HOW WAS IT DONE?
What had happened to Dick? Intentionally he had permitted Felicia to
keep the lead in the race through the chaparral. It is possible he might
have overtaken her had he tried. He had no thought of danger, and he was
wholly unprepared when out from the shadows of the chaparral shot a
twisting, writhing coil, the loop of which fell over his shoulders and
jerked him like a flash from the saddle. The shock, as he struck the
ground, drove the breath from his body and partly stunned him. Before he
could recover he was pounced upon by two men, who quickly dragged him
into the edge of the thicket, where a third man--a half-blood
Mexican--was coiling the lariat with which the boy had been snatched
from the horse's back.
These men threatened Dick with drawn weapons.
"Make a sound or a cry, kid," growled one of them, "and we sure cuts you
up!"
The boy's dark eyes looked fearlessly at them, and he coolly inquired:
"What's your game? I have not enough money on me to pay you for your
trouble."
"Ho, ho!" laughed one of the trio. "We gits our pay, all right, younker.
Don't worry about that. Tie his elbows close behind him, Mat. Mebbe we
best gags him some."
"No, none of that," declared the one called Mat. "If he utters a cheep,
I'll stick him sure."
But the other insisted that Dick should be gagged, and this they finally
and quickly did. With his arms bound behind him and a gag between his
teeth, he was lifted to his feet and forced into the depth of the
thicket. The Mexican, who was called Tony, seemed to know a path through
the chaparral, although it was dim and indistinct, and this they
followed.
Thus it happened that when Felicia missed Dick and turned back she found
no trace of him. On through the thick chaparral they threaded their way,
now and then crouching low to push through thorny branches, their
progress necessarily being slow. For a long time they tramped on, coming
finally to an opening.
Several horses were grazing there. No time was lost in placing the
captive boy on the back of a horse and fastening his feet together
beneath the animal's belly. Already it was growing dusky, but those men
knew the course they would pursue. The Mexican and Mat mounted one
animal and followed Dick, while the biggest man of the party, who had
once been addressed as Dillon, now took the lead.
Starry night came as they still pushed on, but they had left the
chaparral behind and were on the trackless plain. Finally it was decided
that the captive should be blindfolded. By this time his jaws were
aching, and he was greatly relieved when the gag was removed. They
seemed to think there was little danger of his cries being heard should
he venture to shout for help. Dick did not shout; he felt the folly of
it.
Long hours they rode, and the bandage over the boy's eyes prevented him
from telling what course they followed. At last they halted. The cords
about his ankles were released, and he was unceremoniously dragged from
the saddle to the ground. Following this, he was marched into some sort
of a building. There at last the bandage was removed from his eyes, and
even his arms were set free. Dillon and Mat were with him. The Mexican
had been left to care for the horses.
"Now, kid," said the big man, "you makes yourself comfortable as you
can. Don't worry none whatever; you're all safe here. Nothing troubles
you, and we looks out for you. Oh, yes, we looks out for you."
"Why have you brought me here?" asked Dick.
"We lets you guess at that a while. It amuses you perhaps, and passes
away the time."
"If my brother finds out who did this----"
"Now, don't talk that way!" cried Mat. "We don't bother with your
brother any. We does our business with other parties."
"So that's it--that's it!" exclaimed Dick, "My brother's enemies have
paid you for this piece of work."
"That's one of the little things you has to guess about," hoarsely
chuckled Dillon. "Thar's a bunk in the corner. I sure opines this place
is stout enough to hold you, and all the while Mat or I sits in the next
room. If we hears you kick up restless-like, we comes to soothe you.
We're great at soothing--eh, Mat?"
"Great!" agreed Mat.
"If you has a good appetite," continued Dillon, "in the morning we gives
you a square feed. Oh, we treats you fine, kid--we treats you fine. We
has orders to be ca'm and gentle with you. We're jest as gentle as two
playful kittens--eh, Mat?"
"Jest so," agreed Mat.
"Of course, you being young, it disturbs you some to be introduced to us
so sudden-like. Still, you seems to have a lot of nerve. You don't git
trembly any, and you looks a heap courageous with them fine black eyes
of yours. By smoke! I almost believes you has it in yer ter tackle us
both, kid; but you'd better not--you'd better not. It does no good, and
it ruffles our feelings, although we is so ca'm and gentle. When our
feelings is ruffled we are a heap bad--eh, Mat?"
"Sure," agreed Mat.
"That's about all," said Dillon. "Now we bids you a pleasant good night,
and we hopes you sleeps sweet and dreams agreeable dreams--eh, Mat?"
"We does," nodded Mat.
Then they backed out through the door behind them, which led into the
front room of the building, leaving Dick in darkness, as the door was
closed and barred.
Dick knew there was very little chance for him to escape unaided from
the clutches of those ruffians. Still, he was not the sort of a boy to
give up, and he resolved to keep his ears and eyes open for any
opportunity that might present itself. Left without a light, there was
no hope of making a satisfactory examination of his prison room until
the coming of another day.
He flung himself down on the couch and meditated. But for the fact that
he was in fine physical condition, his fall when jerked from the saddle
might have injured him seriously. As it was, he had simply been somewhat
shaken up. He felt a slight soreness, but regarded it as of no
consequence. Of course, he understood the game the ruffians were
playing. Beyond question he was to be held as a hostage in order that
Frank's enemies might force Merry into some sort of a deal concerning
the mines.
His one satisfaction lay in the belief that Felicia had escaped. As he
lay there on the bunk, he could hear the mumbling voices of his captors
in the next room. After a time his curiosity was aroused, and he felt a
desire to hear what they were saying.
Silently he arose and stole over to the partition between the rooms.
This partition was strangely thick and heavy for a building in that part
of the country. Seemingly it had been constructed for the purpose of
safely imprisoning any one who should be thrust into that room. Although
he pressed his ear close to the partition, he was unable for some time
to understand anything the men were saying. He moved softly about,
seeking a place where he might hear better, and finally found it in a
crack beneath the massive door, through which shone a dim light.
Lying flat on his back, with his ear near this crack, the boy listened.
To his satisfaction, he was now able to hear much of the talk that
passed between the men. Plainly but two of them, Mat and Dillon, were in
the outer room.
"This piece of work certain pays us a good thing, Mat," said Dillon.
"The gent what has it done is rotten with coin, and we makes him plank
down a heap liberal."
"What does yer know about him, pard?" inquired Mat. "Whoever is he,
anyhow?"
"Why, sure, I hears his name is Morgan, though I deals with him direct
none at all myself."
"Well, partner, this is better and some easier than the railroad job."
"All the same, Dan gets a heap sore when he finds we has quit t'other
job. And, as for this being less dangerous, I am none certain of that."
"Why not?"
"Well, this yere Frank Merriwell they say is a holy terror. Dan hisself
has had some dealings with him, you know. He knocks the packing out of
Dan down at Prescott not so long ago."
"Down at Prescott," thought the listening boy; "down at Prescott. Why, I
supposed it was up at Prescott. If it's down, Prescott must be to the
south. In that case these fellows doubled and turned north after
scooping me in."
This was interesting to him, for one thing he desired to know very much
was just where he had been taken. As he was meditating on this, Dick
missed some of the talk between the men, for in order to understand what
they were saying it was necessary for him to listen with the utmost
intentness.
"Do you allow, Dillon," he finally heard Mat say, "that Dan will stick
to his little plan to hold up that train?"
"I opine not. He won't be after trying it all by his lonesome. One man
who holds up a train and goes through it has a heap big job on his
hands."
"So that's the kind of a railroad job they were talking about!" thought
Dick. "They surely are a tough lot."
"Mebbe he comes searching for us," suggested Dillon.
"Mebbe so. Ef he does, we has to deceive him."
"He gits a whole lot hot, I judge."
"You bet he does. And when he is hot we wants to keep our eyes peeled
for a ruction."
"That's whatever."
Although Dick listened a long time after this, the conversation of the
ruffians seemed of no particular importance. Finally they ceased
talking, and evidently one of them at least prepared to sleep. Dick
arose and returned to the bunk, where he lay trying to devise some
possible method of escape. Scores of wild plans flittered through his
brain, but he realized that none of them were practical.
"If I could get word to Frank," he thought. "But how can it be done--how
can it be done?"
Such a thing seemed impossible. At last he became drowsy and realized
that he was sinking off to sleep, in spite of his unpleasant position.
He was fully awakened at last by sudden sounds in the outer room. There
came a heavy hammering at the door, followed by the voice of one of
Dick's captors demanding to know who was there. Dick sat upright on the
bunk, his nerves tingling as he thought of the possibility that the
ruffians had been followed by a party of rescuers, who were now at hand.
The one who was knocking seemed to satisfy the men within, for Dick knew
the door was flung open. He swiftly crossed the floor and lay again with
his ear near the crack beneath the door.
"Well, you two are a fine bunch!" declared a hoarse voice that seemed
full of anger. "You keeps your dates a heap well, don't yer! Oh, yes,
yer two nice birds, you are!"
This was the voice of the newcomer.
"Howdy, Dan?" said Mat. "We thinks mebbe yer comes around this yere
way."
"Oh, yer does, does yer?" snarled the one called Dan. "Why does yer
think that so brightlike? Why does yer reckon that when you agrees ter
meet me at Win'mill Station I comes here to find you five miles away?
That's what I'd like to know."
"Windmill Station," Dick said to himself. "Five miles from Windmill
Station, and Windmill Station is some twelve or fifteen miles north of
Prescott."
"You seems excited, Dan," said Mat, in what was intended to be a
soothing manner. "Mebbe we has reasons why we didn't meet you any."
"Reasons! If you has, spit 'em out."
"Yes, we has reasons," quickly put in Dillon. "Dan, we finds we is
watched a whole lot. We finds somebody suspects that little game we
plans."
"Is that so?" demanded the newcomer, with a sneering doubt in his voice.
"That's what it is," asserted Mat. "We don't have a chance to move much
without being watched, and so we reckons we does best to drop this
little job for the time being."
"Is that so?" sneered Dan.
"Didn't we say it was?" indignantly demanded Dillon. "You hears us, I
judge."
"Now, who is it what watches you so closelike?" questioned the
dissatisfied man. "Mebbe you tells me that."
"We don't know just who it is, but we has been followed for the last two
days. You know a hold-up down on the Southern Pacific gits people
suspicious. Mebbe they thinks we had a hand in that."
"Which we didn't have any at all," hastily put in Mat.
"So you two fine chaps takes water?" contemptuously cried Dan. "You
throws up a chance to make a good thing? Why, it was a snap! We could
'a' stopped the train, gone through her, and then hiked it for Mexico
hot foot, and the Old Boy hisself wouldn't 'a' ketched us."
"Mebbe not," admitted one of the other men. "But we opines it would 'a'
been a whole lot bad for us if the holding up had been expected. Look
here, Dan, we thinks it right and proper to put this thing off some. We
thinks mebbe in a week or so we is in fer it."
"Oh, that's how you figgers. Why didn't you let me know about it any?
That's what I'd like ter have yer explain. You leaves me a-waiting and
a-watching fer yer while you bunks down yere all ca'm and serene-like.
That's what sores me to the limit."
"We thinks," said Mat, "if we goes to meet you, mebbe we is seen, and
that makes more suspicions. We thinks the best thing to do is to lay
low. We're right sorry that we couldn't keep the app'intment, but it
happens that way, and there is nothing else fer it."
"Well, it is evident ter me that you two are squealers. You both lack
nerve, and I quits you cold. The whole business is off, understand
that."
"Well, if you gits hot and quits us that way, we can't help it," said
Dillon.
"Well, I does quit. What I wants is my blanket I leaves in yar. I takes
that an' gits out, and you two goes to blazes for all of me."
Evidently Dan started for the back room at this moment, and the
listening boy prepared to spring away from the door. At the same time
Dick was seized by a sudden determination to attempt a dash for freedom
the moment the door was opened. He knew he might not succeed, but there
was a slim chance of it, and he decided to take that chance. Both the
ruffians on guard, however, were startled when Dan proposed getting his
blanket from the back room. Quickly Dillon interposed.
"Hold on, Dan!" he cried. "Never mind that blanket. We fixes that all
right with you. Yere is mine. You take that."
Had Dick been able to see them he would have beheld the newcomer, a
huge, pockmarked individual, standing in the centre of the floor,
staring at the men before him in no small surprise.
"Why, whatever is this?" asked Dan. "I opine I takes my own blanket."
"But mine is worth more than yours," hastily asserted Dillon.
"And you're a heap anxious ter give it up in place of mine, I sees.
That's right queer. I don't just understand your generosity. It seems
mighty curious."
"It's all right, Dan," declared Mat. "Take the blanket."
"Not by a blamed sight," roared the big man. "I takes my own blanket. I
goes into that room. I sees what you has in there."
As he said this, he suddenly whipped out a long revolver, with which he
menaced the man who attempted to bar his progress.
"Get out of the way," he commanded, "or I furnishes funeral stock for
the undertaker."
"He's coming!" whispered Dick. "They can't stop him!"
The boy rose to his hands and knees, where he listened a moment more. He
heard the men on guard protesting, but their protestations availed
nothing, and a moment later a hand was on the door.
Dick sprang up. The bar that held the door fell, and it was flung open.
With a spring, Dick was out into the lighted room, bending low and
striking the man with the revolver like a battering-ram full and fair in
the pit of the stomach, bowling him over. As Dan went down, his fingers
contracted on the trigger of the pistol, and a shot rang out.