had thoroughly saturated -the shacks. - -Some three of those nearest the former hotel did succumb to the -tremendous heat and burst into blaze but the boys saw they could not -in turn communicate with the adjoining ones, since a wide space came -between, over which the flames could not possibly jump unless a wind -arose, something very unlikely to happen. - -"Reckon that smoke will bring our folks back hot-footed," Lanky -suggested, watching the billowing volumes soaring straight upward just -before the utter collapse of the once busy hotel. - -"They'll be all balled up trying to guess what's happened here at the -mining camp," added Paul. - -It came to pass that such was the case. Something like an hour -afterwards Mr. Wallace and his two companions were seen coming on a -run, and looking more than anxious. - -"No harm done, Dad!" called out Lanky, to relieve his father's mind. - -"How did that fire start, son?" asked the other, looking dubiously at -Lanky, who, however, shook his head vigorously as he replied: - -"Not this time, Dad! It happened to be a man going by the name of -Zeke--don't know the rest, because we didn't hear it mentioned." - -"Zeke Spavin, I'd judge," put in Zander Forbes. "Was he a big -brutish-looking fellow with a shiny bald top-piece?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, he belongs over with the Double Z outfit. Tell us what you've -run across since we pulled out." - -The story was soon told, and the boys found themselves praised for -having handled a delicate situation so cleverly. - -"What do you reckon, Zander," asked the curious and wondering Lanky, -"that big gump had hidden down there in the cellar of the old hotel -that he wanted burned forever from any prying eyes?" - -The puncher squinted his eyes and frowned before giving his opinion. - -"Course, I don't know for sure, and I wouldn't be bothered digging in -the ashes of this shack just to satisfy my curiosity. But as Jerry -here will remember, some years ago there was talk around this section -to the effect that Zeke Spavin had made way with another puncher named -Hick Davis." - -"They was seen together jest before Hick he disappeared," Jerry took up -the tale; "an' a heap of us allers did b'lieve Zeke an' his pal must -hev hed words, went firin' mad, clinched, an' thet Hick he got his. -Mebbe now Zeke, bein' clost to this hyah place, done buried his man in -the cellar o' the hotel thar." - -"That would seem to explain his scared way of looking down into the -cellar through the trapdoor in the floor," Frank observed. "And -thinking he'd have an easier mind if all evidence was destroyed, the -notion to burn down the hotel came to him. That was why he left his hat -behind." - -"What luck did you have, Dad? Found that Lost Mountain, I hope," said -Lanky, after some further talk about the fire. - -"I'm sorry to say we didn't meet with much success, son. But we've -decided to go on a new track to-morrow, and hope for better luck." - -They found a good place to make camp, avoiding the vicinity of the -deserted town, lest their enemies return on some account and give them -trouble. The ponies were not forgotten, and both Mr. Wallace and Zander -admitted that Jerry's natural corral was the finest freak of nature -they had ever seen. - -Another day dawned, and once more the three men set out. It was a long -day to the boys. Lanky put in a portion of his time in fishing for -trout in a noisy stream of icy water that ran down the mountainside not -far away. - -When he came back about noon he carried a string of the fattest and -freshest speckled trout Frank and Paul had ever seen. - -"Game fighters, every one of 'em, in the bargain!" declared the -fisherman. "You must go along with me this afternoon, boys, and we'll -lay in enough to feed the whole bunch." - -This they did, and with such success that the memory of that day's -sport would remain with the young sportsmen as a fragrant memory. - -"We sure must ask permission to get busy ourselves to-morrow," said -Lanky, as they once more made camp. "If the men are knocked out -again to-day it'd be only fair to give us a chance to best them. -Our vacation's getting along, and soon we'll be on our way back to -Columbia, to spend the rest of this blooming summer." - -When Mr. Wallace listened to the appeal from Lanky, he agreed that -since the three chums had had so much to do with finding the two maps -and advancing the spark of their common cause, it should be as they -wished. - -Paul, however, was to be grievously disappointed, for his ankle, which -he had sprained on first coming to Rockspur Ranch, began to trouble him -again. - -"Hard luck, Paul," Frank told him, on taking a look at the painful -joint. "You've gone and knocked that ankle against a root or a rock, -and if you're wise you'll lay low for a couple of days." - -So when the others started forth with fair hopes of accomplishing -something worth while, poor Paul was left to tend camp. - -"Be sure and make your way up to the corral along toward noon," Lanky -told him: "so as to see that our ponies are O.K.--that is, if your -ankle lets you limp that far." - -"No trouble about it, I guess," returned the chagrined Paul, who -naturally did not like to be left behind when his chums were going to -be in harness and do some exploring. - -"Cook yourself a fat lunch, too," advised Lanky, feeling sorry for the -disappointed boy. "It'll help pass the hours away. At most, we expect -to show up some time before sundown. By-by! Keep an eye out for those -tough men, though I don't believe they mean to return here for days, if -ever." - -So Frank and Lanky went off, never dreaming that they were fated to -pass through another wonderful experience before again setting eyes on -the chum they left behind. - -Lanky and Frank learned just where the others had done most of their -looking for the so-called Lost Mountain, in the depths of which, they -understood, was the five-fingered cave that Josh Kinney used to visit -regularly, to replenish his depleted treasury by a fresh haul from his -deposit of gold nuggets. - -Before leaving the camp Lanky and Frank, between them, had laid out a -plan of campaign. Following this they now set off on a tangent with the -course taken a short time before by Mr. Wallace, Jerry Brime and Zander -Forbes. - -"We'll try out our scheme," Lanky declared later on, as they continued -to walk along; "and then if it fails to bring results, why, to-morrow -we can skirmish over in the region they've been combing day after day." - -The morning passed, and so far the boys had not run across a single -thing to give them encouragement. - -"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," observed Frank. - -"Let's swing more to the left, along this dip in the mountain," -suggested Lanky. "Then we'll be gradually getting back to camp, and at -the same time nearing the region where dad and his gang are working. - -"It's mighty wild and leery looking over in that quarter," observed -Frank. "Looks to me as though Nature had tried to turn things upside -down many a time, in days long passed. Been landslides, too, that have -changed the whole face of the country, carrying acres of trees and -rocks down the mountain." - -"That's one reason," observed the other eagerly, "I want to hunt there -for the Lost Mountain which, you know, we decided was only a big mound. -Remember, we figured it out from certain marks on the map that they -stood for landslides? Let's go, Frank." - -"A snack first, for I'm hungry, and then we're off," came the reply. - -"All right. I've never yet declined to eat," laughed Lanky. - -The boys found that the going became more difficult as one hour, and -then two hours crept past. Still Lanky seemed to be growing more and -more confident. - -"Let me tell you, Frank!" he said later on. "Right now I firmly believe -we're a whole lot closer to Lost Mountain than dad has ever been in -three days' search. Why, any one of the several big humps we've run -across might turn out to be the seat of Kinney's find." - -"But, somehow," interjected Frank, who had been gazing anxiously -heavenward, "I don't like the looks of the sky with all those black -wind clouds scudding up so fast. We are bound to get some kind of a -gale before a great while." - -"Shucks! it may be only a wind storm," jeered Lanky. - -"Maybe. But a wind storm can do as much harm sometimes as anything on -this earth." - -Five minutes afterwards an ominous roaring sound that chilled the -blood in their veins came to their ears. The roaring grew in depth and -intensity. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE AVALANCHE - - -"What's coming down on us, Frank?" Lanky called out in a voice filled -with apprehension, as the roaring sound rapidly grew more and more -terrible. - -"I don't know," came the reply. "Something we've never run up against -before, I take it!" - -"An earthquake?" - -"Hardly that, Lanky. So far we haven't felt any movement to the -mountain here. That wind, though, is whipping things something fierce. -See that big branch of a cedar tree going off like a balloon! It's -more like a cyclone than anything else, but I never heard of them in a -mountain district." - -"Grab hold of something!" bellowed Lanky, alarmed by the growing -darkness and the wild clamor. "Did you ever see such a country for -big things happening--first a cloudburst, and now--this whooper of a -tornado!" - -"I'm bothered most about something else," admitted Frank, though he had -to say it in the ear of his chum to make himself heard. - -"What is it, Frank?" - -"A landslide!" came back, to make Lanky shiver afresh. - -"Great Cæsar's ghost! do you reckon we're going to be caught by a slip -of the mountain side, Frank?" - -"I hope not, Lanky. But we're unfortunate to be in the path of that -kind of turnover." - -"Humph, I always said I'd be willing to try anything _once_," Lanky -admitted, as if in contrition. "But say, I draw the line at getting in -the path of a slide that could bury a whole town like Columbia. Frank, -can't we do something to better our chances?" - -"How?" demanded the other, a bit confused himself. - -"Run for second base, and slide!" bellowed Lanky, who used this -figurative language without intending any levity in the least, but -because it came handiest to the tongue of a baseball enthusiast. - -"If we only knew where the old thing was apt to come whooping down, -Lanky, we might take a chance. But for all we can tell, it's as safe -right here as anywhere else." - -"Guess that's so," agreed the distressed Lanky. "But, shucks, it's hard -lines to just hang around and wait to see whether you stick or get a -free ride atop an avalanche!" - -Nevertheless, there was absolutely nothing else for them to do. Indeed, -the wind storm was by this time so frightful that had the boys -attempted to move along the side of the steep mountain they were apt to -be snatched up and carried away like thistle-down on a summer's breeze. - -"Gettin' worse and worse!" called out Lanky, a few minutes after the -decision had been made to stay where they were and try to "duck" in -case they were given any warning of the coming of a great slide. - -From one particular quarter they now heard a dreadful confusion of -noises that in Frank's mind could mean only one thing. There were also -distinct vibrations of the rocks underfoot that convinced him of the -truth. - -"That's caused by a slide somewhere over to the right," he told Lanky, -who was clutching a near-by tree in order to keep from being blown away. - -"Don't see anything of it, Frank, do you?" - -"Air's filled with all sorts of things--dead leaves, branches ripped -from pinon and oak trees, all whirling around like mad," called back -Frank. "But it's over that way, I'm sure." - -"I'm glad it's gone past and didn't touch us out between the bases," -cried Lanky. "Do you think that wind's letting up any?" - -"Not a bit! Getting stronger, if anything! Worst's yet to come, I'm -afraid, Lanky." - -"Wow, that's tough luck!" shouted the other at the same time trying -to brace himself so as to seem like his old self, ready to snap his -fingers at trouble and grin in the face of big odds. "Wonder if we'll -pull through alive, Frank?" - -"Don't talk that way!" he heard his comrade shout, as the gale howled -and the mountain continued to tremble under the shock of thousands of -tons of rock and earth and undermined trees. "We'll set our teeth and -do our level best. Nobody on earth could do more!" - -"You said something that time, Frank! But, gee whiz, it's _awful_!" - -The boys crouched there and waited, clinging to a hope that the -avalanche they had heard crashing down the side of the mountain not -half a mile away would be the only slip accompanying that storm. - -Under most circumstances they could have done something to better their -condition; but such was not the case now. Frank felt like a grain of -sand on the seashore when confronting such convulsions. Earthquakes -and the eruptions of vast volcanoes are the most terrible of all the -convulsions of nature; and before them the bravest shrink, unable to -cope with such colossal happenings. - -Minutes appeared like hours to the two cowering lads. Their hearts -seemed to jump into their throats at every fresh outburst of the -warring elements, as though they feared the end had come, and they -would never again see the loved ones far away in the old home town. - -"Don't believe I can stand this much longer, Frank!" complained Lanky. -At the same time he realized how foolish it was to say such a thing, -when so absolutely helpless to better conditions. - -"Get a fresh grip on yourself, Lanky!" was all the other could say to -comfort the shivering one, for Frank was far from feeling confident as -to the outcome of their new and dreadful adventure. - -"It's coming again, Frank!" shrieked Lanky a short time afterwards, as -once more the side of the mountain commenced to tremble under their -feet. - -"Seems so," Frank, between stiff lips. "Keep a grip on yourself, Lanky. -It will pass. I guess we'll pull through all right." - -There is nothing more apt to carry a feeling of panic to the human -heart than to feel the solid earth, which all his life he had deemed -staple, quiver and writhe as if in agony. Small wonder then that -stout-hearted Lanky Wallace found himself gripped with increasing fear. - -Frank caught hold of his chum's arm. He knew that the touch of -reassuring fingers was more apt to steady Lanky than any cheering words -he might utter. Besides, talking under such appalling conditions was -anything but an easy thing. - -This second tremor also passed off, and again the two young -prospectors found themselves safe. Lanky began to recover a part of his -customary assurance. - -"If only that's the wind-up of these slides, then everything'll look -bright again," he called out. "Oh, Frank, there sure is a break in -those black clouds nearly overhead, for I caught a glimpse of sunlight!" - -"Yes, that's so," replied his chum, and then adding hurriedly: "Hold -tight, Lanky, for here's where we get ours!" - -The grinding noise came on once more, closer, more dreadful than ever, -and the boys reeled like drunken men and held their breath with awe. -Wildly did the side of the great mountain, home of slides, tremble -and writhe. Above them the lads could hear the deafening noise of the -oncoming mass of dislodged material, rushing down to find rest far -below amidst the remnants of former similar catastrophes. - -It seemed as though all creation must be in eruption, with massive -rocks piling over each other and racing down the slide. - -Lanky, completely overcome, fell down on his hands and knees as though -exhausted and hopeless. For an indefinite space of time he felt himself -moving, at first swiftly downward, then with diminished speed. - -Then things came to an abrupt stop--and he was still alive! - -The movement of the slipping mountain had ceased as suddenly as it had -begun. Even the wild howling wind had discontinued, as though the wand -of some magician had subdued its fierce clamor. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -IN LUCK AGAIN - - -"Frank! Oh, Frank!" - -No longer did Lanky feel that sickening sensation in the pit of his -stomach at having the solid ground underfoot heaving and grumbling. So, -almost unconsciously, he had shrieked out that one word--the name of -his faithful chum, on whose arm he had come to lean as though it were -indeed a tower of strength. - -"I'm here close by you, Lanky!" he heard. - -"But you're not badly hurt, I hope, Frank?" burst out the other, a new -anxiety discernible in his quavering voice. - -"Nothing to cripple me--a few bruises, and such things. How about you?" - -"Not saying a word, I'm so tickled to be alive. The bumps I got were -just gentle taps to what I might have picked up, if only we hadn't been -just on the outer edge of the slide." - -When once more they came in contact the grateful boys shook hands in -mutual congratulation. - -"As near a miracle as ever I expect to run across, that's right," Lanky -asserted. "And, Frank, the wind storm that started all this business -going has petered out." - -It was indeed a fact, for no longer did the boys catch that roaring -series of noises as the storm rushed over the mountains. The black -clouds hid the heavens, however, and made such a pall that it was -almost dark around them. - -"Let's try to have a look-in," suggested the once-more eager Lanky. -"We'll see what sort of new stamping ground we've lit on after our run -down on the avalanche." - -All about them great masses of rock and trees that had come down from -above, were piled up in confused heaps, with strange looking gullies -lying between that Lanky started to call coulees, after the Western way. - -"One thing's sure," said Frank, after they had climbed around for a -short time, with more or less difficulty; "we're not going to get back -to camp this night. As darkness comes on it would be foolish for us to -keep moving about in this wilderness of upturned things." - -"I reckon you told the truth when you said that," admitted the other, -grasping the still serious nature of their predicament. "Why, we might -start another slide on the jump! Some of these boulders seem to be set -on a pivot and the least shove would set 'em rolling, knocking others -off their perch, and--Frank! what's that long split off there that -looks as if the face of the rocks had been burst open?" - -"Just what happened here, Lanky; but not with this slide. It might be -a thousand, or ten thousand, years ago when that big fissure was made. -Let's crawl over that way and investigate." - -"Well, I'm going to be prepared for anything," ventured the other. "I -want to say that we were some lucky not to lose our guns when coming -down on that toboggan slide. Sometimes these black-looking caves are -dens for wild animals." - -"All right," said Frank quickly. "Keep on your guard, then. But you -mustn't forget we're out skirmishing for a cave; and on that account we -ought to look this one over." - -A brief investigation convinced the two boys that it was too big an -undertaking for them to handle that afternoon. - -"This is as good a place for us to camp in as any," suggested Frank. -"If we're of the same mind in the morning, why, we'll put in some work -here. I don't know just why I should feel that way, but some sort of -hunch seems to tell me we'll find something worth our while if we go -far enough." - -"Wow! but it's as black as my pocket inside there, Frank." As he said -this Lanky, on hands and knees, was staring past the guardian jaws of -rock into the ugly looking fissure. - -"That's why we'll have to wait for morning before we try to explore -what lies inside the mountain," replied Frank. - -"You mean we'll have to lay in some torches, so as to see our way--is -that the idea, Frank?" - -"A whole lot of faggots that will burn, but not too fast," the other -answered, having already mapped out this part of the scheme. "You can -understand what a pickle we'd be up against, wandering around in an -unknown cavern with our last torch flickering to its wind-up." - -"That would be tough, I own up, Frank; I hope it doesn't come along. -But we sure do seem to get our feet in a heap of stirring happenings. -It's like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with us these -days. But say, when do we eat, I'd like to know?" - -Frank chuckled as he went on to say: - -"Finished the last crumb of our lunch at noon, you remember." At the -words his companion in trouble emitted a groan and began to rub the pit -of his stomach sympathetically. "But wait till you hear how manna seems -to come down to us, as it did to the Children of Israel in the Arabian -desert long years ago. Look over yonder, Lanky. What do you see, boy? -Tell me!" - -Lanky looked, started, and rubbed his eyes, half suspecting that he -must be "seeing things" that had no actual foundation. - -"Frank-- Why, say, it er--looks like a deer!" he exclaimed. - -"It is a deer--caught in the big jam and killed clean by that rock -covering its head. A young buck in the bargain, I'd say, and just -begging to be cut into slices for two hungry fellows' supper." - -"Lead me to it, Frank!" ejaculated Lanky, as he drew his hunting-knife. -"Talk to me about favorites of fortune, we're sure the luckiest fellows -west of the old Mississippi. Venison for supper--plenty of it for a -whole week--and thrown in front of us like that!" snapping his fingers. -"Whoopee! what's the use worrying when things come tumbling along by -themselves?" - -So the two boys settled down to making camp then and there. Frank -started his fire, with a vast abundance of fine fuel to be had for the -picking up, while Lanky undertook to skin the deer. He then cut off -steak and chops until Frank warned him they were only two in the mess, -and not a whole regiment. - -As evening drew near they sat down to enjoy a fine spread, cooked -in genuine hunters' style, with no limit to anything save their own -capacity. - -The sky cleared as they sat there, and it was difficult for them to -realize that only a few hours before all nature seemed to be reeling -and rocking and being turned upside-down in a vast convulsion. - -Morning arrived, and after a good breakfast they cooked quite a lot -of the venison, to carry along with them in their exploration of the -promising cave back of the jaws of the wide fissure. - -Next they fashioned a pile of inflammable torches by the aid of Lanky's -handy little camp hatchet, which he always carried attached to his belt -and had often found valuable for use in emergencies like the present. - -"All ready, Frank! Let's get a move on!" announced the impatient one, -as he bound a large share of the torches to his back, picked up his -gun, and awaited the word to make the plunge. - -One torch at a time was all they intended to use, since it would give -enough illumination for their purpose and almost double the capacity of -their stock in hand. - -"Fills the bill like fun," announced Lanky, after Frank had succeeded -in lighting a billet of dry wood, the flare really illuminating the -walled-in space between the rocky barriers. "Now to find out if this is -going to lead two plucky prospectors to the corn-crib where they'll get -their fill." - -As the boys proceeded it became evident the strange fissure in the side -of the rocky mountain was but a "breathing space," as Lanky called it, -for much more wonderful things hidden further in the underground depths. - -Sometimes Frank held the blazing torch, and then when a fresh one -happened to be needed it would be Lanky who gripped it. - -Several times they feared they had come upon the end of the passage. -In each instance, however, a fresh way to continue was found, even -though it was necessary for them to get down flat and wriggle along in -snake-like fashion. - -"Huh! we'll remember this last crawl as 'Fat Man's Misery,'" Lanky -granted, after negotiating the difficult place successfully. - -"It's got me guessing where we'll be apt to come out, what with all -this twisting and turning," observed Frank, still later on, as they -found themselves looking upon a capacious cavern, with a lofty ceiling -where stalactites hung like immense icicles. - -"And it's bothering me," spoke up Lanky, "how we could find any outlet -at all, if our supply of torches or matches should give out. What with -all this hard work, I'm as thirsty as--Frank, we made a foozle play -after all!" - -"Forgot to fetch any water along--that's a fact," admitted the other, -realizing the mistake when it was too late to remedy it. Then, on -second thought, he continued: "After all, we hadn't even a canteen -to hold any supply. Besides, I reckon there's aplenty dripping from -these stalactites and trickling down the walls. It ought to quench our -thirst." - -Lanky tried the plan and found there was no taste to the cold water, -though it certainly must contain more or less lime, to make those odd -formations. - -They had left this monster cavern and were passing along another chain -of queer-shaped pockets, all connected, when Lanky, who held the torch, -came to a sudden pause, so that Frank bumped into him. - -"What's the matter?" demanded Frank. - -"I glimpsed a pair of yellow eyes ahead! And listen to the growling, -will you?" gasped Lanky. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -AN ENDLESS CAVERN CHAIN - - -"I see what you mean, Lanky, and hear the growling to boot!" exclaimed -Frank Allen. - -"Some sort of wild creature makes its den in these caves!" ejaculated -Lanky. "Maybe it's a wolf, or else a big cat! It might even be a -mountain lion." - -"We can't do anything but make a stab at guessing," Frank told him. -"One thing is certain--we've either got to turn tail and quit, or -else----" - -"Plug it!" snapped Lanky decidedly. "Here, Frank, hold my light so I -can kneel down and sight between those twin yellow spots." - -"It's a risky thing to do, Lanky. But, for one, I don't want to go back -like a whipped cur, just because of a lone cat! Wait a minute! I've got -an idea that may pay." - -He took the burning torch and started to fix one end in a crevice about -six feet up from the rocky floor. - -"Bully for you, Frank! I get you," cried Lanky, grasping the idea in -a flash. "Two guns ought to make surer work of the spitter than one. -Now, count three when you've got your aim, and we'll fire together." - -At the word both reports rang out with a deafening concussion echoing -and re-echoing along the passage. There was no attack, but the boys, -as they pumped another cartridge into each gun chamber, could detect a -strange shuffling noise. Then all became deathly still again. - -"Huh! got him that time, all right!" said Lanky triumphantly. - -While he took the torch and started forward, cautious Frank held his -gun in readiness for immediate work. But there was no need of another -shot, for they found a wolf of unusual size lying where it had fallen. - -"I'm sorry we had to do it," remarked Frank, "because it's a mother -wolf, and like as not she's got a litter of whelps somewhere around -here. If so be we happen to run across the bunch we'll have to knock -them on the head, because they'll starve to death with the mother gone." - -As the boys ran across no sign of the wolf's den, however, it was -concluded she must have had it in one of the numerous squatty side -passages they had encountered every little while. These they could not -have searched even had they wished, as they were too low to admit of -their crawling through, though a wolf might be easily able to do so. - -Twice they fancied they had been in certain caverns before, because of -familiar signs. So to avoid repetitions, they took to marking their -passage and seeking fresh avenues for making progress. - -Hours passed in this way. - -Their stock of torch-wood was commencing to lower, and Frank began -to wonder if they would not display wisdom by discontinuing the -exploration of those bewildering caverns until the others of the party -could join in the work. - -But there was so much fascination connected with the possibility of -running upon what they sought at any moment, that he allowed himself to -consent to Lanky's eager plea to "go on just a little further." Lanky, -on his part, felt absolutely certain that they must be close to that -mysterious five-fingered cave so plainly marked on the chart and would -stumble on it soon. - -"We've got to eat sparingly of this cooked meat," advised Frank, as -they sat on a broken stalactite that had fallen from the roof and -partook of a "snack," their stomachs having been calling for food for -some time. - -"Say," breezed Lanky, his mouth full of cold venison, "that sounds as -if you might expect to be marooned down here in all these twists and -turns and big vaulted halls for a whole week!" - -"You never can tell," was the rather noncommittal answer he received. -"Better to make it last two whole days, even if we have to keep on -short rations, than to gobble the last scrap and then go hungry." - -"Oh, rats, Frank! Something seems to tell me we've reached the end of -our hard luck and are nearly ready to fall in with our own at last. -Anyway, let's find one more big cave, if not more; and after that when -you say the word we'll throw up the sponge. But only for a time! I'm -bound to light on that five-fingered cave, if I keep searching all the -rest of the summer." - -So they went along for another stretch of time. Finally Frank came to a -sudden halt. - -"Anything doing?" snapped his mate, bringing his gun up and peering -earnestly into the half gloom lying beyond. - -"Only that I'm about all in, and we both need rest after all we've gone -through lately," Frank told him decisively. - -"Just as you say, Frank," Lanky agreed. To tell the truth his own knees -were shaky from so much crawling and bending down, in negotiating many -of the low and sinuous passages. - -"We're coming to another cave, I imagine from the way things run, -Lanky, and no matter what it looks like, we'll manage to get some rest. -While we sleep we'll be saving our stock of torches. After we've got -back our strength will be time enough to think of finding some sort of -outlet to this queer old rambling underground place that makes me think -of what I've read about those catacombs under the city of Rome." - -"Sounds as though you didn't want to go back over our course and make -use of that same crevice for an exit, Frank." - -"As the cook says," Frank told him, with a little laugh, "when giving -directions for stewing a rabbit: 'First get your rabbit!' That's the -prime thing. With us it would mean find the crevice once more." - -Lanky whistled on hearing Frank say that. - -"I opine from the way you talk," he observed, "that you don't bank much -on our chances for doing that!" - -"Well, to begin with, Lanky, we've used two-thirds of our stock of -fire-sticks up coming here, and long before we could make that crevice -again we'd be groping in pitch darkness, also in danger of falling down -one of the precipices we've been avoiding." - -"Wow! that's tough luck I'd say, Frank! I've been so bent on finding -that five-fingered cave I've let everything else slip out of my mind." - -"And more than that," continued the other prospector, "I feel pretty -certain we couldn't locate that crevice in a week of hunting!" - -"Lost! Lost, like the babes in the wood!" groaned Lanky, in pretended -dismay but some real anxiety. - -"Well," Frank informed his chum, "here's our cave, just as I reckoned -would be the case; so after a little look around we'll pick out the -softest rock we can find and say good-bye to all our troubles for a -time." - -"I'm all to the good on the proposition," stated Lanky. "Some cave, -believe me! With a low ceiling, too. No stalactites growing downward -here, you notice." - -"No. But clap your eyes on all those big bats hanging head downward -from rough places in the roof. Must be hundreds, almost thousands of -the ugly, winged, ratlike creatures. There, some are starting to whirl -around now, seeing our light." - -More and more of the bats swung in circles, both big and small. Lanky -struck at them with what remained of his bunch of torches, and several -times let out a screech of triumph when he made a good hit. - -By degrees the bats vacated their sleeping chamber, and when quiet had -been restored the boys looked for a promising place to lie down and -sleep. - -"We can take a closer survey after we wake up," suggested Frank, with a -reason he did not care to explain just then. But as Lanky was dead for -sleep and tired, he failed to ask questions, as was his custom. - -They were not disturbed. If any of those fierce-looking winged denizens -returned to their roost, neither of the boys knew of the fact, so deep -was their slumber for some hours. - -Frank felt confident that there was some opening not far away from this -cave, because those hosts of bats could never have come from such a -long distance as that crevice. - -When Lanky opened his eyes he saw that Frank had lighted a torch and -was coming toward him, bearing one in his hand. - -"What time do you think it can be, Frank?" was his first question, and -a very natural one too, since Frank carried a small wrist watch. - -"About sunrise, I'd judge," Lanky was told. He noticed Frank looked -unusually smiling, upon which he pointed a finger at him, and demanded: - -"Here, what's all that grinning about? You've got something up your -sleeve, Frank Allen, which you're meaning to tell me right off the -handle. Go to it, now." - -"For one thing," said the other impressively, "I noticed something -before we lay down to sleep; but didn't mention it, because we were -both tuckered out and needed rest most of all. Scramble up off your -downy couch and come along with me." - -Lanky trotted at his heels, all on edge, as he told himself. - -"Is it another exit to this bunch of caves?" he asked. - -"No," came the answer. "But I'm dead certain there must be one not a -great way off. Those bats in here told me as much. Then, here's the -other convincing reason. Look down, and not up, Lanky." - -"Wow! A heap of ashes, eh? Shows that we're not the only chaps who've -been wandering around for hours and hours in these passages." - -"Notice what a lot of wood ashes there are," pursued Frank. "That would -mean a fire has been burned many times. Long ago, too, I figure, though -never a gust of wind disturbs the heap back here." - -Lanky grew more deeply absorbed in the way Frank was putting things. - -"See here!" he blurted out, "open up an tell a fellow just what you're -hinting at, Frank. Do you think it may have been old Josh Kinney who -used to camp out here from time to time? If that's so, as he must have -toted all his wood from the outside, you're right about there being -another entrance to the caves not a great way off which we can find if -we hunt systematically." - -"I've been poking around a bit this morning while you snoozed," -continued Frank. - -"Yes, and what've you discovered to make you look so pleased?" - -"I suspected it when I saw these ashes, and now I know it's a dead -open-and-shut thing." - -"Whoopee! Do you mean--" blazed out the overjoyed Lanky. - -"Just what I do!" broke in Frank. "Right now we're in that -five-fingered cave we saw marked on the map!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -KEPT UNDER COVER - - -"That's bully news you're giving me, Frank!" exclaimed Lanky Wallace, -as he impulsively gripped the hand of his loyal chum and squeezed it. -"Let's get busy and try to locate Kinney's treasure chest." - -"After we've had a bite to eat," Frank told him. "Long ago I made it my -habit never, when I could help it, to start a day's work on an empty -stomach." - -They made quite a dent in their slender stock of meat, but both were -now quite confident that it was only a matter of a few hours before -they would be once more under the blue sky. - -Frank and Lanky consulted that second little chart, and also conferred -together. Then they started to search in the most likely locality. - -Hours crept past and still the object of all this peering around and -testing out all likely nooks in the five-fingered cave seemed to be as -far from being discovered as in the beginning of the search. - -Their stock of torches was growing gradually less and less, so that it -began to look rather serious. To be left in utter darkness, without -knowing which way to turn in order to gain the outer air, also with -hunger commencing to make them uncomfortable! It was not a pleasant -outlook, Lanky admitted. - -Then, just when both boys were of a mind to give up further hunting for -the secret hiding place of Kinney's hoard of nuggets, they ran across -something that filled them with sudden hope. - -Lanky managed to stumble over an unseen spur of rock jutting out from -the wall low down, and when he threw out his hand to save himself from -falling he thrust it into what seemed to be a narrow crevice that -neither of them had before noticed. - -That hand chanced to be clutching the torch, and almost mechanically -Lanky leaned forward to thrust the blaze inside the crack. He -immediately gave vent to a shout that echoed through the cave and set a -dozen startled bats to swooping in circles overhead. - -"Frank, what d'you think! We've hit it plum center!" he yelled. "Just -peep in there and tell me what you see!" - -"As sure as you live, Lanky, I do believe you stumbled on purpose -and knew it was here all the while! Reach in, and see whether we're -dreaming or not!" - -Lanky hastened to follow the suggestion. - -"That's the stuff, I tell you, Frank!" he screamed, holding some -object up in his hand. "A real gold nugget and weighing as much as -three ounces, at that; with plenty more snuggled down in there. Talk to -me about luck! Why, the Wallaces have got them all whipped, hands down!" - -"All right, then," said Frank seriously. "We know now where the cache -is. Our business is to get out of this place, find the rest of the -party, come with those strong gunny-sacks, and carry off the whole of -Kinney's hoard." - -"Gee whiz!" commented Lanky, "the old man must have been digging those -nuggets right along, carrying a few away with him, and chucking the -rest in his stone bank here. Shall I take this one with me, Frank?" - -"Yes, we ought to have some evidence to show we're not bluffing when we -reel off the story of our adventures. Each of us might put a few in our -pockets. But go slow, and don't load yourself down, Lanky, became you -might start another landslide, you know." - -They were actually on their last sliver of torch-wood when they turned -their backs on the queer five-fingered cave and plunged into a narrow -passage. Frank, after a close examination, decided this must be the one -the old prospector had used during his periodical visits to his secret -claim. - -Before they had gone far they found to their dismay that the light was -failing. Lanky began to worry, but Frank cheered him up. - -"I'm certain I can feel fresh air on my cheeks," he announced. "That of -course, would indicate we're close on that exit right now. I've still -got a little stock of matches in my safe, and we'll make them last as -long as we can." - -"Who's afraid?" Lanky broke out, with fresh animation. "After such luck -in absolutely falling on to that cache of nuggets, we're not going to -let little things knock us out. You're right, though, about that fresh -air, Frank, because I can sniff the same every breath I draw." - -The torch flickered, and went out. - -"Look ahead, Lanky. What do you see?" called out Frank. - -"Streaks of daylight, looks like to me." - -So it proved to be, and a few minutes later the two boys emerged from -the cave to find the sun shining brightly, with nothing in sight to -diminish their overwhelming joy. - -"We must mark this spot so we can find it again without any trouble," -Frank suggested. - -"Sure thing," agreed his chum. "And it'd be wise for us to sort of -blaze our way to camp." - -This they proceeded to do as they made their way along the side of the -mountain. It was so rough, after that frightful jumble following the -landslides, that they made but tedious progress. - -"Never get the ponies in here," Lanky grumbled at one time. "So, like -as not, we'll just have to tote all that stuff out on our backs. Whee! -it's a bit heavy, even three small nuggets of the same." - -"But you'd never have been happy if you hadn't found the cache, -remember," Frank told him, at which Lanky grinned. - -"That was all bluff, Frank, and you know it," he laughed. "Why, I'm -fairly quivering with happiness, and feel like shouting for all that's -out, to blow off steam. But when I think of that Nash Yesson and his -gang, I shut down on all idea of making a racket." - -It took them all of that morning to get close to the plateau where, as -they well knew, Gold Fork was located, the former mining camp, taking -its name from the clear little stream that ran down the side of the -mountain another direction from the great canyon. - -Great was the excitement in the camp when the two long overdue boys -came in sight. Mr. Wallace and the men had sought for them all morning -long, and were preparing to search in another direction when shouts -told them the wanderers had been able to get back "under their own -steam," to quote Lanky. - -Then the story was told and the precious nuggets passed from hand to -hand, to prove it was an actual fact. Plans were immediately made to -proceed to the cave in the morning in order to bring away the treasure. -Mr. Wallace figured that they could transport it on their backs to the -corral where their ponies were quartered, and then the journey back to -Rockspur Ranch would be next in order. - -Every one was to be in the party, even Paul, whose ankle, though still -a bit painful, was not sore enough to keep him from feasting his eyes -on that strange five-fingered cave, also the gold nuggets lying in the -hiding place shrewd old Josh Kinney had chosen many years back as his -treasure cache. - -Thanks to the slashes Lanky had made on occasional dwarf oaks, they had -no trouble whatever in attaining their goal. A large assortment of good -torches had been prepared on the previous afternoon, consequently they -lost no time in plunging into the passage so cleverly concealed behind -a screen of thick vines hanging down the face of a small cliff. - -When the last nugget had been drawn out from its depository and the -entire collection fastened securely in some six stout gunny-sacks, the -mouths of which were tied with strands of rope, they decided to lose no -time in starting for the camp. - -That was where they miscalculated, for something happened to interfere -with their plans. - -Zander Forbes, being in the lead, had just stepped out from behind the -vines and turned an outlying rock when the smash of a gun was heard and -he came backing into the hole again. - -"Those sneaks have spotted us on the way here, and are lying in wait to -do us up!" he announced. - -Every one knew without asking that he meant Nash Yesson, Lef -Sellers--if the Columbia shirk still hung on to the gang that had -been abusing him so shamefully of late--and the rough boys from the -boisterous Double-Z Ranch. - -"Shot like they meant business, too," added the indignant and angry -Zander, as he ruefully rubbed a red line on his neck that indicated the -recent passage of a hot bullet. - -"Then it's a case of siege with us," said Mr. Wallace, very much -displeased. "We might manage to find that other exit in time, if the -boys can remember the course they took. But the chances would be -against our transporting such heavy weights as these sacks along. What -would you advise, Jerry?" - -"Give 'em hot cakes!" was the emphatic retort of the old puncher and -prospector. "If I kin spot that Zeke, I'd git him, an' wipe out a ole -score!" - -So the siege began, and hours passed without any change worth while -taking place. Frequently either Jerry or Zander would amuse themselves -by a few old tricks known to pioneers and Indians alike in the days -when caravans used to trek across the plains. - -Both of their hats were perforated several times by well-aimed shots, -and it was lucky that their heads did not happen to be in the coverings -at the time, but only the sticks the two punchers used to raise the -hats into the range of vision of their enemies. - -The boys were worried to figure just how they could give their enemies -the slip, having suggested, and thrown aside, a number of plans, when -something entirely unexpected came about to lend them a helping hand. - -"Well, well, well!" Zander was heard to say, with both wonder are glee -in his voice. "Say, boys, what d'you think? We've got allies up yonder -on the mountain side. Saw a puff of smoke, and, will you believe me? -that skunk of a Nash Yesson jumped out from behind a rock where he'd -been hiding and shooting this way. He's whooping things up and tumbling -all over himself, like he'd been wounded some." - -Lanky, already peering out from his cover, gave a wild yell. - -"They've had enough already, are getting away in a big hurry, carrying -Nash along like a log. Guess he got his finish that time, for both arms -are dragging on the ground." - -"But who can it be willing to give us the glad hand?" Paul asked, -rather bewildered, knowing that in all probability, besides themselves -are the Yesson crowd, there was not a single human being in that -section of the country. - -It was speedy Lanky who again made an important discovery. - -"Look what's coming down from up there--two men carrying guns! No, -unless my eyes are fooling me, one of them's a girl rigged out like a -regular sport hunter! Frank--don't faint now--but I believe it's Minnie -Cuthbert!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -CONCLUSION - - -It proved to be Minnie Cuthbert, although Frank had to rub his eyes -several times before he could prove to his doubting self they were not -playing him tricks. - -With Minnie was no other than the ranch foreman, Lige Smith. Apparently -Lige was mighty well pleased because that shot of his had taken the -wind out of the sails of the persistent Nash Yesson, whom none of them -would, in all probability, ever run across again. - -Minnie, after shaking hands with every one, Frank Allen first of all, -produced a letter that she had for Mr. Wallace. - -"It came just as you thought it would, Mr. Wallace," she told him, -"and I coaxed Mrs. Wallace to let me come along with Lige, who's been -the finest kind of gentleman and guide. You see, I'd made up my mind I -wanted to see the Rocky Mountain country at close range; and when some -girls set out to accomplish a certain thing that is reasonable,--well, -there are many ways to get there." - -Lanky was watching his father closely, anticipating the hearing of -important news. - -"I reckon now, Dad," he finally broke out, "by the way you're smiling, -the thing's come out about as you wished. Did they select you instead -of Mr. Ambrose Gilman to be president of the bank when Mr. Carberry -retires next month?" - -"So this letter informs me, son," replied the gentleman. "I left my -address at the bank, as a matter of course, for I'd heard rumors you -know, that either Gilman or I were in line for the place. Thank you a -dozen times, Minnie, and you too, Lige, for getting me the news with -the least possible delay." - -Before attempting to transport all that gold to the place where it -could be loaded on the ponies, it was decided a reconnaissance should -be made. - -Accordingly, Jerry, Zander Forbes and Lige Smith set off to scour the -country and learn if indeed their late enemies had passed down the -canyon and dropped out of the search for the gold in disgust. - -This was found to be the case, as the three experienced punchers were -clever hands at discovering and reading signs that those less knowing -in woodcraft might have passed heedlessly by. - -One piece of good luck fell their way. In some fashion--they never knew -how--two of the pack ponies belonging to the Nash Yesson outfit were -left behind. Possibly they had wandered away. At any rate, they were -found close to the corral. Some intuition apparently had caused them, -once loose, to go to the place where so many of their species were -gathered. - -The addition of this pair made the problem of getting that heavy weight -of gold nuggets to faraway Rockspur Ranch a less knotty one. - -It was no easy task to carry such burdens on their backs from the -outlet of the five-fingered cave to the deserted mining camp. By -resting at frequent intervals on the way amidst the wreckage caused by -the slide, they managed the work successfully. - -Three days afterwards they started forth, descended the canyon, and -after putting the foothills behind, commenced the long ride toward home. - -"We must keep a sharp lookout for signs of that ugly crowd," Mr. -Wallace suggested that night. "Somehow, I have an idea they may hang -around here for a week or two, in the hope of still surprising us and -taking this treasure away. I hope you'll post sentries each night, -Lige." - -Lige, being foreman at the ranch and having come to join the party, -must from that time on be reckoned with as the leader of the -expedition. Nor was Zander Forbes in the least unwilling to have the -responsibility shifted to other shoulders. - -Nothing happened that night, but on the following day while they were -resting in a patch of timber growing about a dry waterhole, they had -reason to believe they might be in for further trouble. Zander Forbes -sighted a clump of horsemen cantering along, whom he recognized as the -bunch they had outwitted. - -"If they try for water here," Mr. Wallace remarked, as he too lay in -the scrub along the border of the cottonwoods and watched to ascertain -which way the wind would blow; "there's going to be a battle royal, and -somebody's likely to get badly hurt." - -Fortunately the lawless crowd kept straight ahead. - -"They still have Nash along," said Paul. "Anyway, some sort of bundle's -fastened on the back of their single pack-horse. But where can Lef -Seller be?" - -"Oh, I'm not worrying about that hard case," chimed in Lanky. "He's the -slipperest fox I ever met, and you can trust him to know when he's got -enough kicking around." - -"Do you think, Frank," continued Paul, "he could have started back for -his old home to eat humble pie and, with his mother to back him up, get -another chance to walk straight?" - -Frank shook his head. - -"You've got me on that, Paul. But he can't cause Lanky's folks any -further trouble, so let's forget Lef and his fortunes. Everybody, -'most, has said for years that he's bound to come to some bad end, and -I'm afraid that's a certainty." - -Undisturbed by the reckless crowd, the treasure seekers made a detour, -and in due time reached Rockspur Ranch, where they received a riotous -welcome. - -The nuggets were safely shipped to the nearest United States assay -office, and later on Mr. Wallace received a check for almost a -hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars to cover the value of Josh Kinney's -secret cache in the five-fingered cave near Gold Fork. - -"I shall put five thousand dollars of this to each of your accounts in -the Columbia bank when we get home," he told the delighted Frank, Paul -and Lanky. "A like sum goes to be divided up among the boys connected -with Rockspur Ranch; for although only three of them participated in -the enterprise, every one here, even Gin Sing, would have been glad to -go." - -No wonder that Mr. Wallace promised to be the most popular ranch-owner -in the whole State, and never did punchers work so like beavers to -please such a liberal and high-minded boss. - -So the time came when they had to say good-bye to dear old Rockspur -Ranch, for all of them, including Minnie, had by then come to love the -free life of the open places beyond the ability of words to tell. - -"I mean to come out West again some day," Frank said earnestly, as he -shook hands with Lige, Jerry, and the rest of the boys on the day of -their departure. Both Lanky and Paul echoed his words with all their -hearts. - -Then came the ride to the station in the big car and the boarding -of the east-bound express. Whether Frank would be able to keep that -promise made to the Rockspur boys, the future alone will be able to -tell, but we shall meet him and his chums in the meantime in another -volume to follow this, called "Frank Allen and His Motor Boat; or, -Racing to Save a Life." - -On the train, as they sped along, the young folks lived over again the -delightful times spent on the ranch. The thrilling adventures that -happened during their stay would never be forgotten. - -To Frank Allen, however, the most wonderful event of all was that -arduous and dangerous long ride made by Minnie Cuthbert, when, with -only Lige Smith, the foreman, for company, she rode forth to carry that -letter to Mr. Wallace and see with her own eyes the lofty range of -mountains of which she had read and heard so much. - -"You're sure a pal worth having, Min," he told her, as they sat and -reviewed all the events connected with that happening. And Minnie? Why, -she only laughed in her girlish way, smiled at Frank, and said loftily: - -"Well, I hope by this time you three inseparable chums understand that -in these days a girl, given a fair chance, can do a heap of things -that once you believed to be impossible except for boys. But, just the -same," she added, with a sigh, "I'll be mighty glad to be back home and -have some decent clothes to wear." - - -THE END - - - - -The Movie Boys Series - -_By_ VICTOR APPLETON - - - THE MOVIE BOYS ON CALL, or Filming the Perils of A Great City. - - THE MOVIE BOYS IN THE WILD WEST, or Stirring Days Among the Cowboys - and Indians. - - THE MOVIE BOYS AND THE WRECKERS, or Facing the Perils of the Deep. - - THE MOVIE BOYS IN THE JUNGLE, or Lively Times Among the Wild Beasts. - - THE MOVIE BOYS IN EARTHQUAKE LAND, or Filming Pictures and Strange - Perils. - - THE MOVIE BOYS AND THE FLOOD, or Perilous Days on the Mighty - Mississippi. - - THE MOVIE BOYS IN PERIL, or Strenuous Days Along the Panama Canal. - - THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER THE SEA, or The Treasure of the Lost Ship. - - THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER FIRE, or The Search for the Stolen Film. - - THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER UNCLE SAM, or Taking Pictures for the Army. - - THE MOVIE BOYS' FIRST SHOWHOUSE, or Fighting for a Foothold in - Fairlands. - - THE MOVIE BOYS AT SEASIDE PARK, or The Rival Photo Houses of the - Boardwalk. - - THE MOVIE BOYS ON BROADWAY, or The Mystery of the Missing Cash Box. - - THE MOVIE BOYS' OUTDOOR EXHIBITION, or the Film that Solved the - Mystery. - - THE MOVIE BOYS' NEW IDEA, or Getting the Best of Their Enemies. - - THE MOVIE BOYS AT THE BIG FAIR, or The Greatest Film Ever Exhibited. - - THE MOVIE BOYS' WAR SPECTACLE, or The Film that Won the Prize. - - - Garden City Publishing Co., _Inc._ - Garden City New York - - - - -The Frank Allen Series - -_By_ GRAHAM B. FORBES - - - FRANK ALLEN'S SCHOOLDAYS, or The All Around Rivals of Columbia High - - FRANK ALLEN PLAYING TO WIN, or The Boys of Columbia High on the Ice - - FRANK ALLEN IN WINTER SPORTS, or Columbia High on Skates and Iceboats - - FRANK ALLEN AND HIS RIVALS, or The Boys of Columbia High in Track - Athletics - - FRANK ALLEN--PITCHER, or The Boys of Columbia High on the Diamond - - FRANK ALLEN--HEAD OF THE CREW, or The Boys of Columbia High on the - River - - FRANK ALLEN IN CAMP, or Columbia High and the School League Rivals - - FRANK ALLEN AT ROCKSPUR RANCH, or The Old Cowboy's Secret - - FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK, or Locating the Lost Claim - - FRANK ALLEN AND HIS MOTORBOAT, or Racing to Save a Life - - FRANK ALLEN CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM, or The Boys of Columbia High on the - Gridiron - - _Published Oct. 7, 1926_ - - FRANK ALLEN AT OLD MOOSE LAKE, or The Trail in the Snow - - _Published Nov. 7, 1926_ - - - Garden City Publishing Co., _Inc._ - Garden City New York - - - - -The Dave Fearless Series - -_By_ ROY ROCKWOOD - - - DAVE FEARLESS AFTER A SUNKEN TREASURE, or The Rival Ocean Divers - - DAVE FEARLESS ON A FLOATING ISLAND, or The Cruise of the Treasure Ship - - DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY, or Adrift on the Pacific - - DAVE FEARLESS AMONG THE ICEBERGS, or The Secret of the Eskimo Igloo - - DAVE FEARLESS WRECKED AMONG SAVAGES, or The Captives of the Head - Hunters - - DAVE FEARLESS AND HIS BIG RAFT, or Alone on the Broad Pacific - - DAVE FEARLESS ON VOLCANO ISLAND, or The Magic Cave of Blue Fire - - DAVE FEARLESS CAPTURED BY APES, or In Gorilla Land - - DAVE FEARLESS AND THE MUTINEERS, or Prisoners on the Ship of Death - - DAVE FEARLESS UNDER THE OCEAN, or The Treasure of the Lost Submarine - - DAVE FEARLESS IN THE BLACK JUNGLE, or Lost Among the Cannibals - - DAVE FEARLESS NEAR THE SOUTH POLE, or The Giant Whales of Snow Island - - - Garden City Publishing Co., _Inc._ - Garden City New York - - - - -The New Western Series - -Exciting, Thrilling Stories of the Old West - - - 1. TEXAS MEN AND TEXAS CATTLE E.E. Harriman - - 2. THE SCOURGE OF THE LITTLE "C" J.E. Grinstead - - 3. THE LONE HAND TRACKER William W. Winter - - 4. WHEN DEATH RODE THE RANGE William W. Winter - - 5. RAW GOLD Clem Yore - - 6. DON QUICKSHOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE Stephen Chalmers - - 7. THE LAST SHOT William MacLeod Raine - - 8. STRAIGHT SHOOTING W.C. Tuttle - - 9. SAD SONTAG PLAYS HIS HUNCH W.C. Tuttle - - 10. THE SENTENCE OF THE SIX GUN Anthony M. Rud - Published November 1, 1926 - - 11. THE OUTLAWS OF FLOWER-POT CANYON Frank C. Robertson - Published December 1, 1926 - - 12. THE CLEAN-UP ON DEAD MAN Frank C. Robertson - Published January 1, 1927 - - 13. THE MASTER SQUATTER J.E. Grinstead - Published February 1, 1927 - - 14. SIX GUN QUARANTINE E.E. Harriman - Published March 1, 1927 - - 15. THE VALLEY OF SUSPICION J.U. Giesy - Published April 1, 1927 - - 16. TREASURE TRAIL Robert Russell Strang - Published May 1, 1927 - - - Garden City Publishing Co., _Inc._ - Garden City New York - - - - -The Larry Dexter Series - -_By_ RAYMOND SPERRY - - - LARRY DEXTER AT THE BIG FLOOD, or The Perils of a Reporter - - LARRY DEXTER AND THE LAND SWINDLERS, or Queer Adventures in a Great - City - - _Published Oct. 10, 1926_ - - LARRY DEXTER AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE, or The Great Search - - _Published Nov. 10, 1926_ - - LARRY DEXTER AND THE BANK MYSTERY or Exciting Days in Wall Street - - _Published Dec. 10, 1926_ - - LARRY DEXTER AND THE STOLEN BOY, or A Chase on the Great Lakes - - _Published Jan. 10, 1927_ - - LARRY DEXTER AT THE BATTLE FRONT, or A War Correspondent's Double - Mission - - _Published Feb. 10, 1927_ - - - Garden City Publishing Co., _Inc._ - Garden City New York - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Forbes</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Frank Allen at Gold Fork</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>Locating the Lost Claim</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Graham B. Forbes</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: February 7, 2023 [eBook #69968]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: David Edwards, Graeme Mackreth and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK ***</div> - - - -<p class="center"> -<img src="images/illus01.jpg" alt="pic" /> -</p> - -<p class="center">HE SNATCHED UP A BURNING BRAND AND SENT IT WHIZZING -THROUGH THE AIR<br /> - - -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;"><i>Frank Allen at Gold Fork</i> <i>Frontispiece</i> (Page 121)</span><br /> -</p> - - - - - - -<p class="ph1">FRANK ALLEN AT<br /> -GOLD FORK</p> - -<p class="ph4">OR</p> - -<p class="ph2">Locating the Lost Claim</p> - -<p class="ph4">BY</p> - -<p class="ph3">GRAHAM B. FORBES</p> - -<p class="ph5"><i>Author of "Frank Allen and his Motor Boat,"<br /> -"Frank Allen at Rockspur Ranch," etc.</i></p> - - - -<p class="ph5" style ="margin-top: 10em;">GARDEN CITY NEW YORK</p> -<p class="ph4">GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING CO., INC.</p> -<p class="ph5" style ="margin-bottom: 10em;">1926</p> - - - - -<div class="bbox" style="margin-right: 35%; margin-left: 35%;"> -<p class="ph3">THE FAMOUS FRANK ALLEN SERIES</p> - -<p class="center">BY GRAHAM B. FORBES</p> -</div> -<div class="bbox" style="margin-right: 35%; margin-left: 35%;"> -<p class="center"><i>See back of book for list of titles</i></p> -</div> - -<p class="ph5" style ="margin-top: 10em;"> -COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY<br /> -GARDEN CITY PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC.<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Frank Allen at Gold Fork</span><br /> -MADE IN THE U.S.A. -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER I</p> - -<p class="center">AT THE HORSE CORRAL GATE</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">There</span> he is again, Frank! The same queer chap we saw before!"</p> - -<p>"That's a dead certainty, Lanky. But lower your voice a bit or he might -take the alarm and vamoose."</p> - -<p>"I sure wonder what he's prowling around Rockspur ranch-house for, and -on a moonlight night, at that. But, Frank, it isn't our old enemy, Nash -Yesson, is it?" cried Lanky Wallace explosively.</p> - -<p>"No. And I'm just as sure it isn't Lef Seller," came from Frank Allen, -referring to the bully of Columbia, Frank's home town.</p> - -<p>The scene was the living room of Rockspur Ranch in the far West, where -so many exciting things had already happened to Frank Allen and his -chums, Lanky Wallace—whose folks owned the ranch—and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> Paul Bird. Paul -was slumbering peacefully, totally unaware of what was taking place -outside.</p> - -<p>"There! You can see him plainer now, Frank!" went on Lanky. "He -seems to be a runt of a man, with a big head and bushy hair. An ugly -customer, I'd say. Do you reckon he's mixed up with the Yesson crowd?"</p> - -<p>"Looks that way to me. See him wriggling along now, like a snake in the -grass. He's up to some mischief, all right."</p> - -<p>"He's wearing a cowboy hat, you can see now, Frank; must belong over -with that tough gang at the Double Z Ranch."</p> - -<p>"Whatever his game is, he'd better watch his eye or he'll find Lige -Smith and his punchers hustling after him. Right now they're all radio -hounds, and bunched inside the bunk-house, listening to jazz dance -music."</p> - -<p>"Say, I wonder, Frank!"</p> - -<p>"What's struck you now, Lanky? Don't move, for that fellow's staring -straight at this window! Gee, I'm glad our fire's died down! There! -he's moving off again. What were you wondering about?"</p> - -<p>Lanky Wallace snickered, as though amused by his thoughts.</p> - -<p>"Why, don't you see, Frank? he's trying to find some way of getting -hold of the map we grabbed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> along with the gold nuggets when we -watched Nash Yesson and Lef Seller dig up that rusty iron chest in the -underground cellar."</p> - -<p>Frank Allen considered the suggestion seriously, waiting a full minute -before replying.</p> - -<p>"Sounds reasonable, I must admit," he finally agreed. "We know that -it was the crude map Josh Kinney left hidden there, that pair was so -anxious to lay their hands on."</p> - -<p>"Sure! It contains valuable clues that would help a prospector locate -the long-lost gold claim Josh worked years ago."</p> - -<p>"Now he's moving off, for some reason or other," went on Frank Allen. -"It might pay us to slip outside and see if we can't get a line on his -scheme."</p> - -<p>"Bully! I was just wishing you'd say something that meant action," -whispered Lanky Wallace. "But I hope you're not thinking of rousing a -hornet's nest around his ears by poking a stick in the bunk-house and -stirring up the Rockspur punchers?"</p> - -<p>"Nope. We'll play this game by ourselves, Lanky. Sorry Paul happens -to be asleep and nursing his lame ankle. He's going to miss all the -excitement."</p> - -<p>"Lucky for us we chanced to take a squint out of this window in the big -living room before hitting the hay in our cubbyhole bedrooms." This -being followed by a series of boyish chuckles, told plainer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> than any -words could have done how pleased Lanky felt over the situation.</p> - -<p>"Come along, and we'll slip out by the back door." Saying this, Frank -led the way, with his chum trailing at his heels.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Wallace and Minnie Cuthbert—a Columbia girl who had come West for -the summer vacation, partly to be companion for Lanky's mother, and who -was also a tried and true pal of Frank Allen's—had retired some time -before, leaving the two boys to sit up and talk over their plans for -the near future.</p> - -<p>Softly Frank and Lanky passed into the kitchen, which they found empty -at that late hour of the night, Charlie Gin Sing, the slant-eyed -Chinese cook, having joined the bunch over at the bunk-house to listen -as the loud-speaker sent out weird jazz, which seem to appeal to his -sense of music.</p> - -<p>"Wait while I take a peep first and make sure he didn't swing around to -this side of the ranch buildings," Frank cautioned in his companion's -ear.</p> - -<p>"Coast Clear?" queried Lanky, with bated breath, a moment later.</p> - -<p>"Yes. And I could just make him out moving toward the horse corral!" -Frank informed him.</p> - -<p>"Say, you don't reckon he's got some funny game up his sleeve, do you, -Frank?"</p> - -<p>"What kind?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, such as would set the saddle band of broncos<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> streaking it out on -the prairie, mad with fear, to leave the Rockspur punchers without a -single mount to saddle."</p> - -<p>"What good would that do him, Lanky? Though perhaps he might hope to -find a chance to steal that map while the men were all rushing after -the stampeding ponies. But we'll try to look out for that sort of game. -Come on!"</p> - -<p>The chums crept outside. One thing Frank Allen had already noticed that -seemed to be in their favor—the rear part of the house was in shadow. -Even the keenest of eyes could not discover that the kitchen door had -opened to give egress to a couple of bent-over figures.</p> - -<p>"See him still?" asked Lanky eagerly.</p> - -<p>"He ducked into that bunch of cottonwoods over there," Frank informed -him. "Just the same, you must remember that the corral lies at the far -end of that patch of woods. Now for some scout work! And it'll pay us -to keep as close to the ground as we can."</p> - -<p>"Whee! hope we don't run across any rattlers out here, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"No danger," whiffed the other over his shoulder, for he was advancing -steadily and cautiously; "those who ought to know say that snakes never -move around during the night."</p> - -<p>A soft sound like escaping steam told how greatly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> relieved Lanky felt; -for from early childhood his one horror had been serpents of any kind. -He had even been known to make a wry face when impaling an angleworm on -his hook, as if it reminded him of his pet aversion.</p> - -<p>Frank stuck to his original belief that the mysterious prowler was -heading for the horse corral, and he shaped his course so as to come -upon this fenced-in enclosure somewhere near the gate.</p> - -<p>The stockade was of such a height that even a prize jumper among the -broncos could never get its forelegs across the upper bar. Besides -this, in order to further insure the safekeeping of the restless -ponies, a hedge of thorny Osage orange had been cultivated, the mature -trees giving the animals considerable shelter from the scorching rays -of an August sun.</p> - -<p>Every dozen feet or so Frank would come to a pause, and at such times -seemed to be using both eyes and ears to discover any unusual movement -or sound around the corral.</p> - -<p>"You were right, Frank," whispered Lanky, catching hold of his -companion's arm with his fingers and pinching harder than he intended. -"I just glimpsed the fellow going inside. He's left the gate wide open -too! Listen to the ponies snort and plunge, will you?"</p> - -<p>"Get a move on, Lanky! We ought to be nearer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> the gate, so as to turn -the horses back if they try to break loose."</p> - -<p>Lanky was only too willing, since such a move promised to bring them to -close grips with the possible horse-thief should the fellow start to -rush from the corral after securing a mount.</p> - -<p>The confusion inside the pen grew rapidly worse.</p> - -<p>"He's trying to rope a pony he's picked out as a prize!" breathed the -excited Lanky.</p> - -<p>"We'd have him in a nice trap if we closed the gate of the corral and -whooped for the boys to come on the jump!" suggested Frank, spurred on -by the apparent necessity of doing something speedily.</p> - -<p>"Good idea, too!" the other burst out, no longer caring who heard his -voice, for the matter had by then about reached the crisis.</p> - -<p>"Quick! He's coming full tilt, Lanky! Swing the heavy gate around this -way and let me fasten it!"</p> - -<p>It might have turned out better, if only they had conceived it a few -seconds sooner. As it was, the rushing pony, urged on by savage kicks -from a pair of spurred heels, was bearing down straight upon the two -boys.</p> - -<p>"Look out, Frank!" shrilled Lanky, as he saw a towering form between -his eyes and the bright moon. At the same time he ducked in hopes of -getting out of the way of the bronco's furious rush.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p> - -<p>The frightened animal, seeing some moving object in its path, sheered -to one side. That saved Lanky from the full force of a collision; but -even as it was he received a push that sent him sprawling headlong to -the ground.</p> - -<p>Scrambling hastily to his feet, somewhat the worse for his upset, Lanky -looked around to see what luck had befallen his partner in the mad -attempt of trying to halt a frightened, galloping bronco.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Frank!" he called out; and then his heart seemed to stand still -with dread as he glimpsed a still figure huddled in a heap on the -prairie some ten feet away, showing that Frank Allen had also been -struck down.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER II</p> - -<p class="center">THE SUDDEN ALARM</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Just</span> before Lanky Wallace was struck by the rush of the stolen bronco -and knocked to the ground, he had let out the cowboy whoop for help.</p> - -<p>It reached the ears of Hoptoad Atkins, the smallest rustler in the -Rockspur bunch, as he was emerging from the bunk-house to see what the -weather promised for the morning, he having a long gallop before him. -At the same moment he heard the racket over at the horse corral, and -sensing trouble of some sort sprang back into the house with a shout.</p> - -<p>"Stampede of the ponies! Get out of here, everybody, with a rush!"</p> - -<p>The cowboys came pouring out, and made for the corral in a string, the -longest-legged being in the fore. Lanky, they found bending anxiously -over Frank, who, having been knocked senseless, was just beginning to -show signs of returning consciousness.</p> - -<p>"Thief got away with one of our mounts," hurriedly explained Lanky. "He -bowled both of us over when he came out of the corral like a tornado.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> -Little critter with the biggest head you ever saw—been prowling around -here at night, twice now. We tried to trap him in the circle, but he -was too quick on the get-away!"</p> - -<p>"Which way did he lope, Lanky?" demanded Lige Smith, the wiry and -experienced foreman of the ranch.</p> - -<p>"Reckon it was over west; but I'm a bit hazy after that knockout," -returned the boy.</p> - -<p>"I sure heard far-off hoofbeats in that quarter when I busted out of -the shack!" announced Zander Forbes emphatically.</p> - -<p>"Git ther ponies," broke in old Jerry Brime, a veteran puncher with the -enthusiasm of a man half his age. "Mebbe we kin straddle him yet before -he gits to the Double Z outfit! Whoopee!"</p> - -<p>A rush was made into the corral, and lively hustling followed as each -puncher picked out his special mount and roped him by the light of the -moon's bright rays.</p> - -<p>"Good luck, boys!" bellowed the still excited Lanky, as the cowboys -galloped madly away. There was a little regret in his heart because he -could not leave Frank Allen and join in the mad chase.</p> - -<p>By this time Frank had pretty well recovered after his painful -experience. He would feel a bit sore for some days, but could be -thankful his injuries were no more serious than a few bruises.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> - -<p>"We made a fine mess of it that time, Lanky," he observed, when it was -found that no bones had been broken by his nasty fall.</p> - -<p>"Huh! didn't move quick enough! A matter of ten seconds; but that was -plenty to queer the game, all right."</p> - -<p>"He meant to stampede the whole bunch of ponies, looked like to me," -Frank Allen remarked. "I wish we knew just what his scheme was, hanging -around here and taking such big risks."</p> - -<p>"I'm still thinking he wanted to have a try for that paper," affirmed -Lanky doggedly, "and when he found he hadn't a ghost of a chance to lay -his paws on the same, why, he got mad, and reckoned he'd have the laugh -on our outfit by stampeding the range ponies."</p> - -<p>The two boys made their way to the house, followed by Charlie Gin -Sing. Here they found Mr. and Mrs. Wallace, as well as Minnie Cuthbert -and Paul Bird, up and partly dressed, they having been aroused by the -unusual clamor, and more than curious to understand what it all meant.</p> - -<p>"No sleep for me with all this stuff going on," announced Lanky, as -he sat before the resurrected fire in the big living room. "I mean to -stay right here till the cows come home—I mean the cowboys—and have a -close-up look at that skunk, if they overtake him."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> - -<p>None of the others evinced any desire to seek their beds; so half an -hour afterwards when they heard the riders talking and laughing over by -the corral both Lanky and Frank went out to learn what the result of -the chase was.</p> - -<p>"Shucks, he got clean away!" Lanky ejaculated, after hearing what some -of the men had to say.</p> - -<p>"But, anyway," announced the effeminate-looking puncher with the high -voice, who had come West to build up his health and who rejoiced in the -name of Sally Keating, "the joke is on that coyote, because he had the -bad luck to pick out the worst pony in the whole outfit, with more mean -traits than you can shake a stick at."</p> - -<p>"You don't mean that white-eyed terror we call Whitey Knocker, do you -Sally?" shrilled Lanky, in great joy. Upon the other's wagging his head -in the affirmative, he continued with a bit of spite in his voice: -"Then he's in for a peck of trouble! I only hope that bronc will break -his own neck in the bargain when he goes down in a crash with his -rider."</p> - -<p>Lanky knew from experience what a pack of tricks Knocker had for all -occasions. There were several sore spots on the boy's person that he -could lay to his determination to beat the pony with that wicked white -eye at his own game, his father having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> finally been compelled to -forbid any repetition of the dangerous task.</p> - -<p>By degrees the excitement died out, and there was an exodus of tired -riders and others to their own quarters.</p> - -<p>With the morning the boys went over the ground to revive their -recollection of every incident connected with the previous night's -thievery. They even followed the tracks of Whitey Knocker for some -little distance, which could be done through a certain queer formation -of the pony's off hind hoof.</p> - -<p>"No use going any further, Lanky," said Frank finally. "The trail keeps -on getting fainter right along, as the soil changes."</p> - -<p>"Then, all we've learned," suggested his chagrined chum, "is that when -he flew the coop he headed about as straight as the bee flies for -Double Z Ranch."</p> - -<p>"But our boys all say they've seen every puncher in that outfit, and -what we could tell about this runt's looks with his big head didn't fit -any of that rough bunch. Still, he may be a newcomer, playing a lone -hand in hanging around Rockspur at night."</p> - -<p>Frank Allen had always been a leader among his boy friends in the home -town of Columbia in the East, as told in the first volume of this -series called "Frank Allen's School Days."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> - -<p>Rockspur Ranch, a small cattle industry located on the plains, had been -left to Mrs. Wallace by her bachelor brother, George Rockford, and the -Wallaces had come out, partly for the banker's health, but also to -inspect the newly acquired property.</p> - -<p>Frank Allen and Paul Bird had been asked to become members of the -party, and Minnie Cuthbert, the prettiest and most sensible girl in all -Columbia—at least so Frank was firmly convinced—was along to keep -Mrs. Wallace company.</p> - -<p>A man by the name of Nash Yesson had tried to buy the property from the -new owner. That failing, he had, with the assistance of Lef Seller, -known as the bully and worst boy in Columbia, tried to get possession -of a treasure he knew to be buried in a cellar under the ranch pantry.</p> - -<p>The vigilance of Frank Allen and his chums defeated this effort, and -the plotters were chased off, leaving the old rusty iron box they -had dug up in the possession of the rightful owners. All of these -happenings have been narrated in the pages of the book just preceding -this, under the title of "Frank Allen at Rockspur Ranch."</p> - -<p>Lanky's uneasiness concerning the possible continued efforts of Yesson -and Lef to steal the valuable paper and chart that, with gold nuggets, -had lain in the iron box so many years, accounted for his suspicions -that the mysterious nightly visits of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> man with the big head were -connected in some way with the long-buried treasure.</p> - -<p>One of the papers yellowed by age that fell into the Wallaces' -possession had been a rudely drawn chart of a mountainous section of -country where years before gold had been found in paying quantities and -a little mining settlement named Gold Fork was located.</p> - -<p>It was understood that this place was now deserted, the shacks in -ruins. So all hope of ever locating the long-lost mine worked in secret -by Josh Kinney, former owner of Rockspur Ranch, died away.</p> - -<p>This map had been drawn by Josh Kinney himself. Its existence was -known, but no human eye had ever beheld it save the maker's up to the -time it fell into the possession of Frank Allen and his two chums.</p> - -<p>Jerry Brime knew something about the lost claim, for he had worked -alongside Kinney at cattle raising and had himself tried, but without -success, to follow the other when he disappeared. Jerry believed that -Kinney was laying in a fresh stock of gold nuggets from the rich -deposit, or "pocket," in his secret mine when this happened.</p> - -<p>Brime and the three boys held many consultations as the days passed. -The boys were bent on making an effort to locate Kinney's source of -treasure-trove,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> and so asked a multitude of questions. Some of these -Jerry answered readily, but in other cases his memory failed him.</p> - -<p>"Wait till we-uns git up thar at Gold Fo'k," he would say. "Mebbe ole -Jerry's mind'll be freshened a bit by seein' the ole place agin. Thet -map's a-goin' to help a heap; an' I do reckon we'll git our paws on the -stuff thet's hidden away in the five-fingered cave."</p> - -<p>In the end Frank and Lanky came to believe that they must wait until -Mr. Wallace gave the word for the little expedition to set forth. Then, -if luck favored them, all might yet turn out well.</p> - -<p>"There's only one thing that bothers me," Lanky said the afternoon -they gave up trying to squeeze more information from the willing but -helpless Jerry Brime.</p> - -<p>"I can guess what it is," chucked Frank. "Nash Yesson?"</p> - -<p>"And his crony, Lef Seller," admitted the smiling Lanky Wallace. "They -may be hanging around here; for they are stickers, all right. Then -again, for all we know, the pair may be up at Gold Fork raking the -ground over with a fine-tooth comb, looking for the lost claim."</p> - -<p>"What of it?" Frank asked complacently. "A heap of others did that same -thing years ago and only found themselves up against a blank wall. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> -tell you, Josh Kinney was a cute one and knew how to keep a secret."</p> - -<p>"Glad to see you feel so confident, Frank. With Jerry along to revive -his memory of things and that little chart to help, I guess we've got a -better chance to spot that claim than anybody ever had before. But that -was startling news you had in the last letter from Buster Billings, our -fat chum back in Columbia."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm not much surprised about Lef," said Frank, shaking his head -as he spoke. "We always knew he was a bad egg, up to every kind of -mischief he could think of."</p> - -<p>"But to make away with something like two-hundred-and-fifty dollars -which his father had given him to pay some bills!" exclaimed Lanky. -"They said he lost it at the races, betting on losing nags," he added -musingly.</p> - -<p>"And now," Frank went on to say, "Buster tells us Mr. Seller reports -five thousand dollars in Liberty Bonds missing; and he adds that -suspicion strongly points to his own son, Lef, as the one who robbed -the home safe."</p> - -<p>"Well, Lef is in a section of country right now where Lynch law often -overtakes a rascal; and believe me, Frank, if he's caught red-handed in -any of his ugly tricks out here he'll not have an indulgent dad to help -him out of the fix."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span></p> - -<p>"As long as we have any reason to believe that precious pair still hang -out around here, Lanky, we've got to keep our eyes peeled for trouble. -What under the sun are you sniffing like that for? Think you smell a -skunk around?"</p> - -<p>"Made me think of the way we smoked that mountain lion out of his -den—smell of dried grass, all right. I wonder if the boys are burning -off a piece of meadow that's turned brown in this dry spell?"</p> - -<p>Frank himself was now busily engaged in "sniffing."</p> - -<p>"Well, there must be a fire where there's smoke," he said finally, at -the same time showing a trace of uneasiness. "Strikes me, it comes from -over that way."</p> - -<p>"Look at that burst of smoke shoot up on the other side of the house!" -cried Lanky. "Some fire, that must be as sure as— There, listen to -Charlie Gin Sing giving tongue! The cook's as scared as a singed cat. -Let's scoot over that way, Frank, and see what they're doing. Now -others are yelling to beat the band! We were longing for excitement, -and, sure enough, here she comes full tilt!"</p> - -<p>"Lanky, it's the barn on fire, I do believe!" Frank managed to say as -the pair of them went at full speed, swerving so as to pass around the -house, when they would have a full unobstructed view.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> - -<p>"With all that hay and the straw from last year in it, too!" added the -other.</p> - -<p>Then as the boys turned the corner where Gin Sing was now beating -wildly on a monster frying pan and making a dreadful din, Lanky -finished with a whoop, and increased his pace, if such a thing were -possible.</p> - -<p>No question about its being the barn that was ablaze, for vast -volumes of smoke were already pouring out from several places. These -continually grew in density, while wicked looking red tongues of flame -could be seen playing amidst the dense belching billows.</p> - -<p>Frank had gone as white as chalk.</p> - -<p>"Your mother—Minnie!" he gasped.</p> - -<p>"What of them?" cried the agitated Lanky.</p> - -<p>"I saw them go in some time ago! Oh, Lanky! what if they are still -inside the old barn, trapped like rats and blinded with all that -smoke?"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER III</p> - -<p class="center">TRAPPED IN THE BURNING BARN</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Lanky Wallace</span> apparently could find no words to express the feeling of -horror that gripped his heart. Never did any boy have a dearer mother -than his own "Mom." No wonder the possibility of losing her in such a -terrible tragedy seemed to freeze the very blood in his veins.</p> - -<p>It was indeed an exciting time at Rockspur Ranch. Men were shouting as -they ran toward the burning barn as only big-lunged cow-punchers can -shout. The excited cook meanwhile continued to whang away with his big -spoon, as though the frying pan he held might be a dinner gong and he -meant to summon those who were a full mile away.</p> - -<p>Too, the crackling of the leaping flames told that they were gathering -fresh headway with every passing second, and these sounds began to be a -factor in the conglomeration of noises that had so suddenly sprung into -existence on that sunny afternoon in early summer.</p> - -<p>Barns were not always to be found on cattle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> ranches, for it had -usually been the habit of cattlemen to let their herds shift the best -they could during ordinary winters. Usually there are sheltered nooks -on the range where forage may be found with unusual efforts by the -stock.</p> - -<p>But George Rockford, Lanky Wallace's deceased uncle and the late owner -of these hundreds of acres, had a mind of his own. He was not to be -governed by what had been good enough for his predecessors.</p> - -<p>So he had built a big barn, though lumber was difficult to secure and -had to be brought many miles, even from the mountain gorges. In this -barn he always kept a certain amount of hay and straw, for emergencies, -he explained to the scoffers.</p> - -<p>Several times during his occupancy of the place his forethought had -been rewarded. When an unusually severe winter rolled around, during -which stock out on the ranges suffered grievous losses through deep -snows and blustering blizzards, that reserve stock of feed had saved -the Rockspur herd from much privation.</p> - -<p>Lanky could see some of the cowboys bringing up a hose that was -attached to the tank of water meant for household use. The stock were -driven to a never-failing creek about two miles away for watering, -or, if they were loose on the range, they found their way there by -themselves.</p> - -<p>In his excitement Lanky made a dive for a bucket,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> and then gasped in -dismay when a furious burst of angry looking flame darted out from a -crack in the side of the barn, for all the world like the tongue of -some gigantic serpent.</p> - -<p>"Oh, Frank! what can we do?" he moaned. Even as he said these words he -realized that Frank was no longer at his side.</p> - -<p>Some instinct caused Lanky to turn his anxious gaze once more on the -doomed barn. Knowing Frank Allen as well as he did, he understood what -the other would be doing about that time.</p> - -<p>"He's gone—right inside—and I've got to follow my leader!"</p> - -<p>Lanky would have dashed blindly forward and despite the peril involved -enter the door where that choking smoke was pouring forth, only that -his father caught hold of him just in time.</p> - -<p>Mr. Wallace, on learning that his wife and Minnie had been seen -entering the barn some time before fire was discovered, had become -greatly alarmed and had tried to go in after them, only to be driven -back by the fierce flames. Now he would not listen for a moment the -wild plea of Lanky to be allowed to follow Frank.</p> - -<p>"I should have stopped Frank, too," said the gentleman, in a quivering -voice, "had I guessed what he meant to do when I saw him running -forward and taking off his coat. If he is lost it will be ter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>rible! -And your mother, too! The boys have already done everything possible -for human strength and skill to accomplish. We can only pray they may -all be spared."</p> - -<p>"Zander Forbes is in there too, they say," blubbered the badly shaken -Lanky.</p> - -<p>"I shall never forget his heroism, and Frank's, too," said Mr. Wallace. -"If I thought I could make it—" His voice broke. "I tried it before -you came, but the flames drove me back."</p> - -<p>"There's one of the boys coming out now!" quavered Lanky, pointing his -finger as he spoke. "Why, he's leading Bessie, our pet milk cow! He has -put a blanket over her eyes to blind her." The cowboy had used this -covering as a blinder to the cow, knowing that otherwise it would be -utterly impossible to urge her along past shooting lances of flame.</p> - -<p>Lanky's voice died away in a low groan, for his suddenly aroused hopes -had been just as speedily shattered. Only a cow saved, while precious -human lives were hanging in the balance!</p> - -<p>When Frank was gripped by the feeling that he must make a desperate -attempt to find and save Mrs. Wallace and Minnie Cuthbert, he lost not -a second in debating whether it was safe or not.</p> - -<p>He could see that he would be met with considerable of that smothering -smoke the instant he stepped past the open door of the burning barn. -That was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> why he commenced to tear off his coat as he ran. Frank -wrapped his coat about his head in the endeavor to protect his mouth, -eyes, and nostrils as much as possible.</p> - -<p>He knew the die had been cast as soon as he entered the place, since -his retreat was cut off by a fresh burst of scorching flames and all he -could do was to make his way forward.</p> - -<p>From time to time he called at the top of his voice, but was staggered -to find what a small amount of noise he could make, owing to the -pungent smoke of the burning hay and straw.</p> - -<p>The covering his head gave him some relief at first; but in a very -short time he found his eyes smarting fearfully and tears helping to -blind his vision.</p> - -<p>Groping his way and trying as best he could to avoid those places -where the hay was fully in the grip of the fire, Frank presently found -himself falling.</p> - -<p>The boy did not know what sort of a hole he had incautiously stepped -into, for he had taken but a cursory view of the inside of the old barn -during his sole visit there. Throwing out both hands, he sought to find -some support, so as to stop the sickening downward movement. He came to -a halt with a thump, one of his feet becoming fast between two upright -timbers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p> - -<p>His situation was now much more desperate than before, since, try as he -did, he seemed utterly unable to get his foot free from that clutch of -the V-shaped timbers. It was as though he had become enmeshed in the -tentacles of some unseen monster, which, gifted with enormous powers, -was bent on holding him there a prisoner until the oncoming flames -reached the spot.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER IV</p> - -<p class="center">A CLOSE SHAVE</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Frank Allen</span> was not one to give up easily. He continued to strive to -free the snared foot, his efforts being accentuated by the fierce heat -of the roaring furnace that ate its way through the tons on tons of -combustibles. In his extremity he shouted at the top of his voice, at -the same time doubtful whether his cries could reach outside of the -barn, with all that noise of crackling flames and roaring draughts. -Still he continued to call.</p> - -<p>"Help! Help!"</p> - -<p>Although calling for assistance, the youth did not cease his frantic -efforts to dislodge his trapped foot. He knew only too well what a -slender chance there was that any one should be close enough to hear -his cries and come to his rescue, even in the doubtful event of being -able to get through the flames.</p> - -<p>Then what was close to an inspiration flashed through his excited -brain, and he lost no time in trying anew to break loose.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> - -<p>Luckily, he was able to bend over far enough to get at his shoe. With -eager fingers he tore the laces open, and then made a last desperate -effort to free his right foot.</p> - -<p>A thrill ran through the boy when he found that he could draw the foot -out of his shoe! He was saved—least, he was given a fresh chance to -escape the dreadful fate that threatened to overwhelm him!</p> - -<p>Sensible even in such a situation, Frank next tore his shoe loose, -and managed to get it on after a fashion. Then he turned away from -the furious blast of fire and groped through the dense smoke, heading -he knew not in which direction, only that he was fending off the -threatening catastrophe a little longer by fleeing.</p> - -<p>The fact that he was not acquainted with the interior of the barn -brought him fresh trouble. An avenue of escape might be close at his -elbow, an opening such as would afford him exit, and Frank would not be -aware of the fact.</p> - -<p>He was experiencing for the first time in all his life the sensation -that grips one who realizes he is lost. In the woods or among the -hills, with a sky overhead to give him the points of the compass, no -one could be better than Frank Allen at making his way to safety. But -it was vastly different in that smoke-filled structure.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p> - -<p>Once more he gave tongue, in the hope that if Zander Forbes or any -other of his cowboy friends were close by he would catch the call and -cheer the groping wanderer with an answering whoop. Meanwhile, what of -Mrs. Wallace and of Minnie? At thought of Minnie his heart sank.</p> - -<p>Once the situation took on new threats. A burst of flame straight ahead -warned Frank that he must sheer aside if he wished to escape being -singed. His heart seemed to be in his throat with the suspense that -continually gripped him. And, oh, how he yearned for a breath of fresh -air!</p> - -<p>Then he thought he caught the sound of a husky voice calling his own -name. Could Lanky have followed him into the barn, and was even then -wandering this way and that, chased by the fire, and in as great a -predicament as himself?</p> - -<p>Again Frank let out a whoop, and was cheered to catch an answering -cowboy yell. Then it was not his chum after all, but one of the -punchers. Somehow, this thought gave Frank renewed courage, for every -one of the Rockspur outfit must be well acquainted with the barn's -angles that had proved so confusing to him, and could thus lead the way -to an exit.</p> - -<p>Nearer came the booming voice, heard despite all the clamor around him. -Now the boy could glimpse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> a moving figure, pushing in a beeline for -the quarter where he chanced to be.</p> - -<p>"Jerry! is it <i>you</i>?" Frank shrilled, somehow touched by this evidence -of affection on the part of the old rustler who did not hesitate to -risk his own life in the endeavor to save that of his young friend.</p> - -<p>"It sure is, Frank! I'm comin' to git yuh out o' this hot box. Hain't -got much time to waste neither, 'case the hull pesky roof is shore to -drap in on us right quick."</p> - -<p>Jerry had taken hold of Frank's left arm while saying this, and -immediately commenced moving backward the way he had come. What a -feeling of confidence came over the imperiled boy when he felt those -friendly fingers in contact with his person. It seemed as though a -tremendous load rolled off his shoulders in the magic of that touch.</p> - -<p>Apparently Jerry was leading him toward what looked like a danger point -to be avoided; but, somehow, Frank felt no apprehension. Jerry must -know the barn like a book; indeed, possibly he himself had helped build -it in those days when as a much younger man he had worked on this ranch.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, by a sudden turn they managed to put the worst of the fire -behind them. Frank even believed he felt the first whiff of fresh air, -and, oh! how eagerly did he draw it into his tortured lungs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Hyar we are, younker!" exclaimed the veteran cowboy as they pushed -past a last nest of fire and reached the open air.</p> - -<p>"Look, Dad! There's Frank, safe and sound!" a voice bellowed, and -Lanky, followed by the limping Paul, came rushing toward the pair who -had just emerged from the roaring furnace.</p> - -<p>How the other boys did squeeze Frank's hands and almost cried, such was -the tense condition of their strained nerves!</p> - -<p>Frank turned and looked back, shuddering. It was not his own narrow -escape that made him feel so weak, but the still haunting dreadful fear -that perhaps Lanky's mother and Minnie had been swallowed up in the -pitiless conflagration.</p> - -<p>"Oh! Lanky—is there any news—have you heard—Minnie—your mother?"</p> - -<p>His whole soul was in that cry, and although his eyes were still -burning and smarting from the effects of the smoke, he fastened his -gaze on his chum in a most entreating way.</p> - -<p>"Cheer up, Frank!" exclaimed Lanky, slapping his chum's shoulder in -what was intended to be an encouraging way. "We've reason to believe -Mom and Minnie weren't in the barn after all when the fire started."</p> - -<p>Frank drew a long breath and leaned on Lanky,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> his sensation of relief -leaving him weak and wobbling.</p> - -<p>"But I don't see them anywhere around here!" he exclaimed, looking to -the right and to the left, where the punchers were standing in groups -watching the barn and its contents go up in flames, for no puny human -efforts could now stay the march of destruction.</p> - -<p>Lanky was beckoning, and Frank saw that it was Charlie Gin Sing who -started toward them. The Chinaman had apparently managed to get over -the worst of his emotion at seeing such a sight for the first time in -his life; he looked more like his grinning self, Frank noticed, as he -trotted up to where the three boys were standing.</p> - -<p>"Charlie," said Lanky, taking hold of the cook's thin arm, "tell Frank -here what you say you saw. He's been afraid the ladies were caught in -the fire. That was what made him rush in there at the risk of his life."</p> - -<p>"Me see Missy Wally—young lady come out side door—yep, long time back -till I smell smoke and see barn he ketch fire."</p> - -<p>That was lucid, and positive enough to convince Frank that his fears -had after all been groundless. Charlie Gin Sing could be depended on to -tell a straight story.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Where were you when you saw them come out?" asked Frank.</p> - -<p>"Me standee kitchen door—get lungs full air—wave hand at Missy -Wally—she like Charlie his cooking—wave hand back—finest lady in all -land, Missy Wally."</p> - -<p>"Which way did they go after coming out of the barn?" continued Frank, -bent on getting at the full facts, for if those who were missing had -returned to the ranch house, it was strange they had not appeared on -the scene, with all that racket going on.</p> - -<p>"Walk away—hab lit basket 'long—come from China—ginger like all -Chinese eat."</p> - -<p>"Show me the direction they were heading when last you saw them, -Charlie. It's queer they haven't shown up by now, no matter where they -went."</p> - -<p>"That's straight goods, Frank," interrupted Lanky, his forehead -wrinkled with anxiety.</p> - -<p>"Think Missy Wally she go them woods—me tell her wild flowers grow -there where cattle drink at spring! Look! What tell you? Here come -runnin', you savvy, like in big hurry!"</p> - -<p>Lanky gave a whoop.</p> - -<p>"He's right, Frank—Paul! There they come, and running, too. Oh! I'm -so glad I could yell my head off. All this while they've been there in -that patch of trees they say Josh Kinney planted fifty years ago."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> - -<p>Frank was about as much relieved as his chum; but, just the same, he -noticed something that apparently Lanky had missed.</p> - -<p>"Your mother acts as though exhausted, Lanky," he said. "See how Minnie -tries to buoy her up. Was it because of their fears the ranch house was -burning up and some lives in danger, or did something else happen to -frighten them?"</p> - -<p>Mr. Wallace was already hastening toward the approaching pair, and the -three boys started on the run, Paul hobbling bravely along, although -his ankle gave him frequent stabs of pain.</p> - -<p>The "woods," as the big clump of trees was called by the punchers, were -some distance away from the ranch buildings, and it took the boys an -appreciable length of time to draw near Mrs. Wallace and Minnie.</p> - -<p>"I was right," Frank kept telling himself, as he noted the looks of -both Mrs. Wallace and the girl. "Something dreadful has certainly -happened to make them act that way! Mrs. Wallace seems ready to drop, -and Minnie, too, is as pale as a ghost. But, anyway, they are safe -enough, and not caught in that fire-trap!"</p> - -<p>Now they reached the pair, and Lanky threw his arm around his mother.</p> - -<p>"Oh, what a scare we've had!" he told her. "We believed you had both -been caught in the burning<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> barn. But Charlie Gin Sing gave us the -right stuff when he said he had seen you come out and head for the -woods."</p> - -<p>"But we have been in danger, after all," said his mother, in quivering -tones. "I shall never, never want to visit those awful woods again. -Only for Minnie's presence of mind I might have lost my life!"</p> - -<p>"Why, what happened?" asked the astounded and anxious Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Snakes—rattlesnakes! A whole den of them!" gasped the still -shuddering Mrs. Wallace.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER V</p> - -<p class="center">A RATTLESNAKE ROUND-UP</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Frank Allen</span> could see now where Lanky got his horror of snakes, since -his mother seemed to have the same detestation and fear of them.</p> - -<p>He looked at Minnie, as though wondering whether she would back the -older lady up in that astounding assertion. One prairie rattler would -be bad enough, but to speak of a whole den, and so close to the ranch -house as that, seemed a bit as though Mrs. Wallace unconsciously -magnified things.</p> - -<p>But to his surprise Minnie immediately nodded her head.</p> - -<p>"Yes, there were ever so many of the nasty wriggling things, Frank," -she assured him in her convincing way. "Some were monsters, and others -teenty little bits of snakes, but full of fight just the same, big or -little."</p> - -<p>Frank could suspect there might be a story connected with their -adventure in which Minnie had played the part of heroine. He realized, -however,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> he must depend on Lanky's mother to tell the facts, for -Minnie had never been one to boast of anything she did.</p> - -<p>"What happened to stir them up so, do you know?" he asked Mrs. Wallace.</p> - -<p>"Oh! it was my ignorance—foolishness I'd better call it," she told him -frankly. "I certainly did think it was a locust buzzing, and stepped -over to see the little drummer, when—I almost stood on a bunch of -curled-up baby snakes. Why, Frank, there was a dreadful monster all -coiled with its head drawn back, ready to strike at me and that buzzing -sound going harder than ever."</p> - -<p>She shut her eyes as though once again seeing the fear-inspiring sight.</p> - -<p>"But—it didn't strike you Mom?" asked Lanky weakly.</p> - -<p>"No," replied Mrs. Wallace, turning a fond look on her companion. "Just -in the nick of time this brave girl snatched me back, exactly as if she -had all the strength of Lige Smith in her arm!"</p> - -<p>Frank felt prouder of Minnie than ever before—to hear how in time of -an emergency she could act promptly, instead of squealing as some girls -certainly would have done.</p> - -<p>"Then I fainted from the shock," the lady continued, "but not before I -saw that snake dart out of coil in the effort to reach me and, failing, -draw back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> again on the defensive. Minnie actually dragged me, with all -my weight, some distance away from the reptiles' den, and when later on -I came to, there was not a single snake in sight."</p> - -<p>"Min, you're just the finest trump ever," exclaimed Lanky. "I sure take -off my hat to a girl like you. But didn't you two hear all the noise -that was going on up around the ranch house?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, I heard it, and was puzzled to know what the shouting and all -that black smoke could mean," Minnie admitted. "But your mother still -lay in that swoon, and my first duty was to her."</p> - -<p>"She actually went past the den again, so as to get some cold water -from the spring," explained Mrs. Wallace, turning to her husband, who -arrived just then. "It was that that revived me. But I felt so weak and -shaky that although both of us were greatly concerned on account of the -dreadful sounds we heard and all that black smoke, we were some time in -getting started for the house."</p> - -<p>Minnie had left the group, knowing that Mrs. Wallace would be telling -it all over again to her husband, and of course repeating her praise. -Frank understand the modesty that could not bear to hear her own -heroism praised, and he hurried after Minnie, walking with her to view -the now almost gutted barn, which would soon be only a blackened pile, -never to be rebuilt.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> - -<p>Great was the surprise of Lige Smith and the other punchers when they -learned from Frank what had happened to alarm the ladies.</p> - -<p>"Did you ever hear of such colossal nerve as those snakes showed in -locatin' so close to human beings and actually fixing up a vipers' -nest?" burst out Lige. "Boys, I take it that looks like a deadly -insult. Reckon as how we ain't no use around these diggings, since the -ole barn's a goner. Let's get busy and clean out that snake hole."</p> - -<p>Nothing could please the punchers better, and there was an immediate -scurrying around for poles and anything else that was likely to prove -useful in bringing destruction to the "owdacious rattler crowd," as -Jerry Brime remarked.</p> - -<p>Of course, all three boys went along with the crowd to see how the -extermination of the prairie rattlesnakes progressed. Lanky smothered -his abject dislike and vowed he would be the death of that big reptile -because of which his mother had just passed through such suffering.</p> - -<p>"I'd like to say I'd given one of the wrigglers a stiff crack on the -head so's to break his scaly neck," he confided to Paul, who limped -along, bent on seeing all the fun there was to see.</p> - -<p>"And you could get the rattles to show when you tell the yarn," -suggested Paul. "I've got three of the same at home—used to hunt -snakes every spring,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> just to know there was one less poisonous -creature laid out stiff."</p> - -<p>The crowd were soon on the spot. They found that the nest of snakes was -not a creature of the imagination. Several "bouncers," as Lanky called -them, set up a droning buzz as the party approached, and being quickly -located were attacked with the poles and pistols.</p> - -<p>Frank and Lanky were in the midst of the fray. A big rattler came for -Frank, but he caught the reptile in the head with a rock.</p> - -<p>"Look out!" yelled Lanky suddenly.</p> - -<p>Frank whirled around, to see a medium-sized snake in the act of -dropping from a bush just behind him. He flung another rock and at the -same instant Lanky hit the snake with a club he carried.</p> - -<p>"On your guard, boys!" yelled one of the cowboys. "We're in a nest of -'em."</p> - -<p>"This is too much for me!" gasped Paul, and lost no time in limping to -a distance.</p> - -<p>"Take that!" yelled Frank, and struck at another snake with a pole he -had picked up.</p> - -<p>"There you are," came from Lanky, and he quickly dispatched three small -snakes squirming from between some rocks. He had hardly done this when -he gave a mad yell as another snake wound itself around his ankle.</p> - -<p>Crack! It was the report of Lige Smith's pistol.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> He had aimed at the -snake's head. His aim was true and the reptile dropped to the ground -and went whipping out of sight in the bushes.</p> - -<p>"Gosh, but that was a narrow escape," murmured Lanky, his face growing -pale.</p> - -<p>"I'll say so," was the reply. "But come on, there are more snakes over -yonder."</p> - -<p>The work of fighting the reptiles went on, and when the big ones had -been settled even Paul took a hand in cleaning out what remained.</p> - -<p>"Say, Frank, did you see me get a crack at that corking big one?" -Lanky exclaimed, beaming with excitement and the knowledge that he was -gradually overcoming his excessive fear of the entire snake family.</p> - -<p>"It may be the granddaddy of the whole bunch," Frank told him, "and, as -like as not, the very one that struck at your mother."</p> - -<p>"I'm believing in that way, anyhow," affirmed the tall boy. "And now -for getting his rattle box."</p> - -<p>"Be sure to cut his head off first," warned Frank. "I've known of cases -where a rattler believed to be done for was able to coil up and strike -a fellow's leg with his poisoned fangs."</p> - -<p>When the punchers and the boys got through with their self-imposed job -there was not a live snake, small or large, in all that patch of woods.</p> - -<p>"We'll sure keep our eyes peeled after this," said<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> Lige Smith, as they -started back to the ranch house "and it's a pipe cinch no snakes are -ever going to hole out again in our wood patch."</p> - -<p>Of course, Mr. Wallace was sorry to lose all the hay and straw that -had gone up in smoke and flames, for it might prove useful during the -coming winter season.</p> - -<p>"But for one thing," he told Frank, when on another day they were -talking over numerous plans, "we'll never think of rebuilding that -barn, not having the same apprehension of forage shortage that haunted -Uncle George. Besides, Lige assures me the winters are getting milder -every season up here in the shadow of the Rockies, and that there will -always be plenty of grass for our small herd."</p> - -<p>The three boys were by degrees preparing to start on the long cherished -trip to the mountains. Gold Fork and all its traditions of former -glories before the diggings panned out, lured them more and more every -day.</p> - -<p>Lanky had persisted in his endeavor to prove himself of real cowboy -caliber. He could ride any bronco that came his way, sticking on as he -called it "like a burr in a darky's wool."</p> - -<p>But one thing Frank noticed that roused his curiosity a bit. Somehow, -the often expressed intention on Lanky's part to own and proudly wear -as natty a pair of fringed and decorated "chaps" as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> any puncher could -boast, seemed to have died out completely.</p> - -<p>"What's happened to make you change your mind about those gaudy chaps, -Lanky?" Frank asked one day, as their preparations for their trip -neared completeness.</p> - -<p>Lanky grinned good-naturedly.</p> - -<p>"Shucks! I've only been looking around and observing some things that I -didn't know before, Frank."</p> - -<p>"As what, for instance?" demanded the other smilingly.</p> - -<p>"First off the bat, it isn't the chaps that make the genuine puncher. -I've noticed that generally the greenhorn has the niftiest outfit you -ever laid eyes on and struts around when decked out like he owned the -whole world."</p> - -<p>"But, Lanky, every puncher does have chaps, and often more than one -pair."</p> - -<p>"Sure does, Frank. But—and here's where my argus eyes came in -good—the finest rig he owns he keeps for extra occasions, like going -to a dance or when taking cattle to the station for shipment; because, -don't you see, on those special events he's apt to run across some of -the girls."</p> - -<p>Frank laughed at that, and wagged his head in appreciation.</p> - -<p>"Your sagacity does you credit, Lanky."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Look at our bunch at work on the range, rounding up strays, branding -the youngsters, or doing any sort of work like that. Why, some of 'em -even wear plain faded jean overalls, and the only things that would -tell you they were punchers are their cowboy hats and the ropes they -always carry."</p> - -<p>"I can see you're making the grade, all right, old chum," chucked -Frank. "And I give you a heap of credit for taking note of such -happenings. Not much gets past your eyes—while they're open, I mean, -Lanky."</p> - -<p>As it happened, when they had almost forgotten all about the hovering -peril that had given them so much concern a month and more previously, -it was fated to once more awaken into life to annoy them.</p> - -<p>It was Paul this time who made the discovery. He had been unfortunate -on this visit to Rockspur, in having sprained his ankle, which was slow -to heal. This had kept him in the background at times when his two -chums were meeting all sorts of lively adventures.</p> - -<p>Frank and Lanky had retired to the room which they shared in common, -and chose to confer regarding what they should take with them and what -leave behind. Paul was in the bunk-house listening-in, there being -something in the air that night which he particularly wished to hear.</p> - -<p>"Well, here's our corrected list," Lanky an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>nounced, holding up a bit -of paper. "I reckon we've cut it down as close to the bone as we can, -and everything I've not crossed off we believe we'll need. Dad will -do the same, for I happen to know he always used to travel light when -years ago he went into camp. But here comes Paul, so now we can hop -into bed and get some sleep.</p> - -<p>"Oh! will you?" said Paul, entering in time to overhear this last -remark from Lanky. "As our old chum, Jack Eastwick, used always to say, -'maybe, maybe not.' I'm bringing you news that may make you sit up and -take notice. That sly little rascal with the bushel head is skulking -around again! I glimpsed him while crossing over from the bunk-house!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER VI</p> - -<p class="center">ON GUARD</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">Douse</span> the glim, first of all, Lanky!" said Frank Allen without a -second's hesitation. Frank seemed always ready for action, which was -one of his strong points.</p> - -<p>Lanky thereupon blew out the lamp, and the three boys found themselves -in vague darkness. The late rising moon was above the horizon, but the -western side of the ranch house was wrapped in the shadows.</p> - -<p>"Now, let's keep mum and watch," whispered Frank. "He'll think the last -comer has turned in, and the coast will soon be clear. Pretty near time -for the boys to shut up shop over there in the radio den."</p> - -<p>"Getting ready to wind-up when I left," murmured Paul. "Lige has a -rule, you know, that every puncher must hit the hay by eleven, so's to -be up with the sunrise."</p> - -<p>Silence fell upon them.</p> - -<p>Minutes crept on as the boys crouched by the window, eager for -the first glimpse of the strange little<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> unknown man whose former -mysterious actions had so engrossed their curiosity.</p> - -<p>Now and then one of them would stir, or it might be heave a heavy sigh, -as though this pent-up enthusiasm was making serious inroads on his -patience. The cramped position in which they maintained their vigil -added to the discomfort of the situation.</p> - -<p>For some little time the boys heard the voices and subdued laughter of -the punchers, as some of them came out, to wander over in the direction -of the horse corral, in order to have a last look, so as to make sure -all was right in that quarter.</p> - -<p>Even that died out by degrees, and then absolute silence descended upon -the vicinity of the ranch buildings. Up to the coming of the guests -from the East there had been a pack of mongrel dogs connected with -Rockspur Ranch; but Frank and his pals had seen neither hide nor hair -of any for some time.</p> - -<p>The time began to drag terribly, and Frank himself feared none of them -would be able to stand it much longer. But presently Lanky pinched his -arm and breathed into his ear the words:</p> - -<p>"Saw something move just then—might have been a slinking coyote, but I -reckon it had only two legs, Frank!"</p> - -<p>"Where?" the other whispered back, feeling a thrill of expectation, as -it began to appear as though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> their weary vigil might meet with some -measure of success.</p> - -<p>"See that star low down near the horizon—just to the right of that -bush."</p> - -<p>"I get you, Lanky!"</p> - -<p>"I hit the bullseye, Frank, because there he is again!" continued the -owner of the eagle vision.</p> - -<p>All of the chums had their eyes glued on the point Lanky had mentioned, -for the brilliant setting star was plainly visible. Yes, something was -moving, for a fact, and it must be either a venturesome coyote prowling -around in search of a toothsome bone or else a man down on his knees, -crawling toward the ranch house.</p> - -<p>Closer came the object of their scrutiny. Presently Frank gave a low -and suggestive grunt.</p> - -<p>"A man, all right," he muttered.</p> - -<p>"Heading right this way, too," chucked Lanky, well pleased over the way -things were working out.</p> - -<p>A hiss from Frank warned the others that greater caution than ever was -now necessary. It would be too bad if after all some thoughtless act on -their part should frighten off the queer little "sawed-off," as Lanky -refereed to the moonlight visitor.</p> - -<p>Every few minutes they could see that he elevated his head as though to -take a wide survey, and thus made doubly certain he was not creeping -into a trap.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It's the runt, as sure as anything!" Lanky told himself. "Know that -bushy-top anywhere I could glimpse it! Gee whiz! I sure do wonder what -sort of a stunt he's meanin' to pull off this time."</p> - -<p>Just then, as the intruder was close enough to be fairly seen in the -moonlight, Lanky made a discovery that added to his keen curiosity. In -one hand the man carried what looked like an ordinary spade, as though -his purpose had something to do with digging.</p> - -<p>It was plain to be seen that the fellow meant to approach close to the -boys' shelter. He was heading in a direct line for the magnificent tree -growing near that corner of the low building, the very first one Josh -Kinney had planted, and now highly esteemed during the hot hummer days -for the grateful shade its foliage cast.</p> - -<p>Now the prowler reached a spot close to the thick trunk of this tree, -and, after a good look around, he seemed to be measuring with a -tape-line.</p> - -<p>The nerves of that trio of watchers so close by quivered with -excitement. As their lookout was bathed in deep shadow there was no -possibility of their being seen by the intruder, even though he looked -directly that way, if only the boys made no movement.</p> - -<p>Satisfied at length after several trials that he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> struck the exact -location for which he searched, the man, still bending down, started to -push the spade into the turf.</p> - -<p>It was soft and pliable so near the house, where the shade of the -foliage above prevented the sun from baking the surface. Consequently, -the dwarf seemed to be having no great difficulty in digging.</p> - -<p>He worked in utmost silence. Not once did Frank catch the slightest -sound, as of the spade striking a root or a possible stone. Indeed, in -a way it was uncanny. Lanky, being gifted with a lively imagination, -could easily picture the queer little man as a ghostly grave-digger, -plying his trade at this hour approaching midnight.</p> - -<p>It was useless trying to guess what object the fellow had in view, for -the boys had not the remotest clue to guide them. But by exercising -patience they were likely to find the solution of the mystery when he -"struck oil."</p> - -<p>His caution still clung to him, it seemed, and he took nothing for -granted. As systematically as clock-work that bushy head would be -raised and turned around in every direction. Then, as if convinced he -had nothing to fear, the digger would once more get down to work and -deepen the hole he had already made.</p> - -<p>Apparently, whatever he was after must be buried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> at some considerable -depth below the surface. Already he had quite a good-sized pile of loam -heaped up.</p> - -<p>Then, all of a sudden, he seemed to take the alarm, for the boys saw -him flatten out until he "looked like a flapjack on the ground."</p> - -<p>At the same moment a distant sound, as of the regular beat of a pony's -hoofs, was faintly borne to the ears of the watching boys. They all -understood what it meant, knowing that Buster Lightfoot had been -missing at supper and was believed to be far off on the range looking -up strays.</p> - -<p>He was now returning on a tired pony, and doubtless himself as hungry -as a wolf. Yes, now the boys knew he was turning Buckskin into the -corral, after which they could see him heading for the bunk-house, his -burly frame looming up in the slanting rays of the failing moon.</p> - -<p>Buster knew better than to make any undue racket when returning at so -late an hour, for he would have had the rest of the boys about his ears -like a swarm of angry bees. He would find plenty of food laid aside for -him by the experienced Charlie Gin Sing, and after disposing of the -bread and meat and the hot coffee contained in an enormous thermos jug, -he was expected to turn in for the rest he so sadly needed.</p> - -<p>In due time all was quiet again, and the digger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> once more tackled his -job, with a stubborn spirit worthy of admiration. Lanky liked his nerve -in thus taking such great chances of being discovered and caught, when -he might expect to be given a good hiding.</p> - -<p>It would seem as though the man with the spade must attain the object -of his search before long, since the hole was already of some depth. As -a consequence the boys found themselves more worked up than ever.</p> - -<p>Lanky discovered that his right arm was feeling prickly all over. He -knew what that meant, for it was not the first time his arm or leg had -gone to sleep from a continuous pressure of some sort.</p> - -<p>His intention was to change around and lean with his left arm, if only -it could be managed, for he surely did not wish to lose sight of things -at this critical stage of the affair.</p> - -<p>It proved to be rather an unfortunate design on his part for his right -arm was as helpless as though paralyzed so when he tried to move it -played him a most dastardly and treacherous trick, actually crashing -through the window and shattering the pane of glass into a thousand -pieces!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER VII</p> - -<p class="center">IN THE BLACK BOTTLE</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It is</span> astonishing what a tremendous medley of sound usually follows the -smashing of a window, especially in the dead of night, with everything -around gripped in silence.</p> - -<p>Frank had a sensation almost of panic, hardly knowing what had -happened. Paul, on his part, involuntarily ducked down, as if under -the impression that the runt outside had hurled his spade through -the window and would possibly follow it with other things still more -dangerous.</p> - -<p>Lanky, who was himself the culprit, appeared to grasp the situation -and its undoubted disastrous consequences better than either of his -companions. This was proved when he made a vigorous bolt for the exit -of the room, leading outdoors.</p> - -<p>"Let's grab him, fellows!" he shouted back over his shoulder, just -before tearing open the door and leaping headlong through.</p> - -<p>In his haste he made some sort of miscalculation, and the next thing he -knew he tripped over some object and went headlong to the ground.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> - -<p>Frank and Paul, having caught his idea, and being nimble enough to -follow close on his heels, also had the experience of taking headers, -so for a few seconds there was something of a mix-up.</p> - -<p>When they managed to untie the tangle and gain their feet, look as they -might there was no sign of the little man to be seen. He had vanished -as quietly as the wreaths of fog do in the morning when a puff of air -welcomes the rising of the sun.</p> - -<p>"Please somebody kick me for a duffer!" pleaded the disgusted Lanky.</p> - -<p>Loud voices attested to the fact that the smash and jingle of falling -fragments of glass had instantly awakened every sleeper in the near-by -bunk-house.</p> - -<p>Out they came running, helter-skelter, some in pajamas, others partly -dressed, as was their habit while sleeping, but all wildly excited.</p> - -<p>"What happened, boys?" bellowed Lige Smith, racing up barefooted.</p> - -<p>"That measly little runt with the big head's been nosing around here -again! But he got scared off when my elbow slipped and broke the -window."</p> - -<p>It was Lanky who made this hurried explanation, ready to shoulder all -the blame of the mishap. No one had accepted his invitation to indulge -in kicking him, he felt sure both Frank and Paul must feel as disgusted -as he was himself.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Which way did the critter vamoose?" asked Hoptoad Atkins, quite -savagely for such a diminutive specimen of a puncher.</p> - -<p>"None of us saw him skip out," admitted Lanky, "But say, he came from -over that way," and he pointed toward that part of the sky where some -time before the bright star had set beyond the level horizon.</p> - -<p>There was an immediate rush on the part of the rustlers, and Frank, on -noting their scantiness of attire, could not keep from chuckling. He -felt positive he would never see the equal of that picture again, and -its memory would always bring a laugh to his lips.</p> - -<p>Of course no vigorous search could be made, for many reasons. In -the first place, none of the punchers were more than half clad; -besides, chasing over the wide stretches of the prairie after such a -will-o'-the-wisp as that unknown but slippery runt, was out of the -question.</p> - -<p>Then again it might be he was only "tolling" them away, so that during -their absence he could stampede the horses or accomplish some other -species of mischief, such as might take form in a rattlebox brain.</p> - -<p>They went as far as the corral, to make sure the ponies were safe, and -then came drifting back again, their curiosity having been awakened by -see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>ing Frank hard at work with a spade, enlarging a hole in the ground -that some one had dug.</p> - -<p>Some of the punchers had gone back into the bunk-house to get into -warmer garments, sensing that the end of the strange midnight adventure -was not yet. These wise ones came straggling back, to find Frank had -handed over his task to the eager Lanky, who was making the dirt fly.</p> - -<p>Then came a sudden rifle shot and the thump of a bullet as it buried -itself in the tree trunk just over Lanky's head.</p> - -<p>Frank happened to be looking in a direction that enabled him to glimpse -the distant flash.</p> - -<p>"Git tuh kiver!" bawled Jerry Brime.</p> - -<p>Some dodged around the house while others flattened themselves out -on the ground, which they hugged assiduously. Frank was one of those -on the ground, while Lanky and Paul hurried around the corner of the -building.</p> - -<p>Two of those who had secured weapons as well as clothes when in the -bunk-house started on the run toward the quarter from which the shot -had come. Just then a second shot sounded, and the whine of the -projectile as it winged past close to their heads could be plainly -heard, giving the boys a queer sensation.</p> - -<p>Cowboy yells sounded as the pair of runners<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> started directly toward -the marksman's stand, but it was answered by a mocking laugh. Then -followed the rapid pounding of a horse's hoofs, telling them that their -intended quarry was in no hurry for the punishment which they would -only too willingly bestow upon him, could he be overtaken.</p> - -<p>Of course, they could not pursue on foot, for cowboys as a rule are -badly handicapped when out of the saddle. After blazing away several -times in the vague hope of crippling the unseen pony or winging its -rider by a lucky shot, the two armed men ran for the corral, to get -astride their mounts.</p> - -<p>But all that of course consumed time, and when they were ready to start -it was too late. Listen as they might, the keenest of ears proved -unable to catch the least sound. Even the faint night breeze was -against them, for it came out of the wrong quarter.</p> - -<p>It was an angry bunch of punchers that gathered around where Frank once -more assumed the task of digging. He had seen how recklessly Lanky -worked, and considered it the part of wisdom to exercise a little more -caution, not knowing whether there might be dynamite or some other -explosive that lay buried there, and this action of the stranger only a -trap to lure them on to their own sorrow.</p> - -<p>It proved a wise move on Frank's part, as succeeding events turned out. -Those hovering close<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> around him, watching with more or less curiosity, -heard a queer clicking sound. Evidently the carefully handled spade had -come in contact with some object.</p> - -<p>"Another iron box, I bet my dandy new quirt!" ejaculated Zander Forbes, -showing signs of unusual excitement. Probably he or the rest of the -bunch had never before been at the digging up of a treasure-trove until -that night when Josh Kinney's secret receptacle was unearthed deep down -in the cellar under the ranch pantry.</p> - -<p>"Pull off another one, Zander, old hoss!" snorted Hoptoad Atkins. -"Reckon I know the sound of metal hittin' glass."</p> - -<p>"Shoot, Frank, and let's see who's got the correct answer!" Buster -urged.</p> - -<p>Frank Allen was not to be hurried an atom.</p> - -<p>He leaned toward Hoptoad's guess, for the peculiar clink that followed -his gently striking some object made him think of a glass bottle. -The times were such that bootleggers drifted all over the prairie, -disposing of their illegal wares to customers on different ranches.</p> - -<p>Could it be possible that there was a regular cache of bottled goods -hidden here so close to the ranch house? He had heard that Lanky's -Uncle George had had more or less trouble with some of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> his former -employees along these very lines; for they seemed able to get the stuff -and go on protracted sprees in spite of all his precautions.</p> - -<p>So when he reached over and lifted a bottle out of the hole it was -with a feeling akin to bitter disappointment. Would this explain the -persistent attempts of the queer little man to carry out some plan?</p> - -<p>Low laughter and then grunts came from the group of punchers.</p> - -<p>"Nothin' but a leetle moonshine, looks to me," old Jerry remarked, as -he rubbed his pointed chin with finger and thumb.</p> - -<p>"No brand on the pesky bottle, you-uns notice," ventured Lige, the -foreman, trying to make the best of a bad bargain.</p> - -<p>"Mighty queer that little runt taking such big chances just to get hold -of a bottle of hot stuff," Zander Forbes from Yale remarked shrewdly.</p> - -<p>"Jerry, they tell me you used to be a good judge of such things," -observed Sally Keating. "Take a sniff, and see if you can name the -brand."</p> - -<p>"Hold on boys, you're all away off your trolley," Frank told them. -"This bottle has been buried here for a good many years, I'd say; as -long, it might be, as that old chest was in the cellar!"</p> - -<p>"Bully boy!" snapped Lanky enthusiastically. "Hit her again, Frank! Put -the pins up on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> other alley and make a spare or a strike. Now go on -and tell us <i>how</i> you know?"</p> - -<p>"Here, fetch that lantern over, Charlie Gin Sing," Frank called out to -the cook who had just appeared on the scene, understanding that all -firing had stopped and that it was safe for him to venture abroad.</p> - -<p>"Say, it does look mighty like the old bottle's been under the soil -for ages, boys," agreed Zander, after a close scrutiny of the object. -"Shake it, Frank, and see if you hear something gurgle."</p> - -<p>"Nixey! Never a solitary gurgle!" gloated Lanky. "There's something -else than liquid lightning inside that black bottle. Frank, knock the -head off, or I'll explode, I'm that stuffed with curiosity."</p> - -<p>Bang! went the bottle against the edge of the spade. As the glass flew -in a shower a curled paper yellowed with age, fell to the ground. On -this Frank pounced and straightened it out. Everybody crowded around, -eager to see, and among them old Jerry Brime pushed his beak forward, -to immediately cry out something that sent a thrill through the three -boys.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER VIII</p> - -<p class="center">STARTING FOR GOLD FORK</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">By</span> hokey!" Jerry ejaculated, mightily interested in the age-stained -paper. "Sure I've seen thet thar figgerin', 'fore now! Yep! It seems -like I kin' 'member ole Josh Kinney bottlin' the paper up wid a big -grin an' askin' how it looked fur a drawin' prize. I done tole him it -seemed to me a hen went an' crawled acrost the paper wid muddy feet!"</p> - -<p>It certainly did look a bit that way, as Frank and Lanky were forced to -admit. They studied their find for a few minutes; then Lanky rubbed his -nose and went on to remark sarcastically:</p> - -<p>"And, say, that same hen must have been some loco, to make such a bunch -of crooked tracks."</p> - -<p>"Well, it must be some sort of chart, or map," suggested Paul.</p> - -<p>"I take it that's right," Frank observed, nodding his head. "Perhaps -you might call it a supplementary one to the first we found."</p> - -<p>"Now you're shouting, Frank!" snapped Lanky eagerly. "We know that -other was mostly about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> the route to the place where Kinney pulled -out his nuggets. All right! Then this tells in some Greek way that he -undersold, but is a mystery to us, how to walk up and help yourself at -the feed-trough, after you get inside the cave."</p> - -<p>"About ah I can make out of it," said Mr. Wallace, "is that there seems -to be a five-fingered cave, and the stuff is located in the central -zone."</p> - -<p>"Well, that's something of a clue, anyhow," Lanky decided. "Besides -when we get to studying these queer marks closer maybe we'll run across -some sort of key that'll make it all plain as print."</p> - -<p>Frank noticed that Minnie was leaning out of the window of the small -room she occupied, clad in a pretty and becoming kimono. She seemed to -be drinking in every word that was being uttered.</p> - -<p>"Chances are," Frank told himself shrewdly, "Minnie will beg like -everything to go along with us. But of course that would be out of the -question! There'll be all kinds of danger afoot. Besides, I don't think -it's the trip for a girl to take, good pal as Min is."</p> - -<p>Since the enemy had been chased off, and, besides, what he sought to -secure possession of was already safe in their keeping, Mr. Wallace -decided it was useless to cheat themselves any longer of their sleep.</p> - -<p>As the boys had been chiefly instrumental in get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>ting hold of this -second chart, buried in such a peculiar fashion by the old pioneer, -just as had been the case with the other, he asked Frank to keep it -safely.</p> - -<p>"We'll have plenty of time to pore over them both between now and our -start, as well as while on the trails," he told them, before going back -to his sleeping room.</p> - -<p>"How soon can we get a move on, Dad?" asked Lanky eagerly. "Gee whiz! -I'm all cluttered up with thinking about that trip and what strange -things we'll be apt to see in the mountain regions."</p> - -<p>"Not many days more, son," was all the reply his father gave, and with -this Lanky had to rest content; though as time passed he would likely -grumble more or less and show signs of ever growing restlessness.</p> - -<p>There was no further alarm that night, nor on the succeeding nights. It -seemed as though the activity of the Rockspur crowd had entirely broken -up any plans the conspirators may have formed, and a change of base -became necessary on their part.</p> - -<p>"Huh! bet you a cookey they've set out for Gold Fork ahead of us, -and we'll find the whole shooting-match camped on the ground when -we get there," Lanky said to Frank on the third day after the night -disturbance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What's the odds if they are?" his chum demanded, unmoved by all this -display of feverish anxiety on Lanky's part. "They are no more apt to -find the location of Kinney's claim than those hundreds of miners were -in the old days, when Gold Fork was a bustling camp and men digging -like wild-fire in the hope of striking a bonanza deposit of nuggets."</p> - -<p>"Reckon that's so, Frank," Lanky acknowledged, won over by the coolness -and good judgment of his chum. "If we're going to have trouble getting -our paws on that cache of nuggets with both maps to set us on the right -track, why, those four-flushers haven't even a look-in."</p> - -<p>"Well, I've got a little news for you, Lanky, that ought to fetch a -grin to your face. Your father told me not ten minutes ago that it's -all settled."</p> - -<p>"Meaning when we start for Gold Forge? Is that the racket, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"To-morrow will be Sunday. We say good-by to Rockspur for a little -while on next Tuesday morning!"</p> - -<p>Lanky's face lighted up with joy. He threw his hat into the air and -gave a whoop that would have shamed almost any reckless, care-free -puncher.</p> - -<p>"That's bully news, Frank Allen!" he burst out. "When dad saps a thing -he sticks to it like a leech. My stuff is all packed, and I've even -knocked off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> nearly half I laid out in the start to pack along. Dad -told me we'd have to go light, as only one pack horse would be taken."</p> - -<p>Great excitement followed, particularly among the younger element at -Rockspur Ranch. Minnie hovered around and listened to everything the -boys said. She examined the two crude maps several times, as though -they held a strong fascination for her.</p> - -<p>Frank often shook his head as he noted these things.</p> - -<p>"She certainly does want to be one of the bunch, all right!" he told -himself. "I'm dead sure Mr. Wallace will never consent, although his -wife would let Minnie do anything she liked, she's so easy going, and -thinks such a courageous girl could always take care of herself. But -while I'm sorry to see her disappointed, I don't think she ought to go -on what may turn out to be a fighting trip."</p> - -<p>Of course the party would ride, and the ponies of the three boys were -carefully groomed, also allowed to rest as much as possible, so they -might be in the best of condition when the time arrived for the start.</p> - -<p>It was not to be a large party, just old Jerry Brime, Zander Forbes, -and Mr. Wallace, besides the trio of boys, with a pack animal to carry -such<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> stores and necessities as they must take along in order to insure -a fair degree of comfort.</p> - -<p>They had secured all the information possible from Jerry, as well as -any of the other punchers who had by chance set eyes on the deserted -mining camp in the mountains or knew something about the route hither.</p> - -<p>To the best of their understanding, the boys figured they would have to -ride something like forty miles toward the southwest, then change to -face the setting sun. After going, possibly, for several days, in the -end they would reach the foothills along the base of the mighty Rocky -Mountains.</p> - -<p>It gave them many a thrill, just the picturing in their minds of the -new and wonderful sights that in all probability awaited them, while -making their way to their intended destination.</p> - -<p>"Wonder if well see any antelopes or mebbe a stray buffalo," Lanky -said to Paul, as they discussed things on Monday morning—the probable -state of the weather for the great day, now close at hand, how they -would stand the long gallop in the hot sun, whether those persistent -enemies who had pestered them so long would be lying in wait with other -evil designs in view, and kindred topics, of which there seemed to be -legions cropping up.</p> - -<p>"Somehow," Paul returned, with a note of yearn<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>ing in his voice, "I've -been telling myself that I might have the ambition of my life granted -before we left the Rockies."</p> - -<p>"Now what could that be, I wonder?" quizzed Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Set eyes on a real Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep," explained the other, -with a little laugh. "Sounds queer, I know, Lanky, but I've never -forgotten one I saw in a zoo, and it's haunted me ever since—those big -curving horns on which they say it often alights when bounding from a -cliff to a plateau thirty feet lower down. I've even dreamed of seeing -that marvellous stunt."</p> - -<p>Lanky rubbed the tip of his nose reflectively.</p> - -<p>"I never thought of seeing a genuine bighorn in its native haunts, -Paul. But if only I could have the glory of knocking a rousing big chap -off his perch and getting a pair of horns to take back to Columbia as a -trophy! Shucks I wouldn't mind going to some trouble over <i>such</i> a job!"</p> - -<p>That was the difference between Lanky and Paul. Paul seemed satisfied -just to see and admire objects in Nature's vast domain; but Lanky, -having the hunter instinct developed in his nature, thought only of -possession—the monster bass swimming in the shallow water of the lake -did not interest him one-tenth as much as when it was leaping at the -end<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> of his line and giving him a succession of thrills in a frantic -endeavor to escape.</p> - -<p>Tuesday morning dawned with a dear sky. It promised to be a hot day, -as all the weather sharps could easily predict; but then such a minor -detail did not bother any of the members of the expedition a particle.</p> - -<p>The boys were keyed up to a high tension, and ready—as Lanky put it, -"to buck up against any old thing that might come along, from cyclones -and waterspouts to attacks from hostile men who might take them for -government agents spying on boot-legger operations."</p> - -<p>Every soul on the ranch from Charlie Gin Sing to Mrs. Wallace was on -the spot to wish them a safe and prosperous journey. Minnie hovered -around and smiled in a way that puzzled Frank.</p> - -<p>"Now I wonder what kind of a bee that girl has got working in her -brain?" Frank said to himself more than once. Somehow, it made him a -bit uneasy. "I hope she hasn't the feast idea of trying to follow us! -That would be the maddest of pranks."</p> - -<p>The good-byes were said, and the little cavalcade rode bravely off, -those in the saddle turning to send back last words to those left -behind, and particularly Minnie and Mrs. Wallace.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p> - -<p>The cowboys who were to stay at home and perform the regular routine of -ranch duties accompanied the party for several miles; then at a sign -from Lige Smith they gave a parting yell and turned back.</p> - -<p>At last the treasure seekers were off in good shape, with all sorts -of possible adventures lying ahead in the unknown lands they must -traverse. Frank, however, could not keep Minnie's queer manner from -filling his thoughts as he rode on his way.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER IX</p> - -<p class="center">LANKY'S SCHEME WOBBLES</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">Knowing</span> the magnitude of the journey they had before them, the -adventurers did not intend to make any attempt at speed. They must -preserve the strength of their mounts for the hard part of the trip -after arriving in the rough region of the mountainous country.</p> - -<p>They had a cold snack and rested their mounts at noon. The forty miles -in a southwesterly direction was passed over before a halt was again -made for supper. Jerry and Zander Forbes were in charge, the one as -"big boss," the other in the guise of a guide; though most of Jerry's -work was apt to come after they reached their goal and found themselves -at the old mining camp.</p> - -<p>When they put saddles on the ponies, and started off, they faced due -west and a setting sun.</p> - -<p>"Only for that heat haze over there," raid Zander to the boys close at -his side, "you might glimpse the tops of the mountains if you happened -to have sharp eyes and knew just where to look. Most green-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>horns would -be apt to reckon it was only the dim outline of a low-hanging line of -white clouds."</p> - -<p>Lanky strained his eyes to stare in that direction. Sometimes he felt -pretty certain he could just discern a faint line above the level -horizon, which he fondly told himself must really be the outline of the -lofty Rockies, the object of their long ride.</p> - -<p>When the day was done the sun had finally disappeared and the glorious -bed of crimson and gold that awakened lively feelings of admiration in -the souls of the boys had turned to dark blue, it was decided to camp -for the night on the prairie.</p> - -<p>This was now nothing new to Frank and his chums, since they had been -out overnight several times with some of the punchers, riding range -after straying stock.</p> - -<p>"I'm glad of one thing, though," Lanky told Paul, as a fire was kindled -of such stuff as they had managed to pick up on the way.</p> - -<p>"Shoot!" exclaimed the other, when Lanky held back, as was his habit -when he wanted, to enliven the curiosity of those in his company.</p> - -<p>"We didn't run across the rough-house gang of punchers that hold out -over at the Double Z Ranch, nor yet any of the sheep-herders from -over near Skidmore Station. We're trying to mind our own business and -looking for trouble with no outfit, though of course we don't mean to -be stood on."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p> - -<p>The night passed in comparative peace, though a pack of coyotes -persisted in keeping up an all-night chorus of yelps and long-drawn -howls that sounded more wolf than otherwise.</p> - -<p>With the morning they were early in the saddle. It was so hot that Mr. -Wallace had decided to lay off for several hours toward the middle of -the day, making up for lost time by the early start, also a ride after -nightfall, when the cooler airs would creep down from the mountains -ahead.</p> - -<p>They could plainly see these mighty elevations now at any time they -chose to cast their eyes up and down the horizon toward the west.</p> - -<p>"But the atmosphere out here on the level plains is mighty deceptive, -you must remember, boys," Zander Forbes had warned them. "A horseman -can keep riding for ten hours steadily in a straight line, and at the -end of that time seem to be hardly any closer to the mountains than -when he started."</p> - -<p>"But we understood there'd be only two days of hard riding after we -headed into the west!" remonstrated Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Well, by late afternoon to-morrow we ought to be inside of fifteen or -twenty miles of the foothills. But like as not we'll have to make a -third camp on the prairie."</p> - -<p>This turned out to be the case; and when the towering Rockies seemed to -be so close, the boys<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> wondered why Mr. Wallace decided to defer the -remainder of their ride until the next morning.</p> - -<p>"Fresh mounts in good condition," the gentleman explained, "are worth -much more to us than the gaining of a little time."</p> - -<p>In his younger years Mr. Wallace had been considerable of a sportsman, -taking his holidays each fall in a camping trip to the Canada bush, -where he hunted the moose in a primitive wilderness.</p> - -<p>Of late he had not taken any such trips, and his health had suffered in -consequence, which helped to bring about this present outing.</p> - -<p>The coyotes were as noisy as ever that night. Besides, Lanky heard -a new and more thrilling sound, with which he was making his first -acquaintance. Jerry told them it was the long-drawl howl of the big -gray timber wolf, savage creatures that traveled in packs, and when -beset by hunger seldom hesitated to attack a lone hunter.</p> - -<p>"If yuh find yuhself beset by sech a pack o' varmints," was the sage -advice of the veteran range rider and hunter, "don't keer a picayune -'bout showin' the white feather. If so be thar's a tree handy, shin up -it like a streak. Then take yuh pick o' the pesky wolves an' knock 'em -over in a row."</p> - -<p>"I tried fighting a pack once," observed Zander, with a grimace. "Got -the marks of them fangs on my legs and arms to this day. I'd have gone -under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> to boot, only a storm broke and a terrific peal of thunder and -a blinking flash of lightning as a tree was struck close by scared the -graycoats off and gave me a chance to climb a tree."</p> - -<p>With the coming of morning the journey was resumed, and the rising sun -saw them almost half-way to the base of the foothills that served as an -advance guard to the mountains themselves.</p> - -<p>It was just nine by Frank's wrist watch when they arrived. Jerry showed -them a trail that led over the range of hills to a canyon zigzagging up -the great divide, it having once been the bed of a mighty torrent.</p> - -<p>By noon they were fairly over the ridge. Beyond lay a small valley, -and Jerry was able to locate and point out the canyon he expected to -utilize in climbing to the plateau where Gold Fork lay. The place, -they understood, was now the picture of desolation, with tumble-down -shanties and stores marking it as a long since abandoned mining camp, -where an alluring boomlet bubble had burst, to disappoint and ruin -hundreds.</p> - -<p>The ponies were somewhat winded after that stiff climb, so when the -ride was continued they took their time in making the descent.</p> - -<p>"Shucks! two to one we've got to lay over in this washbowl of a -valley," grumbled Lanky, "and won't get to the old camp till to-morrow -night."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> - -<p>Frank, being more disposed to take things as they came and not show -undue eagerness, only laughed at his disappointed chum.</p> - -<p>"Plenty of time, your dad told you, Lanky," he remarked.</p> - -<p>"Yes, he's always telling me that Rome wasn't built in a day. But I -certainly hate to waste the hours. What makes you look up at the sky so -often, Frank? Expecting to have a storm break loose on our heads, are -you?"</p> - -<p>"Nothing in sight to say so," replied the other. "I was watching the -wheeling movements of those big birds a mile or so high. Jerry tells me -they are vultures, the largest carrion birds we have in this country, -known as California vultures."</p> - -<p>"Wow, so <i>that's</i> what they are! I saw them some time ago, but took it -for granted they must be only turkey buzzards skimming around on the -lookout for some eats. Vultures! Are they related to the monster South -American condor?"</p> - -<p>"First cousins, Zander Forbes told me, and nearly as big, though not -so powerful. Why, those condors can carry off a good-sized lamb, I've -read. The buzzard of the East and South belongs to the same family, as -does the fish-crow of Florida, though of course they're a lot smaller."</p> - -<p>"Vultures! Well, I never expected to set eyes on such birds on this -trip. When Zander was telling<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> that story the other night about an -adventure he had when trying to secure an egg for a big museum and -near losing his eyes from pecks of the mother, he said this California -specimen was hardly ever seen except west of the Rockies; and just now -we're on the east side of the big divide."</p> - -<p>"I don't know anything about that, but he seemed a bit surprised to see -them around here. I reckon they go where the feeding is best, even if -it takes them across the snow-capped summits of the Rockies."</p> - -<p>Lanky kept looking up frequently after that, as though some freakish -scheme had been hatched in that fertile brain of his which he meant to -try out, if only an opportunity offered.</p> - -<p>At least, his guess concerning their camping in that valley turned out -quite true, for when they were half-way across the basin Zander gave -the order to pull up.</p> - -<p>They were going to enjoy a hunter's feast that night, for the first -time on the trip. Zander had managed to creep up on a feeding antelope, -by keeping to leeward of the timid animal, and with a remarkably long -and clever shot dropped his quarry.</p> - -<p>So they expected to eat fresh venison to their hearts' content, and the -three boys anticipated a delightful meal.</p> - -<p>"Say, Frank, they're scooping down closer right<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> now," Lanky observed, -as he caught hold of his chum. "I wonder if they smell our fresh meat -and hope to get the leavings of our supper."</p> - -<p>Frank, however, shook his head skeptically.</p> - -<p>"More than likely they've sighted some sort of carrion lying in the -valley here, and are making for that. You can see that they keep -wheeling in big circles over a spot lying to the north of us, and not -more than a couple of hundred yards away from here."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad it's to the north," said Paul; "for if there's a dead animal -over yonder, so long as the breeze keeps in the southwest we're not -going to hold our breath half the night. See! One of the big birds has -dropped down to the ground. What monster wings they have; and they keep -flapping them up and down as if ready for a scrap as they hop around -sideways."</p> - -<p>"Zander told me these vultures are about four feet in length from beak -to the end of their tails, but that they have a wing spread of over ten -feet!"</p> - -<p>"Some birds, I'd say," replied Paul. Lanky was only grinning as he -eagerly watched the other scavengers of the air drop down and commence -to copy the gyrations of the first pilgrim.</p> - -<p>"Gee! I'd sure like to try it out," Frank heard him mutter. But what -Lanky meant he did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> bother to explain, and Frank in the rush of -other things forgot to ask him.</p> - -<p>"I wonder now," mused Frank, as he watched the big birds hopping about -with their wings often used in fighting one another over the spoils, -"if he remembers how old Sindbad the Sailor caught a giant roc when a -prisoner in that valley and climbing on its back was carried to safety? -That would be just like harem-scarem Lanky, with his queer schemes for -fun."</p> - -<p>A little later he noticed Lanky talking with Zander Forbes, who seemed -to be more or less amused at what the boy was saying. The others were -all busily engaged at various tasks, and so Lanky was left to his own -devices.</p> - -<p>Frank's attention was later on attracted to the vultures when he heard -a confused sound as of many great wings in motion. Looking out toward -the spot they had been feeding he saw they had jumped off the ground -and were circling in the air, but keeping within landing distance of -their supper table. And there was Lanky, as big as life, stalking -toward the spot!</p> - -<p>Frank whistled softly in surprise, and then chuckled.</p> - -<p>"What under the sun is that chum of mine figuring on doing?" he asked -himself. "He's got some<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>thing on his arm that looks mighty like the -fresh skin Zander peeled from the antelope he shot to-day. Yes, and -that's a rope he's trailing, too. Something's up, it strikes me."</p> - -<p>He kept an eye on Lanky, to see the other stretch himself on the earth -and draw the deerskin over him, hair-side down.</p> - -<p>"Well, that sticks in my craw," Paul remarked disgustedly as he joined -Frank and stared toward the scene of operations. "That chump must have -a tougher stomach than I happen to own, to deliberately camp down out -there so close to where those monster birds were feeding. Ugh! what -wouldn't Lanky risk just to carry out what he'd call a joke?"</p> - -<p>"We can soon get a wrinkle on his game by keeping an eye on the spot," -vouchsafed Frank. "You see the vultures are already getting over their -alarm and are swinging closer to the place with every circle they make."</p> - -<p>"You hit the nail on the head that time for keeps, Frank. He keeps -lying there as if asleep. What's he got covering him, do you happen to -know?"</p> - -<p>"Looked to me like the fresh skin of that little deer Zander brought -down at such a long distance to-day." Frank informed Paul. "Besides, I -saw Lanky talking to Zander, who seemed tickled at something our chum -was explaining."</p> - -<p>"Oh, well, there's got to be something doing all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> the time with Lanky, -and when it doesn't come along promptly, trust him to rig up a trick to -fetch out a little excitement."</p> - -<p>"All I hope," added Frank uneasily, "is that he doesn't find he's -bitten off more than he can chew this time."</p> - -<p>"You don't like the looks of those vultures, then, I take it?" queried -Paul.</p> - -<p>"No. They're powerful and ugly-tempered birds, Paul. There, the -boldest in the bunch has dropped down, and is heading up to his feed -trough again, with those queer jumps and his wings flopping, as if in -challenge to the gang to beat him to it."</p> - -<p>"Yes, and the rest have forgotten their alarm, for they're dropping -down in hot haste. I reckon they're afraid that chap will gobble the -whole meal before they can carry off a snack. Now one curious bird is -making for that fresh deer-hide, thinking it's manna that dropped down -from the clouds. What fool game has Lanky got up his sleeve?"</p> - -<p>"No telling," was the brief reply.</p> - -<p>A couple of minutes passed. Then suddenly the entire assemblage of -giant birds once more jumped off the ground, just as the boys had often -seen buzzards do, to start their circling again on wide-spread pinions.</p> - -<p>"Look! Oh, look, Frank," cried the excited Paul. "Lanky's slipped a -noose around the leg of that big<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>gest one, for it's only gone up a -short way and is beating its wings like a crazy thing! There's Lanky -now, trailing along the ground. But, Frank, why's he going feet first?"</p> - -<p>"He's made a fool play, and got the rope twisted around one of his -legs!" exclaimed the astounded as well as alarmed Frank. "He's being -dragged along by the vulture! Paul, he may be killed!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER X</p> - -<p class="center">THE LOCOED BUFFALO</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> loud talking of the two boys and the flight of the flock of -scavengers—of all but that lone captive—soon attracted the attention -of the other members of the party.</p> - -<p>Mr. Wallace gaped in wonder and annoyance at seeing his son being -dragged along, frantically clutching at every object in sight, in the -hope of anchoring, and thus staying, his progress. Jerry Brime stared, -hardly believing his eyes at witnessing such a curious happening. But -Zander Forbes, who had been made Lanky's confidant in the matter, -stopped laughing and jumped toward the spot where his rifle lay, the -gravity of the situation coming to him like a sudden blow.</p> - -<p>Lanky had fortunately succeeded in laying hold of what looked like a -sturdy tuft of wiry buffalo grass, and to this he was clinging with -might and main. At the same time with his other hand he was stretching -down, trying to release his leg from the binding coil of rope.</p> - -<p>As long as the strong wings of the frightened and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> now angry vulture -continued to beat the air so wildly, this was rendered utterly out of -the question; for the rope was kept taut, and all Lanky's desperate -efforts to unfasten it failed.</p> - -<p>"The bird's got tired of trying to yank him up into the air, Frank!" -called out Paul. "See, he's dropped back to the ground again, and, as -sure as you live, he's hopping straight at Lanky as if he meant to give -him a licking for his meanness! Wow! I'm glad it isn't me out there."</p> - -<p>"Lanky doesn't seem able to get clear of that loop of the rope!" -snapped Frank, "and unless something happens to prevent it he's going -to be in danger of having that terrible bird pecking at his eyes!"</p> - -<p>"What can we do, Frank, to stop that?" gasped the aroused and now -alarmed Paul.</p> - -<p>"Let's run, and shout to try and scare the bird off!" suggested the -other loyal chum of the reckless Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Wait! There's Zander with his gun, Frank. I guess he's got the number -of that bird's mess, all right."</p> - -<p>Paul had hardly spoken when there came the sharp report of a rifle. -Frank, to his great joy, saw the angry vulture fall over and kick -as though its finish had indeed come with the pressure of Zander's -fore-finger on the trigger.</p> - -<p>"Bully! Bully!" shouted the relieved Paul.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> "He cooked that old -fighter's goose for him all right! Now Lanky's managed to get his leg -free, and is coming back to camp, carrying the rope and the antelope -hide. His little game worked all to the good, but took a turn he didn't -count on. See him limp, will you? That left leg feels sore, I bet you!"</p> - -<p>"I reckon it serves him about right, as his dad will tell him," -observed Frank. "Of all the fool tricks I've ever known that boy to try -out, this wanting to lasso a live vulture takes the cake! Most people -wouldn't want to touch the horrible things with a ten-foot pole."</p> - -<p>Lanky looked foolish as he reached the place where Jerry had a little -cooking fire burning, although he grinned, and tried to pass the whole -thing off as a mere incident.</p> - -<p>His father said nothing to him just then. But Frank and Paul knew that -in the end Mr. Wallace would have a confidential talk with his son, in -which Lanky would "eat humble pie," admitting that his had been a silly -scheme that gave him only what he deserved.</p> - -<p>Jerry managed to broil enough of the antelope meat for all, even though -the three boys did come back repeatedly for further portions, things -tasted so good to them.</p> - -<p>Mr. Wallace understood, for he had eaten in the open many times -himself.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Food always does taste different when the surroundings are Nature's," -he said, as they still sat around and "stoked up," as Lanky termed it.</p> - -<p>"It does to me, for one," admitted Frank. "Chances are that if we had -this spread at home, with a white tablecloth and china to serve it on, -none of us would care a great deal for this venison. It might seem -tough and dry unless cooked with bacon slices between. But out here, -with appetites like woodchoppers in the cold North, it's a whole lot -different."</p> - -<p>Lanky was unusually quiet that evening, Frank noticed. Undoubtedly he -realized that sometimes what are meant to be pranks turn out to border -perilously close to tragedies.</p> - -<p>When morning came the boys noticed that no haste was made to get -started, and presently the reason for this was made known.</p> - -<p>"Would you believe it," said Frank, coming over to where the other two -boys were sitting after breakfast was over, "that miserable pack pony -has wandered off during the night. It's going to bother us a heap, I -reckon."</p> - -<p>"Do you mean we'll be held up here in this little valley while a hunt -is made for the pony?" demanded Lanky, looking anything but pleased -over the possibility of further delay.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> - -<p>"All of us are to start out and search," admitted Frank. "Your father's -given us the job of combing the valley to the north, while the others -head south. We are to get back to camp by noon, and if the beast hasn't -been found by that time we'll have to divide the stores among the -bunch, for your dad says he can't be delayed any longer."</p> - -<p>"I know what he's thinking about," said Lanky. "He's expecting a mighty -important letter from New York that means a whole lot to him in the way -of money. It may not arrive before we get back to Rockspur; but if it -does I heard him telling Lige to send along one of the other boys to -find us at Gold Fork."</p> - -<p>According to the plan resolved on, the three boys left camp, going to -the north in search of the pack pony, just as Zander and Jerry started -toward the south.</p> - -<p>"It'll be a nice little gallop for us, anyway," said Frank, who always -looked at the bright side of things.</p> - -<p>Paul, however, shrugged his shoulders and he called out:</p> - -<p>"I'm not quite so keen about a side gallop as you fellows. Fact is, I'm -getting pretty well filled up on pony riding. Three days straight is -going some for a greenhorn like me. But I'm game to stick it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> out to a -finish. Only I do hope we run across that Wandering Willie of a pony -inside of an hour or two, so as to strike back to camp again."</p> - -<p>For some time the boys rode along, keeping a lookout on every side. -It kept growing warmer all the while, for the mountains shut off any -breeze from the west, while a ridge called foothills did the same in -the opposite quarter.</p> - -<p>An hour passed, and not a single glimpse did the boys get of the -missing pack pony.</p> - -<p>"Looks as if he had gone south instead of this way," commented Frank. -"Though it's possible the beast had intelligence enough to head over -the rise and start back home."</p> - -<p>"Homesick, you mean, Frank?" laughed Paul.</p> - -<p>"Some horses are affected that way, I'm told."</p> - -<p>Lanky was unusually quiet all this while. Frank wondered whether the -ludicrous adventure with the lassoed vulture had given him a lesson in -prudence he would not soon forget.</p> - -<p>He looked toward the towering peaks to the immediate west, as though -aggrieved because things had happened in such a fashion as to prevent -their ascent of those rugged slopes by way of the friendly canyon.</p> - -<p>That was what Frank was thinking, but after all it appeared that he did -Lanky an injustice, for presently the other broke his silence to say:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Once or twice last evening, just before dark set in, boys, I had a -sort of hunch I could faintly glimpse smoke rising up on the side of -the mountains."</p> - -<p>"But you didn't mention a word about it to us, Lanky!" Frank put it to -him reproachfully.</p> - -<p>"I didn't, for a fact," admitted the lad. "To tell the truth, I was -feeling kind of punk over the fool game I set out to pull off, and so I -just concluded to keep mum and not jump out of the frying pan into the -fire. But the more I think about it, the stronger is my belief that it -was an occasional wreath of blue smoke I glimpsed."</p> - -<p>"That would mean a campfire," said Frank. "And of course you feel dead -certain you could say who'd be sitting near that same blaze, having -supper?"</p> - -<p>"Just what I could!" Lanky chuckled. "For one, Nash Yesson. Then, close -by, you'd see a slinking sort of chap known in Columbia as a bully, and -chock full of meanness. Lef Seller, who robbed his own father. Yes, and -just as like as not you'd set eyes on a queer little runt with a head -three sizes too big for his body, name unknown to us, but particularly -fond of trying to find hidden things on moonlight nights."</p> - -<p>"Well, I agree with you, Lanky," admitted Frank. "If there was a fire, -those were the three chaps who'd be sitting beside it and talking about -their chances<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> for finding Kinney's secret cave where the gold nuggets -were cached."</p> - -<p>"Frank," said Paul just then, "did you hear what Zander was saying -about the report brought to Rockspur one day last week?"</p> - -<p>"What was that?"</p> - -<p>"That Buffalo Smith's herd of bison had broken from their range and -gone back to the free life of their kind. They skedaddled in a night."</p> - -<p>"Yes, I heard about that," came the reply. "And Zander told me as his -own private opinion that Captain Smith would have trouble rounding -up the run-aways, because they'd separated in every direction, each -seeming to want to look out for himself."</p> - -<p>"Wasn't that a queer way for buffaloes to act?" queried Lanky. "I -always understood they kept together in a bunch, just as our cattle do -unless they've been stampeded and badly frightened, when they go into a -panic."</p> - -<p>"Zander, who seems to know lots about the animals, told me," commented -Frank, "that you never can tell what a buffalo will do. He says they -often seem to get wild and crazy, as if they'd been eating the loco -weed that's found sometimes on the plains. But what made you bring up -that subject, if it's a fair question, Paul?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, just because we're pretty close to one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> that same run-away herd -right now," came the cool and astonishing reply.</p> - -<p>"What's that?" exclaimed Lanky, perking up instantly.</p> - -<p>"Where do you see a buffalo?" asked Frank, also interested, although -believing the other must have deceived himself.</p> - -<p>Paul pulled in his pony and pointed toward the foot of the mountain -chain.</p> - -<p>"Right alongside that patch of trees growing in front of the big -boulder. There, he's raised his shaggy head and is staring straight at -us!"</p> - -<p>The others took one good look, and then while Lanky whistled to mark -his surprise, also delight, Frank hastened to give his opinion.</p> - -<p>"Good eyes you've certainly got, Paul, for I looked that way myself, -and if I noticed anything at all I must have believed that object was -only a shadow. But it's as plain as print to me now. That's a buffalo -bull—his bulk tells us that."</p> - -<p>"Shall we ride over and take a squint at the beast?" asked Lanky.</p> - -<p>"For one," Paul told him, "I'd like to say I'd seen a genuine wild -buffalo on his native ground, and me astride a cow pony."</p> - -<p>"Let's go!" was Frank's terse way of saying he found himself of the -same mind as the others. No<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> one had to ask Lanky what he wanted to do, -since he invariably proved ready for action of any kind.</p> - -<p>Accordingly they turned to the left and cantered forward. Already did -the cow ponies scent the presence of the lumbering beast near by. This -was made evident by the way in which they snorted and took brisk, -chopping steps, indicating their extreme excitement.</p> - -<p>"They're not used to coming so close to buffaloes," explained Frank. -"Fact is, I hardly think any one of the three has ever before glimpsed -such a sight as this."</p> - -<p>"But their noses have caught the wild animal scent, you can see," Lanky -ventured, he being much at home in the doings of four-footed creatures.</p> - -<p>"Why doesn't the silly thing start running off?" cried Paul. "I thought -they were always reckoned a timid bunch in spite of their bulk and -savage-looking mop of hair about their heads."</p> - -<p>"Slow up, fellows!" called out Frank just then.</p> - -<p>"Why, what's the matter?" demanded Paul, turning toward Frank.</p> - -<p>Lanky kept going on, as if to say:</p> - -<p>"Shucks! who's afraid of a lonely lost buffalo? Not me!"</p> - -<p>"I don't quite like the way old Boss acts," continued Frank. "See him -shake his head and lower his ugly black horns. You've both seen a bull -in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> the pasture do that many a time, boys, when he was getting primed -for a charge."</p> - -<p>"Yes; and I don't like the looks of it!" asserted Paul emphatically.</p> - -<p>"Say, do you think he's got the same objection to my red handkerchief -that a tame Jersey bull shows?" and Paul threw up his hand, ready to -tear the offending fiery cowboy neck-piece loose, so he might cram it -into his pocket.</p> - -<p>"It might be that," Frank told him. "Then again, wasn't there something -said about the herd of bison having made a meal off that terrible loco -weed that grows in places and affects cows and sends 'em off like mad -dogs?"</p> - -<p>Even Lanky pulled up when Frank said that. His recent experience in the -realm of adventure was too fresh for him to forget the humiliation that -followed close on its heels; and prudence, as his father had counseled -him, began to urge that from now on he go a bit slow.</p> - -<p>The ponies seemed to understand intuitively that the buffalo was not -the ordinary docile domestic beast, accustomed to the presence of man. -They snorted worse than ever, acting as though eager to whirl about and -leave that part of the valley as fast as four legs could carry them.</p> - -<p>"Whoop! here he comes licketty-split!" yelled Lanky. "I've got a -date somewhere else, believe me!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> I sure haven't lost any buffalo! -Tra-la-la! Old Boss, here's giving you the grand bounce! It's not me -you want!"</p> - -<p>He let his frantic pony turn as on a pivot, and shoot away, with Frank -a good second.</p> - -<p>Paul, never a good rider, tried to do likewise. He had the ill-fortune -to lose his seat, and be thrown to the ground. He looked back to see -that black-horned and shaggy-headed beast charging wildly toward him!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XI</p> - -<p class="center">A CAMP IN THE CANYON</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">Hold</span> up, Lanky!"</p> - -<p>Hearing these words shouted suddenly by Frank, Lanky Wallace turned -in his saddle. Seeing Paul's peril, he drew his unwilling pony's head -around, and commenced to gallop back again just as fast as he had taken -flight.</p> - -<p>"Look lively, Paul!" shrilled Frank, fervently wishing he had his rifle -along, when he might trust everything to a shot, in the hope of at -least crippling the locoed buffalo bull.</p> - -<p>"Hi! Paul!" bellowed Lanky. "The tree! Make for the tree! Only chance -to give him the grand laugh! Hey! Side-step it in a hurry! Good jump, -Paul, old boy! See him get over the ground for that tree, will you, -Frank? Talk to me about home-runs, Paul's got it all plastered over his -old mates on the Columbia High team. He's after you, Paul! Dodge those -shiny horns again! One more whirl like that, and you'll arrive! Got him -again, but he's on to your curves. Beat it!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span></p> - -<p>Paul did, and in great shape. He arrived at the lonesome tree in time -to scramble up amidst its low-hanging branches before the furious -buffalo came lumbering along, foam flecking each corner of his mouth.</p> - -<p>"Hold up, Lanky!" cried Frank.</p> - -<p>"What's the next thing on the program?" asked the impetuous one, -pulling in his rearing steed and holding the bridle as tight as he -could—one run-away pony was surely sufficient without having the -others take their leave.</p> - -<p>"Chase Paul's nag and fetch him back." Frank had assumed charge of the -situation; for he was accustomed to being the captain in baseball and -football games, his companions gladly looking to him for leadership.</p> - -<p>"You'll find a way to get Paul out of his fix, will you, Frank? All -right, here goes for a pony chase!"</p> - -<p>With that Lanky was off on the jump. He never even bothered to ask -Frank how he meant to maneuver, in order to get Paul out of the bison's -reach.</p> - -<p>When Frank next turned his attention to the strange scene before him he -found that Paul, having recovered his breath, was taking things in a -matter-of-fact way that rather amused his chum.</p> - -<p>Leaning down from his safe perch he was talking to his guard. The -buffalo bull was staring up at his prisoner in the tree with those -small but wicked-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>looking eyes and at certain points in Paul's harangue -Frank was highly amused to see the animal scrape the ground violently -with a fore hoof, as if he did not agree with the argument at all.</p> - -<p>"Looks as if the old scamp might be saying," chuckled Frank, "'you just -drop down here once, and I'll show you how I can polish you off slicker -than anything you ever saw. Try me, that's all.'"</p> - -<p>"Hey! Frank!" called out the boy up in the tree, noticing for the first -time that his chum had drawn somewhat closer and was holding in his -prancing and snorting pony with a firm hand.</p> - -<p>"All right, Paul. You sure did climb some that time!"</p> - -<p>"Well, anybody would be apt to, with those black horns right behind -him," the other retorted in self-defense.</p> - -<p>"They say a miss is as good as a mile, and you did have a close shave."</p> - -<p>"But how'm I going to get out of this scrape? That's what's bothering -me!"</p> - -<p>"Forget it, and trust to your Dutch uncle to hatch up a scheme to fool -old Woolly Head. Now listen, and I'll unfold the plan."</p> - -<p>"Shoot!"</p> - -<p>"Notice that Lanky's galloped after your run-away pony?"</p> - -<p>"That's mighty fine of him," ventured Paul. "I'd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> begun to believe I'd -have to do considerable hiking before landing in camp again; or else -double-up with one of you fellows. Well, what's next?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to lure that bison of yours off by his lonesome, if I can -fix things right."</p> - -<p>"Sounds good to me," came the reply. "But first of all, don't -denominate this <i>shaggy</i> monster as <i>my</i> property. I don't claim to own -a solitary share in him hair, hide, or horns. He belongs to Buffalo -Smith; though I'd like to convert him into tough steaks, if only I had -a rifle handy."</p> - -<p>"I've managed to snatch up that offensive red handkerchief of yours," -explained Frank, "from where you threw it when chasing for refuge. -It must have been the innocent cause of all your trouble and as -tit-for-tat I mean to make it help you out of this pickle."</p> - -<p>"Oh! now I get you! You expect to coax the old lummix to chase after -you for a mile or so, and so give me a chance to climb down?"</p> - -<p>"That's the little game, partner. When you see me wave my hat get a -move on, and drop."</p> - -<p>"But if he sees me on the ground he's dead sure to come back with a -rush, and I'd have to take to the mountains to keep clear of those -shiny short horns!"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I expect to keep him employed till I see that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> Lanky's shown up, -leading your pony. Get that, Paul?"</p> - -<p>"A regular old booster of a scheme, Frank, if only everything works in -a groove. Get busy then, and flag him. I'll lie low, so he'll forget -all about poor little Paul up a tree!"</p> - -<p>Frank delayed no longer, but started waving the red neckerchief -violently in the most insolent fashion he could devise. At the same -time he called out tantalizingly at the buffalo, daring him to come out -and have a nice little run for his money.</p> - -<p>More pawing at the ground followed, accompanied with low, hollow sounds -that stood for bellows. Evidently the bull was thus engaged in working -himself up to a certain pitch of rage, when he would be unable to -resist the lure of that flaunting and much hated red flag.</p> - -<p>"Whoop! he's off. Frank, get going before he takes a whack at you!" -shouted Paul, as the animal suddenly tore away with lowered head, eager -to give battle to the reckless enemy who thus dared him.</p> - -<p>If Frank had possessed three hands to pull at the reins he could not -have held in that frantic cow pony when the little beast saw that -lumbering bull charging.</p> - -<p>Whirling around, he went off like a shot, only desirous of placing -plenty of ground between him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>self and the mad creature. Accustomed to -cattle as he must be, nevertheless there was something terrifying about -the bunchy-headed buffalo that sent the pony into equine spasms.</p> - -<p>Frank managed to pull him in a bit, so as not to outdistance the -charging bull, lest he go back to his prisoner again. He also continued -to flaunt that offensive red flag and send jeering whoops over his -shoulder that kept his pursuer spurred up to fever heat.</p> - -<p>A full mile was covered in a short time. Then a distant shout was -borne to Frank's ears. On investigating he discovered that Lanky had -succeeded in capturing the run-away mount and was already close to the -tree, from which Paul could be seen descending in eager haste.</p> - -<p>"Now then, get a move on you, Chestnut!" Frank called out to his pony, -at the same time kicking his heels into the animal's sides.</p> - -<p>Gradually he began to gain on the bull, which after another mile lost -heart, and dropped out of the race. Frank, seeing his two chums coming -in a round-about way, waited for them to join him. Paul was grinning -amiably, as if he had rather enjoyed having been in the spotlight. -Things looked different to him, now that it was all over but the -shouting.</p> - -<p>They again took up the search for the pony that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> was so badly needed to -carry the pack, and were fortunate enough to glimpse the animal feeding -on some luxuriant grass that had tempted him to forget his love of -freedom.</p> - -<p>Having captured the run-away, the boys once more turned their faces -toward the south, and in due time reached camp. The others did not -return for another hour or more, and were of course pleased to learn of -the recovery of the pack animal.</p> - -<p>It was now noon, so they had a bit of cold lunch, and after that a -start was made.</p> - -<p>Jerry was in the lead, it being their intention to make for the canyon. -If this was followed up the face of the mountain range it would in due -time take them to the plateau where Gold Fork lay in its desolation.</p> - -<p>The boys now had a chance to see a real Rocky Mountain canyon, where -ages ago a torrent used to come tearing down from the snow-capped peaks -above, gradually to wear away the earth lying between solid walls of -rock, until they loomed up a hundred feet or more on either hand.</p> - -<p>It was now a dry defile, the lads noticed, although they fancied that -once in a great while, during some cloudburst, there might be a deluge -of water come roaring and tossing down the canyon, carrying everything -before it.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></p> - -<p>They found it hard work picking their way upward; but Jerry knew pretty -well how to avoid the worst of the difficulties.</p> - -<p>"This means we're going to pitch camp in this channel of an old-time -torrent," remarked Frank, as the long afternoon wore away and their -hard-worked ponies gave signs of being very tired.</p> - -<p>"It'll be a new experience," observed Lanky, looking around at the -lofty walls that rose on either side. "Gee whiz! but I'd hate to be -caught in this hole if a storm broke and the rain came down as it does -sometimes out here in the Rockies. We'd soon be swimming I reckon."</p> - -<p>Paul Bird looked uneasy, but made no remark, for he rather suspected -that Lanky was saying what he did in anticipation of "getting a rise" -from him. As long as Paul had known Lanky, he had never learned to tell -with certainty when the tall fellow was joking and when he was serious.</p> - -<p>As evening approached Jerry called a halt. He must have had reasons -for choosing that particular spot to pitch camp, Frank decided, after -noticing how the veteran puncher and prospector looked around him from -time to time, as if renewing old-time recollections of the place.</p> - -<p>A fire was made, there being an abundance of dead wood at hand, coming -from the stunted trees that grew out of clefts in the surrounding -walls.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What makes it seem so hot here?" asked Paul, wiping his reeking -forehead with the same red neckerchief that had excited the buffalo -bull.</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's nearly always hot around these mountains," replied the artful -Lanky. "Folks say it's because some of them used to be volcanoes ages -and ages ago, and the fires must still be burning deep down."</p> - -<p>But Paul scoffed at the fantastic idea, knowing full well Lanky was -only "drawing the long bow" for his especial benefit.</p> - -<p>"If you look," remarked Frank quietly, "you'll notice that it's clouded -up; and with all this high temperature I wouldn't be surprised if we -had some rain before morning."</p> - -<p>"Let's hope, then," added Lanky, and really meaning what he said, "that -it isn't to be one of those terrific cloudbursts Zander was telling us -about at supper. I like swimming, all right! But excuse me from being -swept on a boiling torrent down an old canyon half a mile long, to be -kicked out on the prairie like a knocked-about bag of meal."</p> - -<p>"Well, Jerry knew what he was about when he picked out this particular -point for our camp," Frank went on to say confidently.</p> - -<p>"We'll pin our faith on Jerry, then," said Paul, trying to appear -quite unconcerned, though his heart did beat faster than its wont as -he surveyed the myr<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>iad of sharp-pointed rocks and enormous boulders -marking the course of the crooked defile.</p> - -<p>Another thing the watchful Frank noticed later on told him Jerry Brime -did not mean to be caught entirely unprepared, should any sort of -impending disaster break over their heads.</p> - -<p>He himself took the trouble to do up their pack of stores after supper -was over, a most unusual thing, and arrange so that at a moment's -notice it could be secured on the back of the pony.</p> - -<p>The animals, too, were kept saddled and bridled, as though in readiness -for sudden flight. Frank wondered what sort of time they could make -going down that dreadful gap in the face of the mountains in the dead -of night, and with a million obstacles lying in wait to bring about -trouble.</p> - -<p>They needed no blaze that night to keep the chill away; it seemed -strangely suffocating, a fact that might account for the unusual -wakefulness on the part of the three boys.</p> - -<p>"Don't know what ails me," grumbled Lanky who was stretched out in his -beloved checkered blanket close to Frank. "I keep turning from one side -to the other, and just can't get asleep, tired as I am. Guess mom would -say I'd got the 'fidgets,' while dad'd likely tell me I was too greedy -with that campfire-cooked venison. Shucks! something's going to happen, -I reckon."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> - -<p>"It sure will, if you don't quit that mumbling," chuckled Frank, "for I -can see Zander popping his head up and looking this way, as if he had -half a mind to make you go off and herd by yourself."</p> - -<p>"You said it, Frank," came from Paul, on the other side of Lanky. "I'm -no knocker, but he keeps digging his elbows into my ribs every time he -turns over. Please quit it, Lanky, and settle down."</p> - -<p>Somehow or other, the uneasy one did manage to control his -restlessness, and he soon lay sprawled out on his back and breathing -hard, which was a pretty good indication that he had passed over into -dream-land.</p> - -<p>Frank did not have the slightest idea how long he was lost to the world -after Lanky quieted down. It may have been several hours, for there -was nothing to tell him what the time was when he was aroused by a -frightful crash of thunder that seemed to make the solid rocks under -him tremble with the vibration.</p> - -<p>Then came a dash of rain that almost instantly deluged every one, so -that clothes and blankets were soaking wet.</p> - -<p>When a flash of lightning lit up the canyon as by bright sunlight, -Lanky was seen threshing around in the endeavor to get free from his -blanket that had crept up about his ears as he slept. At the same came -his triumphant shout:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What did I tell you? Something's happened all right, hasn't it?"</p> - -<p>But Jerry Brime gave them no time to dispute.</p> - -<p>"We got to git outen this right smart, 'case that looks like a -cloudburst to me. This hyah canyon she'll be ten feet deep in a flood -afore yuh knows what's comin' down on yuh. Everybody git yuh duffle, -an' foller old Jerry!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XII</p> - -<p class="center">A RACE WITH THE CLOUDBURST</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> was a scene of the wildest commotion, as the almost continually -flashing lightning depicted. The three boys had it seared on their -minds so that they would never forget the thrill of the occasion as -long as they lived.</p> - -<p>But for that rare forethought and preparedness on the part of Jerry -Brime, it would have been many times worse. His arrangements for sudden -flight allowed the party to make a move without wasting a single minute -of precious time.</p> - -<p>The ponies gave them some trouble, for they seemed to sense impending -calamity, and were nearly frantic. But by now even the tenderfeet had -learned how to manage frightened mounts; and as each one had his own -cayuse to lead, once he got a firm grip on tin bridle near the bit it -was not a very difficult task.</p> - -<p>At least the lightning, coming so incessantly, proved of immense -advantage to the party. Frank shuddered to think what dreadful -stumbling, with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> resulting injuries, would have been their portion -had they been compelled to make their way down the defile in utter -darkness, with those flinty and jagged-edged rocks strewing their path.</p> - -<p>So the camp was abandoned in much less time than it had taken them to -arrange things. There was great need of haste, too, it soon proved.</p> - -<p>"Oh! listen, Frank!" cried Paul, as he turned toward his chum, who -managed to keep close by, ready to give a helping hand should the need -arise.</p> - -<p>"Yes, I hear it, Paul!"</p> - -<p>"It sounds like a river broken loose!" continued the other, in an -agitated voice.</p> - -<p>"Just what it is, I reckon—a fresh river—the flood!" Frank told him.</p> - -<p>"Faster, everybody!" called Mr. Wallace, conscious of the magnitude of -their danger.</p> - -<p>"Yep, move lively, 'case she's a-tearin' down the mountain like greased -lightning!" Zander Forbes called out; lapsing into cowboy lingo, -college graduate as he claimed to be.</p> - -<p>As Jerry had to be in the van to serve as their guide, Zander had taken -it upon himself to tow the pack-pony as well as his own mount. This was -a tremendous responsibility under such conditions, and few punchers -there were who could have managed it; but then Zander seemed to be -little short of a wizard among animals.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span></p> - -<p>The thunder still bellowed, while the rain fell in almost solid sheets, -so that in all there was a hurricane of sound around the fleeing party. -Still above this noise they could plainly distinguish that awful roar -of rushing waters on the rampage, than which there can be no more -terrifying sound possible.</p> - -<p>Paul Bird had to clinch his teeth until his lips bled in order to -master the deadly fear that gripped his very soul and made him feel -sick. In imagination he was picturing the scene Lanky had drawn when he -spoke so jokingly about "swimming down on the boiling flood to be swept -out into the little valley with broken bones and life extinct."</p> - -<p>So far as Frank could see, those grim and lofty and forbidding walls -continued to hem them in on either side—utterly unscalable, and -looking like the jaws of a trap that was destined to be their doom. -But he felt positive that Jerry knew of some avenue of escape from the -canyon, if only they were given the time required to reach the opening. -Once the flood caught up with them, all would be lost.</p> - -<p>He had never looked upon such a spectacle in all his life, but he -understood that the first wave might be something like ten feet high, -and making the descent of the abrupt mountainside with incredible -velocity, so that it was bound to carry horses and human being off -their feet when it struck them, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> as the downpour still continued -the chances were that the torrent would gain additional volume with -every rod it rushed along.</p> - -<p>On the fugitives pressed, making better time than could have been -attained under any other conditions, for there is nothing equal to the -dread of death to spur men and beasts on to herculean efforts.</p> - -<p>Fortunately none of the ponies had thus far stumbled. Although the -time lost by such an accident might be only the fraction of a minute, -even such a brief delay was apt to cost them dear when the race was so -close. Frank's pony seemed to lag a bit, having hit upon a section of -ground that was rougher than the rest, being strewn with more loose -rocks, and in this way the lad found himself the last member of the -sextette.</p> - -<p>In a flight such as this, it is usually every one for himself, since -there is no time given to double-up. As Lanky would have stated it, -"Every chap must look out for himself."</p> - -<p>Jerry was calling out now at the top of his voice, and despite all the -other booming sounds they could catch the drift of his words, meant -solely to encourage them at this crisis.</p> - -<p>"It's right ahead of us! We're bound to git thar all hunk! Keep a-goin' -like hot cakes, fellers! I know whar I'm at, yuh kin bet yuh boots!"</p> - -<p>He finished this rush of shouted words with his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> familiar old cowboy -yell, as if to defy the rush of the flood and the fury of the summer -storm.</p> - -<p>If they attained their goal and managed to get out of reach of the -avalanche of water, it would be by the skin of their teeth. Lanky could -not have uttered a word just then, no matter how desperately he tried, -for his lips felt as dry as those of a fever-stricken mule-skinner in a -caravan, and his breath was coming in pants, as of a hound that had run -a long race in chase of a hare.</p> - -<p>Just when he was almost on the point of despairing and under the -belief that Jerry must have miscalculated the time required to reach -his escape valve from the canyon trap, Lanky heard the veteran give a -joyous cry:</p> - -<p>"Hyah she is, boys, and the kentry's saved!"</p> - -<p>Never had such welcome words come to the ears of those fugitive -treasure-seekers. It inspired them to keep up their efforts a fraction -of a minute longer, though the closeness of the coming flood was enough -in itself to urge them to astonishing agility.</p> - -<p>Jerry and his mount were turning abruptly to the left. Lanky wondered -how it came he had failed to notice this single break in the continuity -of those cruel granite walls when they were slowly ascending the face -of the mountain chain. But it was there, just the same, and a good -thing for the hard-pressed outfit.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> - -<p>They straggled out of the canyon bed and climbed to higher ground with -all the speed they could muster. There were not half a dozen seconds to -spare, Lanky realized, with a shiver of horror, when he heard the sweep -of the crest of the flood go rushing madly past, and even found his -legs in water up to his ankles.</p> - -<p>How thankful they must feel, and with what lighter hearts would they -stick to their isle of safety until the flood went down again. Paul -could not contain himself, even though his wind was scant after his -recent efforts.</p> - -<p>"Lanky, look! Oh, look! Here's Frank's pony close at my heels! But -where is Frank?"</p> - -<p>At the words all of the party came to an abrupt halt, a feeling like -ice gripping every heart. The roar and sweep of the flood was not quite -so frightful as before, since its crest had gone by but a new terror -now seized them.</p> - -<p>Was Frank caught in its terrifying grip?</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XIII</p> - -<p class="center">WASHED AWAY</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">What</span> had actually happened to Frank Allen might easily be termed -tragedy. What made it all the stranger was the fact that he owed it to -the frantic eagerness of his pony to escape the clutch of the oncoming -flood.</p> - -<p>Having been detained a little because meeting more obstacles than the -others of the party, Frank was still in the canyon when the others -turned out of it. Fascinated by the spectacle behind him, he turned his -head in the act of climbing out to take one last fleeting look up the -cut.</p> - -<p>What he saw by the aid of the lightning was a sight that must always -give him a queer chill, because of what followed so closely in its -train.</p> - -<p>A mighty wave was pouring down upon him, its crest foamy and leaping as -if in glee. It was eight or ten feet high at most, but to the excited -imagination of the boy it seemed doubly that.</p> - -<p>The mere turning of his head as he did caused him to lose a fraction -of his steadiness. At the same instant the pony made such a frantic -leap forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> that Frank lost his hold on the bridle. The next thing he -knew something hit him squarely in the chest as with a sledge hammer, -knocking him backward. It must have been one of the pony's recklessly -flung hind hoofs, in the way of which Frank had tumbled.</p> - -<p>Before the starred boy could more than struggle to his knees in the -effort to escape his fate he was picked up by that roaring flood and -borne swiftly along.</p> - -<p>Fortunately for his own good, Frank managed to retain his wits, awkward -and perilous as his situation now was. He threw out both arms and tried -to clutch hold of such rocks as he came in contact with, usually the -projecting knobs that were connected with the near wall, and perhaps -six or more feet from the bed of the canyon.</p> - -<p>Several times he managed to get some sort of a grip on such a welcome -anchor, only to find he was utterly unable to maintain his hold. On -each occasion the fierce current snatched him loose again, after almost -dislocating his shoulder or his elbow.</p> - -<p>One thing these several detentions did accomplish, and that was to -retard his downward rush a little each separate time. So he was -gradually falling back a dozen feet or more from the apex of that -leading billow. Thus he presently found the water somewhat less -agitated, though still mighty in its pull.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p> - -<p>Buffeted and tossed like a chip, Frank Allen was fast losing the best -of his strength, although his grit still held out. The never-say-die -spirit such as he had exhibited on many a hard fought football field or -a struggle for supremacy on the diamond, was fated to stand back of him -again in this tussle with the on-rushing torrent.</p> - -<p>When for the fourth time he managed to fasten his fingers, like the -talons of that vulture Zander had shot on a projecting point of rock, -he summoned every fibre of his whole being to conquer the drag of the -current.</p> - -<p>Inch by inch he felt he was succeeding. Past him the torrent still -rushed, but he had reason to believe it did not have him wholly in its -power as before.</p> - -<p>So in another minute Frank was able to drag himself on to a friendly -rock. He was so nearly spent by that time that it was with extreme -difficulty he managed to keep his seat. Several times he almost toppled -off his perch, which would have undoubtedly been his end, since he was -now very weak.</p> - -<p>By slow degrees his strength and will power came back, and a sense of -deep gratitude filled his heart because of the Hand that seemed to have -thus plucked him directly out of deadly danger.</p> - -<p>But what should he do next?</p> - -<p>He realized that of course the others of his party<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> would be mystified -on account of his absence and the appearance of his pony among the rest -of the animals. There was no possible way, however, by which he could -acquaint them with his wonderful escape from a terrible fate.</p> - -<p>His first plan was to remain where he was until hours had passed and -the flood fully subsided. Then, by dropping down into the canyon's -bed once more, he could ascend its tortuous course until he found the -fissure by means of which the party had climbed as he hoped, to safety.</p> - -<p>Moving backward in order to make more certain that he would not slip -and thus get into fresh trouble, Frank found that a crevice opened up -in the wall of the cleft, wide enough for him to pass along.</p> - -<p>It ascended, too, which was a plain invitation for him to continue as -long as the going proved to be possible. All the while, he realized, he -must be getting nearer the top of the lofty canyon wall, where he would -find the surface of the mountainside.</p> - -<p>One thing he discovered that pleased him—the rain had ceased. Also the -roar of the thunder had dwindled to mere growlings in the distance.</p> - -<p>"The storm's gone past," Frank told himself, eager to hear the sound -of his own voice once more, for it would make his strange surroundings -seem less gruesome. "At the worst, I'll only have to spend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> the rest of -the night by myself on the mountain."</p> - -<p>Such a possibility did not much concern a boy who had made many a lone -camp in his days of hiking. Sometimes this had even been across an -entire state, so as to enlarge his faculties and observe the wonders -of nature, as well as rub up against such people as could be found in -country backwoods and charcoal burners' camps.</p> - -<p>Then came still another discovery. On looking up to find just how far -above him the surface might be, what was his delight to see a bright -star peeping in between the sides of the cleft in the rocks.</p> - -<p>When three minutes afterwards Frank crept out of his "Jacob's Ladder," -as he meant to call the friendly fissure, he found that the clouds -had begun to roll away to leeward and many stars dotted the heavens -overhead.</p> - -<p>At any rate, he had nothing more to fear from the storm. But it had -come close to being an expensive experience for him. As his nerves -quieted down by degrees he felt more like himself, and able to grapple -with any ordinary difficulty that might come along.</p> - -<p>Everything was soaking wet, water even running from each outlying -rock's surface. He himself was completely saturated; but as it still -remained fairly warm Frank minded that not at all.</p> - -<p>"Now what's to be done?" he asked himself, mean<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>ing to form his plan on -the spot and then carry it out as best he could.</p> - -<p>Of course, it was utterly useless to dream of attempting to find his -party while darkness lasted. They might be far distant, unable to hear -his shouts in case he raised his voice.</p> - -<p>"More than that," Frank added, as an after-thought, "it would be a crime -to tempt Lanky, or any of the others, to come down the face of this -rocky mountain, risking all sorts of dangers they would not see in the -dark. There must be many a precipice between their new camp and here, -where a slip would spell death."</p> - -<p>That point settled, Frank decided to try to pick out some half-way -decent camp site and make the best of a bad bargain.</p> - -<p>He had much to be grateful for, and, besides that, Frank Allen was -never the boy to grumble because things did not chance to run as -smoothly as he might have wished.</p> - -<p>After looking as best he could around the vicinity, he settled on a -certain spot as well adapted for his purposes. For one thing, there -were several stumps of trees near by; and if only he could knock one of -these to flinders by using a big rock in lieu of an ax, he conceived -the idea that he would yet have a cheery blaze started.</p> - -<p>Among other symptoms of eternal preparedness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> that were characteristic -of Frank was his always making sure to carry a waterproof metal -matchsafe, filled with "fire-sticks," in his pocket.</p> - -<p>He had not been immersed in the water a great while, and felt -absolutely certain his precious matches would be dry and ready for use. -With this desire for comfort, as well as an opportunity for drying his -clothes, spurring him on, Frank started work on what seemed to be the -most promising of three stumps.</p> - -<p>There was an abundance of half-dead wood lying around, wet, of course, -after such a deluge; but he fancied he would have little difficulty -in keeping a fire going, if only he found enough dry stuff to start -kindling it.</p> - -<p>His guess in connection with the heart of that stump proved to be a -good one, for he soon had taken out sufficient dry stuff to answer -all purposes. So, striking a match, he applied it to the tinder thus -collected, and had the satisfaction of seeing a flame start up at once.</p> - -<p>This he carefully and assiduously cherished and fed until he had -collected quite a nice mess of red embers. Then he began to put on -some of the other wood, and, as he anticipated it soon burst into a -crackling blaze.</p> - -<p>How good it felt to the wet boy, words could hardly tell. By degrees he -managed to dry his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> clothes by keeping turning around like a teetotum, -from one side to another, standing the heat as long as possible.</p> - -<p>An hour had perhaps gone—Frank could tell only by the movement of the -heavenly bodies, since water had got into his wrist watch and stopped -the wheels from turning.</p> - -<p>He found himself turning every little while toward the east, in the -hope of seeing signs of dawn, even though good common sense told him -that must still be an hour and more away.</p> - -<p>Just as he began to feel what he called "dopey," sitting there by the -warm fire, his head nodding, Frank caught a sound that disturbed his -growing confidence that the worst was past. It was a series of queer, -blood-curdling yelps that he guessed came from a pack of those fierce, -mountain gray wolves Jerry had told him about. From the tenor of their -eager howls, the boy knew they must be hunting for something toothsome -with which to sate their ferocious appetites!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XIV</p> - -<p class="center">THE TIMBER-WOLF PACK</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">That</span> sounds bad to me," Frank told himself, as he listened to the -long-drawn howls of the carniverous wolves, echoing so drearily along -the side of the mountain. "Seems like this is my night for shaking -hands with Old Man Trouble right along. Whew, there must be as many as -half a dozen hungry creatures in that pack!"</p> - -<p>He fed more sticks to his snapping blaze, and a minute or two later had -made up his mind.</p> - -<p>"Doesn't seem to be a decent-sized tree left around these diggings. I -reckon an avalanche must have carried them all down to the foot of the -mountain, and these saplings are second-growth timber. That means I'm -not going to follow Paul's example, and roost in a tree."</p> - -<p>Frank, of course, was well acquainted with the fact that nearly all -wild animals to be found in western wilds are afraid of fire. That -would mean he must have sufficient fuel close at hand to keep his blaze -going for several hours; really until the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> coming of dawn should send -the ravenous beasts skulking off to their dens, they being creatures of -the night.</p> - -<p>"Time I got busy and collected all the stuff that will burn," he said, -after making this decision to stand by the fire as his best resort. -"It might even be I'll have to start a second blaze, to keep them from -creeping up from the rear and taking me off my guard."</p> - -<p>He went to the task with great energy, forgetting all about sore arms -in his desire to pile up the wood.</p> - -<p>Crash! and down came the heavy rock again and again, breaking the wood -in short lengths suitable for his purpose. It was wonderful how rapidly -his pile grew, but then Frank was fully aware of the tremendous amount -of fuel an open campfire can devour in the course of several hours, and -if his supply gave out just at a critical moment he would be undone.</p> - -<p>Now and then he would stop to listen.</p> - -<p>"Their keen ears must have heard this noise of my wood-smasher at work, -and chances are they'll get wise," he remarked between his gasps for -breath at one period of his energetic labors. "Yes, their howls are a -whole lot closer than when I first heard them."</p> - -<p>That caused a quick return to work, for his wood-pile was not as large -as caution dictated. How<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> Frank wished he had his rifle with him, for -then he could rapidly diminish the pack until the rest took fright and -left for some distant refuge.</p> - -<p>The doleful sounds continued to break the silence of the night with -a horrible significance. No one who has never heard the howling of -wolves, with not any weapon other than his hunting-knife to defend -himself against their sharp teeth and terrible claws, can realize what -a strange feeling assails even a valiant heart as the sounds draw -steadily nearer and nearer.</p> - -<p>Frank picked out a good stout cudgel, and kept it handy for use in case -it came to a fight with the pack. Still the boy hoped he might fend off -the animals by a judicious use of flaming brands, hurled from time to -time into their midst.</p> - -<p>So rapidly had they come that now he felt sure he could hear the rush -of their bodies through the bushes close by. Then he caught sight of a -moving figure seen dimly by the firelight, and which crouched low as it -came toward him.</p> - -<p>Frank uttered a yell, and, springing to his fire, stirred it to greater -efforts. Not content with this, since the wolf still lay only thirty -feet or so away, he snatched up a burning brand and sent it whizzing -through the air.</p> - -<p>"My old cunning as a baseball pitcher comes in handy on such an -occasion as this," chucked Frank,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> when he plainly caught the "plunk" -that announced the collision of the whirling faggot of wood with the -crouching beast.</p> - -<p>He heard the surprised beast give a snap and a snarl. The hard-flung, -blazing missile had burnt its hide, and Frank saw the animal scuttle -off in great haste.</p> - -<p>"So long, Mr. Wolf!" he shouted, in great glee over the success of his -initial effort at bombardment. "Got your number that time, and three -strikes means you're out! Plenty more tricks in the bag, you want to -know. Who's the next victim? Don't be backward about stepping forward; -all coons look alike to me when I'm pitching gilt-edged ball."</p> - -<p>Before long he was aware that his enemies had his camp completely -surrounded. Glance whichever way he might, Frank could glimpse a pair -of yellow, wicked-looking eyes fixed hungrily upon him.</p> - -<p>"Now I've got to mind myself, all right," he muttered, holding in -readiness for quick action in case the beasts attempted to rush his -fortress in a body. "I don't like them creeping so near, and I'd better -put a few more of these red brands to good use."</p> - -<p>He seized upon one, and sent it hurdling through space; then a second -followed in rapid succession, the bombardment being maintained until he -had given the whole circle a share of the blazing faggots.</p> - -<p>"All pins down, and a count for me," the un<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>daunted boy called out, -partly because the sound of his own voice helped keep his spirits up. -"Set 'em up in the other alley, boy! Huh! didn't just like having it -rain fire, did you, old Graybacks? Moved back a bit, too. And I'd feel -a whole lot easier, if you'd keep that distance from now till daylight!"</p> - -<p>But the scare of the wolves was of short duration. Inside of ten -minutes they had crept back once more to their former advanced line, so -that again the boy could see those glaring orbs whichever way he looked.</p> - -<p>He had to repeat the barrage, using up more of his precious wood than -he could well spare.</p> - -<p>"Retreated again," he told himself, though with a lack of his former -enthusiasm. "But I can't keep that sort of thing going right along. -I'll hold off longer, and then jump for them with a brand in each hand."</p> - -<p>He waited until he could actually glimpse the grim crouching figures -of the determined wolves flattened on the ground, just as he had many -times seen the pet cat at home do when ready to pounce on a robin or -a sparrow. Then he started for them, shouting at the top of his now -hoarse voice, and at the same time flourishing two torches with great -vigor.</p> - -<p>The animals could not stand such a display of fireworks, and beat a -retreat once more. Frank was shrewd enough not to be tempted into -going<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> any great distance away from his best friend, the fire.</p> - -<p>Time passed on leaden wings as Frank Allen kept up this strange vigil. -By judicious management he succeeded in husbanding his shortening -supply of available fuel. On discovering signs of coming dawn over in -the east Frank took fresh heart, and began to believe he would win his -battle with the wolf pack.</p> - -<p>Stronger grew the oncoming daylight.</p> - -<p>"Showing signs of meaning to throw up the sponge, are you?" he called -out tauntingly, as he discovered one of the animals turning tail and -slinking away, heading along the mountainside, evidently having a den -in that quarter. "Well, here's wishing you better luck in getting -supper another time, when it's venison you're stalking and not a poor -tenderfoot cowpuncher. Good riddance to bad rubbish. There goes a -second chap, licking his chops like all hungry disappointed animals do."</p> - -<p>So the pack disintegrated, until so far as Frank could see there -remained only a solitary sentry out in the scrub.</p> - -<p>"Seems to be a whole lot more tenacious than the rest of his bunch," -chuckled the greatly relieved besieged boy. "I'll fix him, all right. -Plenty of ammunition now, and to spare."</p> - -<p>He boldly charged the last member of the once<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> threatening pack, and -pelted him with a number of burning sticks in rapid succession. It was -some gratification to score several "hits," and in the end he had that -wolf running for shelter, with a badly singed hide to make him remember -with regret his close acquaintance with one of the elements that he -held in fear.</p> - -<p>"Coast seems to be all clear now, but I'd better hang around for -another half hour or so," Frank told himself. "Gee! what a dandy fire -for cooking bacon and eggs over, if only I had them."</p> - -<p>When he took it for granted that the time set had passed, Frank started -off. The sun was already above the low and level horizon beyond the -foothills lying to the east, and Frank gave a fond look that way, -remembering that over in that quarter lay Rockspur Ranch, with its -familiar surroundings and the friends who occupied so much of his -waking thoughts.</p> - -<p>He found the going anything but easy, so rough was the mountainside in -every direction. Now and then he was afforded wonderful views, as some -new vista opened up. Frank hoped he was through with adventure for some -time; though remembering that these wild mountain regions were said to -be the hunting-grounds of certain savage animals, such as the grizzly -bear.</p> - -<p>"I'd sure hate" he was muttering at one time as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> he climbed, "to run -smack into one of those old Mountain Charlies, as Jerry said they are -called over on the coast side of the Rockies. I'll try to keep my eye -fixed on some nice tree that I can shin up, in case there's any need of -a change of base."</p> - -<p>By slow degrees he was making fair headway up the rugged slope. Several -times he found it necessary to detour, on account of a cliff that -loomed up in his course and that could not be scaled, even should he -take his courage in both hands and make the attempt.</p> - -<p>"They do say the longest way around is sometimes the shortest in the -end," he buoyed up his spirits by saying; "and I'd a heap rather go an -extra half-mile than fall from that rocky wall."</p> - -<p>He was wondering how much farther he ought to climb and if it might not -be the part of wisdom on his part to start yelling on the chance of -being overheard by the others of his party, when he fancied he caught -the sound of a human voice.</p> - -<p>The more he listened the better convinced he felt that he had not been -deceived by his ears. Some one was grumbling, and talking in a fretful -tone.</p> - -<p>"Hello!" called Frank, cupping his hands and sending out the shout in -the direction the sounds seemed to come from.</p> - -<p>"Oh, help! Help!" came back almost instantly and in piteous tones.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I ought to know that voice!" snapped Frank.</p> - -<p>Thrilled by the anguish which he had caught with Lanky's muffled appeal -for assistance, Frank Allen hurried as much as he dared. As he advanced -he continued to call out reassuring words.</p> - -<p>"Hey, Lanky, I'm coming!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XV</p> - -<p class="center">WHAT HAPPENED TO LANKY</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">Come</span> as quick as you can—nearly all in, and feel like I'm going -to—faint, you know. Think of <i>me</i>, Lanky Wallace, actin' like that! -But—it's awful—being turned upside-down this way! Hurry along!"</p> - -<p>Lanky's words greatly mystified Frank, for as yet he had failed to get -the first glimpse of his chum in trouble. Not for long, however, did -this ignorance last.</p> - -<p>"Well, Lanky Wallace sure has pulled a stunt I never saw equaled!" -burst from the lips of the amazed and startled Frank, when, bursting -through a barrier of thorny brushwood, he saw a swinging figure hanging -head downward over the edge of a sheer drop that would measure a full -twelve feet.</p> - -<p>It was Lanky all right, though few of his friends would be able to -recognize him if discovered in that awkward and ridiculous posture. One -of his feet seemed to be entangled in a vine that grew from a fissure -close to the top of the diminutive cliff,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> which, of course, assumed -the size of a precipice to the unfortunate human pendulum.</p> - -<p>But it was no laughing matter to Lanky. If left too long, he would come -to a dangerous pass, since all the blood would go to his head, and so -encompass his death.</p> - -<p>He must have twisted and writhed with might and main in the endeavor to -reach up a groping hand and obtain some sort of grip upon the vine that -was the cause of his stumbling over the edge of that cliff.</p> - -<p>Now he had stopped all that useless work and was swinging back and -forth, for all the world like the weight in a great grandfather clock -in the Allen home at Columbia.</p> - -<p>Losing not a second in inaction, Frank hastened to make his way up -one side of the rocky wall, which he was able to do by searching for -toe-holds.</p> - -<p>These did not always prove as substantial as he would have wished, for -once he slipped and slid backward several feet, amidst a vast falling -of shale and earth.</p> - -<p>Poor despairing Lanky gave vent to an agonized howl on hearing the -racket thus made. He naturally fancied, not being able to see a thing -on account of the coat dangling over his head, that his rescuer had -gotten himself into some serious predicament, which would "settle -his—Lanky's—goose," since further delay must drive him frantic.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Nothing gone wrong, Lanky. Only lost my grip. Be with you in three -shakes of a dog's tail. Don't worry, it's Frank talking to you! Now I'm -at the top, and going over!"</p> - -<p>The knowledge that Frank was actually alive after all the dreadful -fears that had oppressed both himself and Paul, helped revive Lanky's -drooping spirits considerably. He stopped groaning, and Frank thought -he heard him say in a fearfully weak voice something like:</p> - -<p>"Bully—it's Frank! Oh, bul—ly boy!"</p> - -<p>Now Frank was crawling along the edge of the little precipice toward -the spot below which his chum dangled like a mason's plumb-line down -the wall he was building.</p> - -<p>"Here I am, Lanky, right above you!" he called out cheeringly. "Yes, I -can see where you went headlong over, your foot trapped in this vine!"</p> - -<p>He leaned cautiously over the brink. Lanky was directly below, and -Frank was pleased to see that it would not be difficult for him to get -a firm grip on the other's ankle; though just how he was to raise Lanky -gave him immediate concern.</p> - -<p>Some object caught his eye—it looked a bit like a coiled snake of -tremendous proportions, lying there almost on the edge of the abrupt -descent. Then Frank realized that it was a coiled rope. Lanky himself -had undoubtedly fetched it from the tem<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>porary camp, under the -impression that he could find a good use for such a thing, if only he -should run across his missing chum.</p> - -<p>As a plan flashed into his active mind Frank snatched up the strong -rope, leaned over, and managed to get its end around Lanky's ankle. As -speedily as he could he fastened it securely.</p> - -<p>"Listen, Lanky!" he cried out. "I've got the rope fixed so I can lower -you down to the ground, once I've cut that vine apart. Here goes, then!"</p> - -<p>First Frank took a single hitch of the rope around a small sapling that -chanced to be within reach, a most fortunate thing. This he did so it -would be doubly easy and safe to lower a heavy weight, without risking -being pulled over the edge himself.</p> - -<p>Then out came his knife. How glad he was he had always made it a point -to keep a razor-like edge on his handy blade. Two, three slashes were -all that was required, when the tough vine parted and, by easy little -jerks, Lanky commenced to go down toward the rocks below.</p> - -<p>No sooner did Frank see that his chum had landed than he fastened the -rope in a knot, swung himself over the edge and slid down as if he -clasped a greased pole, in the customary doing at the annual Harvest -Home fair at Columbia.</p> - -<p>Lanky was groaning and moving a little, as Frank knelt down beside him. -When he drew the other's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> coat away from his face Frank was alarmed to -discover how black Lanky looked. Evidently a short time longer of that -hanging must have quite finished him.</p> - -<p>Hearing water gurgling close by, Frank hastened to the small rivulet -that came leaping and bubbling down from the snow-clad heights -above. He filled Lanky's hat—his own had gone down with that raging -torrent—and was speedily back at the other's side.</p> - -<p>First of all he made Lanky drink a little of the icy water. Next he -bathed the flushed and discolored face with some of the same fluid. -The result was gratifying, for by slow degrees that dreadful, purple -hue faded from Lanky's features, and he even smiled wanly, his eyes -kindling with the awakening joy he felt at once more seeing his best -chum bending over him.</p> - -<p>"We thought—you must have gone,—Frank!" he managed to say, trying to -lift his hand, which Frank had been patting affectionately.</p> - -<p>"Well, I had the closest shave of my whole life," replied the other, -wincing at the vivid recollection of that never-to-be-forgotten -experience. "But you'll hear all about it later on, Lanky; also how -I've been keeping a lively pack of gray wolves at bay for several -hours by throwing burning brands from my fire at them as they hovered -around."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Whew!" breathed Lanky, gazing at his chum with admiring eyes. "And all -I've managed to do along the line of adventure was to trip over a vine, -hang head down over a precipice and yell for help!"</p> - -<p>After a while Lanky felt so much stronger that it was decided to make -a move. He had kept his bearings while starting out at break of day in -the hope of finding Frank so now he was able to serve as guide.</p> - -<p>They took their way slowly, for neither of them felt very robust. -Accordingly it was well on to the middle of the morning when at last -Lanky pointed ahead, to remark with a sigh of relief:</p> - -<p>"You can see the smoke of their fire right over that big boulder, -Frank. They're sticking close to the place where we came out of the -canyon, because Jerry says there isn't any other trail he knows of by -which to reach Gold Fork camp."</p> - -<p>When they were discovered there arose a great shout. Paul waved his hat -enthusiastically. Mr. Wallace did the same while both Jerry Brime and -Zander Forbes joined in the hearty greeting. The latter had just come -back, after combing the lower reaches of the canyon, the flood having -passed away, leaving only a bare trickle of water to hint at the almost -tragic event of the preceding night.</p> - -<p>By degrees the story was told, and everybody seemed to think Frank -must surely bear a charmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> life, to pass unscathed through two such -exciting and hazardous adventures in one night.</p> - -<p>It had been agreed upon between the two boys that they would say -nothing about what had happened to Lanky. For one thing, he felt -ashamed at having been so easily caught napping, and placed in such a -ridiculous position. Then, again, he did not want to worry his father -with such harrowing details as must follow on his being questioned.</p> - -<p>"Of course you can tell Paul all about my silliness," Lanky had said at -the time this arrangement was made. "I know he can keep a secret. But -I'd never hear the last of it if the fellows in Columbia ever got wind -of my fool play."</p> - -<p>As Lanky had partaken of no breakfast, being in such a hurry to -commence his search, and Frank had fasted since the preceding night, an -early hot lunch was made ready, after which they started on again.</p> - -<p>Jerry led the way down into the bed of the canyon, whose treachery none -of these travelers would ever forget. Once more their faces were turned -upward, as the sure-footed ponies made their way among the loose rocks -that dotted the bottom of the defile.</p> - -<p>In years long gone past all those headed for the new gold discovery -had covered this identical ground. The boys could easily imagine them -toiling upward—grizzled prospectors and regular miners, some tot<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>ing -all their possessions on their backs, others enjoying the luxury of a -donkey to carry burdens.</p> - -<p>"And like as not every mother's son of the whole bunch," Paul Bird -remarked, on talking with his two chums concerning these things, "was -as enthusiastic and hopeful as we are right now, expecting to be lucky -enough to run across some wonderful pocket of nuggets, like Josh Kinney -had done."</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's true enough, Paul," replied Lanky. "But none of them -happened to have a neat little homemade chart made by Kinney himself -and telling where his cache was hidden in that five-fingered cave. -There's a whole lot in having the inside track, you know."</p> - -<p>Several hours passed.</p> - -<p>They had been making fair and steady progress upward, and Frank could -more than half guess they were presently coming to a break in the -abrupt steepness marking the sheer mountainside.</p> - -<p>"We must be close on that plateau, where we understand the deserted -camp lies," he told the other boys.</p> - -<p>"What makes you think so?" asked the pleased yet skeptical Paul.</p> - -<p>"The lay of the land, for one thing," came the reply. "Then, again, -I've been keeping my weather eye fixed on Jerry."</p> - -<p>"Clever idea," admitted Paul; while Lanky<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> grinned, proving that he -himself must have been doing something similar.</p> - -<p>"He's been getting more and more worked up right along," continued -Frank, who made it a practice to observe everything around him, and -form his own conception of its meaning.</p> - -<p>"Reckons he's back again in the good old days," Lanky broke in just -then, "when Gold Fork was on the boom, with everybody figuring on being -a millionaire before the sun went down six more times. Huh! makes me -laugh, the innocence of those old codgers! Poor sillies!"</p> - -<p>Even as Lanky spoke, Jerry turned around with uplifted hand.</p> - -<p>"We're right thar, boys, and yuh goin' to set eyes on the remains afore -yuh's five minuits older. Don't laugh, please, 'case to me it's like -a-goin' to a funeral of an old friend. Seen some right lively times -hyah in Gold Fork, an' I sumtimes dream 'bout the real men I nudged -shoulders with in them rushin' days o' the long ago."</p> - -<p>"Let's remember that, fellows," said Frank softly, "and respect Jerry's -feelings in the matter. If we have to be amused we can pick out times -when the old man isn't around."</p> - -<p>"I'll not forget, Frank," said Paul instantly. "I think I can -understand about how he feels. To see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> this familiar stamping-ground -again will be like having ghosts walk."</p> - -<p>"Ditto here," grunted Lanky, though not quite so given to sentiment.</p> - -<p>The stipulated five minutes had not passed when on breaking through a -barrier of wild-looking brush and bushes the party came fully upon the -wreckage of one of the oldest and most talked-of mining camps in all -that region.</p> - -<p>To Frank especially, with Jerry and his memories in mind, the picture -was intensely desolate, weird, and impressive. All of the pilgrims drew -in their tired ponies and stared at what was spread there before them.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XVI</p> - -<p class="center">AT THE DESERTED MINING CAMP</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">Look</span> at the buzzards sitting on that ridge of a two-story building, -will you?" exclaimed Lanky, pointing as he spoke.</p> - -<p>"There! They're off, flying," said Paul, "each starting with a queer -little jump that sends the big bird up several feet before its wings -begin to carry it. Always liked to watch turkey-buzzards roosting on a -dead tree or dropping down to feed. Make me think of the clowns at a -circus, they're so comical."</p> - -<p>"I'd call this Camp Desolation, if you asked me," observed Frank, in an -aside to his chums.</p> - -<p>"Never did set eyes on its equal in all my life," Lanky admitted. "I -reckon nobody's been around here for years, to look at the way those -shacks and stores and huts have decayed."</p> - -<p>"That's where you're away off your trolley then," chuckled Frank.</p> - -<p>"Seen something, or you wouldn't talk that way," ventured the other, a -bit annoyed because Frank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> had again beaten him at woodcraft, in which -Lanky fancied himself a master.</p> - -<p>"Lots of times, when we were climbing the canyon bed to top the rise," -Frank told him, with a nod; "especially during the last half hour. -Signs of horses coming and going—lately, too—little stones displaced, -even the plain print of hoofs when there chanced to be a layer of earth -to make them show. I'm a whole lot surprised that <i>you</i> missed them, -Lanky."</p> - -<p>"Huh! even the best scouts trip up once in a long time," grunted Lanky. -"I must have been watching Jerry so closely and squinting up at the -rock walls above, thinkin' about what a nice place it'd be for an old -grizzly to make a den."</p> - -<p>"There, you can see the tracks as plain as print right now," Frank at -that juncture told his chums, pointing toward the ground just ahead.</p> - -<p>Apparently fifty years back many animals and treasure-hunting -prospectors must have made a well-beaten trail, coming up by way of the -canyon and arriving at the open place marking the plateau.</p> - -<p>"Easy enough," acknowledged Lanky, one of whose best qualities was -frankness when owning up to being surprised in anything. "But there! -Jerry's started to lead the way into the ghostly camp. Let's go!"</p> - -<p>No one joked or laughed as thus solemnly they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> walked their winded -ponies among those amazing wrecks of old-time life and bustle; it was -too much like passing through a cemetery long since abandoned and -fallen upon evil times.</p> - -<p>"Most of them seem to have been roughly built shacks, made out of pinon -trees cut on the side of the mountain, though I can see some cedar -among them—yes, and oak, besides. It's the story of the 'Deserted -Village' all over again, only no pestilence brought about this -desolation."</p> - -<p>"The whole bunch was wild to pick up gold nuggets," said Lanky. -"Anyway, that's what Jerry told us; and when the bubble burst they -cleared out bag and baggage."</p> - -<p>"What do you suppose that largest building was for?" asked Paul.</p> - -<p>"The only two-story one in the whole caboodle, you mean?" Lanky -replied. "I'd judge it might have been used as a hotel, or tavern, -where the fresh arrivals could put up and be fleeced till they found -time to throw a shack together."</p> - -<p>"There's an old faded sign over the door," Frank put in. "As near as -I can make out it reads: 'El Dorado Hotel, Accommodations for Man and -Beast.'"</p> - -<p>"Lots of good eats served in that place, I'd say," ventured Lanky, who -himself was hungry.</p> - -<p>"Here's a place that looks as if it used to be one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> of those dance -halls, where the miners gathered at night to have a lively time, what -with gambling, carousing, and the like."</p> - -<p>Frank felt certain he had struck close to the truth when he made that -assertion; for surely the large room could not have been used for any -other purpose.</p> - -<p>So they quietly rode through the whole village, stopping at the farther -end, while Mr. Wallace conferred with the other two men.</p> - -<p>"Now I wonder," Paul said as he stared around, sometimes having to -repress an involuntary shudder, everything was so dreadful, "what all -those queer little mounds can mean—they are side by side, too, as if -meant for stepping stones to some temple the miners meant to build, -after they'd all gotten to be millionaires."</p> - -<p>Lanky made an odd grimace.</p> - -<p>"Hobble your horse, Paul, and take another look. You'll guess then what -they stand for. Every mining camp started a cemetery the first thing; -because, you know, the mortality ran high in those lawless days, when -each man carried a big six-shooter on his hip and the one who could -draw the quickest lived to see another sun rise."</p> - -<p>Paul could not hold back the shiver that ran over him.</p> - -<p>"Why, there must be all of a hundred graves, if<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> there's one," he said, -and then added weakly, suspicion having awakened in his mind, knowing -Lanky's inveterate liking for playing jokes on innocents: "If you're -not stringing me, I mean."</p> - -<p>"Give him the air, Frank! After I vowed not even to <i>grin</i> while in -this haunted camp. Those are what I said, and yet Jerry told us the -camp didn't hold out more than one year. Life was held cheap in such -crazy times, Paul, and they planted somebody every other day, I reckon."</p> - -<p>Mr. Wallace just then turned to the three boys; the other men were -dismounting, as though not meaning to use the ponies any more that day.</p> - -<p>"I'm going off with Jerry and Zander," said the gentleman, "to scour -the neighborhood for what has always been known as 'Lost Mountain,' -though it's hard to understand how such a vast elevation could escape -notice. Plenty of eyes have doubtless fallen on it, but without knowing -that it was anything out of the ordinary. But we believe it contains -the mine Kinney worked."</p> - -<p>"And the five-fingered cave to boot," added Lanky.</p> - -<p>"What do you want us to be doing while you're away, Mr. Wallace?" -queried Frank.</p> - -<p>"Simply amuse yourselves," replied Mr. Wallace. "But keep a bright -lookout for those scamps we suspect are somewhere around this region, -ready to spy on us, in the hope of snatching the prize away<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> in case we -find it. Yes, and you might take the entire bunch of ponies along that -rocky trail to the right."</p> - -<p>"Where does it lead, Dad?" asked Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Jerry told me," replied his father, "that there is a queer little -walled-in strip of land about a quarter of a mile further on, where, -strangely enough, the finest of green forage could always be found, -winter and summer. They used to turn their animals in there to feed and -drink at the spring."</p> - -<p>"Shall we stake them out?" asked Frank.</p> - -<p>"No need of that," he was informed smilingly. "Nature took charge, and -left only one narrow exit and entrance to this highly favored pasture. -There are, it seems, several rocks that can be easily moved, and which -when placed in position form an excellent barrier that the smartest -cow-pony would be unable to jump."</p> - -<p>"This sure is the land of marvels," grinned Lanky.</p> - -<p>"We'll take all the ponies out there, and shut the gate of the corral -on them," promised Frank.</p> - -<p>"You might unload the pack-pony, boys, and put the stuff for our -rations in one of these shacks, covering it all over, so that no -possible curious eyes would suspect its presence."</p> - -<p>With these words Mr. Wallace handed over the bridle of his mount, -and in company with the other men made ready to go forth in a first -attempt, under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> Jerry's reawakened memory of his surroundings, to -locate the Lost Mountain of Gold Fork.</p> - -<p>Left to themselves, the boys deposited the stores in one of the huts -that seemed to have a better roof than any of the rest. This had been -proved in the recent cloudburst, for some of the ruined buildings were -soaked, while the earthen floor of their choice seemed quite dry. Then -they set off with the bunch of weary animals.</p> - -<p>Sure enough, after leading their four-footed charges along the still -well defined if ancient trail, they presently arrived at the pasture.</p> - -<p>"Worth coming a long way to see such a curiosity," announced Lanky, -as they took saddles and bridles off the ponies and turned them into -the rock-surrounded enclosure one by one, to feed and rest. "Beats any -man-made corral I ever set eyes on, and so simple, too."</p> - -<p>"All we have to do now," Frank observed, after the last cayuse had -kicked up his heels and galloped off to join its mates, already eagerly -nibbling at the sweet green grass, "is to work these rocks into place -so they'll close the gap, and the bunch is safe from any stampede."</p> - -<p>"That wash over there, with the low bank," ventured Lanky, "must be -where some sort of stream passes through. The water would be cold as -ice, for it comes down from the mountain tops, where<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> there's always -heaps of snow, summer and winter."</p> - -<p>A short time later the boys again found themselves in the decayed -mining camp, with its numerous wrecks of buildings, in which no man had -laid his head for more than a score of years, perhaps twice that.</p> - -<p>Filled with curiosity, the three boys started making the rounds.</p> - -<p>"Might as well see everything there is while we have the chance," Lanky -told his mates. "'Tisn't every day you can run across such a thrilling -sight as this. See the bats whirr out of that old shack, will you? -Must have picked it for a place to hang their tired old bodies, after -swinging around the circle all night long."</p> - -<p>When the lads peeped cautiously in through the opening which a rotten -door, hanging by its last rusty hinge, faded to shut entirely, it was -indeed a sight worth impressing on their minds.</p> - -<p>"Gee whiz!" barked Lanky, his eyes opening unusually wide. "See the -ugly things dangling there from every rafter, will you?"</p> - -<p>"Is <i>that</i> the way bats sleep, hanging by their toes with their heads -downward?" exclaimed Paul, intensely interested. "What strange things -you often see when you haven't got a gun. I'll know now what they mean -when they say a fellow has 'bats in his belfry'!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Let's have a peep-in at that old hotel," Lanky Wallace suggested. -"That may have sheltered more millionaires—in their mind's eye—than -ever any up-to-the-latest in New York City could claim."</p> - -<p>"Second the motion," quickly added Paul.</p> - -<p>"Lead me to it," Frank laughed, "for I was just going to put it up to -both of you."</p> - -<p>"Come on then," cried Lanky.</p> - -<p>Led by the tall boy, the three of them were speedily inside the -abandoned building, possibly once the pride of Gold Fork; but with now -not a shadow of its former grandeur remaining in its skeleton walls, -and the shaky stairs leading to unseen upper regions.</p> - -<p>"Huh! a peach of a place this would be for us to camp out in," Lanky -remarked, as they started to look things over.</p> - -<p>"Wow! I hope you don't try it," Paul cried out. "I'm dead certain it's -just swarming with rats!"</p> - -<p>"Say," demanded Lanky disdainfully, "what could the sillies find to -live on all these years since any meal was served in this dining room?"</p> - -<p>"Ask me something easy, Lanky," urged Paul. "But I'm sure there are -rats in plenty around, for I saw one—a monster, too, if as thin as a -rail—when I said what I did."</p> - -<p>"All I hope then," continued Lanky, with a shrug, "is that the varmints -don't swarm around our grub and clean us out. We'd have to live off the -country<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> then, and eat all sorts of queer dishes—grizzly bear steaks, -coyote chops, prairie-dog stews, and such delicacies."</p> - -<p>"Let up, Lanky," urged Frank. "You know Paul's a bit squeamish about -his stomach, and you'll get him off his feed. Listen! What was that?"</p> - -<p>"Sounded like a horse neighing," said Lanky, looking startled.</p> - -<p>"I hear hoofs beating the rocks!" Frank ejaculated. "And I'd judge it -was a right big bunch of nags, to boot! We can't pass out of that door -because they're coming from that direction and heading right this way!"</p> - -<p>Paul turned his eyes on Frank, who, he realized, must solve the -problem.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XVII</p> - -<p class="center">WHEN ZEKE CAME BACK</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">The</span> window at the rear!" Frank Allen instantly suggested.</p> - -<p>"I get you, Frank!" gasped the relieved Paul.</p> - -<p>"Great stuff!" was the energetic way Lanky agreed with the leader.</p> - -<p>The sound of many hoofbeats was coming closer, steadily, and what the -boys meant to do must be undertaken without wasting any more precious -seconds.</p> - -<p>"Follow me!" With the words the agile and energetic Lanky was already -half-way through the window. This had no sash, time having relieved it -of both glass and frames, leaving only an aperture in the wall.</p> - -<p>Frank pushed Paul forward, signifying that it was his intention to be -the last to quit the place, just as all captains of sinking vessels at -sea make sure everybody else has left before they will consent to step -into the last crowded boat that leaves before the foundering occurs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p> - -<p>Once outside, the boys were quick to scurry in among some old junk and -scrambled rocks. This lay but a few feet away from the back of the -tavern, and offered excellent hiding places for them.</p> - -<p>Besides, what pleased Lanky considerably, they could doubtless overhear -any talk that came about. Yes, and even catch fleeting glimpses of the -new-comers, if so be they entered the old hotel.</p> - -<p>Another minute—less than that, even—and the boys were able to -congratulate themselves over their smartness in leaving in such a -hurry. The ponies came to a halt directly before the door of the former -hostelry. Throwing the lines over the heads of their mounts, cowboy -fashion, so that the animals would remain at a stand under all ordinary -conditions, the riders entered.</p> - -<p>Frank and his chums could hear loud and rough voices.</p> - -<p>"That was Nash Yesson who spoke then!" whispered Lanky in Paul's ear, -for they were all bunched close together on purpose, and had their ears -doing almost double duty in the endeavor to learn all they could.</p> - -<p>"It was Lef Seller he called down, too," observed Frank, with great -caution, for it would invite a ruction little short of a calamity if -those angry men discovered the boys crouching there and listening to -what went on.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I just glimpsed Lef," Lanky communicated in his softest tone; "and you -ought to see how bad he looks. He's had nothing but hard knocks ever -since he ran up against that Yesson. The tough boys over at Double Z -Ranch must have rubbed it in hard, too."</p> - -<p>"He's only getting what he deserves," Paul muttered, half to himself, -thinking of the base duplicity and deceit toward his own father Lef had -been guilty of.</p> - -<p>"'Sh! Let's listen for all we're worth, and perhaps we'll pick up some -news," suggested Frank, who disapproved of all this whispering that was -taking place.</p> - -<p>He himself had taken several cautious looks, and had learned that -besides Lef Seller and Nash Yesson there were four other persons in the -crowd that had entered the forsaken tavern.</p> - -<p>"That queer fish with the body of a runt and the head of a giant seems -to answer to the name of Rick Muddy," Frank told himself. "The name -about fits his crooked body, I'd say. Those other three tough-looking -citizens must hang up their hats at the Double Z when they're at home, -for they've got the make-up of cow-punchers, heavily armed, and out for -business."</p> - -<p>One of these men he heard called Malachi and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> another Zeke, but the -third one's name was never made known.</p> - -<p>Nash Yesson was not knuckling down to anybody, it appeared, from the -way he turned from one to another with snarls and hard language. -Continual disappointments while on the way to Rockspur Ranch and -afterwards had roiled him unmercifully, so that, as Lanky afterwards -expressed it in his customary picturesque language "the man was like a -bear with a sore head."</p> - -<p>"And as for you, Rick Muddy," the boys could hear Yesson pouring out -his wrath upon the head of the pudgy chap, "even after you'd been given -complete directions you had to go and fizzle the worst kind. Why, those -kids got the better of you and grabbed the second chart after you'd -nearly dug it up! You're a rank failure and ought to be kicked out of -camp for being such a gink."</p> - -<p>"I own up they bamboozled me some," grumbled the small man. "But other -dubs livin' in glass houses oughtn't to throw stones."</p> - -<p>"What d'you mean by that, you fool?" gritted Yesson threateningly.</p> - -<p>"Only that you done the same stuff when you nearly had that first -map," retorted the other, probably relying on the fact that the three -hard-riding cow-punchers were pals of his and would not see<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> him -knocked down by Yesson. "If you'd jumped your claim then we'd be all -fixed right now to walk in on that nugget cache! Ain't that so boys?"</p> - -<p>"It sure is," replied the tallest of the wranglers in a voice that -rumbled like the sound of approaching thunder. "But all bets are off, -and we don't want to eat each other up for nothin'. When we grab what -we've got hidden here, we'll be fixed so's to start off fresh again and -locate that Lost Mountain."</p> - -<p>"That's the stuff!" chanted the fellow answering to the name of -Malachi. "What Zeke here managed to pick up from that wrinkled old -Indian squaw ought to help us find the cave. And once we get our paws -on the jack, we'll fight anybody to the death who tries to pry it away -from us."</p> - -<p>"You said it, Malachi!" retorted Nash Yesson grimly. "I've been -stalkin' that nugget claim too long now to show the white feather to -a dozen pikers who are tryin' to chase me off the trail. We're close -to it right now, and if those other guys come walkin' up to close the -deal, why, here's six little boys ready to say 'hands up, gents!'"</p> - -<p>This was all heard by the eagerly listening boys, concealed so close -at hand. Very interesting it all sounded, too; although Frank did not -see that they were really adding to their stock of information, ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>cept -that they knew now the number of those who opposed their aims and -to what infamous ends Yesson and his companions were ready to go to -further their schemes.</p> - -<p>"Then let's clear out and get busy," suggested Malachi, who seemed to -be an aggressive type of fellow. "Get busy, Rick Muddy, an' hustle that -stock of grub along, to load on your cayuse, you bein' the lightest -built in the whole bunch."</p> - -<p>This told the story. It was these men who had visited the deserted -mining camp shortly before Mr. Wallace and his prospecting party -reached Gold Fork. Frank had already discounted this fact. Indeed, he -had reached that decision at the time he first discovered the marks of -hoofs along the upper canyon.</p> - -<p>The small man with the big head showed no sign of disobeying orders. -Undoubtedly he knew Malachi's bad qualities, and did not dare rebel.</p> - -<p>So the peeping boys in the junk heap among the friendly rocks watched -the men carry forth some packages. These undoubtedly contained their -store of food to carry them over during their stay in that unalluring -vicinity.</p> - -<p>When the clatter of hoofs finally announced the men had indeed gone, -every boy from Frank down breathed a sigh of relief and they came out -of hiding.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> - -<p>"A rough crowd, take it from me!" exclaimed Lanky Wallace.</p> - -<p>"Are you sure they're all gone?" asked nervous Paul Bird.</p> - -<p>Lanky chuckled.</p> - -<p>"What do you take me for, Paul—a bonehead?" he asked. "Sure, I counted -'em as they rode off, and there were six in the lot. From the way that -ugly-looking Zeke turned and looked back several times, I kind of -imagined he had some scheme in view that he was half tempted to pull -off."</p> - -<p>"Good riddance then to bad rubbish," Paul remarked, showing by his -manner that he had feared there might be a discovery made, when the -results would hardly have been pleasant for the boys from Rockspur -Ranch.</p> - -<p>"Lucky for us we hid our stores and took the ponies off to pasture," -Frank observed, as they re-entered the deserted hotel. "If they'd seen -the bunch it would have been good-bye to our chances for riding back -home. As it is, they've seen nothing to tell them that the Wallace -treasure-hunters are already on the ground and ready to follow their -noses to Josh Kinney's lost claim."</p> - -<p>"Why, look here!" burst out Paul just then. "What's this mean?"</p> - -<p>He was holding some object up gingerly. It turned out to be a cowboy -hat, once a beautiful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> Stetson, but now horribly shabby, as though it -must have seen several years' hard usage.</p> - -<p>Both Lanky and Frank experienced fresh interest.</p> - -<p>"Say, that wasn't on this old three-legged table when we came into this -place!" exclaimed Lanky, frowning, as he took the article in his own -hands, and turned it around.</p> - -<p>"I wondered," Frank broke in, "when I noticed that the big, -ugly-looking puncher called Zeke was riding off bare-headed. Still, -I've seen Lige Smith, yes, and Hoptoad Atkins, go off on the range with -bare heads, and the sun scorching hot. But then they both have thick -hair, while Zeke—well, if he wasn't as close to being bald-headed as -any cowboy could be, I'm mistaken."</p> - -<p>"I'd say it was a bum go he forgot his hat," ventured Paul.</p> - -<p>"Perhaps he didn't!" Lanky told him.</p> - -<p>"But here's his old hat, and Frank just said the man rode off -bare-headed! What can you mean by saying that, Lanky?"</p> - -<p>"To get you guessing, Paul," chirped the satisfied Lanky. "What I had -in mind was that maybe Zeke left his lid here on purpose."</p> - -<p>"Now you're balling me all up again!" complained Paul.</p> - -<p>"Didn't you hear me say the man kept looking around as he rode off with -his pals, just as if he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> half a notion to turn and come back? Well, -I reckon Zeke's a cute one, and has set up the pins in his alley so he -can knock 'em down with his first roller and make a clean sweep!"</p> - -<p>"Do you mean," asked Paul, "that he actually means to come galloping -back here for some reason or other and has left his hat behind so's to -make some sort of excuse for leaving his mates?"</p> - -<p>"Listen!"</p> - -<p>As Lanky hissed that emphatic word the other boys strained their ears -to catch any sound. Clearly on the gentle breeze that chanced to be -blowing came the unmistakable pounding of a pony's hoofs on the rocks!</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XVIII</p> - -<p class="center">THE UNSEEN WATCHERS</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">There</span> was a concerted rush to the window situated on that side of the -building toward which the oncoming rider seemed to be heading.</p> - -<p>"Careful!" warned Frank hastily. "He may be looking ahead and see us!"</p> - -<p>What he said caused both the others to drop down to the floor and crawl -forward until they could look out. This was easily done, for the reason -that not a single pane of glass remained in any sash.</p> - -<p>"I see him just dropping down into that little hollow!" snapped the -keen-eyed Lanky almost instantly.</p> - -<p>"Was it Zeke?" asked Paul, in palpitating tones.</p> - -<p>"Sure was," came the reply. "Leastways, I glimpsed a shiny bald head, -and as Frank observed he owned to such."</p> - -<p>"Then we'd better be getting back to our hiding place in that clump of -rocks, hadn't we?" Paul continued.</p> - -<p>"Can't be done! He's coming from that quarter,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> you notice, and the -chances are we'd be seen," Lanky informed him.</p> - -<p>"The door, then! Could we risk that?" demanded the other.</p> - -<p>Frank shook his head in the negative.</p> - -<p>"Before we could get under shelter he'd be up out of that hollow and -have a square open stretch ahead. We've just got to stick to the -rookery here, that's all."</p> - -<p>"Hide, you mean, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, Paul," came the ready answer, as Frank looked hurriedly around, -up and down, and then went on to say: "There may be a cellar under the -tumble-down hotel, but so far we haven't seen anything of it."</p> - -<p>"What's wrong with our skipping up-stairs and lying low?" Lanky wanted -to know.</p> - -<p>"Our only chance, boys!" jerked out Frank.</p> - -<p>"Go to it then, fellows!" said Lanky, acting as if he meant to make a -mad dive for the stairs, and go up helter-skelter. But Frank caught him -by the arm.</p> - -<p>"Slow and sure, Lanky!" came the warning. "Take things easy! Plenty of -time to get there! If we all went in a mob those ricketty stairs would -probably come down with a smash and dump us in a heap. You go first, -Lanky, then Paul, and I'll bring up the rear."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p> - -<p>"I'm game for anything, even a fight!" retorted the tall boy, as he put -his foot on the first step and started upward.</p> - -<p>Paul was listening. The hoofbeats sounded much closer than before, as -if Zeke continued to make good progress toward the old tavern. How -those stairs did wobble and creak and groan, even though Lanky was -trying to climb as softly as possible.</p> - -<p>Now he was at the top, and, beckoning for Paul to take his turn, Frank -stood waiting until he saw that the time had come for him to follow. It -was a queer feeling that gripped him as he felt the swaying movement -under his feet, such as one might expect to encounter on a crude -swinging grapevine bridge stretched across some torrent.</p> - -<p>He felt considerable satisfaction when he gained the landing above -without any accident spoiling the hastily conceived program.</p> - -<p>"Now let's get in the room over that big one below stairs," he -suggested, on the spur of the moment.</p> - -<p>"Good scheme, Frank!" whispered Lanky. "It's got open seams in the -floor, and we ought to be able to spy on Zeke. I'm curious to know what -did bring him back, after laying that lid of his on the table and not -seeming to notice he'd left it behind till the crowd had got some way -off. Here he comes!"</p> - -<p>A sharp hiss from Frank cut the garrulous one off. After that the -three boys lay there on the floor,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> hardly daring to stir, since the -slightest movement on any one's part caused the rotten boards to creak -and give ominously.</p> - -<p>They heard the pony come close to the door of the tavern, and then -caught the heavy thud of heels as the rider jumped off. It was Zeke, -just as they had expected. He came hurrying through the open door, -going directly to the three-legged table, to pick up his hat and slap -it on his bald head.</p> - -<p>At the same time the boys saw him half double-up, bring a hand down -with a slap on his knee, and laugh hoarsely. Evidently Zeke was pleased -with the success of this expedient that permitted him to gallop back to -the mining camp without arousing suspicion on the part of his mates.</p> - -<p>Eagerly the unseen watchers in the loft above kept their eyes glued -upon his every movement. Lanky, in particular, was filled with -curiosity to learn the reason for such queer actions on the part of the -gruff and tough-looking puncher.</p> - -<p>He moved about as though accomplishing something that had been on his -mind. Once Frank even saw him bend down and lift what seemed to be a -trapdoor in the rotten floor below. Zeke stared down into the cellar -there, and gave evidences of being considerably worked up.</p> - -<p>Frank made up his mind, on witnessing the man's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span> grim face, that -whatever secret he had gripping his soul, it was connected with -something that lay hidden down in the cellar of the abandoned inn.</p> - -<p>They could hear him moving around after that, but he no longer came -within the radius of their vision; those cracks had served their -purpose fairly well, but there was a limit to their range.</p> - -<p>Lanky fussed a bit, moving restlessly, discontented because he could no -longer keep his eyes on the man. Frank almost feared his impetuous chum -might feel inclined to creep over to the head of the stairs, in the -hope of once more glimpsing Zeke and discovering what he was busy doing.</p> - -<p>To avoid the possibility of unpleasant consequences, Frank laid a -restraining hand on Lanky's arm.</p> - -<p>Just then they again caught a fleeting glimpse of the man, who was -heading toward the outer door. Evidently he had accomplished whatever -mission it was that had brought him hurrying back, and was now making -ready to gallop off.</p> - -<p>This caused the boys more or less satisfaction. While Zeke was below -there must always be a chance of discovery. If he had such a deep -interest in what happened to lie in the cellar, why should this concern -not go farther and cause him to start up-stairs?</p> - -<p>But the suspense was about over, now that he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> commenced to take his -departure. Once again did the trio creep across the shaky floor to the -window, so as to watch his going.</p> - -<p>"There he is," whispered Lanky, breaking what had been a long and -agonizing silence for a boy who liked to hear himself talk as much as -he did. "Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest. So long, Zeke! -Your room is better'n your company!"</p> - -<p>"Hold on, Lanky," said Paul, very softly. "You're talking through your -hat, I'm afraid. He's stopped right over there, turned his pony, and is -sitting with one leg up over the pommel of his saddle, watching this -same old house like a hawk. Do you think he suspects we're around?"</p> - -<p>"Not on your life, Paul! I don't know why he keeps on sitting there, -and looking so mighty well satisfied with himself; but like as not it's -got something to do with his coming back."</p> - -<p>"He's got a rifle across his knee," continued Paul, "and you'd think he -was planning to throw a few bullets into this shack."</p> - -<p>"Oh, rats! Nothing like that is going to happen!" sneered Lanky, for -the horseman was far enough away to prevent their low voices from -reaching his ears. "He's just taking a last look at the rookery here, -that's all.</p> - -<p>"What sort of a crackling sound was that just then?" demanded Paul -suspiciously.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Didn't happen to catch anything. What did it sound like?" asked Lanky, -carelessly enough and continuing to watch the sitting Zeke.</p> - -<p>"Just like you'd started your cooking fire, Lanky. And say, I smell -smoke right now, I tell you!"</p> - -<p>"That settles the question of why he's hanging around so!" exclaimed -Frank. "He's set fire to this old hotel, and wants to see it blaze up!"</p> - -<p>"Gee, whiz, that makes it look bad!" ejaculated Lanky Wallace, as he -too grasped the serious dilemma by which they were now confronted.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XIX</p> - -<p class="center">SEARCHING FOR LOST MOUNTAIN</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">If</span> the three boys attempted to flee from the burning rookery they would -of course be discovered and possibly fired upon by that grim watcher.</p> - -<p>"Frank, do you reckon he guessed we were squatting up here and means to -give us a chance to be roasted?" asked the now thoroughly alarmed Paul, -not so capable of meeting trouble coolly, as Frank Allen had always -shown himself to be.</p> - -<p>"I hardly believe it's quite as bad as that," the other replied. "After -firing the shack, he's felt inclined to hold up and watch how his work -gets to moving."</p> - -<p>"Then you think he may skip out in time to let us drop out of a window -or slip down those ricketty stairs, do you?"</p> - -<p>"Let's hope so, anyhow, Paul."</p> - -<p>Lanky, however, was almost boiling over with poorly suppressed disgust.</p> - -<p>"Huh! does that Zeke think we're a bunch of Thanksgiving turkeys that -he starts a fire under our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> feet, which, given a little free scope is -going to make this place feel like a Dutch oven? I object to being -finished in such a cheap way."</p> - -<p>He moved his gun menacingly as he said this.</p> - -<p>"Do you mean you want to get a crack at Zeke, and tumble him off his -pony out there?" queried Paul.</p> - -<p>"Well, maybe it'd do the job just as well if I shot the cayuse -instead," Lanky suggested, drawing the line at taking human life, -something that so far in his existence he had never tried to do.</p> - -<p>"Hold your horses, Lanky," advised Frank. "He may be going in another -minute or two, and it'll be some little time before that blaze can -reach us. As a last resort, if all else fails, I'll agree to let you -shoot at Zeke to cripple him or his bronc so that he'll not be able to -ride away to warn Yesson, or, on the other hand, harm us here."</p> - -<p>Three minutes more passed. So worked up were Lanky Wallace and Paul -Bird that it seemed double that time to them.</p> - -<p>The fire downstairs was now roaring, and the eyes of the boys began to -smart because of the fumes of acrid smoke that ascended the open stairs.</p> - -<p>"Oh, bully! Bully! He's whirled his pony around and is going off on a -gallop!" announced Paul.</p> - -<p>"About time, if he wanted to save his bacon; because I'd have got a -bead on his pony in another<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> minute," Lanky said in tones that breathed -both jubilation and threats. "Me for the window and a long jump!"</p> - -<p>"Take things coolly, Lanky," came from Frank. "You may break a leg if -you go over in a hurry. The fire hasn't done much on this side of the -house so far, and we can take our own time in getting down. Since the -stairs are all ablaze, of course our only road is by way of the window. -Here's a rope on this old bed mattress. If it's strong enough we can -make good use of it."</p> - -<p>A test proved this to be a fact, so Frank insisted that Paul go first, -to be followed by Lanky Wallace. Then he himself left the room. His -last glimpse of the interior of the upper story of the doomed hotel -showed him that hungry tongues of flame were beginning to flash through -the open doorway, as though reaching out for victims.</p> - -<p>Once safely on the ground, the boys moved back, since the heat of the -burning structure made it uncomfortable.</p> - -<p>"Bully bonfire, all right!" declared Lanky. "Wonder if it's bound to -tackle any of these other ghosts of shacks and clean off the whole of -Gold Fork?"</p> - -<p>"Let's hope not," Frank told him. "If there's any danger that way, -we've got to get busy and hustle our stores out of the cabin where we -hid the lot."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p> - -<p>"You said something that time, Frank," declared Lanky. "After all, I'm -not hankering for a diet of grizzly bear steaks, wolf chops, or gopher -hash," and he looked at Paul with a sparkle in his eyes.</p> - -<p>"Lanky," put in Frank, "you do love to stuff any gullible comrade, -whenever the opportunity arises."</p> - -<p>It turned out that fortune favored the boys in some ways. First of all, -there was an utter absence of wind, so that the fire did not sweep -wildly out toward the other dry and flimsy structures. Then again the -recent downpour, called by Jerry a cloudburst, had thoroughly saturated -the shacks.</p> - -<p>Some three of those nearest the former hotel did succumb to the -tremendous heat and burst into blaze but the boys saw they could not -in turn communicate with the adjoining ones, since a wide space came -between, over which the flames could not possibly jump unless a wind -arose, something very unlikely to happen.</p> - -<p>"Reckon that smoke will bring our folks back hot-footed," Lanky -suggested, watching the billowing volumes soaring straight upward just -before the utter collapse of the once busy hotel.</p> - -<p>"They'll be all balled up trying to guess what's happened here at the -mining camp," added Paul.</p> - -<p>It came to pass that such was the case. Something like an hour -afterwards Mr. Wallace and his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> two companions were seen coming on a -run, and looking more than anxious.</p> - -<p>"No harm done, Dad!" called out Lanky, to relieve his father's mind.</p> - -<p>"How did that fire start, son?" asked the other, looking dubiously at -Lanky, who, however, shook his head vigorously as he replied:</p> - -<p>"Not this time, Dad! It happened to be a man going by the name of -Zeke—don't know the rest, because we didn't hear it mentioned."</p> - -<p>"Zeke Spavin, I'd judge," put in Zander Forbes. "Was he a big -brutish-looking fellow with a shiny bald top-piece?"</p> - -<p>"Yes."</p> - -<p>"Well, he belongs over with the Double Z outfit. Tell us what you've -run across since we pulled out."</p> - -<p>The story was soon told, and the boys found themselves praised for -having handled a delicate situation so cleverly.</p> - -<p>"What do you reckon, Zander," asked the curious and wondering Lanky, -"that big gump had hidden down there in the cellar of the old hotel -that he wanted burned forever from any prying eyes?"</p> - -<p>The puncher squinted his eyes and frowned before giving his opinion.</p> - -<p>"Course, I don't know for sure, and I wouldn't be bothered digging in -the ashes of this shack just to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span> satisfy my curiosity. But as Jerry -here will remember, some years ago there was talk around this section -to the effect that Zeke Spavin had made way with another puncher named -Hick Davis."</p> - -<p>"They was seen together jest before Hick he disappeared," Jerry took up -the tale; "an' a heap of us allers did b'lieve Zeke an' his pal must -hev hed words, went firin' mad, clinched, an' thet Hick he got his. -Mebbe now Zeke, bein' clost to this hyah place, done buried his man in -the cellar o' the hotel thar."</p> - -<p>"That would seem to explain his scared way of looking down into the -cellar through the trapdoor in the floor," Frank observed. "And -thinking he'd have an easier mind if all evidence was destroyed, the -notion to burn down the hotel came to him. That was why he left his hat -behind."</p> - -<p>"What luck did you have, Dad? Found that Lost Mountain, I hope," said -Lanky, after some further talk about the fire.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry to say we didn't meet with much success, son. But we've -decided to go on a new track to-morrow, and hope for better luck."</p> - -<p>They found a good place to make camp, avoiding the vicinity of the -deserted town, lest their enemies return on some account and give them -trouble. The ponies were not forgotten, and both Mr. Wallace and Zander -admitted that Jerry's natural corral was the finest freak of nature -they had ever seen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another day dawned, and once more the three men set out. It was a long -day to the boys. Lanky put in a portion of his time in fishing for -trout in a noisy stream of icy water that ran down the mountainside not -far away.</p> - -<p>When he came back about noon he carried a string of the fattest and -freshest speckled trout Frank and Paul had ever seen.</p> - -<p>"Game fighters, every one of 'em, in the bargain!" declared the -fisherman. "You must go along with me this afternoon, boys, and we'll -lay in enough to feed the whole bunch."</p> - -<p>This they did, and with such success that the memory of that day's -sport would remain with the young sportsmen as a fragrant memory.</p> - -<p>"We sure must ask permission to get busy ourselves to-morrow," said -Lanky, as they once more made camp. "If the men are knocked out -again to-day it'd be only fair to give us a chance to best them. -Our vacation's getting along, and soon we'll be on our way back to -Columbia, to spend the rest of this blooming summer."</p> - -<p>When Mr. Wallace listened to the appeal from Lanky, he agreed that -since the three chums had had so much to do with finding the two maps -and advancing the spark of their common cause, it should be as they -wished.</p> - -<p>Paul, however, was to be grievously disappointed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> for his ankle, which -he had sprained on first coming to Rockspur Ranch, began to trouble him -again.</p> - -<p>"Hard luck, Paul," Frank told him, on taking a look at the painful -joint. "You've gone and knocked that ankle against a root or a rock, -and if you're wise you'll lay low for a couple of days."</p> - -<p>So when the others started forth with fair hopes of accomplishing -something worth while, poor Paul was left to tend camp.</p> - -<p>"Be sure and make your way up to the corral along toward noon," Lanky -told him: "so as to see that our ponies are O.K.—that is, if your -ankle lets you limp that far."</p> - -<p>"No trouble about it, I guess," returned the chagrined Paul, who -naturally did not like to be left behind when his chums were going to -be in harness and do some exploring.</p> - -<p>"Cook yourself a fat lunch, too," advised Lanky, feeling sorry for the -disappointed boy. "It'll help pass the hours away. At most, we expect -to show up some time before sundown. By-by! Keep an eye out for those -tough men, though I don't believe they mean to return here for days, if -ever."</p> - -<p>So Frank and Lanky went off, never dreaming that they were fated to -pass through another wonderful experience before again setting eyes on -the chum they left behind.</p> - -<p>Lanky and Frank learned just where the others<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> had done most of their -looking for the so-called Lost Mountain, in the depths of which, they -understood, was the five-fingered cave that Josh Kinney used to visit -regularly, to replenish his depleted treasury by a fresh haul from his -deposit of gold nuggets.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the camp Lanky and Frank, between them, had laid out a -plan of campaign. Following this they now set off on a tangent with the -course taken a short time before by Mr. Wallace, Jerry Brime and Zander -Forbes.</p> - -<p>"We'll try out our scheme," Lanky declared later on, as they continued -to walk along; "and then if it fails to bring results, why, to-morrow -we can skirmish over in the region they've been combing day after day."</p> - -<p>The morning passed, and so far the boys had not run across a single -thing to give them encouragement.</p> - -<p>"We don't seem to be getting anywhere," observed Frank.</p> - -<p>"Let's swing more to the left, along this dip in the mountain," -suggested Lanky. "Then we'll be gradually getting back to camp, and at -the same time nearing the region where dad and his gang are working.</p> - -<p>"It's mighty wild and leery looking over in that quarter," observed -Frank. "Looks to me as though<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> Nature had tried to turn things upside -down many a time, in days long passed. Been landslides, too, that have -changed the whole face of the country, carrying acres of trees and -rocks down the mountain."</p> - -<p>"That's one reason," observed the other eagerly, "I want to hunt there -for the Lost Mountain which, you know, we decided was only a big mound. -Remember, we figured it out from certain marks on the map that they -stood for landslides? Let's go, Frank."</p> - -<p>"A snack first, for I'm hungry, and then we're off," came the reply.</p> - -<p>"All right. I've never yet declined to eat," laughed Lanky.</p> - -<p>The boys found that the going became more difficult as one hour, and -then two hours crept past. Still Lanky seemed to be growing more and -more confident.</p> - -<p>"Let me tell you, Frank!" he said later on. "Right now I firmly believe -we're a whole lot closer to Lost Mountain than dad has ever been in -three days' search. Why, any one of the several big humps we've run -across might turn out to be the seat of Kinney's find."</p> - -<p>"But, somehow," interjected Frank, who had been gazing anxiously -heavenward, "I don't like the looks<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span> of the sky with all those black -wind clouds scudding up so fast. We are bound to get some kind of a -gale before a great while."</p> - -<p>"Shucks! it may be only a wind storm," jeered Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Maybe. But a wind storm can do as much harm sometimes as anything on -this earth."</p> - -<p>Five minutes afterwards an ominous roaring sound that chilled the -blood in their veins came to their ears. The roaring grew in depth and -intensity.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XX</p> - -<p class="center">THE AVALANCHE</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">What's</span> coming down on us, Frank?" Lanky called out in a voice filled -with apprehension, as the roaring sound rapidly grew more and more -terrible.</p> - -<p>"I don't know," came the reply. "Something we've never run up against -before, I take it!"</p> - -<p>"An earthquake?"</p> - -<p>"Hardly that, Lanky. So far we haven't felt any movement to the -mountain here. That wind, though, is whipping things something fierce. -See that big branch of a cedar tree going off like a balloon! It's -more like a cyclone than anything else, but I never heard of them in a -mountain district."</p> - -<p>"Grab hold of something!" bellowed Lanky, alarmed by the growing -darkness and the wild clamor. "Did you ever see such a country for -big things happening—first a cloudburst, and now—this whooper of a -tornado!"</p> - -<p>"I'm bothered most about something else," admitted Frank, though he had -to say it in the ear of his chum to make himself heard.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p> - -<p>"What is it, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"A landslide!" came back, to make Lanky shiver afresh.</p> - -<p>"Great Cæsar's ghost! do you reckon we're going to be caught by a slip -of the mountain side, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"I hope not, Lanky. But we're unfortunate to be in the path of that -kind of turnover."</p> - -<p>"Humph, I always said I'd be willing to try anything <i>once</i>," Lanky -admitted, as if in contrition. "But say, I draw the line at getting in -the path of a slide that could bury a whole town like Columbia. Frank, -can't we do something to better our chances?"</p> - -<p>"How?" demanded the other, a bit confused himself.</p> - -<p>"Run for second base, and slide!" bellowed Lanky, who used this -figurative language without intending any levity in the least, but -because it came handiest to the tongue of a baseball enthusiast.</p> - -<p>"If we only knew where the old thing was apt to come whooping down, -Lanky, we might take a chance. But for all we can tell, it's as safe -right here as anywhere else."</p> - -<p>"Guess that's so," agreed the distressed Lanky. "But, shucks, it's hard -lines to just hang around and wait to see whether you stick or get a -free ride atop an avalanche!"</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, there was absolutely nothing else for them to do. Indeed, -the wind storm was by this<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> time so frightful that had the boys -attempted to move along the side of the steep mountain they were apt to -be snatched up and carried away like thistle-down on a summer's breeze.</p> - -<p>"Gettin' worse and worse!" called out Lanky, a few minutes after the -decision had been made to stay where they were and try to "duck" in -case they were given any warning of the coming of a great slide.</p> - -<p>From one particular quarter they now heard a dreadful confusion of -noises that in Frank's mind could mean only one thing. There were also -distinct vibrations of the rocks underfoot that convinced him of the -truth.</p> - -<p>"That's caused by a slide somewhere over to the right," he told Lanky, -who was clutching a near-by tree in order to keep from being blown away.</p> - -<p>"Don't see anything of it, Frank, do you?"</p> - -<p>"Air's filled with all sorts of things—dead leaves, branches ripped -from pinon and oak trees, all whirling around like mad," called back -Frank. "But it's over that way, I'm sure."</p> - -<p>"I'm glad it's gone past and didn't touch us out between the bases," -cried Lanky. "Do you think that wind's letting up any?"</p> - -<p>"Not a bit! Getting stronger, if anything! Worst's yet to come, I'm -afraid, Lanky."</p> - -<p>"Wow, that's tough luck!" shouted the other at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> the same time trying -to brace himself so as to seem like his old self, ready to snap his -fingers at trouble and grin in the face of big odds. "Wonder if we'll -pull through alive, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"Don't talk that way!" he heard his comrade shout, as the gale howled -and the mountain continued to tremble under the shock of thousands of -tons of rock and earth and undermined trees. "We'll set our teeth and -do our level best. Nobody on earth could do more!"</p> - -<p>"You said something that time, Frank! But, gee whiz, it's <i>awful</i>!"</p> - -<p>The boys crouched there and waited, clinging to a hope that the -avalanche they had heard crashing down the side of the mountain not -half a mile away would be the only slip accompanying that storm.</p> - -<p>Under most circumstances they could have done something to better their -condition; but such was not the case now. Frank felt like a grain of -sand on the seashore when confronting such convulsions. Earthquakes -and the eruptions of vast volcanoes are the most terrible of all the -convulsions of nature; and before them the bravest shrink, unable to -cope with such colossal happenings.</p> - -<p>Minutes appeared like hours to the two cowering lads. Their hearts -seemed to jump into their throats at every fresh outburst of the -warring elements, as though they feared the end had come, and they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> -would never again see the loved ones far away in the old home town.</p> - -<p>"Don't believe I can stand this much longer, Frank!" complained Lanky. -At the same time he realized how foolish it was to say such a thing, -when so absolutely helpless to better conditions.</p> - -<p>"Get a fresh grip on yourself, Lanky!" was all the other could say to -comfort the shivering one, for Frank was far from feeling confident as -to the outcome of their new and dreadful adventure.</p> - -<p>"It's coming again, Frank!" shrieked Lanky a short time afterwards, as -once more the side of the mountain commenced to tremble under their -feet.</p> - -<p>"Seems so," Frank, between stiff lips. "Keep a grip on yourself, Lanky. -It will pass. I guess we'll pull through all right."</p> - -<p>There is nothing more apt to carry a feeling of panic to the human -heart than to feel the solid earth, which all his life he had deemed -staple, quiver and writhe as if in agony. Small wonder then that -stout-hearted Lanky Wallace found himself gripped with increasing fear.</p> - -<p>Frank caught hold of his chum's arm. He knew that the touch of -reassuring fingers was more apt to steady Lanky than any cheering words -he might utter. Besides, talking under such appalling conditions was -anything but an easy thing.</p> - -<p>This second tremor also passed off, and again the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> two young -prospectors found themselves safe. Lanky began to recover a part of his -customary assurance.</p> - -<p>"If only that's the wind-up of these slides, then everything'll look -bright again," he called out. "Oh, Frank, there sure is a break in -those black clouds nearly overhead, for I caught a glimpse of sunlight!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, that's so," replied his chum, and then adding hurriedly: "Hold -tight, Lanky, for here's where we get ours!"</p> - -<p>The grinding noise came on once more, closer, more dreadful than ever, -and the boys reeled like drunken men and held their breath with awe. -Wildly did the side of the great mountain, home of slides, tremble -and writhe. Above them the lads could hear the deafening noise of the -oncoming mass of dislodged material, rushing down to find rest far -below amidst the remnants of former similar catastrophes.</p> - -<p>It seemed as though all creation must be in eruption, with massive -rocks piling over each other and racing down the slide.</p> - -<p>Lanky, completely overcome, fell down on his hands and knees as though -exhausted and hopeless. For an indefinite space of time he felt himself -moving, at first swiftly downward, then with diminished speed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p> - -<p>Then things came to an abrupt stop—and he was still alive!</p> - -<p>The movement of the slipping mountain had ceased as suddenly as it had -begun. Even the wild howling wind had discontinued, as though the wand -of some magician had subdued its fierce clamor.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XXI</p> - -<p class="center">IN LUCK AGAIN</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">Frank!</span> Oh, Frank!"</p> - -<p>No longer did Lanky feel that sickening sensation in the pit of his -stomach at having the solid ground underfoot heaving and grumbling. So, -almost unconsciously, he had shrieked out that one word—the name of -his faithful chum, on whose arm he had come to lean as though it were -indeed a tower of strength.</p> - -<p>"I'm here close by you, Lanky!" he heard.</p> - -<p>"But you're not badly hurt, I hope, Frank?" burst out the other, a new -anxiety discernible in his quavering voice.</p> - -<p>"Nothing to cripple me—a few bruises, and such things. How about you?"</p> - -<p>"Not saying a word, I'm so tickled to be alive. The bumps I got were -just gentle taps to what I might have picked up, if only we hadn't been -just on the outer edge of the slide."</p> - -<p>When once more they came in contact the grateful boys shook hands in -mutual congratulation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p> - -<p>"As near a miracle as ever I expect to run across, that's right," Lanky -asserted. "And, Frank, the wind storm that started all this business -going has petered out."</p> - -<p>It was indeed a fact, for no longer did the boys catch that roaring -series of noises as the storm rushed over the mountains. The black -clouds hid the heavens, however, and made such a pall that it was -almost dark around them.</p> - -<p>"Let's try to have a look-in," suggested the once-more eager Lanky. -"We'll see what sort of new stamping ground we've lit on after our run -down on the avalanche."</p> - -<p>All about them great masses of rock and trees that had come down from -above, were piled up in confused heaps, with strange looking gullies -lying between that Lanky started to call coulees, after the Western way.</p> - -<p>"One thing's sure," said Frank, after they had climbed around for a -short time, with more or less difficulty; "we're not going to get back -to camp this night. As darkness comes on it would be foolish for us to -keep moving about in this wilderness of upturned things."</p> - -<p>"I reckon you told the truth when you said that," admitted the other, -grasping the still serious nature of their predicament. "Why, we might -start another slide on the jump! Some of these boulders<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> seem to be set -on a pivot and the least shove would set 'em rolling, knocking others -off their perch, and—Frank! what's that long split off there that -looks as if the face of the rocks had been burst open?"</p> - -<p>"Just what happened here, Lanky; but not with this slide. It might be -a thousand, or ten thousand, years ago when that big fissure was made. -Let's crawl over that way and investigate."</p> - -<p>"Well, I'm going to be prepared for anything," ventured the other. "I -want to say that we were some lucky not to lose our guns when coming -down on that toboggan slide. Sometimes these black-looking caves are -dens for wild animals."</p> - -<p>"All right," said Frank quickly. "Keep on your guard, then. But you -mustn't forget we're out skirmishing for a cave; and on that account we -ought to look this one over."</p> - -<p>A brief investigation convinced the two boys that it was too big an -undertaking for them to handle that afternoon.</p> - -<p>"This is as good a place for us to camp in as any," suggested Frank. -"If we're of the same mind in the morning, why, we'll put in some work -here. I don't know just why I should feel that way, but some sort of -hunch seems to tell me we'll find something worth our while if we go -far enough."</p> - -<p>"Wow! but it's as black as my pocket inside there, Frank." As he said -this Lanky, on hands and knees,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> was staring past the guardian jaws of -rock into the ugly looking fissure.</p> - -<p>"That's why we'll have to wait for morning before we try to explore -what lies inside the mountain," replied Frank.</p> - -<p>"You mean we'll have to lay in some torches, so as to see our way—is -that the idea, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"A whole lot of faggots that will burn, but not too fast," the other -answered, having already mapped out this part of the scheme. "You can -understand what a pickle we'd be up against, wandering around in an -unknown cavern with our last torch flickering to its wind-up."</p> - -<p>"That would be tough, I own up, Frank; I hope it doesn't come along. -But we sure do seem to get our feet in a heap of stirring happenings. -It's like jumping out of the frying pan into the fire with us these -days. But say, when do we eat, I'd like to know?"</p> - -<p>Frank chuckled as he went on to say:</p> - -<p>"Finished the last crumb of our lunch at noon, you remember." At the -words his companion in trouble emitted a groan and began to rub the pit -of his stomach sympathetically. "But wait till you hear how manna seems -to come down to us, as it did to the Children of Israel in the Arabian -desert long years ago. Look over yonder, Lanky. What do you see, boy? -Tell me!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lanky looked, started, and rubbed his eyes, half suspecting that he -must be "seeing things" that had no actual foundation.</p> - -<p>"Frank— Why, say, it er—looks like a deer!" he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>"It is a deer—caught in the big jam and killed clean by that rock -covering its head. A young buck in the bargain, I'd say, and just -begging to be cut into slices for two hungry fellows' supper."</p> - -<p>"Lead me to it, Frank!" ejaculated Lanky, as he drew his hunting-knife. -"Talk to me about favorites of fortune, we're sure the luckiest fellows -west of the old Mississippi. Venison for supper—plenty of it for a -whole week—and thrown in front of us like that!" snapping his fingers. -"Whoopee! what's the use worrying when things come tumbling along by -themselves?"</p> - -<p>So the two boys settled down to making camp then and there. Frank -started his fire, with a vast abundance of fine fuel to be had for the -picking up, while Lanky undertook to skin the deer. He then cut off -steak and chops until Frank warned him they were only two in the mess, -and not a whole regiment.</p> - -<p>As evening drew near they sat down to enjoy a fine spread, cooked -in genuine hunters' style, with no limit to anything save their own -capacity.</p> - -<p>The sky cleared as they sat there, and it was dif<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>ficult for them to -realize that only a few hours before all nature seemed to be reeling -and rocking and being turned upside-down in a vast convulsion.</p> - -<p>Morning arrived, and after a good breakfast they cooked quite a lot -of the venison, to carry along with them in their exploration of the -promising cave back of the jaws of the wide fissure.</p> - -<p>Next they fashioned a pile of inflammable torches by the aid of Lanky's -handy little camp hatchet, which he always carried attached to his belt -and had often found valuable for use in emergencies like the present.</p> - -<p>"All ready, Frank! Let's get a move on!" announced the impatient one, -as he bound a large share of the torches to his back, picked up his -gun, and awaited the word to make the plunge.</p> - -<p>One torch at a time was all they intended to use, since it would give -enough illumination for their purpose and almost double the capacity of -their stock in hand.</p> - -<p>"Fills the bill like fun," announced Lanky, after Frank had succeeded -in lighting a billet of dry wood, the flare really illuminating the -walled-in space between the rocky barriers. "Now to find out if this is -going to lead two plucky prospectors to the corn-crib where they'll get -their fill."</p> - -<p>As the boys proceeded it became evident the strange fissure in the side -of the rocky mountain was but a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> "breathing space," as Lanky called it, -for much more wonderful things hidden further in the underground depths.</p> - -<p>Sometimes Frank held the blazing torch, and then when a fresh one -happened to be needed it would be Lanky who gripped it.</p> - -<p>Several times they feared they had come upon the end of the passage. -In each instance, however, a fresh way to continue was found, even -though it was necessary for them to get down flat and wriggle along in -snake-like fashion.</p> - -<p>"Huh! we'll remember this last crawl as 'Fat Man's Misery,'" Lanky -granted, after negotiating the difficult place successfully.</p> - -<p>"It's got me guessing where we'll be apt to come out, what with all -this twisting and turning," observed Frank, still later on, as they -found themselves looking upon a capacious cavern, with a lofty ceiling -where stalactites hung like immense icicles.</p> - -<p>"And it's bothering me," spoke up Lanky, "how we could find any outlet -at all, if our supply of torches or matches should give out. What with -all this hard work, I'm as thirsty as—Frank, we made a foozle play -after all!"</p> - -<p>"Forgot to fetch any water along—that's a fact," admitted the other, -realizing the mistake when it was too late to remedy it. Then, on -second thought, he continued: "After all, we hadn't even a canteen -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> hold any supply. Besides, I reckon there's aplenty dripping from -these stalactites and trickling down the walls. It ought to quench our -thirst."</p> - -<p>Lanky tried the plan and found there was no taste to the cold water, -though it certainly must contain more or less lime, to make those odd -formations.</p> - -<p>They had left this monster cavern and were passing along another chain -of queer-shaped pockets, all connected, when Lanky, who held the torch, -came to a sudden pause, so that Frank bumped into him.</p> - -<p>"What's the matter?" demanded Frank.</p> - -<p>"I glimpsed a pair of yellow eyes ahead! And listen to the growling, -will you?" gasped Lanky.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XXII</p> - -<p class="center">AN ENDLESS CAVERN CHAIN</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">I see</span> what you mean, Lanky, and hear the growling to boot!" exclaimed -Frank Allen.</p> - -<p>"Some sort of wild creature makes its den in these caves!" ejaculated -Lanky. "Maybe it's a wolf, or else a big cat! It might even be a -mountain lion."</p> - -<p>"We can't do anything but make a stab at guessing," Frank told him. -"One thing is certain—we've either got to turn tail and quit, or -else——"</p> - -<p>"Plug it!" snapped Lanky decidedly. "Here, Frank, hold my light so I -can kneel down and sight between those twin yellow spots."</p> - -<p>"It's a risky thing to do, Lanky. But, for one, I don't want to go back -like a whipped cur, just because of a lone cat! Wait a minute! I've got -an idea that may pay."</p> - -<p>He took the burning torch and started to fix one end in a crevice about -six feet up from the rocky floor.</p> - -<p>"Bully for you, Frank! I get you," cried Lanky, grasping the idea in -a flash. "Two guns ought to make surer work of the spitter than one. -Now,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> count three when you've got your aim, and we'll fire together."</p> - -<p>At the word both reports rang out with a deafening concussion echoing -and re-echoing along the passage. There was no attack, but the boys, -as they pumped another cartridge into each gun chamber, could detect a -strange shuffling noise. Then all became deathly still again.</p> - -<p>"Huh! got him that time, all right!" said Lanky triumphantly.</p> - -<p>While he took the torch and started forward, cautious Frank held his -gun in readiness for immediate work. But there was no need of another -shot, for they found a wolf of unusual size lying where it had fallen.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry we had to do it," remarked Frank, "because it's a mother -wolf, and like as not she's got a litter of whelps somewhere around -here. If so be we happen to run across the bunch we'll have to knock -them on the head, because they'll starve to death with the mother gone."</p> - -<p>As the boys ran across no sign of the wolf's den, however, it was -concluded she must have had it in one of the numerous squatty side -passages they had encountered every little while. These they could not -have searched even had they wished, as they were too low to admit of -their crawling through, though a wolf might be easily able to do so.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p> - -<p>Twice they fancied they had been in certain caverns before, because of -familiar signs. So to avoid repetitions, they took to marking their -passage and seeking fresh avenues for making progress.</p> - -<p>Hours passed in this way.</p> - -<p>Their stock of torch-wood was commencing to lower, and Frank began -to wonder if they would not display wisdom by discontinuing the -exploration of those bewildering caverns until the others of the party -could join in the work.</p> - -<p>But there was so much fascination connected with the possibility of -running upon what they sought at any moment, that he allowed himself to -consent to Lanky's eager plea to "go on just a little further." Lanky, -on his part, felt absolutely certain that they must be close to that -mysterious five-fingered cave so plainly marked on the chart and would -stumble on it soon.</p> - -<p>"We've got to eat sparingly of this cooked meat," advised Frank, as -they sat on a broken stalactite that had fallen from the roof and -partook of a "snack," their stomachs having been calling for food for -some time.</p> - -<p>"Say," breezed Lanky, his mouth full of cold venison, "that sounds as -if you might expect to be marooned down here in all these twists and -turns and big vaulted halls for a whole week!"</p> - -<p>"You never can tell," was the rather noncommittal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> answer he received. -"Better to make it last two whole days, even if we have to keep on -short rations, than to gobble the last scrap and then go hungry."</p> - -<p>"Oh, rats, Frank! Something seems to tell me we've reached the end of -our hard luck and are nearly ready to fall in with our own at last. -Anyway, let's find one more big cave, if not more; and after that when -you say the word we'll throw up the sponge. But only for a time! I'm -bound to light on that five-fingered cave, if I keep searching all the -rest of the summer."</p> - -<p>So they went along for another stretch of time. Finally Frank came to a -sudden halt.</p> - -<p>"Anything doing?" snapped his mate, bringing his gun up and peering -earnestly into the half gloom lying beyond.</p> - -<p>"Only that I'm about all in, and we both need rest after all we've gone -through lately," Frank told him decisively.</p> - -<p>"Just as you say, Frank," Lanky agreed. To tell the truth his own knees -were shaky from so much crawling and bending down, in negotiating many -of the low and sinuous passages.</p> - -<p>"We're coming to another cave, I imagine from the way things run, -Lanky, and no matter what it looks like, we'll manage to get some rest. -While we sleep we'll be saving our stock of torches. After<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> we've got -back our strength will be time enough to think of finding some sort of -outlet to this queer old rambling underground place that makes me think -of what I've read about those catacombs under the city of Rome."</p> - -<p>"Sounds as though you didn't want to go back over our course and make -use of that same crevice for an exit, Frank."</p> - -<p>"As the cook says," Frank told him, with a little laugh, "when giving -directions for stewing a rabbit: 'First get your rabbit!' That's the -prime thing. With us it would mean find the crevice once more."</p> - -<p>Lanky whistled on hearing Frank say that.</p> - -<p>"I opine from the way you talk," he observed, "that you don't bank much -on our chances for doing that!"</p> - -<p>"Well, to begin with, Lanky, we've used two-thirds of our stock of -fire-sticks up coming here, and long before we could make that crevice -again we'd be groping in pitch darkness, also in danger of falling down -one of the precipices we've been avoiding."</p> - -<p>"Wow! that's tough luck I'd say, Frank! I've been so bent on finding -that five-fingered cave I've let everything else slip out of my mind."</p> - -<p>"And more than that," continued the other prospector, "I feel pretty -certain we couldn't locate that crevice in a week of hunting!"</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Lost! Lost, like the babes in the wood!" groaned Lanky, in pretended -dismay but some real anxiety.</p> - -<p>"Well," Frank informed his chum, "here's our cave, just as I reckoned -would be the case; so after a little look around we'll pick out the -softest rock we can find and say good-bye to all our troubles for a -time."</p> - -<p>"I'm all to the good on the proposition," stated Lanky. "Some cave, -believe me! With a low ceiling, too. No stalactites growing downward -here, you notice."</p> - -<p>"No. But clap your eyes on all those big bats hanging head downward -from rough places in the roof. Must be hundreds, almost thousands of -the ugly, winged, ratlike creatures. There, some are starting to whirl -around now, seeing our light."</p> - -<p>More and more of the bats swung in circles, both big and small. Lanky -struck at them with what remained of his bunch of torches, and several -times let out a screech of triumph when he made a good hit.</p> - -<p>By degrees the bats vacated their sleeping chamber, and when quiet had -been restored the boys looked for a promising place to lie down and -sleep.</p> - -<p>"We can take a closer survey after we wake up," suggested Frank, with a -reason he did not care to explain just then. But as Lanky was dead for -sleep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> and tired, he failed to ask questions, as was his custom.</p> - -<p>They were not disturbed. If any of those fierce-looking winged denizens -returned to their roost, neither of the boys knew of the fact, so deep -was their slumber for some hours.</p> - -<p>Frank felt confident that there was some opening not far away from this -cave, because those hosts of bats could never have come from such a -long distance as that crevice.</p> - -<p>When Lanky opened his eyes he saw that Frank had lighted a torch and -was coming toward him, bearing one in his hand.</p> - -<p>"What time do you think it can be, Frank?" was his first question, and -a very natural one too, since Frank carried a small wrist watch.</p> - -<p>"About sunrise, I'd judge," Lanky was told. He noticed Frank looked -unusually smiling, upon which he pointed a finger at him, and demanded:</p> - -<p>"Here, what's all that grinning about? You've got something up your -sleeve, Frank Allen, which you're meaning to tell me right off the -handle. Go to it, now."</p> - -<p>"For one thing," said the other impressively, "I noticed something -before we lay down to sleep; but didn't mention it, because we were -both tuckered out and needed rest most of all. Scramble up off your -downy couch and come along with me."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lanky trotted at his heels, all on edge, as he told himself.</p> - -<p>"Is it another exit to this bunch of caves?" he asked.</p> - -<p>"No," came the answer. "But I'm dead certain there must be one not a -great way off. Those bats in here told me as much. Then, here's the -other convincing reason. Look down, and not up, Lanky."</p> - -<p>"Wow! A heap of ashes, eh? Shows that we're not the only chaps who've -been wandering around for hours and hours in these passages."</p> - -<p>"Notice what a lot of wood ashes there are," pursued Frank. "That would -mean a fire has been burned many times. Long ago, too, I figure, though -never a gust of wind disturbs the heap back here."</p> - -<p>Lanky grew more deeply absorbed in the way Frank was putting things.</p> - -<p>"See here!" he blurted out, "open up an tell a fellow just what you're -hinting at, Frank. Do you think it may have been old Josh Kinney who -used to camp out here from time to time? If that's so, as he must have -toted all his wood from the outside, you're right about there being -another entrance to the caves not a great way off which we can find if -we hunt systematically."</p> - -<p>"I've been poking around a bit this morning while you snoozed," -continued Frank.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Yes, and what've you discovered to make you look so pleased?"</p> - -<p>"I suspected it when I saw these ashes, and now I know it's a dead -open-and-shut thing."</p> - -<p>"Whoopee! Do you mean—" blazed out the overjoyed Lanky.</p> - -<p>"Just what I do!" broke in Frank. "Right now we're in that -five-fingered cave we saw marked on the map!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XXIII</p> - -<p class="center">KEPT UNDER COVER</p> - - -<p>"<span class="smcap">That's</span> bully news you're giving me, Frank!" exclaimed Lanky Wallace, -as he impulsively gripped the hand of his loyal chum and squeezed it. -"Let's get busy and try to locate Kinney's treasure chest."</p> - -<p>"After we've had a bite to eat," Frank told him. "Long ago I made it my -habit never, when I could help it, to start a day's work on an empty -stomach."</p> - -<p>They made quite a dent in their slender stock of meat, but both were -now quite confident that it was only a matter of a few hours before -they would be once more under the blue sky.</p> - -<p>Frank and Lanky consulted that second little chart, and also conferred -together. Then they started to search in the most likely locality.</p> - -<p>Hours crept past and still the object of all this peering around and -testing out all likely nooks in the five-fingered cave seemed to be as -far from being discovered as in the beginning of the search.</p> - -<p>Their stock of torches was growing gradually less and less, so that it -began to look rather serious. To<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> be left in utter darkness, without -knowing which way to turn in order to gain the outer air, also with -hunger commencing to make them uncomfortable! It was not a pleasant -outlook, Lanky admitted.</p> - -<p>Then, just when both boys were of a mind to give up further hunting for -the secret hiding place of Kinney's hoard of nuggets, they ran across -something that filled them with sudden hope.</p> - -<p>Lanky managed to stumble over an unseen spur of rock jutting out from -the wall low down, and when he threw out his hand to save himself from -falling he thrust it into what seemed to be a narrow crevice that -neither of them had before noticed.</p> - -<p>That hand chanced to be clutching the torch, and almost mechanically -Lanky leaned forward to thrust the blaze inside the crack. He -immediately gave vent to a shout that echoed through the cave and set a -dozen startled bats to swooping in circles overhead.</p> - -<p>"Frank, what d'you think! We've hit it plum center!" he yelled. "Just -peep in there and tell me what you see!"</p> - -<p>"As sure as you live, Lanky, I do believe you stumbled on purpose -and knew it was here all the while! Reach in, and see whether we're -dreaming or not!"</p> - -<p>Lanky hastened to follow the suggestion.</p> - -<p>"That's the stuff, I tell you, Frank!" he screamed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> holding some -object up in his hand. "A real gold nugget and weighing as much as -three ounces, at that; with plenty more snuggled down in there. Talk to -me about luck! Why, the Wallaces have got them all whipped, hands down!"</p> - -<p>"All right, then," said Frank seriously. "We know now where the cache -is. Our business is to get out of this place, find the rest of the -party, come with those strong gunny-sacks, and carry off the whole of -Kinney's hoard."</p> - -<p>"Gee whiz!" commented Lanky, "the old man must have been digging those -nuggets right along, carrying a few away with him, and chucking the -rest in his stone bank here. Shall I take this one with me, Frank?"</p> - -<p>"Yes, we ought to have some evidence to show we're not bluffing when we -reel off the story of our adventures. Each of us might put a few in our -pockets. But go slow, and don't load yourself down, Lanky, became you -might start another landslide, you know."</p> - -<p>They were actually on their last sliver of torch-wood when they turned -their backs on the queer five-fingered cave and plunged into a narrow -passage. Frank, after a close examination, decided this must be the one -the old prospector had used during his periodical visits to his secret -claim.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p> - -<p>Before they had gone far they found to their dismay that the light was -failing. Lanky began to worry, but Frank cheered him up.</p> - -<p>"I'm certain I can feel fresh air on my cheeks," he announced. "That of -course, would indicate we're close on that exit right now. I've still -got a little stock of matches in my safe, and we'll make them last as -long as we can."</p> - -<p>"Who's afraid?" Lanky broke out, with fresh animation. "After such luck -in absolutely falling on to that cache of nuggets, we're not going to -let little things knock us out. You're right, though, about that fresh -air, Frank, because I can sniff the same every breath I draw."</p> - -<p>The torch flickered, and went out.</p> - -<p>"Look ahead, Lanky. What do you see?" called out Frank.</p> - -<p>"Streaks of daylight, looks like to me."</p> - -<p>So it proved to be, and a few minutes later the two boys emerged from -the cave to find the sun shining brightly, with nothing in sight to -diminish their overwhelming joy.</p> - -<p>"We must mark this spot so we can find it again without any trouble," -Frank suggested.</p> - -<p>"Sure thing," agreed his chum. "And it'd be wise for us to sort of -blaze our way to camp."</p> - -<p>This they proceeded to do as they made their way along the side of the -mountain. It was so rough,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> after that frightful jumble following the -landslides, that they made but tedious progress.</p> - -<p>"Never get the ponies in here," Lanky grumbled at one time. "So, like -as not, we'll just have to tote all that stuff out on our backs. Whee! -it's a bit heavy, even three small nuggets of the same."</p> - -<p>"But you'd never have been happy if you hadn't found the cache, -remember," Frank told him, at which Lanky grinned.</p> - -<p>"That was all bluff, Frank, and you know it," he laughed. "Why, I'm -fairly quivering with happiness, and feel like shouting for all that's -out, to blow off steam. But when I think of that Nash Yesson and his -gang, I shut down on all idea of making a racket."</p> - -<p>It took them all of that morning to get close to the plateau where, as -they well knew, Gold Fork was located, the former mining camp, taking -its name from the clear little stream that ran down the side of the -mountain another direction from the great canyon.</p> - -<p>Great was the excitement in the camp when the two long overdue boys -came in sight. Mr. Wallace and the men had sought for them all morning -long, and were preparing to search in another direction when shouts -told them the wanderers had been able to get back "under their own -steam," to quote Lanky.</p> - -<p>Then the story was told and the precious nuggets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> passed from hand to -hand, to prove it was an actual fact. Plans were immediately made to -proceed to the cave in the morning in order to bring away the treasure. -Mr. Wallace figured that they could transport it on their backs to the -corral where their ponies were quartered, and then the journey back to -Rockspur Ranch would be next in order.</p> - -<p>Every one was to be in the party, even Paul, whose ankle, though still -a bit painful, was not sore enough to keep him from feasting his eyes -on that strange five-fingered cave, also the gold nuggets lying in the -hiding place shrewd old Josh Kinney had chosen many years back as his -treasure cache.</p> - -<p>Thanks to the slashes Lanky had made on occasional dwarf oaks, they had -no trouble whatever in attaining their goal. A large assortment of good -torches had been prepared on the previous afternoon, consequently they -lost no time in plunging into the passage so cleverly concealed behind -a screen of thick vines hanging down the face of a small cliff.</p> - -<p>When the last nugget had been drawn out from its depository and the -entire collection fastened securely in some six stout gunny-sacks, the -mouths of which were tied with strands of rope, they decided to lose no -time in starting for the camp.</p> - -<p>That was where they miscalculated, for something happened to interfere -with their plans.</p> - -<p>Zander Forbes, being in the lead, had just stepped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> out from behind the -vines and turned an outlying rock when the smash of a gun was heard and -he came backing into the hole again.</p> - -<p>"Those sneaks have spotted us on the way here, and are lying in wait to -do us up!" he announced.</p> - -<p>Every one knew without asking that he meant Nash Yesson, Lef -Sellers—if the Columbia shirk still hung on to the gang that had -been abusing him so shamefully of late—and the rough boys from the -boisterous Double-Z Ranch.</p> - -<p>"Shot like they meant business, too," added the indignant and angry -Zander, as he ruefully rubbed a red line on his neck that indicated the -recent passage of a hot bullet.</p> - -<p>"Then it's a case of siege with us," said Mr. Wallace, very much -displeased. "We might manage to find that other exit in time, if the -boys can remember the course they took. But the chances would be -against our transporting such heavy weights as these sacks along. What -would you advise, Jerry?"</p> - -<p>"Give 'em hot cakes!" was the emphatic retort of the old puncher and -prospector. "If I kin spot that Zeke, I'd git him, an' wipe out a ole -score!"</p> - -<p>So the siege began, and hours passed without any change worth while -taking place. Frequently either Jerry or Zander would amuse themselves -by a few old tricks known to pioneers and Indians alike in the days -when caravans used to trek across the plains.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p> - -<p>Both of their hats were perforated several times by well-aimed shots, -and it was lucky that their heads did not happen to be in the coverings -at the time, but only the sticks the two punchers used to raise the -hats into the range of vision of their enemies.</p> - -<p>The boys were worried to figure just how they could give their enemies -the slip, having suggested, and thrown aside, a number of plans, when -something entirely unexpected came about to lend them a helping hand.</p> - -<p>"Well, well, well!" Zander was heard to say, with both wonder are glee -in his voice. "Say, boys, what d'you think? We've got allies up yonder -on the mountain side. Saw a puff of smoke, and, will you believe me? -that skunk of a Nash Yesson jumped out from behind a rock where he'd -been hiding and shooting this way. He's whooping things up and tumbling -all over himself, like he'd been wounded some."</p> - -<p>Lanky, already peering out from his cover, gave a wild yell.</p> - -<p>"They've had enough already, are getting away in a big hurry, carrying -Nash along like a log. Guess he got his finish that time, for both arms -are dragging on the ground."</p> - -<p>"But who can it be willing to give us the glad hand?" Paul asked, -rather bewildered, knowing that in all probability, besides themselves -are the Yesson<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> crowd, there was not a single human being in that -section of the country.</p> - -<p>It was speedy Lanky who again made an important discovery.</p> - -<p>"Look what's coming down from up there—two men carrying guns! No, -unless my eyes are fooling me, one of them's a girl rigged out like a -regular sport hunter! Frank—don't faint now—but I believe it's Minnie -Cuthbert!"</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">CHAPTER XXIV</p> - -<p class="center">CONCLUSION</p> - - -<p><span class="smcap">It</span> proved to be Minnie Cuthbert, although Frank had to rub his eyes -several times before he could prove to his doubting self they were not -playing him tricks.</p> - -<p>With Minnie was no other than the ranch foreman, Lige Smith. Apparently -Lige was mighty well pleased because that shot of his had taken the -wind out of the sails of the persistent Nash Yesson, whom none of them -would, in all probability, ever run across again.</p> - -<p>Minnie, after shaking hands with every one, Frank Allen first of all, -produced a letter that she had for Mr. Wallace.</p> - -<p>"It came just as you thought it would, Mr. Wallace," she told him, "and -I coaxed Mrs. Wallace to let me come along with Lige, who's been the -finest kind of gentleman and guide. You see, I'd made up my mind I -wanted to see the Rocky Mountain country at close range; and when some -girls set out to accomplish a certain thing that is reasonable,—well, -there are many ways to get there."</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lanky was watching his father closely, anticipating the hearing of -important news.</p> - -<p>"I reckon now, Dad," he finally broke out, "by the way you're smiling, -the thing's come out about as you wished. Did they select you instead -of Mr. Ambrose Gilman to be president of the bank when Mr. Carberry -retires next month?"</p> - -<p>"So this letter informs me, son," replied the gentleman. "I left my -address at the bank, as a matter of course, for I'd heard rumors you -know, that either Gilman or I were in line for the place. Thank you a -dozen times, Minnie, and you too, Lige, for getting me the news with -the least possible delay."</p> - -<p>Before attempting to transport all that gold to the place where it -could be loaded on the ponies, it was decided a reconnaissance should -be made.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, Jerry, Zander Forbes and Lige Smith set off to scour the -country and learn if indeed their late enemies had passed down the -canyon and dropped out of the search for the gold in disgust.</p> - -<p>This was found to be the case, as the three experienced punchers were -clever hands at discovering and reading signs that those less knowing -in woodcraft might have passed heedlessly by.</p> - -<p>One piece of good luck fell their way. In some fashion—they never knew -how—two of the pack ponies belonging to the Nash Yesson outfit were -left behind. Possibly they had wandered away. At any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> rate, they were -found close to the corral. Some intuition apparently had caused them, -once loose, to go to the place where so many of their species were -gathered.</p> - -<p>The addition of this pair made the problem of getting that heavy weight -of gold nuggets to faraway Rockspur Ranch a less knotty one.</p> - -<p>It was no easy task to carry such burdens on their backs from the -outlet of the five-fingered cave to the deserted mining camp. By -resting at frequent intervals on the way amidst the wreckage caused by -the slide, they managed the work successfully.</p> - -<p>Three days afterwards they started forth, descended the canyon, and -after putting the foothills behind, commenced the long ride toward home.</p> - -<p>"We must keep a sharp lookout for signs of that ugly crowd," Mr. -Wallace suggested that night. "Somehow, I have an idea they may hang -around here for a week or two, in the hope of still surprising us and -taking this treasure away. I hope you'll post sentries each night, -Lige."</p> - -<p>Lige, being foreman at the ranch and having come to join the party, -must from that time on be reckoned with as the leader of the -expedition. Nor was Zander Forbes in the least unwilling to have the -responsibility shifted to other shoulders.</p> - -<p>Nothing happened that night, but on the following day while they were -resting in a patch of timber<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> growing about a dry waterhole, they had -reason to believe they might be in for further trouble. Zander Forbes -sighted a clump of horsemen cantering along, whom he recognized as the -bunch they had outwitted.</p> - -<p>"If they try for water here," Mr. Wallace remarked, as he too lay in -the scrub along the border of the cottonwoods and watched to ascertain -which way the wind would blow; "there's going to be a battle royal, and -somebody's likely to get badly hurt."</p> - -<p>Fortunately the lawless crowd kept straight ahead.</p> - -<p>"They still have Nash along," said Paul. "Anyway, some sort of bundle's -fastened on the back of their single pack-horse. But where can Lef -Seller be?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, I'm not worrying about that hard case," chimed in Lanky. "He's the -slipperest fox I ever met, and you can trust him to know when he's got -enough kicking around."</p> - -<p>"Do you think, Frank," continued Paul, "he could have started back for -his old home to eat humble pie and, with his mother to back him up, get -another chance to walk straight?"</p> - -<p>Frank shook his head.</p> - -<p>"You've got me on that, Paul. But he can't cause Lanky's folks any -further trouble, so let's forget Lef and his fortunes. Everybody, -'most, has said for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> years that he's bound to come to some bad end, and -I'm afraid that's a certainty."</p> - -<p>Undisturbed by the reckless crowd, the treasure seekers made a detour, -and in due time reached Rockspur Ranch, where they received a riotous -welcome.</p> - -<p>The nuggets were safely shipped to the nearest United States assay -office, and later on Mr. Wallace received a check for almost a -hundred-and-fifty thousand dollars to cover the value of Josh Kinney's -secret cache in the five-fingered cave near Gold Fork.</p> - -<p>"I shall put five thousand dollars of this to each of your accounts in -the Columbia bank when we get home," he told the delighted Frank, Paul -and Lanky. "A like sum goes to be divided up among the boys connected -with Rockspur Ranch; for although only three of them participated in -the enterprise, every one here, even Gin Sing, would have been glad to -go."</p> - -<p>No wonder that Mr. Wallace promised to be the most popular ranch-owner -in the whole State, and never did punchers work so like beavers to -please such a liberal and high-minded boss.</p> - -<p>So the time came when they had to say good-bye to dear old Rockspur -Ranch, for all of them, including Minnie, had by then come to love the -free life of the open places beyond the ability of words to tell.</p> - -<p>"I mean to come out West again some day," Frank<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> said earnestly, as he -shook hands with Lige, Jerry, and the rest of the boys on the day of -their departure. Both Lanky and Paul echoed his words with all their -hearts.</p> - -<p>Then came the ride to the station in the big car and the boarding -of the east-bound express. Whether Frank would be able to keep that -promise made to the Rockspur boys, the future alone will be able to -tell, but we shall meet him and his chums in the meantime in another -volume to follow this, called "Frank Allen and His Motor Boat; or, -Racing to Save a Life."</p> - -<p>On the train, as they sped along, the young folks lived over again the -delightful times spent on the ranch. The thrilling adventures that -happened during their stay would never be forgotten.</p> - -<p>To Frank Allen, however, the most wonderful event of all was that -arduous and dangerous long ride made by Minnie Cuthbert, when, with -only Lige Smith, the foreman, for company, she rode forth to carry that -letter to Mr. Wallace and see with her own eyes the lofty range of -mountains of which she had read and heard so much.</p> - -<p>"You're sure a pal worth having, Min," he told her, as they sat and -reviewed all the events connected with that happening. And Minnie? Why, -she only laughed in her girlish way, smiled at Frank, and said loftily:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p> - -<p>"Well, I hope by this time you three inseparable chums understand that -in these days a girl, given a fair chance, can do a heap of things -that once you believed to be impossible except for boys. But, just the -same," she added, with a sigh, "I'll be mighty glad to be back home and -have some decent clothes to wear."</p> - - -<p class="center">THE END</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2" style="margin-top: 10em;">The Movie Boys Series</p> - -<p><i>By</i> VICTOR APPLETON</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS ON CALL, or Filming the Perils of A Great City.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS IN THE WILD WEST, or Stirring Days Among the Cowboys -and Indians.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS AND THE WRECKERS, or Facing the Perils of the Deep.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS IN THE JUNGLE, or Lively Times Among the Wild Beasts.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS IN EARTHQUAKE LAND, or Filming Pictures and Strange -Perils.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS AND THE FLOOD, or Perilous Days on the Mighty -Mississippi.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS IN PERIL, or Strenuous Days Along the Panama Canal.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER THE SEA, or The Treasure of the Lost Ship.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER FIRE, or The Search for the Stolen Film.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS UNDER UNCLE SAM, or Taking Pictures for the Army.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS' FIRST SHOWHOUSE, or Fighting for a Foothold in -Fairlands.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS AT SEASIDE PARK, or The Rival Photo Houses of the -Boardwalk.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS ON BROADWAY, or The Mystery of the Missing Cash Box.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS' OUTDOOR EXHIBITION, or the Film that Solved the -Mystery.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS' NEW IDEA, or Getting the Best of Their Enemies.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS AT THE BIG FAIR, or The Greatest Film Ever Exhibited.</p> - -<p>THE MOVIE BOYS' WAR SPECTACLE, or The Film that Won the Prize.</p></blockquote> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City Publishing Co., <i>Inc.</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">The Frank Allen Series</p> - -<p><i>By</i> GRAHAM B. FORBES</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN'S SCHOOLDAYS, or The All Around Rivals of Columbia High</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN PLAYING TO WIN, or The Boys of Columbia High on the Ice</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN IN WINTER SPORTS, or Columbia High on Skates and Iceboats</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN AND HIS RIVALS, or The Boys of Columbia High in Track -Athletics</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN—PITCHER, or The Boys of Columbia High on the Diamond</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN—HEAD OF THE CREW, or The Boys of Columbia High on the -River</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN IN CAMP, or Columbia High and the School League Rivals</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN AT ROCKSPUR RANCH, or The Old Cowboy's Secret</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK, or Locating the Lost Claim</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN AND HIS MOTORBOAT, or Racing to Save a Life</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM, or The Boys of Columbia High on the -Gridiron</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Oct. 7, 1926</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>FRANK ALLEN AT OLD MOOSE LAKE, or The Trail in the Snow</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Nov. 7, 1926</i><br /> -</p></blockquote> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City Publishing Co., <i>Inc.</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2"><a name="The_Dave_Fearless_Series" id="The_Dave_Fearless_Series">The Dave Fearless Series</a></p> - -<p><i>By</i> ROY ROCKWOOD</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS AFTER A SUNKEN TREASURE, or The Rival Ocean Divers</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS ON A FLOATING ISLAND, or The Cruise of the Treasure Ship</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS AND THE CAVE OF MYSTERY, or Adrift on the Pacific</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS AMONG THE ICEBERGS, or The Secret of the Eskimo Igloo</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS WRECKED AMONG SAVAGES, or The Captives of the Head -Hunters</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS AND HIS BIG RAFT, or Alone on the Broad Pacific</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS ON VOLCANO ISLAND, or The Magic Cave of Blue Fire</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS CAPTURED BY APES, or In Gorilla Land</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS AND THE MUTINEERS, or Prisoners on the Ship of Death</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS UNDER THE OCEAN, or The Treasure of the Lost Submarine</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS IN THE BLACK JUNGLE, or Lost Among the Cannibals</p> - -<p>DAVE FEARLESS NEAR THE SOUTH POLE, or The Giant Whales of Snow Island</p></blockquote> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City Publishing Co., <i>Inc.</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">The New Western Series</p> - -<p>Exciting, Thrilling Stories of the Old West</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">1. TEXAS MEN AND TEXAS CATTLE E.E. Harriman</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">2. THE SCOURGE OF THE LITTLE "C" J.E. Grinstead</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">3. THE LONE HAND TRACKER William W. Winter</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">4. WHEN DEATH RODE THE RANGE William W. Winter</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">5. RAW GOLD Clem Yore</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">6. DON QUICKSHOT LOOKING FOR TROUBLE Stephen Chalmers</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">7. THE LAST SHOT William MacLeod Raine</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">8. STRAIGHT SHOOTING W.C. Tuttle</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">9. SAD SONTAG PLAYS HIS HUNCH W.C. Tuttle</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">10. THE SENTENCE OF THE SIX GUN Anthony M. Rud</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published November 1, 1926</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">11. THE OUTLAWS OF FLOWER-POT CANYON Frank C. Robertson</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published December 1, 1926</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">12. THE CLEAN-UP ON DEAD MAN Frank C. Robertson</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published January 1, 1927</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">13. THE MASTER SQUATTER J.E. Grinstead</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published February 1, 1927</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">14. SIX GUN QUARANTINE E.E. Harriman</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published March 1, 1927</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">15. THE VALLEY OF SUSPICION J.U. Giesy</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published April 1, 1927</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">16. TREASURE TRAIL Robert Russell Strang</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 7em;">Published May 1, 1927</span><br /> -</p> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City Publishing Co., <i>Inc.</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City New York</span><br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="ph2">The Larry Dexter Series</p> - -<p><i>By</i> RAYMOND SPERRY</p> - - -<blockquote> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AT THE BIG FLOOD, or The Perils of a Reporter</p> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AND THE LAND SWINDLERS, or Queer Adventures in a Great -City</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Oct. 10, 1926</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AND THE MISSING MILLIONAIRE, or The Great Search</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Nov. 10, 1926</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AND THE BANK MYSTERY or Exciting Days in Wall Street</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Dec. 10, 1926</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AND THE STOLEN BOY, or A Chase on the Great Lakes</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Jan. 10, 1927</i><br /> -</p> - -<p>LARRY DEXTER AT THE BATTLE FRONT, or A War Correspondent's Double -Mission</p> - -<p> -<i>Published Feb. 10, 1927</i><br /> -</p></blockquote> - - -<p> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City Publishing Co., <i>Inc.</i></span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Garden City New York</span><br /> -</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FRANK ALLEN AT GOLD FORK ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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