A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
Having escorted Juanita back to the house, Carker called Frank aside and
told him what had happened at the lake.
"I'm afraid I'm responsible for a dead Mexican," said Carker. "I think
Murillo was drowned."
"It's unfortunate that you are concerned in it," said Frank; "but
Murillo will be no great loss to the world. Nevertheless we'll do our
duty and report the affair to the authorities without delay."
Making an excuse to the rest of the party, Frank and Greg walked into
the village, found Bill Hunker, the constable, and told him precisely
what had taken place.
"The Mexican pulled a knife on ye, did he, young feller? Well, consarn
them Mexicans! I've allus heerd they was dangerous critters. 'Cordin' to
your story, you wan't none to blame in this affair. So the dod-rabbited
critter kinder went in swimmin' arter that, did he? Think he's drowned,
do ye? Um-her! I don't s'pose it'll do no good for us to go fishin' for
him to-night. I'll git some fellers and drag for him in the mornin'.
Don't s'pose you want him to soak there in your lake, Mr. Merriwell, and
spile the water. We'll dig him out and bury him in the pauper's lot, if
nobody don't claim his carkiss. I judge there'll be a settin' of the
coroner's jury on the case, but I kinder guess you needn't worry, young
man. A Mexican that tackles a woman gits what he desarves if he's
drownded same as this one. Don't you worry. Don't you fret. I s'pose
this'll make plenty of talk for the boys at Applesnack's to-night. I was
over there a while ago and hung around a-listenin' to Cy Tellmore
yarnin' it until he made me sick and I had to git out. I swan that man
can lie more inside of five minutes than any human critter that ever
breathed."
Frank smiled.
"Cyrus has a vivid imagination," he observed.
"'Magination? 'magination?" squawked Hunker. "Mebbe that's what you call
it, but I'd give it a stronger name than that. When I tell him about
this affair I bet a squash he'll have some kind of a story 'bout
drowndin' seventeen Mexicans all in a bunch. Say, have any of your folks
down that way seen anything of Eli Given this arternoon?"
"Why," answered Frank, "we saw Mr. Given, Mr. Small, and Deacon Hewett
shortly after midday."
"Er-haw! haw! haw!" laughed Hunker. "I reckon the whole town seen 'em,
too. Say, they hit up Applesnack's cider barrel, and the stuff fixed
'em--it suttinly fixed 'em. They were corned for keeps. Went through
town a-hoorayin' and a-whoopin' for you and for all your friends. Said
they was goin' down to show their good feelin's toward ye. Applesnack
and a few of the boys tried to keep 'em away, but 'twan't no use. Ten
minutes arter they went down the road Mis's Given come lookin' for Eli,
and some one told her where he'd gone. She hit the trail, and next we
saw she was marchin' him back through town, with Uncle Eb and the deacon
peggin' along behind, lookin' as meek and meechin' as wet cats.
"I dunno what happened arter Mis's Given gut Eli home, but he broke out
ag'in and took to the woods or somewheres, and she ain't been able to
find him. She was so all-fired mad that she come to me and wanted him
'rested. I had hard work to persuade her not to have him jugged. 'Course
if it had been some feller who was inclined to git on a tear and raise
thunder, I'd 'a' jest gone out and muckled onto him and shoved him into
the lockup. But I did kinder hate to lock Eli up.
"I went over to Uncle Eb's lookin' for him, and there was Eben out in
the woodshed a-snoozin' on a hoss blanket. Took me 'bout fifteen minutes
to wake him up. He didn't know nuthin' 'bout Eli, so I went over to
Deacon Hewett's. Er-haw! haw! haw! The deacon's wife had him on the
lounge a-bathin' his head with cold water and a-holdin' smellin' salts
to his nose. She said he'd been took sick sudden and was havin' a
crackin' headache. She was in for callin' the doctor, but the deacon he
wouldn't have it. He jest laid on the lounge and groaned and kept
sayin' he was a poor sinful worm of the earth.
"When I left Mis's Hewett she follered me outside, pulled me by the
sleeve and kinder looked shamed and downcast and asked me did I believe
the deacon had been drinkin'. She said he told her he jest took a little
medicine when the headache fust struck him. I didn't give him away. I
looked s'prised and shook my head and told her he wasn't a drinkin' man,
so 'course there wan't no question on that p'int. But we're kinder
worried 'bout Eli. If he don't turn up before long, we're goin' to send
out searchers for him."
"You needn't bother to do that, Bill," said a mild, mournful voice, as a
dusky figure came round the corner of the house. "I'm all right. I'm
purty well straightened out now, and I guess I'll go back home and
kinder quiet mother's narves. You see she was rather excited and
disturbed over the affair, and she wouldn't let me rest arter I gut to
the house, so I sneaked off into Silus Cobb's barn, crawled into the
haymow and slept a while. It was dark when I woke up, and I didn't know
jest where I was. 'Twixt you and me, I'm going to tell Rufe Applesnack
what I think of him. That cider was the most violent stuff I ever put
down my woozle. It had an awful kick. I s'pose me and Eben and Elnathan
are disgraced in Bloomfield for the rest of our lives. I don't think
I'll show my head outside of the house for a month."
Frank slapped the downcast old man on the shoulder and tried to brace
him up, but Given was so depressed that he refused to cheer up in the
slightest.
"Think you can find your way home, Eli?" asked Hunker.
"Well, I'm over seven and I'm sober now," was the answer. "Don't you
fret 'bout me. I'll git home, all right."
Bright and early the following morning Hunker and several villagers
appeared at Merry Home and asked leave to use Frank's boats in the
search for the body of the Mexican.
After breakfast Merriwell and a number of his friends went over to the
lake and found the searchers at work.
Hunker reported that they had discovered no trace of the missing man.
Carker, Hodge, and Merriwell launched a boat from the boathouse and
joined in the work.
"It was on this cliff here that we had the encounter," explained Greg,
as they rowed back and forth beneath the bluff. "The man's body should
be here somewhere. There seems to be no particular current at this spot
to carry it away. I think we'll find Jose Murillo within thirty yards of
this locality."
There was a harsh, unpleasant laugh, and a voice cried:
"Senyor Carkaire ees right. Jose Murillo ees witheen thirtee yards of
heem thees minute."
Looking up in astonishment, the trio in the boat beheld the Mexican
standing on the brink of the cliff. His clothes were somewhat wrinkled
and soiled, seeming to need cleansing and pressing. But the man was
there in the flesh, grinning at them in a malicious, triumphant manner.
Greg Carker smothered an exclamation of amazement.
"Evidently you were mistaken in thinking the man drowned," said Frank
quietly. "We've had all this trouble for nothing."
"Oh, eet ees not so easee to keel Jose Murillo!" sneered the rascal.
"Where he fall in the lake the water ees not so deep. He stand up, with
hees head out. He walk to the shore. He see Carkaire look for heem, and
he keep steel. Now he look for Carkaire. Better have a care, gringo, for
Jose Murillo weel find the time to strike you yet! _Adios!_ He weel see
you lataire!"
The man turned and hurried away.