LAST OF THE DANITES.
"How do you know?"
"I have witnessed other executions here."
"Then no time is to be lost."
"What would you do?"
"I do not know--something, anything to save them!"
Old Solitary held Frank back.
"Do not throw your life away," he said. "Wait a while. See, they are
lighting two bonfires, the piles of wood having been prepared in
advance."
"What is that for?"
"That there may be plenty of light for the execution, which the entire
camp will witness. See, a few moments ago the place seemed asleep, but
now it is all astir with life."
"I see," groaned the wretched boy; "and it seems to me that there is
very little chance for us to get in there and save Scotch and Clyde."
"Not one chance in a hundred. See those two posts in the full glare of
light? Well, to those posts the captives are to be tied. It is plain
that the tribunal have doomed them to death by shooting. What a farce!"
"That's right!" grated Frank; "it is a farce! As well might they have
killed them in the first place. There was no chance for them to escape."
"Not the least."
"Look, Frankie," whispered Barney, "there comes th' poor profissor, an'
Cloyde is clost behindt him."
The Danites were marching their captives out to execution!
In a very few moments the professor and the boy were tied to the
death-posts.
Uric Dugan directed the movements of the Danites.
"Where is Miskel?" hoarsely breathed Frank. "Will she do nothing to
prevent this?"
"She has done all she could," muttered Old Solitary. "It is probable she
was not aware the tribunal was in progress. She will be prevented from
interfering now."
And now six men, with rifles in their hands, formed a line in front of
the prisoners.
Everything was done with startling swiftness.
Frank Merriwell was trembling with eagerness and excitement, and he
appealed to Old Solitary:
"Are we to remain inactive and see this frightful deed? Are we to do
nothing now that we are here?"
"We will do what we can," declared the strange man. "The time has come
for Dugan's career to end! I feel that I must strike. He shall never
give the fatal signal!"
The man lifted his old rifle, and the hammer clicked as he cocked it.
Dugan stepped forth to give the signal, and his harsh voice rang out
distinctly:
"Ready!"
The firing squad lifted their rifles.
"Take aim!"
The fatal moment was at hand.
The butt of Old Solitary's rifle came to the man's shoulder. He was
resting on one knee, and the weapon was held as steady as the hills.
"One!" counted Dugan.
It was the last word he ever uttered, for a spout of flame leaped from
the muzzle of Old Solitary's weapon, and the bullet sped on its fatal
mission.
Without a cry or a groan, Dugan flung up his hands and plunged headlong
upon his face.
There was a wild shriek, and the form of a girl rushed into the
firelight. Down beside the fallen man she dropped, lifting his head and
staring wildly into his face.
It was Miskel, but she could not save her wicked father, for the aim of
Old Solitary had been accurate.
The Danites were thrown into the greatest confusion, and Frank Merriwell
held back no longer.
"Come on, Barney!" he shouted.
"Oi'm wid yez!" assured the undaunted Irish lad.
Forward they rushed, each firing a shot as they did so, and adding to
the dismay of the Danites.
Straight up to Professor Scotch ran Frank, and, with one slash of a
sharp knife he had drawn, he released the man.
Barney did the same thing for Walter Clyde, and the two were set at
liberty before the Danites realized what was happening. Then bullets
began to whistle around them.
At that moment a wild, strange cry cut the night air, filling the hearts
of the Danites with the utmost terror.
It was the war cry of the Navajoes!
A hundred dusky forms seemed to materialize from the darkness, and a
hundred savage warriors, deadly enemies of the Danites, came charging
into the camp.
Old Solitary had rushed to the side of Uric Dugan, into whose face he
glared, as he cried:
"Look, Dugan, look! You robbed me of reason, of memory, of everything I
held dear; but I have been avenged, for it was my hand that laid you
low!"
"He is dead!" screamed Miskel, and she fainted on her father's body.
"Yes, he is dead!" said the avenger, in a half-regretful tone. "And he
never knew who killed him."
Then he suddenly caught up the girl and rushed away into the darkness,
with her flung over his shoulder.
How Frank and his companions escaped from that spot without falling
before the Danites or the savages they scarcely knew. A dozen times they
fancied all was lost. They emptied their weapons, they struck down every
one who blocked their way, and they finally succeeded in getting out of
the pocket.
That they did so at all was due to the fact that the Navajoes, who had
surprised and overcome the guard in the pass, believed they held the
only exit from the canyon, which made it impossible for any one to get
away, even though they might escape temporarily. If two or three were to
escape for the time, the Indians felt that it was impossible for them to
get away entirely.
But Professor Septemas Scudmore, with his air ship, was in the canyon,
and the boys, half lugging the exhausted Professor Scotch, found him
waiting for them, greatly alarmed and excited by the sounds of the
battle.
"What does it mean?" cried the lank professor, as the party rushed up.
"What is all that shooting and yelling?"
"There is no time to explain now," said Frank. "Get in, everybody, and
let's get out of this infernal place as soon as we can! There is not a
moment to lose."
"I am bewildered," declared Scudmore. "A moment ago an old man with
white hair and beard rushed up to me, bearing a girl in his arms. She
had fainted, and he thrust her into the car, telling me to wait for you,
and take her away with us."
"It was Old Solitary, and the girl must be Miskel. Is she in the car
now?"
"Yes."
"And the man?"
"He is gone."
"It was Old Solitary, sure enough, and he will be able to hide from the
savages. We cannot wait for him."
"The _Eagle_ would not carry so many, even if we could wait. I have her
inflated, and she is tied down. Get in, get in! We'll throw out every
bit of ballast, and make the attempt to rise out of the canyon. It may
be a failure, but I think it will succeed, if we can get high enough to
strike the strong wind which is blowing above us. We can try."
They got into the car, and the bags of ballast were tossed overboard.
Then the ropes were cut, and the air ship rose slowly with its heavy
burden.
* * * * *
Four days later five persons were seated in a room in the town of Loa,
which is located amid the mountains of Southern Utah. The five were
Professors Scotch and Scudmore, and the three boys, Frank, Barney and
Walter Clyde.
"Then you are determined to go back to Water Pocket Canyon and the place
where the camp of the Danites was, are you, Clyde?" asked Frank.
"I shall not be satisfied till I do so," was the answer. "I must find
Old Solitary, if he is living, for I believe he is my father."
"I have thought that such might be the case," said Frank. "In some way
he has been wronged by Uric Dugan. He did not seem to know exactly how,
but he was sure of it. It was only at times that he seemed deranged, but
he did not remember much of his past."
"It would be most remarkable if he should turn out to be my father, whom
I have believed dead all these years."
"It would be a miracle," declared Professor Scotch. "But do you know you
can find Water Pocket Canyon again?"
"Yes, for I have Ben Barr to guide me. He will take me there."
"Well," said the little professor, "I wish you success, but I would not
go back there for the worlds, and I absolutely refuse to let my boys
go."
"I suppose we'll have to humor the professor in this instance," laughed
Frank. "Our last escapade came near being fatal for all of us."
"You owe your salvation to Professor Septemas Scudmore," declared that
individual, importantly. "But for his marvelous invention, the _Eagle_,
you would have fallen victims to untamed savages."
"Begorra, thot's roight!" nodded Barney. "Th' _'Agle_ is a great
birrud."
"It is bound to make me famous the world over, and send my name ringing
down the corridors of time."
"But what of poor Miskel?" asked Frank. "She is heartbroken over the
death of her father. She knows nothing of the world at large, and----"
"Under the circumstances," said Walter, "I feel that it is my duty to
see that she does not come to harm. As long as she wants it, she shall
have a home with my folks, if she will accept."
"Be aisy, me b'y!" chuckled Barney, roguishly. "It's a swate purty face
she has, an' Oi'm thinkin' ye're a bit shtuck on her."
"Oh, come!" protested Walter, blushing. "I have known her but four days,
and----"
"Ye've made good progress, me lad. Oi notice thot you have done
firrust-rate comfortin' her. It's an invoite to th' weddin' Oi warnt,
an' Oi think Frankie would look foine as th' bist man."
"If the wedding ever takes place, you shall be invited."
The mystery of Old Solitary remains still, for he was never found;
although Walter and Ben Barr did make their way into Water Pocket
Canyon once more. The ruins of the Danite village were found, also human
bones, picked clean by wolves and vultures. No living thing seemed to
remain in the vicinity, and the silence and shadow of death hung over
the place.
Old Solitary's cave was deserted. It is possible that, after all, the
strange man fell a victim to the savages; but it is more likely that,
being deranged, he was spared by them, and they made him a great
medicine man among them. Perchance he is living with them to-day on the
Navajo reservation.
"I think we are well out of that," said Frank, when it was all over. "I
want no more of the murderous Danites."
"Humph, I told you to keep off," grunted Professor Scotch. "But you'll
soon run into equal peril, I'll warrant."
"No, professor--only sight-seeing in the future."
"And where?"
"Yellowstone Park, the great National reservation."
"Hurro!" cried Barney. "Just the sphot Oi've been wantin' to see."
"Yes, I'd like to see the park myself," said the professor. "We'll be
safe there."
But were they? Let us wait and see.