THE SKELETON.
Frank began talking to Diamond in a smooth, pleasant way, appealing to
his sense of justice. At first Jack turned away, as if he did not care
to listen, but he heard every word, and he was affected.
"You are not yourself, old fellow," said Frank, softly, placing his
hand gently on Diamond's shoulder. "If you were yourself you would not
be like this. It is the burning desert, the blazing sun, the frightful
thirst--these have made you unlike yourself. I don't mind anything you
have said about me, Jack, for I know you are my friend, and you would
not think of saying such things under ordinary circumstances. A little
while ago, away out on the desert, you told me that much. It was then
that reason came back to you for a little while. Knowing how you have
suffered, I gave you the first drink from this water-hole. The water
ran in slowly, and I did not know that there would be enough to go
around twice. You were not the only one who had suffered from thirst,
but the others made no objection to your having the first drink--they
wanted you to have it. But it was necessary that they should have some
of the water, so that all of us would be in condition to search for
the other water-hole. Surely, old fellow, you see the common sense of
this. And now, Jack, look--the water has cleared, and more is running
into the hole. It will quench your thirst, and you will be yourself
again. You are my friend, and I am yours. We stand ready to fight for
each other at any time. If one of my enemies were to try to get at me
behind my back, why, you would----"
"Strangle the infernal cur!" shouted Diamond. "Give me that water,
Frank! You are all right, and I'm all wrong! Just let me have a chance
to fight for you, and see if I don't fight as long as there is a drop
of blood in my body!"
Merriwell had conquered, but he showed no sign of triumph, although he
quietly said:
"I knew all the while, dear old fellow; in fact, I believe I know you
better than you know yourself."
Then, when the others came up, ready to jolly Diamond about refusing
to drink, Frank checked them with a gesture.
Jack felt better when he had taken a second drink of water. As water
had risen in the hole, all the boys were able to get another round,
and the spirits of all of them were raised.
"I believe we have some hard bread and jerked beef, haven't we,
Merry?" asked Browning.
"Yes."
"Well, we are all right, then. Can't knock us out now. All I need is a
good chance to rest."
"Oh, you need rest!" nodded Rattleton. "You always need that. You can
take more rest and not complain than any fellow I ever saw."
"Young man," said Bruce, loftily, "it won't work. I refuse to let you
get me on a string, so drop it."
"You'll be lucky if you get out of this part of the country without
getting on a string with the other end hitched to the limb of a tree."
"That reminds me," drawled Bruce; "at the last town where we stopped I
asked a citizen if there were any horse thieves in that locality, and
he said there were two of 'em hanging around there the night before."
"Yes," nodded Harry, "that was the place where they said they were
going to stop lynching if they had to hang every durned lyncher they
could catch."
"Boys," laughed Merriwell, "we are all right. When you chaps get to
springing those things I feel there is no further danger. We'll pull
out all right."
"Suttinly, sar," grinned Toots. "I's gwan teh bet mah money on dis
crowd ebry time, chilluns. We's hot stuff, an' dar ain't nuffin' gwan
teh stop us dis side ob San Francisco--no, sar!"
Finally, refreshed and filled with new hope, the boys mounted their
wheels and started to seek for the second water-hole.
Frank led the way, and they turned to the south, riding along the base
of some barren cliffs.
"Are you sure we'll be able to find our way back to the water-hole we
have left if we fail to discover the other one?" asked Rattleton.
"I am taking note of everything, and I do not think there will be any
difficulty," answered Frank.
They had proceeded in this manner for about two miles when they saw
before them a place where the barren cliffs opened into a pass that
seemed to lead into the mountains.
"There is our road!" cried Merriwell, cheerfully. "It should lead us
straight to the second water-hole."
"Yah! yah!" laughed Toots. "Cayarn't fool dat boy, chilluns! He knows
his business, yo' bet! Won't s'prise me a bit if he teks us stret to a
resyvoyer--no, sar!"
They made for the pass, and, in a burst of energy, the colored boy
spurted to the front, taking the lead.
Of a sudden, as they approached a point where the bluffs narrowed till
they were close together, the negro gave a sudden wild howl of terror,
tried to turn his wheel about and went plunging headlong to the
ground.
"Wow!" gasped Rattleton. "What's struck him?"
"Something is the matter with him, sure as fate," said Frank.
Toots was seen to sit up and stare toward the wall of stone, while it
was plain that he was shaking as if struck by an attack of ague. Then
he tried to scramble up, but fell on his knees, with his hands clasped
and uplifted in a supplicating attitude, while he wildly cried:
"Go 'way, dar, good Mr. Debbil! I ain't done nuffin' teh yo'! Please
don' touch me! I's nuffin' but a po' good-fo'-nuffin' nigger, an' I
ain't wuff bodderin' wif--no, sar! Dar am some white boys wif me, an'
I guess yo'll lek them a heap sight better. Jes' yo' tek one of them,
good Mr. Debbil!"
"Has he gone daffy, too?" muttered Frank, in astonishment.
Then the boys came whirling up and sprang from their wheels, at which
Toots made a scramble for Frank, caught hold of his knees, and
chatteringly cried:
"Don' yeh let him kerry me off, Marser Frank! I knows yo' ain't
afeared of nuffin', so I wants yeh ter protect po' Toots from de
debbil wif de fiery eyes!"
But Frank was so astonished that he scarcely heard a word the colored
boy uttered.
Seated on a block of stone in a niche of the wall was a human
skeleton. It was sitting bolt upright and seemed to be staring at the
boys with eyes that flashed a hundred shades of light.
"Poly hoker--no, holy poker!" palpitated Harry, leaning hard on his
wheel. "What have we struck?"
For a time the others were speechless.
Wonderfully and fantastically was the skeleton decorated. On its head
was a rude crown that seemed to be of glittering gold, while gold
bracelets adorned its arms. About the fleshless neck was a chain of
gold, to which a large locket was attached, and across the ribs was
strung a gold watch-chain, while there were other fantastic and costly
ornaments dangling over those bones of a human being.
The eyes of the skeleton, flashing so many different lights, seemed to
be two huge diamonds of enormous value.
No wonder the young cyclists stared in astonishment at the marvelously
bejeweled skeleton!
"Well," drawled Browning, with his usual nonchalance, "the gentleman
seems to have dressed up in his best to receive us. Some one must have
sent him word we were coming."
Toots, seeing the others did not seem frightened, had got on his feet
and picked up his bicycle.
"Goodness!" muttered Diamond. "If all those decorations are solid
gold, there is a small fortune in sight!"
"What is the meaning of this, Frank?" asked Rattleton. "How do you
suppose this skeleton happens to be here?"
"Ask me something easy," said Merriwell, shaking his head.
"The skeleton must have been decorated in that manner by some living
person," asserted Rattleton.
"But where is that person?"
"Not here, that is sure."
"It may be a warning," said Jack, gloomily.
"Warning, nothing!" exclaimed Frank. "It is plain the thing has been
left there by some person, and we are the discoverers. It must be that
the skeleton is that of some poor devil who perished here for want of
water."
"And it may be that the one who placed it there perished also," said
Rattleton.
"Very likely."
"In which case," came eagerly from Jack's lips, "all that treasure
belongs to us! Boys, it is a wonderful stroke of fortune! We have made
enough to take the whole of us through Yale, and----"
"If we ever get back to Yale, old fellow! This unfortunate fellow
perished here, and our fate may be similar."
"Boo!" shivered Browning. "That's pleasant to think about!"
"More than that," Frank went on, "the treasure does not belong to us
if we can find the real owner or his heirs."
The excitement and interest of the boys was great. They were eager to
examine the decorations of the mysterious skeleton.
"We'll stack our wheels, and then one of us can climb up and make an
inspection," said Frank.
So they proceeded to stack their wheels, Toots observing:
"Yo' can fool wif dat skillerton if yo' wants to, chilluns, but dis
nigger's gwan teh keep right away from it. Bet fo' dollars it will
jest reach out dem arms and grab de firs' one dat gits near it. Wo-oh!
Land ob wartermillions! it meks me have de fevah an' chillins jes' to
fink ob it!"
"We'll draw lots to see who goes up," said Frank, winking at the
others. "You will have to go if it falls to you, Toots."
"Oh, mah goodness!" gasped the frightened darky. "I ain't gwan teh
draw no lots, Marser Frank--no, sar! I's got a po'erful bad case ob
heart trouble, an' mah doctah hab reckermended dat I don't fool roun'
no skillertons. He said it might result distrus if I boddered wif
skillertons."
"What's that?" cried Frank, sternly. "Would you drink your share of
water when water is so precious and not take even chances with the
rest of us in any danger?"
"Now, Marser Frank!" cried the darky, appealingly; "don' go fo' to be
too hard on a po' nigger! De trubble wif me is dat I'm jes' a nacheral
bo'n coward, an' I can't git over hit nohow. Dat's what meks mah heart
turn flip-flops ebry time dar's any dangar, sar."
"But think of the treasure up there that we have found. If it should
fall to you to investigate, and you were to bring down that treasure,
of course you would receive your share, the same as the rest of us."
"Lawd bress yeh, honey! I don' want no treasure if I've goter go an'
fotch hit down. I'd a heap sight rudder nebber hab no treasure dan git
wifin reachin' distance of dat skillerton--yes, sar!"
"Don't fool with him, Merry," said Diamond, impatiently. "Of course
you don't expect to send him up, and you won't think of giving him any
part of the treasure."
Frank flashed a look at the Virginian, and saw that Jack was in
earnest.
"You are mistaken, old man," he said. "I do not expect Toots to go up
there, but, if there is a real treasure and it is divided, you may be
sure he will receive his share."
"Oh, well!" cried Jack, somewhat taken aback; "of course I don't care
what you do about that, but I thought you were in earnest about what
you were saying."
"The trouble with you," muttered Rattleton, speaking so low that Jack
could not hear him, "is that you never see through a joke."
"Come," spoke Browning, "if we've got to take chances to see who goes
up and makes the examination, come on. I hope to get out of it myself,
but if I must, I must."
"We need not take chances," said Frank, promptly. "I will go."
"It will not be difficult, for it is no climb at all," said Jack. "Two
of us can swing ourselves up there in a moment, and I will go with
you, Merry."
Then it was that Rattleton suddenly gave a great cry of stupefied
amazement.
"What's the matter?" asked Merriwell.
"Look! Look!" gasped Harry, pointing toward the niche in the rocks.
"The skeleton--it has disappeared!"
They looked, and, dumb for the time with amazement and dismay, they
saw Rattleton spoke the truth.
The mysterious skeleton had vanished!