SMOKE SIGNALS AND A DECOY.
Frank grew restless. On the day following the shooting of Anson he
called Tracy and said:
"Tracy, I want you to keep your eyes open and be on your guard while I
am away."
"Are you going away, sir?" asked the foreman.
"Yes."
"For a long time?"
"That is uncertain. I may return by night, and I may not be back for
several days."
The foreman looked as if he wished to ask where Frank thought of going,
but held himself in check.
"I wish to satisfy myself if any of my enemies are in this vicinity,"
said Merriwell. "I leave things in your hands here, and I believe I can
trust you."
"You can, sir, fully."
Merry attended to the saddling of his horse. When he rode forth from the
mine he was well armed and prepared for almost anything. Behind him the
roar of the ore-crushers died out, and he passed into the silence of the
mountains.
Not an hour had passed when he was somewhat surprised to see before him
from an elevated point a big, ball-like cloud of dark smoke rising into
the sky.
"That's odd," was his immediate decision.
He stopped his horse and watched the smoke as it ascended and grew
thinner. It was followed by another ball of smoke as he watched, and
after this came still another.
Then Frank turned in the saddle, looking in various directions. Some
miles behind him three distinct and separate clouds of smoke seemed to
be mounting into the sky from another high elevation.
"If those are not smoke signals," said Frank, "I'm a chump! In that
case, it's likely I'll have Indians to deal with if I keep on. Perhaps
I'd better turn back."
For something told him that he was the object of those signals, and this
was an Indian method of communication. He sat still for some time,
watching the smoke fade in the upper air, which it did slowly. At last,
however, it was gone, and the clear atmosphere held no black signal of
danger.
Frank's curiosity was aroused. He longed to know the meaning of those
signals. Having looked to his weapons, he rode on slowly, keenly on the
alert.
Coming through a narrow gorge into a valley that looked barren enough,
he suddenly snatched forth a revolver and cried:
"Halt, there! Stop, or----Why, it's a woman!"
For he had seen a figure hastily seeking concealment amid some boulders.
At sound of his voice the figure straightened up and turned toward him.
Then he was more amazed than ever, for he saw a dark-faced Mexican girl,
wearing a short skirt and having about her neck a scarlet handkerchief.
Her head was bare, and her dark hair fell over her shoulders. She
looked like a frightened fawn.
No wonder he was astonished to behold such a vision in that desolate
part of the mountains. She seemed trembling, yet eager, and she started
to advance toward him.
"Oh, senor!" she said, in a voice that was full of soft music, "eet mus'
be you are good man! Eet mus' be you are not bad an' weeked. You would
not hurt Gonchita?"
"Not on your life!" exclaimed Merry, at once putting up his revolver.
At which she came running and panting up to him, all in a flutter of
excitement.
"Oh, _Madre de Dios_! I am so much happeeness! I have de great fear when
you I do see. Oh, you weel come to heem? You weel do for heem de
saveeng?"
The girl was rather pretty, and she was not more than eighteen or
nineteen years of age. She was tanned to a dark brown, but had white
teeth, which were strangely pointed and sharp.
"Who do you mean?"
"My fadare. _Ay-de mi_! he ees hurt! De bad men shoot heem. They rob
heem! He find de gold. He breeng me with heem here to de mountain, all
alone. He theenk some time he be vera reech. He have de reech mine. Then
de bad men come. They shoot heem. They take hees gold. He come creep
back to me. What can I to do? _Ay-de mi_!"
"Your father--some bad men have shot him?" said Merry.
"_Si, si, senor_!"
"It must have been Cimarron Bill's gang," thought Merry.
The girl was greatly excited, but he continued to question her, until he
understood her quite well.
"Is he far from here?" he asked.
"No, not de very far. You come to heem? Mebbe you do for heem some good.
Weel you come?"
She had her brown hands clasped and was looking most beseechingly into
Frank's face.
"Of course I'll come," he said. "You shall show me the way. My horse
will carry us both."
He assisted her to mount behind him, and told her to cling about his
waist.
Frank continued to question Gonchita, who sometimes became almost
unintelligible in her excitement and distress. They passed through the
valley and turned into a rocky gorge. Frank asked if it was much
farther.
"We be almost to heem now," assured Gonchita.
Almost as the words left her lips the heads of four or five men appeared
above some boulders just ahead, and as many rifles were leveled straight
at Frank's heart, while a well-known, triumphant voice shouted:
"I've got you dead to rights, Merriwell! If you tries tricks you gits
soaked good and plenty!"
At the same moment the girl threw her arms about Frank's body, pinning
his arms to his sides, so that he could make no move to draw a weapon.
Merry knew on the instant that he had been trapped. He realized that he
had been decoyed into the snare by the Mexican girl. He might have
struggled and broken her hold, but he realized the folly of such an
attempt.
"Be vera steel, senor!" hissed the voice of Gonchita in his ear. "Eet be
bet-are."
"You have betrayed me," said Frank reproachfully. "I did not think it of
you. And I was ready to do you a service."
He said no more to her.
Out from the rocks stepped Cimarron Bill.
"So we meet again, my gay young galoot," said the chief of the ruffians.
"An' I reckon you'll not slip me so easy this time. That old Injun o'
yours is food fer buzzards, an' so he won't give ye no assistance
whatever."
"Old Joe----" muttered Merry, in dismay.
"Oh, we finished him!" declared Bill. "That's why you ain't seen him fer
some time. Set stiddy, now, an' don't make no ruction.
"Gonchita, toss down his guns."
The Mexican girl obeyed, slipping to the ground with a laugh when she
had disarmed Frank.
The ruffians now came out from the shelter of the rocks and gathered
about the youth, grinning at him in a most provoking manner. He
recognized several of the same fellows who had once before acted as
guard over him. Red Sam was there, and nodded to him.
"You're a right slick poker-player," said the sandy rascal; "but we
'lowed a girl'd fool ye easy. Goncheeter done it, too."
Frank nodded.
"She did," he confessed. "I was taken off my guard. But you want to look
out for Indians."
"Why for?"
Merry then told them of the smoke signals, whereupon they grinned at one
another knowingly.
"That'll be all right," said Bill. "Them signals told us when you was
comin', an' which way."
"Then you were doing the signaling?"
"Some o' the boys."
Frank was then ordered down and searched. He appeared utterly fearless.
He observed that Gonchita was watching him closely, a strange look in
her eyes, her lips slightly parted, showing her milky, pointed teeth.
When the men were satisfied that no weapon remained in the possession of
their captive, two or three of them drew aside to consult, while the
others guarded Frank.
Cimarron Bill patted Gonchita's cheek with his hand.
"Well done, leetle gal!" he said. "You fooled him powerful slick."
She smiled into Bill's eyes, but in another moment, the chief, having
turned away, she was watching Frank again.
The result of the consultation led to the placing of Merry on his own
horse, and he was guarded by the armed men who escorted him along the
gorge until they came to a place where two men were watching a number of
waiting horses.
Then there was mounting and riding away, with Frank in the midst of his
triumphant enemies. Gonchita rode with them, having a wiry little pony
that seemed able to cope with any of the other horses.
Frank was not a little disgusted because he had been decoyed into the
trap, but he did his best to hide his feelings.
It was some hours later that they halted to rest until the heat of the
day should pass. A fire was built, and a meal prepared, Gonchita taking
active part in this work.
Frank sat near and watched all that was passing. He had not been bound,
and his manner was that of one free amid the scoundrels by whom he was
surrounded. It was Gonchita who found an opportunity to whisper in his
ear:
"Be vera careful! Dey mean to shoot you eef you try de escape."
He did not start or betray any emotion whatever. It hardly seemed that
he had heard her whispered words. Later, however, he gave her a look
which conveyed to her the assurance that he had not failed to
understand.
As she worked about the fire she called upon him to replenish it with
more fuel, which he did. He was putting wood on the fire when she again
whispered to him:
"I weel drop by you a peestol. Tak' eet; you may need eet."
He made no retort, but watched for her to keep her promise, which she
afterward found opportunity to do.
Merry was lying carelessly on the ground when the weapon, a tiny
revolver, was dropped at his side. Immediately he rolled over upon his
stomach, in a lazy fashion, hiding the weapon, and shortly after he
succeeded in slipping it into his pocket.
Frank wondered how this strange girl happened to be with those ruffians.
It seemed a most remarkable and mysterious thing. He also wondered why
she had been led to give him the pistol. Having led him into the trap,
she had suddenly changed so that she now seemed to wish him to escape
without harm.
The truth was that his coolness and nerve, together with his handsome,
manly appearance, had quite won Gonchita's heart. She was a changeable
creature, and had quickly come to regret leading this handsome youth
into such a snare.
When the food was prepared all partook heartily. Two of the men, a big
fellow with an evil face, called Brazos Tom, and a thick-shouldered
brute hailed as Mike Redeye, had been drinking freely from a flask.
Brazos Tom was given to chaffing the others in a manner that some of
them did not appreciate, and this inclination grew upon him with the
working of the liquor. Redeye was a sullen, silent fellow, and Frank
regarded him as a very dangerous man.
Once or twice Cimarron Bill gave Tom a look, and, at last, the big
fellow seemed to quiet down.
After the meal, while the men were yet resting, Bill had his horse
saddled for some reason, and rode away, having left the men in charge of
Red Sam.
As soon as the chief was gone, Brazos Tom brought forth his flask, which
was now nearly emptied.
"Gents," he said, "while we is waitin' we'll finish this an' try a hand
at poker. Wot d'yer say?"
"Oh, blazes!" growled one. "You an' Mike has purt' near finished that.
Thar ain't enough left fer a drap apiece if we pass it around."
"Drink up your stuff," said Red Sam. "It's poor firewater, anyhow. I'm
fer the poker. Does you come inter this yere game, young gent, same as
ye did oncet before?"
This question was addressed to Frank, but Merry already "smelled a
mouse," and so it did not need the warning look from Gonchita and the
slight shake of her head to deter him.
"Excuse me," he said. "I have no money."
"Waal, fish some out o' the linin' o' your clothes, same as you did
afore," advised Sam.
"But I have none in the lining of my clothes."
"I begs yer pardon, but we knows a heap sight better. Don't try no
monkey business with us, younker! You was good enough ter git inter a
game oncet before an' try ter show us up, so we gives ye another
chanct, an' ye'd better accept it in a hurry."
"I hardly think I have a friend here who will be willing to lend me
money," smiled Merry. "Unless somebody does so, I cannot play. That
being the case, I reckon I'll keep out of it."
Sam laid a hand on the butt of his revolver.
"You can't play none of that with us!" he declared fiercely. "We knows
how you found the money afore, an' you'll find it ag'in. Come, be
lively."
Frank looked the man over.
"You could get blood from a turnip easier than money from me," he
declared.
Then, as Red Sam seemed about to draw his weapon, Gonchita chipped in,
crying:
"Don't do it, Sam! I have you cover' weez my peestol! I weel shoot!"
The men were astonished, for Gonchita had drawn a pistol and had it
pointed at the head of Red Sam, while in her dark eyes there was a
deadly gleam.
"What in blazes is the matter with you?" snarled Red Sam, looking at her
over his shoulder.
"You hear what Gonchita say," she purred, a flush in her brown cheeks.
"She mena de busineeze."
Frank could not help admiring her then, for she presented a very pretty
picture.
Reluctantly Sam thrust back his weapon into his holster.
"Oh, all right!" he laughed coarsely. "I see you're stuck up a heap on
the feller."
"You not to shoot heem while I am around."
"Whoop!" roared Brazos Tom, in apparent delight. "Thar's a gal fer ye! I
shore admires her style!"
Then, being in a position to do so, he sprang on Gonchita, caught her in
his strong arms so she could not defend herself, and gave her a bearlike
hug and a kiss.
The next instant something like a hard piece of iron struck Tom behind
the ear and he measured his length on the ground. Frank Merriwell had
reached his feet at a bound, and hit the giant a blow that knocked him
down in a twinkling.
Through all this Gonchita had held fast to her drawn revolver, and now
she had it ready for use, so that, when those ruffians placed hands on
their weapons, she again warned them.
At the same time she flung herself between them and Frank, so that he
was partly protected as he stood over Brazos Tom, who lay prone and
dazed.
"Take hees peestols!" she palpitated.
And Frank followed this piece of advice, relieving the fallen ruffian of
his revolvers, so that Tom's hand reached vainly for one of the weapons
as he began to recover.
"Eef you make de fight," said the girl to the ruffians, "we now gif you
eet all you want."
Never before had they seen her in such a mood, and they were astounded.
But they knew she could shoot, for they had seen her display her
marksmanship.
"You little fool!" grated Sam. "Are you goin' to help that galoot try to
git erway?"
"No, I do not dat; but I see he ees not hurt till Beel he come back."
Then she commanded Frank to throw down the pistol he had taken from Tom,
which Merry did, knowing there was no chance for him to escape then
without a shooting affray, in which he was almost certain to be wounded.
Immediately on this act of Frank's the ruffians seemed to abandon any
desire to draw and shoot at him.
But Brazos Tom rose in a great rage, almost frothing at the mouth.
"Ten thousan' tarantulas!" he howled. "Let me git my paws on him!"
He made a rush for Frank, who seemed to stand still to meet him, but
stepped aside just as the ruffian tried to fold him in his arms.
Then the big wretch was somehow caught about the body, lifted into the
air, and sent crashing to the ground, striking on his head and
shoulders. The young athlete from Yale handled Brazos Tom with such ease
that every witness was astounded.
The big fellow lay where he fell, stunned and finished.
Gonchita looked at Frank with a light of the most intense admiration in
her dark eyes.
"How you do eet so easee?" she asked.
"That's nothing, with a bungler like him to meet," said Merry quietly.
The ruffians said nothing, but exchanged meaning glances. They had been
foiled for the time being by the girl and by the cleverness of their
captive.