PLENTY OF BLACK BEARS.
"There's four of us now," Jimmie urged, "and we've all got guns, so we
ought to go after the lobsters and get Fremont away from them."
"They look like dubs," Frank put in, "and I believe they'll run when
they hear us shooting. If you won't let me drum, you must let me
shoot."
"You got no drum!" grinned Jimmie.
"I'm afraid they would turn their guns on their prisoner if we attached
them," said Nestor. "We've just got to wait until we can cut him out."
"I'm hungry enough to eat 'em all alive," cried Frank.
"I could get along pretty well if I had a couple of gallons of water,"
said Peter.
"If them lobsters find anything to eat or drink down there," Frank
said, "we'll go down and take it away from them. Looks like they were
making for a feed."
The boys now clambered cautiously to the summit and looked down the
slope to the east. The renegade and his men were slowly making their
way toward the bottom. The prisoner was moving forward as briskly as
any of them, and the big fellow appeared to be paying special attention
to him, as he was walking by his side most of the time.
The distance to the level plain below did not seem to be great.
Although the peaks of the Sierra del Fierro range seem high when looked
upon from the level of the Rio Grande, they do not appear to be so
lofty when viewed from the plateau upon which the actual ascent begins.
The level table-lands or plateaux of Mexico lie from four to nine
thousand feet above sea level, making many distinct climates as one
goes up or down. These plateaux are girt by mountain chains. The high
summits are those of Cofre del Perote, 13,400 feet; Origava, 17,870
feet; Istaccihuatl, or the White Woman, 16,000 feet, and the famous
Popocatapetl, known as "Smoking Mountain," which lifts its fire-scarred
head 17,800 feet above the level of the ocean.
It seemed to the boys that the distance between the summit where they
stood and the plain below might, even at the slow pace at which the
outlaws were moving, be made by nightfall. The eastern slope was not
so rough and broken as that on the west. In fact, the outlaws were now
traveling down a declivity so clear of cliffs and breaks that the boys
did not dare follow them. To be observed by the renegade at that time
might prove fatal to the hope of the immediate rescue of Fremont, as
the outlaws would then be on their guard.
"We've either got to wait until night, or wind down through the wild
places off to the south," Nestor said, after looking over the locality
for a time.
"We just can't wait until night," Jimmie said. "There's no knowing
what treatment Fremont will receive at their hands before that time."
"We may actually gain time by waiting," Nestor advised. "We may be
obliged to travel scores of miles around precipices and canons if we
take to the rocks."
"Suppose we wait, then," Frank said. "We can go over into the bumps to
the south and get out of the sunlight, then. I'm about roasted. There
may be a cave over in that direction, or a ruined temple."
"Or a Turkish bath, or a lobster palace," grinned Jimmie. "We might
find a pie-counter over there, too," he added, with a poke at Frank.
"There are no ruined temples in the State of Chihuahua," declared Peter
Fenton, glad of an opportunity of unloading his knowledge of the
country, "at least, I have never heard of any being here. The
teocalli, or temples, are farther south, down in the State of Chiapas,
and in Yucatan."
"But we might find some underground temple up here," insisted Jimmie.
"The natives worshiped in this region, didn't they?"
"They built their temples on top of pyramids," continued Fenton, "and
not underground. There is one at Palenque said to be built on the
lines of Solomon's temple. It has sanctuaries, sepulchers, cloisters,
courts, subterraneous galleries, and dismal cells where the priests
lived. No one knows how old the ruins are. No one knows how many
distinct civilizations have held sway there, one, literally, on top of
the other."
"It is too hot up here to talk ancient history," said Frank, "and I'm
hungry, too, but I'd like to know where you find any pyramids in
Mexico."
"The pyramid-temple of Cholulu," went on the delighted drummer, "is the
largest and best known. It makes the pyramids of Egypt look like
thirty cents in comparison, for it is nearly fifteen hundred feet on
each side and almost two hundred feet high. Gizeh, the big Egyptian
pyramid, is only 763 feet along the sides, but it has the Mexican one
beaten in height, it being over five hundred feet high. Perhaps you
fellows will wake up, directly, and find out what a wonderful country
you are in."
"Who built this pyramid-temple?" asked Jimmie.
"No one knows," was the reply. "Whoever did it had correct ideas of
architecture and knew lots about decoration. The ruined city of
Palenque had temples, palaces, baths, and aqueducts. It was twenty
miles long, and must have had an enormous population. It is said that
there is not a record left. Cortes and his gang took care of what the
Toltecs and Aztecs left."
"It is a wonderful country." Nestor said, "but it needs stability in
population. Just now, however, we need rest. It is evident that the
outlaws are headed for the plain below, and we must catch up with them
when they camp for the night."
"I wonder what Fremont will think?" observed Jimmie. "I'll bet he's
thinkin', right now, that we've gone back on him."
"There is no other way," explained Nestor. "It would be folly to
attempt rescue now, and worse folly to attempt to follow the party down
this slope, in the broad light of day. Did any of you boys notice a
square package I had on a shoulder-strap as I came up? I laid it down
somewhere. It contained a dozen egg and ham sandwiches," he added,
with a provoking smile.
"Great Scott!" cried Frank Shaw, springing straight up in the air, like
a rubber ball. "Holy smoke! You haven't lost it, have you?"
Nestor sat back and laughed at the hungry boy's antics and then brought
forth the precious packet. The boys gathered around him, but he
motioned them away.
"I'm not going to open it here," he said. "What until we find a place
where we can rest a bit. There must be a cliff-hole over there
somewhere."
Disappointed, and making wry faces, the boys followed Nestor to the
south until they came to a shelf of rock which faced the east. The
ridge above sheltered the spot from the hot sun, and there was a cavity
in the cliff which promised a secure resting place. As he stepped out
on the shelf Nestor paused and pointed to a collection of three rocks
lying in plain view.
"What is it?" asked Jimmie, his eyes on the sandwich packet.
"Read it," replied Nestor.
"Head to the south!" shouted Shaw. "Who put that here?"
Nestor looked keenly into the astonished face before him.
"No tricks, now," he said. "Which of you boys placed this stone
signal?"
No one made answer, and Frank bent down to make a closer inspection of
the rocky floor of the shelf. Presently he gave a wild whoop and arose
to his feet with something in his hand.
"What do you know about this?" he demanded. "What do you know about
it, anyway?"
"Crazy," grunted Jimmie. "What is it?"
"The badge of the Black Bear Patrol," was the amazing reply. "Now, who
put it there? Some of the Black Bears said they were coming down here,
but how could they get to the top of this range?"
It was, indeed, a puzzling find. The stone sign had certainly been
placed where it had been found within a few hours, for one side of the
large rock was still a trifle damp, having undoubtedly been taken from
some shady place.
But how should the Black Bears of New York reach that almost unknown
country? That was the question.
"They said they'd sleuth on Fremont," Frank said, after a pause.
"But they couldn't have followed him here," insisted Fenton. "And, if
they had, they would not have been putting up stone signs when we were
only a few yards away."
"The sign says, 'Keep to the south,'" Nestor observed, "and we may find
the solution of the mystery there."
Anxious for a sight of his old chums of the Black Bear Patrol, and
unable to control his feelings, Shaw darted on ahead, passed around a
corner of rock, and disappeared from the sight of the other members of
the party.
"I hope he won't go an' get lost," Jimmie said, taking a swifter pace.
In a moment, however, it became evident that Shaw was not lost; that,
in fact, he was very much found, and with an undiminished lung
capacity. Such Black Bear growls and sniffs as came from around the
corner of the cliff were never heard before outside of a Wild West
show. There seemed to be half a dozen Black Bears growling at, and
ready to devour each other.
When Nestor turned the corner of the cliff he saw four boys mixed up in
what seemed to be a desperate struggle. It was from this group that
the wild growls were coming. Now and then a word of greeting or a
joyful laugh came from the storm-center, but the playful struggle went
on.
"Holy Smoke!" Frank cried presently, drawing himself away from the
bunch. "What do you think of it? Look who's here! Three Black Bears,
Harry Stevens, Glen Howard and Jack Bosworth. How did you get here,
boys, and did you bring anything to eat with you?"
The three Black Bears were introduced to the other members of the
party, then tongues ran swiftly, and they all talked at the same time.
Occasionally Nestor stepped to the shelf, just around the angle of the
cliff, and looked down on the outlaws, making their way to the plain
below. When Harry Stevens asked about Fremont, the boys pointed at the
distant party and told the story of his capture.
"We'll have him back before night," Stevens declared. "There are seven
of us now, and that's enough to put up a lively fight."
"But how did you happen to light on this mountain?" asked Frank, still
staring with the wonder of the meeting.
"It was as easy as following a white elephant," laughed Stevens. "The
El Paso papers told all about Fremont being there, and about his
escaping to Mexico. We were there the morning after you left. We took
train for San Jose, and found where you had purchased provisions. Then
there was the boatman who took you across the lake, or lagoon, and the
guards coming down the slope with three prisoners. Oh, it was easy as
falling asleep until we left your little camp. In an hour, however, we
came upon the trails left by Jimmie and by Shaw, and came on. For the
past two hours we have been higher up than you, so we did not see each
other."
"You're a nice lot of fellows to go sleuthing," laughed Jack Bosworth.
"Why, it was no trick at all to follow you. If the police are as
prompt and industrious as we were, they're out here in the hills
somewhere right now, after Fremont."
"Another matter kept us in the vicinity of this alleged civilization,"
replied Nestor, referring to the necessity of capturing Don Miguel,
"but now that is over, and we're going to burrow like rabbits in the
mountains, after we get hold of Fremont, until the truth is known."
"Well," said Stevens, "there's a good place to hide back here-a cave,
with no one knows how many rooms. It was a fine residence some day.
Come on. We found it while looking for a place to rest."
"And you said there were no subterraneous temples in Chihuahua," said
Shaw, addressing himself to Fenton. "You said they were all in the
neck of Central America."
"You wait a second, and you'll see whether there are or not," said Glen
Howard.
Then the speaker led the way to the entrance of what appeared to be a
very large ante-chamber, there being openings which resembled doorways
at the back. Both the side walls and the floor were of rock, and
showed evidences of the work of man. A square of light lay on the
floor, the sunlight falling through a cut in the rocky roof.
"We haven't ventured any farther than this," Glen said. "We were shaky
about coming in this far, for there is no knowing what one will find in
these holes. It is dark in the rooms beyond, and it is what one can't
see that he is afraid of."
"Besides," Jack Bosworth cut in, "we were hungry when we got here,
and--"
"Great Scott!" shouted Shaw. "Do you mean that you've brought something
to eat? Lead me to it. I never was so hungry in all me blameless
life."
Following the custom of Boy Scouts when preparing for a trip into an
unknown country, the three boys had provided themselves with a good
supply of provisions, and the hungry ones they had found were soon
enjoying a very satisfying meal.
"After we fill up," Frank said, busy with a whole pie, "we'll get our
flashlights and see what's in those other rooms. Say," he added,
turning to Nestor "what's the matter of bringing Fremont here---when we
get him?"
"I'll bet these rooms are ten thousand years old," said Peter.
After the repast was over Nestor drew Frank aside, while the others
were searching their outfits for the electric torches, and asked:
"You remember what I said about there being three men in the Cameron
suite the night of the tragedy?"
"Of course," was the reply. "Got something new on the subject? I guess
you have that matter on your mind day and night."
"I have," was the reply. "I'm always thinking about it. Well, I now
believe that there were four men there, but I can't think what the
fourth man wanted."