THE VOICE IN THE NIGHT.
The excited lads beat the bushes in vain. Caleb Cooler had disappeared
in a moment, as if the ground had opened and swallowed him. It seemed
impossible that he could give them the slip in such a manner, but he
had.
At last four very disgusted and angry boys stopped in a little opening
and looked at each other.
"We are a set of chumps!" declared Hodge.
"That's so!" grunted Browning.
"Ought to have held onto the snake all the time," came savagely from
Diamond. "Oh, if we had him here now!"
"Yaw!" gurgled Hans. "Uf we had him here now he vouldn't done a thing to
us!"
"I feel like crawling into a hole," growled the big Yale man.
"So do I," nodded Hodge; "but I don't know where to find a hole small
enough. What fools we are!"
"Yaw!" again gurgled Hans. "Vot fools you vos!"
"But I'm hanged if I can understand it," said Bruce. "How did he do it?
That is what I want to know."
"He was within reach at one moment and gone the next."
"Let's search again."
They did so, but the time was spent in vain. They were close to the
rocks which rose above the ground in the vicinity of the quarry, but it
seemed an utter impossibility for anyone to hide amid those rocks.
They decided to remain in the vicinity and watch for Mr. Cooler,
thinking he was in a place of hiding near at hand, and he would be
forced to show himself sooner or later. Having decided on this, they
scattered somewhat, but were within call of each other. Then they
settled down to watch for the man in gray.
It became ominously silent there amid the cedars and pines, save when
the fitful wind made a rustling. Once a squirrel was heard chattering in
the distance.
An hour passed, and then Diamond could stand it no longer. He called
them together and said:
"Fellows, while we remain idle here, those villains may be completing
the work of putting Merriwell out of the way. I think we are wasting our
time."
"So do I," said Hodge.
"Und I vos some more," put in Hans.
Then they decided to scour the island. If hidden near at hand, Cooler
knew they were watching for him, and it was not likely he would make a
move.
Two hours were spent in wandering over the island, calling to the
missing lad. They awoke the echoes in the dark woods, but the echoes
were the only answers to their cries.
Disheartened and desperate, they returned to the cove in which the yacht
lay. They were troubled by fears that something had happened to her
while they were away, but when they obtained a view of her, she was seen
riding peacefully at anchor.
The small boat was there, and Bart was the first to reach it. Suddenly
he uttered an exclamation, and then called the attention of the others
to a slip of paper that lay beneath a stone that had been placed on one
of the seats. A moment later he secured the paper.
"There is writing upon it!" he declared.
"Read it!" exclaimed the others, pressing nearer.
On the paper, which seemed to be a leaf torn from a pocket account book,
were scrawled the following words:
"You fellers Haid better git erway Frum Devul irelan in a Blame big
Hurry or you will git used the saim as frank Merryfull did. you
wunt Naver se no moar of Him."
"That settles it!" said Diamond, bitterly. "Frank is done for this time!
They have finished him--the devils!"
"Well, they'll never drive me away from this island till I have found
out how they did it and who they are!" vowed Hodge. "Right here I swear
I will spend the rest of my life in avenging Merry, if it is necessary."
"I am with you!"
"And I!"
"Yaw! Me, too!"
They shook hands on it, with bared heads. Never were four lads in more
deadly earnest.
The sun was low in the western sky, tinting the rippling waters with
golden light. The scene was a peaceful one, and it did not seem possible
that an awesome and appalling tragedy had taken place on that quiet
little island that day.
Despite their determination, the boys were stunned and at a loss to know
what was to be done. They entered the boat and rowed off to the yacht.
It was plain no one had visited the _White Wings_ while they were away,
for nothing on board was molested.
Hans was hungry, but he was the only one of them all who seemed to have
any appetite. They did not talk much, but all were thinking, and the
Dutch boy cried softly over the food he ate.
Little had they dreamed when they started out on the cruise that
anything so terrible could happen and that they would be so completely
dazed and bewildered. Their hearts were full of sorrow, but on their
faces were looks of resolution that told they did not mean to be driven
away till they had fulfilled their oath.
The sun went down redly in the west and tinted twilight crept over the
water. In the woods on shore darkness gathered swiftly. They stared away
toward those woods, as if watching for the appearance of their missing
friend.
All at once Jack caught hold of Hodge, hissing:
"Look there!"
"Where?"
"Down toward the point. See--back in the shadows beyond the two pines!
Can you see them there?"
"I see something."
"Two figures?"
"Yes."
"I saw them move--saw them come out of the woods. They are men, and they
are watching us!"
"That's right."
"And one of them is that snake, the little man in gray!"
"I believe it!"
"I know it! Get a rifle, Hodge!"
"What would you do?"
"Shoot him!" panted the hot-blooded Virginian. "Get a rifle! I will put
a bullet through the villain!"
Although hot-blooded and reckless himself Bart realized that Diamond
must not do anything of the kind. But he did not find it necessary to
reason with Jack, for the two men turned and disappeared into the woods.
"They're gone!" exclaimed the Virginian, regretfully.
"But they may come back again. We must keep a close watch to-night.
There is no telling what desperate deed they may attempt."
So the night was divided into watches, and each lad took his turn on
deck.
The sky became overcast, so there was little light. The black shadow of
the shore seemed potent with dangers.
Bart had his second watch on deck, and it was not far from midnight when
he was startled to hear a voice hailing from the shore:
"Ahoy, the yacht!"
"What do you want?" asked Bart, gripping a revolver and staring toward
the point from which the voice had seemed to come. "Who are you?"
"Caleb Cooler, at your service," came back the answer. "I thought I'd
tell you something that may relieve your minds somewhat. Frank Merriwell
is alive and unharmed."
Bart gasped.
"Why do you come to tell us that?" he asked.
"Because I know you are worrying about him. Don't worry. He will be with
you to-morrow."
This angered Bart so that he lifted his revolver, being tempted to send
a random shot toward the point from which the voice seemed to come, but
he changed his mind and lowered the weapon.
"So long," called the voice of the queer old man. "Turn in and sleep.
You won't be troubled."
"That is what they want us to do," thought Bart. "It is a trick. But
they can't fool us that way."
No further sound was heard from the shore. Cooler did not answer,
although Bart called to him several times.
Jack had heard Hodge speaking, and he came on deck. When Bart told
Diamond what had happened, the latter was furious.
"If I had been here, I would have fired six shots in his direction," he
declared.
Diamond took his turn on deck, and it was about two o'clock when he
fancied he heard the sound of oars. The sound came nearer and nearer,
till at last it seemed that the boat reached the island, and then the
sound was heard no more.
Morning dawned, and Browning arose in a strangely agitated state of
mind. Never had his companions seen him in such a condition. When asked
about it, he said:
"Boys, I had a queer dream. I'm going to tell you what it was. I dreamed
that Frank Merriwell is buried in the grave on the island. I thought him
buried alive. We dug him out and restored him to life."
"It can't be that Merry is buried there, for the mound has not been
disturbed lately," said Diamond.
"All the same," declared Browning, "I am going to open that grave. I am
going to know the secret it holds."