Dick and Charley fully realized Dr. Dan’s danger, but what could they
do?
The dangerous attempt to snare the Plesiosaurus had not only been a
complete failure, but a fearful mistake, for a few seconds later it
looked as if Dr. Dan was doomed.
The Plesiosaurus caught him just as it had caught Dick.
It did not bite the Indian, nor even seize him in its terrible jaws, as
one might have expected, but with lightning quickness it ran its head
under Dr. Dan, and the next Dick and Charley knew it had him twisted
in a fold of its long neck, and went waddling off toward the steep,
slippery trail down the mountain.
“Fire at him, boys! Fire! Save me if you can!” shouted the unfortunate
guide.
Until then the boys had just stood there dumb with the horror of the
situation.
How could they fire?
Dick’s revolver had been taken from him by Martin Mudd. Charley had
lost his coming down through the Boiling Pot. Dr. Dan himself was the
only man who was armed.
“Work yourself out! I did!” yelled Dick. “Can’t fire! Got no revolver!
I won’t desert you, though! I’ll follow on!”
The Plesiosaurus had now disappeared down the trail.
It went sliding down over the slippery rocks, and now the boys were
able to understand what made it so smooth. Probably this had been the
monster’s path for years.
“Oh, it’s terrible! Terrible!” cried Clara. “Oh, Dick! Can nothing be
done to save that man?”
“There’s his rifle now, standing against the hut!” cried Charley. “Why
didn’t we think of it before?”
Dick made a rush for the rifle, and sprang to the head of the trail.
“It will do no good, anyhow, but here goes!” he cried.
He fired, but with no result, just as he had anticipated.
The bullet struck the monster on its scaly back and glanced off as if
it had been fired against boiler plate.
Down the steep slope the Plesiosaurus went sliding.
Dr. Dan’s cries grew fainter. All gave the faithful guide up for lost.
“It’s no use!” groaned Dick. “I must go after him, though. I said I
would, and so I will!”
“Oh, Dick, don’t go! Don’t go!” pleaded Clara.
“For gracious sake don’t try it!” shouted Charley. “It’s all your life
is worth, Dick!”
But Dick had already started, and there was no such thing as holding
him back.
And yet if he had only known it, there was a safe and easy way down
over those cliffs not ten yards distant from the hut.
But the way Dick had taken was not only very difficult, but highly
dangerous. It was frightfully steep, too, with scarce a foothold, and
as smooth as glass.
Down this terrible incline the Plesiosaurus slid easily enough, and no
doubt it had come up the same way many times, its queer webbed feet
acting as suckers like the feet of a fly.
But Dick possessed no such power.
He could only crouch down “on his hunkies,” as the boys say, and go
sliding along after old P. D.
What if he should overtake the monster and run into him? he could not
help thinking; but there was no such danger, for old P. D. went faster
than he could go by far, and yet to Dick it seemed as though he was
sliding down with lightning speed.
When he reached the level ridge below he struck it with such force that
he went over on his face, hitting his head and knocking the wits out of
him for the moment.
The next he knew he was scrambling up trying to save himself from
slipping over the edge of another precipice, the ground slipping away
under his feet.
Dick drew back in horror just in time to save himself.
Springing aside on the firmer ground, he found himself looking down
into a deep, narrow valley inclosed on all sides.
There was a lake at the bottom of this valley, and Dick saw old P. D.
in the act of slipping into it.
The monster threw up its head as the big body sank beneath the water,
and gave one parting bellow, and after that Dick saw him no more,
nor did he think of him, for there lying upon the ground at no great
distance away was Dr. Dan.
Dick ran to the guide and tried to raise him up.
The unfortunate man seemed to be entirely unconscious, and yet there
was no sign of any wound upon him.
Dick began to think that it was pretty well demonstrated that the
Plesiosaurus did not feed on human flesh. The monster had just squeezed
the life out of poor Dr. Dan and dropped him before it started on its
second descent, that was all.
Dick threw down the rifle and raised the Indian’s head, calling his
name again and again; but Dr. Dan showed no sign of life.
“Oh, he’s dead! He’s dead!” cried Dick. “What shall I do?”
“Do drop him!” said a sneering voice behind him. “His name is Mud, and
so is mine, and so is yours, too, Dick Darrell, unless you and I can
come to terms.”
There he was!
The same old Martin Mudd, and there stood Tony beside him grinning.
Both held revolvers, and both covered Dick as the boy slowly rose to
his feet to face his enemies once more.