THE BLANK WALL.
Billie wanted to go with them very much; not that he felt any great
desire to come into close contact with that grim looking old medicine
man; but he disliked being left alone worse still. After his recent
experience on the desert he felt like having company, no matter under
what conditions.
Of course the others would have much preferred that Billie stay with the
animals, but neither of them dared hint as much. He had as much right to
go as they did, if he felt so inclined.
So Donald hastily started to fasten the pack mule to a branch. As for
_Wireless_, the broncho had been well trained, as a cow pony always is,
and when his reins were dropped over his head he would stand a long time
unless something unusual occurred to frighten him.
Adrian was of the same mind, as could be seen from the way he threw his
bridle forward, and then landed on his feet.
"Me too," said Billie, promptly; and with the words he proceeded to fix
_Jupiter_ after the same fashion, knowing that the horses would be quite
content to stand there in company.
All this had taken place in much less time than it takes to tell it. The
Witch Doctor had disappeared from sight, but could not be so far ahead
but that they might quickly overtake him, if they were spry.
Donald led off, as it had been his proposition which the others had
accepted; and on this account, as well as his familiarity with the
customs of these strange cliff dwellers, he might be accorded the
position of pilot, during the time they remained in the neighborhood of
the Zuni village.
The boy had taken particular note of the place where the strangely
attired old medicine man had last been seen; and it took the three chums
but a few seconds to arrive there.
Just as the guide anticipated, he found that there was something in the
nature of a path worn along the rocks, and among the dead fragments of
brushwood. It was as though the Witch Doctor had gone back and forth
along this same route many times a week for years and years.
What influenced Donald and Adrian to accept of this sudden opportunity
to spy on the Zuni medicine man it would be hard to say. Perhaps Donald,
whose father was a mine operator as well as a big rancher, may have had
a little notion that he would like to know more about the source of that
precious metal which report said the old magician knocked from some
wonderfully rich ledge inside the mountain nearby the village. That
would not be so very strange after all, though the boy might be taking
fearful risks in thus following such a vindictive old fellow as the
Witch Doctor was reported to be.
As for Adrian, he did not have the same sort of temptation beckoning him
on. In all probability the subject of mines and rich ore deposits would
have failed to lure him; whereas the prospect of a pleasant little
mystery to be solved would act as a spur.
And somehow, what Donald had told about that mysterious music, the
strains of which often floated faintly to the ears of the Zuni people
after their medicine man had betaken himself off to one of these famous
audiences with Manitou, had taken a firm hold on the mind of Adrian. He
hoped that before they quitted the country of the Zunis a chance would
arise whereby they could find out if there was really any truth in these
stories; and should it prove to be so, learn just what caused the music
that the ignorant natives believed supernatural or angel voices.
And as has already been said, Billie went along simply because he was
afraid to stay there alone, and not that he felt any particular interest
in either gold mines or cherub voices.
Two minutes later, and Donald held up a hand warningly. That was enough
to tell the others he had sighted the object of their pursuit. And as
they did not wish to let the hideous figure that stalked along ahead
know how he was being followed, they hung back until their guide again
beckoned them on.
"He's just gone back of that line of brush yonder," Donald whispered, as
they joined him. "Let's wait here a minute, to give him a chance to move
along. And we can keep an eye on that cliff over yonder; because, unless
I'm mistaken, he was heading that way when last I glimpsed him."
They crouched there and waited, Billie nervously fingering his camera,
as if in readiness to use it again should the chance arise.
"There he goes!" ejaculated Adrian, suddenly.
"Oh! where?" asked Billie, giving a start, as if he had at first
suspected that the old fellow might have stolen a march upon them; and
from the way Billie looked above his head one would think he half
expected that that hideous figure would come tumbling down upon them,
his arms filled with rattlesnakes, perhaps.
"Over near the cliff, just as I said," replied Donald, pointing as he
spoke.
"I see him, all right," announced Billie, immediately, as though that
were something worth mentioning.
"Looks like he meant to climb up somewhere," suggested Adrian.
"We'll watch, and see the circus, then," added Donald; "but better keep
down, so he won't glimpse us if he happens to look back this way."
"That's good advice!" muttered Billie, dropping flat, and then poking
his head up as best he knew how, so that he might see without betraying
his presence; Billie had not been in the company of these two prairie
boys for weeks without picking up at least a smattering of the things
they knew.
"Why, he's gone!" he exclaimed, a second or two later; and commenced to
rub his eyes vigorously, as though inclined to suspect that they had
played him a trick.
"Did you see that?" remarked Donald, of Adrian; for they had been
looking all the time Billie was fussing, and getting himself so nicely
fixed that he had temporarily lost track of the medicine man.
"He went behind that twisted cedar, and then seemed to just melt away in
thin air," the other replied, with a vein of wonder in his voice.
"Then he _is_ an old wizard after all, ain't he?" remarked Billie,
hearing this.
"That remains to be seen," declared Donald. "Shall we go over there, and
take a look around, Ad?"
"Sure he ain't just hidin' behind some rock?" asked Billie, grown
cautious, it appeared, after his recent experiences.
"You can see for yourself that the whole face of the cliff looks open,
and there isn't an outlying stone that would shelter a cat, much less a
fellow of his heft," Donald told him; "how about it, Ad?"
"If you think it's right, why let's walk over, and make out to be
interested in the formation of the wall of rock," replied the other. "If
he chances to pop out on us, then we can make him believe we're
geologists, and interested in the history of these old-time hills."
"A good idea, sure it is!" admitted Billie, always wanting to put in his
oar, and at the same time willing to give praise where it was due.
Donald no doubt thought the same, even if he only smiled, and nodded his
head.
Having thus decided they stepped out from their place of concealment,
and in an apparently careless manner walked toward the cliff that reared
its head far above, being fully a hundred feet from base to summit.
Billie trailed along in the rear. He did not feel wholly at ease,
although in the society of his chums, whom he knew to be capable of
holding their own with any ordinary peril. But somehow Billie had an
idea that they were taking big chances when they accepted the risk of
spying on the Witch Doctor. And he wanted to be in a position to render
a good account of himself, in case anything happened.
He had slung his little camera over his shoulder by means of the strap
attached for this very purpose; and now held his rifle in both hands,
feeling very much of responsibility, somehow or other, because he came
in the rear, and let them do all the looking for an explanation of the
mysterious disappearance of the old Zuni, while he kept his eyes on the
alert for trouble.
Just as Donald had so positively said, there were no outlying stones of
any size along the base of this cliff. The two boys had even glanced
eagerly upwards more than once, half expecting to discover signs that
might tell how the mountain here had once been used by some of the cliff
dwellers; but so far as they could see there was not a single hole hewn
in that blank wall from top to bottom.
Adrian picked up a piece of stone, as though carrying out the little
scheme he had suggested about their pretending to be geologists; and
while he and Donald put their heads together, as though they were
examining the same, they were exchanging remarks.
"See any sign of the old fraud, Ad?" asked Donald.
"Not around here, that's flat," answered the other.
"But we're directly behind that crooked cedar," urged the rancher's son;
"and as sure as I'm here, that's just where I saw him last. And you know
as well as I do, Adrian, he couldn't have slipped away to either side,
nor yet climbed the face of this cliff!"
His chum shook his head as he glanced all around; and then stepping
closer to the face of the height that arose far above, he scrutinized it
carefully.
Then he laughed.
"Tell you what, Donald," he said, "this makes me think of plays I've
seen on the stage, where the magician disappears through the face of the
rock in a wonderful way; but everybody knows that it's only canvas,
painted to look like the solid wall. Here, though, there's no such
thing; and yet you say he came to this spot and then just went up like a
puff of smoke. Take it from me now, that there must be some secret way
of getting in back here, if only we had the key to the mystery!"
"Whew! is that what you think too, Donald?" asked Billie, taking time to
stare at the wall of rock, which up to now had interested him very
little, since it was the Witch Doctor himself for whom he was looking.
"I reckon it must be something like that," Donald admitted. "We don't
believe in magic, and all that stuff; there must be a real explanation
for everything that looks so queer; if, as Adrian says, we only had the
clue to the trail. But even the rocks here show no trace of his
footsteps, so we can only give a guess how he gets in and out."
"Huh!" grunted the incredulous Billie; "I reckon, then we're up against
a blank wall right now, in more ways than one; and the old chap's got us
guessing, all right."