AFTER THE FIGHT.
The masked girl seemed to have the eyes of an eagle, for she immediately
located the trio behind the rocks. A wild cry broke from her lips, and
then she caught the rein in her teeth, snatched out two revolvers, and
charged straight down upon the boys and the girl they were defending,
firing as she came.
The men followed her.
With hoarse shouts, the first party of pursuers joined in the charge,
and the trio of defenders were between two fires.
"Shoot to kill! Shoot to kill!" screamed Bart. "Do not waste bullets
now! It will be fatal if you do."
Only too well did Frank realize that he must seek human targets for his
bullets. It was not the first time in his life that he had been
compelled to do such a thing, but he always regretted the necessity, and
did so only when forced to the last ditch.
It is a very easy thing to sit down quietly and think or write of
shooting a human being in self-defense; but such a thing is not easy for
conscientious persons to do. When the time comes, they either shoot in
desperate haste, before they can think much about it, or hold off as
long as possible.
Frank held off as long as possible, but now he realized it would not do
to hesitate longer. Bart was shooting in one direction, and he began
shooting in the other. Through the smoke that leaped from the muzzle of
his rifle he saw one man fling up his hands and plunge forward on his
face.
Either the men were utterly reckless, or they had not believed the boys
would offer much resistance, for they exposed themselves fearlessly and
rushed fiercely on the rocks behind which the trio crouched. It is
possible they fancied that by shooting recklessly among the rocks they
could keep the lads quiet till the barrier was reached.
This was a fatal mistake for some of them. The ones who were mounted
came forward more swiftly, but some of them were toppled from the
saddle, others were thrown into confusion, the horses were wounded and
frightened, and the riders who could escape, reined about and made haste
to do so.
All but the masked girl!
With the utmost reckless abandon, she charged right up to the rocks.
Being a girl, neither of the boys had shot toward her, or her horse.
Now, however, Bart Hodge rose to his feet, took good aim at the animal,
and shot it dead.
The creature fell, flinging the girl headlong.
She struck solidly, and lay still, in a huddled mass upon the ground.
"Hurrah!" cried Frank, seeing the enemy was repulsed. "I fancy they have
had about enough of us."
He hastened to replenish the magazine of his rifle.
Bart's first thought, on seeing the fight was over, was of the girl they
had been defending. He turned and found her safe where she had been
placed behind the large bowlder, but she was still holding her hands
over her ears, and her face was very pale.
Frank sprang outside the rocks, caught up the other girl, and leaped
back quickly, placing her gently on the ground.
"I hope she is not harmed," he said, as he deftly removed the mask.
The moment the girl's face was exposed a shout of amazement broke from
the lips of both lads. They stared first at one girl and then at the
other, looking bewildered.
The girls were almost counterparts of each other!
"They are doubles!" exclaimed Frank. "Taken separately, it would be
impossible to tell one from the other."
Then he turned on the girl they had been defending, stared straight into
her face for a moment, and asked:
"What is your name?"
"Vida Melburn."
"It is not Isa Isban?"
"No, sir."
"Did I not change two fifty-dollar bills for you on the Pacific Express,
shortly after leaving Ogden?"
"I never saw you till this morning."
"That settles it!" cried Frank; "the other girl is Isa Isban, and she is
queen of the counterfeiters. She was the one for whom I changed the
money, and she completely fooled me by her innocent face and manner."
"And I mistook her for Miss Melburn," said Bart. "Such a thing seems
impossible, but it actually occurred."
"But how Miss Melburn came to be here is what I cannot understand,"
asserted Frank.
"I came up to Tahoe with my father, an uncle, and an aunt," said the
girl, who was recovering from her terror. "My uncle and aunt live in
Carson, and father and I were visiting them. We hired a sailboat of a
big hermit who lives somewhere on the shore of the lake, and sailed over
here, coming ashore to have a picnic dinner. The wind went down, and we
could not get back. That evening I took a little stroll from camp, and I
was suddenly seized from behind, nearly smothered in a blanket and
carried away. I was held a captive in a cabin, far up on a high cliff.
Back of the cabin was a cave through which the men reached the spot.
Last night, or this morning, before daybreak, a man with a heavy dark
mustache came to see me. I had not undressed, and he made me get up, so
he could look me over. After some minutes, he cried, 'I swear she is
handsomer than the queen!' Then he told me how he had seen me in Carson,
and had mistaken me, at first, for some one else. How he found out his
mistake, when he received a message from the other, who had been away to
the east. How he vowed to know me better, and how, when he found our
party were going to visit the lake, he sent word to friends of his to
kidnap me. The monster! Then he tried to make love to me. I repulsed
him, and he went away in an angry mood, swearing he would come back. He
did so, in the morning, and once more tried to make love to me. I was
filled with terror, and, clutching the big umbrella, I rushed out of the
cabin. When he followed, I opened the umbrella and jumped from the
cliff."
"You did not meet me in Reno, as you agreed," said Bart.
"Because father got hold of your letter, and he watched me constantly. I
could not."
The other girl suddenly sat up. Her eyes had been wide open for some
moments, and she had heard the whole of the story from the lips of her
double, at whom she now stared, her face working strangely.
"So he made love to you--the traitor!" she cried, passionately. "Said
you were prettier than I! I saw he had begun to tire of me! He would not
let me see you; now I know why. You are a fine half-sister to steal my
husband!"
"Half-sister!" gasped the other girl, shrinking back. "What do you
mean?"
"Don't you know. Why, we are half-sisters. You are two years the older,
although you do not look so. You do not remember your mother, for she
left you when you were a baby. Your father must have kept the story from
you. Mother told me everything. Your father has been forced to pay well
to have the secret kept. He was proud, and his pride has been
expensive."
Vida seemed dazed.
"I can scarcely believe it," she murmured.
Isa laughed rather harshly.
"I don't suppose it makes you feel any happier to know you have such a
sister. What do I care! You robbed me of my happiness, for you made Paul
fall in love with you."
"I repulsed him as best I could. He is repugnant to me."
"Well, I suppose you tell the truth. I was longing to strangle you till
I heard your story. I shall not molest you now. Where is Paul? Where are
the men?"
"Some of them are dead," answered Bart. "We did not wish to shoot them,
but they forced us to do so in self-defense."
At this moment shots and cries came from up the canyon, and, a few
seconds later, a man came into view and rode his horse down toward the
bowlders which had served the boys as a fort.
It was Jack Long, the sheriff.
"Hurrah!" cried Frank, leaping to his feet and waving his hat. "Our
friends are coming!"
Long rode up slowly, gazing in unutterable amazement at dead horses and
men stretched on the ground.
"Well," he said, as he drew rein, "it looks like there had been a right
smart scrimmage here. Who was in it?"
"We were attacked, and had to stand them off," explained Frank.
"You?" cried the sheriff, his amazement increasing--"you youngsters? Did
you do all this shooting?"
"We didn't do all the shooting you may have heard, but we did some of
it, and what you see shows we did not waste all our bullets."
"Holy smoke! We captured two fellows, back there, both wounded, and they
said you boys did it; but I couldn't hardly credit that. You must have
fought like wildcats! This knocks me. If I ever open my trap about kids
again I hope I may choke!"
In a few moments Big Gabe and Sile Jones appeared, escorting the wounded
prisoners, and the boys felt that there was no further danger of another
attack from the counterfeiters.
Paul Scott, the husband of Isa, had been killed in battle. Great was her
grief when she came upon his dead body.
The men slain in the struggle were buried there in the ravine.
The counterfeiters' cave and the hidden cabin were visited. Dies and
presses, together with a large amount of "queer" money, were found. The
counterfeiters who had escaped from the battle had taken to their heels,
and they were not captured.
Then it transpired that "Silas Jones, of Michigan," was, in truth, Dan
Drake, of the Secret Service, a fact which had been known to Jack Long
all the while. Drake had been working for a long time to find the den of
this band of counterfeiters.
On the return to the lake Vida Melburn's nearly distracted father,
uncle, and aunt were found, and the girl was restored to them.
Then Bart Hodge and Frank Merriwell were introduced, and the girl
somewhat maliciously informed her father that the person who had fought
to save her from her kidnapers was the very boy he had forbidden her to
see or correspond with.
It is needless to say that Bart and Frank were treated with great
courtesy.
Drake did not wish to make anything unpleasant for Isa, so she
accompanied the party as if she were one of them, although the detective
tried to keep an eye on her. But she was shrewd, and she gave him the
slip before Carson was reached. She was not overtaken and recaptured.
The detective was not forced to call Frank and Bart to testify against
the captured counterfeiters, as both fellows confessed freely.
Big Gabe parted from Frank with a show of affection.
"'Low yer wuz squar' when I fust saw yer, burn me deep ef I didn't!"
said the lazy giant. "I wuz right, too. No, I ain't goin' ter leave
Tahoe. Reckon I'll live ther rest uv my natteral days hyar. Ef yer ever
git round this yar way, don't yer fail ter call on Gabe Blake. Yer'll
alwus be welcome at his shanty. Ef yer ain't, you may brand me."
When Frank left Carson City Bart was the guest of Vida Melburn's uncle.
Vida and her father were stopping there, and Frank was urged to remain
longer.
But Frank made haste to get away. He had a secret locked fast in his
heart; he knew he, too, might become smitten by Vida's charms, if he
remained, and he did not wish to "cross the trail" of his friend.
The boys parted with a warm handshake and a sincere wish to meet again,
before long.
"And where will you go next?" asked Bart.
"To San Francisco, and from there to South America," answered our hero.
He told the truth, and his many adventures that followed will be related
in the next volume of this series, entitled "Frank Merriwell's Hunting
Tour." In this story we will meet not only Frank, but also many other
old friends, and learn what they did while after big game.
And now good-by to Frank Merriwell, a typical American lad of to-day, as
honest as he is brave.
THE END.
THE CREAM OF JUVENILE FICTION
THE BOYS' OWN LIBRARY
A Selection of the Best Books for Boys by the Most Popular Authors
The titles in this splendid juvenile series have been selected with
care, and as a result all the stories can be relied upon for their
excellence. They are bright and sparkling; not over-burdened with
lengthy descriptions, but brimful of adventure from the first page to
the last--in fact they are just the kind of yarns that appeal strongly
to the healthy boy who is fond of thrilling exploits and deeds of
heroism. Among the authors whose names are included in the Boys' Own
Library are Horatio Alger, Jr., Edward S. Ellis, James Otis, Capt. Ralph
Bonehill, Burt L. Standish, Gilbert Patten and Frank H. Converse.
SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE BOYS' OWN LIBRARY
All the books in this series are copyrighted, printed on good paper,
large type, illustrated, printed wrappers, handsome cloth covers stamped
in inks and gold--fifteen special cover designs.
150 Titles--Price, per Volume, 75 cents
For sale by all booksellers, or sent, postpaid, on receipt of price by
the publisher,
DAVID McKAY, 610 SO. WASHINGTON SQUARE, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
HORATIO ALGER, Jr.
One of the best known and most popular writers. Good, clean, healthy
stories for the American Boy.
Adventures of a Telegraph Boy
Dean Dunham
Erie Train Boy, The
Five Hundred Dollar Check
From Canal Boy to President
From Farm Boy to Senator
Backwoods Boy, The
Mark Stanton
Ned Newton
New York Boy
Tom Brace
Tom Tracy
Walter Griffith
Young Acrobat
C. B. ASHLEY.
One of the best stories ever written on hunting, trapping and adventure
in the West, after the Custer Massacre.
Gilbert, the Boy Trapper
ANNIE ASHMORE.
A splendid story, recording the adventures of a boy with smugglers.
Smuggler's Cave, The
CAPT. RALPH BONEHILL.
Capt. Bonehill is in the very front rank as an author of boys' stories.
These are two of his best works.
Neka, the Boy Conjurer
Tour of the Zero Club
WALTER F. BRUNS.
An excellent story of adventure in the celebrated Sunk Lands of Missouri
and Kansas.
In the Sunk Lands
FRANK H. CONVERSE.
This writer has established a splendid reputation as a boys' author, and
although his books usually command $1.25 per volume, we offer the
following at a more popular price.
Gold of Flat Top Mountain
Happy-Go-Lucky Jack
Heir to a Million
In Search of An Unknown Race
In Southern Seas
Mystery of a Diamond
That Treasure
Voyage to the Gold Coast
HARRY COLLINGWOOD.
One of England's most successful writers of stories for boys. His best
story is
Pirate Island
GEORGE H. COOMER.
Two books we highly recommend. One is a splendid story of adventure at
sea, when American ships were in every port in the world, and the other
tells of adventures while the first railway in the Andes Mountains was
being built.
Boys in the Forecastle
Old Man of the Mountain
WILLIAM DALTON.
Three stories by one of the very greatest writers for boys. The stories
deal with boys' adventures in India, China and Abyssinia. These books
are strongly recommended for boys' reading, as they contain a large
amount of historical information.
Tiger Prince
War Tiger
White Elephant
EDWARD S. ELLIS.
These books are considered the best works this well-known writer ever
produced. No better reading for bright young Americans.
Arthur Helmuth
Check No. 2134
From Tent to White House
Perils of the Jungle
On the Trail of Geronimo
White Mustang
GEORGE MANVILLE FENN.
For the past fifty years Mr. Fenn has been writing books for boys and
popular fiction. His books are justly popular throughout the
English-speaking world. We publish the following select list of his
boys' books, which we consider the best he ever wrote.
Commodore Junk
Dingo Boys
Golden Magnet
Grand Chaco
Weathercock
ENSIGN CLARKE FITCH, U. S. N.
A graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and thoroughly
familiar with all naval matters. Mr. Fitch has devoted himself to
literature, and has written a series of books for boys that every young
American should read. His stories are full of very interesting
information about the navy, training ships, etc.
Bound for Annapolis
Clif, the Naval Cadet
Cruise of the Training Ship
From Port to Port
Strange Cruise, A
WILLIAM MURRAY GRAYDON.
An author of world-wide popularity. Mr. Graydon is essentially a friend
of young people, and we offer herewith ten of his best works, wherein he
relates a great diversity of interesting adventures in various parts of
the world, combined with accurate historical data.
Butcher of Cawnpore, The
Camp in the Snow, The
Campaigning with Braddock
Cryptogram, The
From Lake to Wilderness
In Barracks and Wigwam
In Fort and Prison
Jungles and Traitors
Rajah's Fortress, The
White King of Africa, The
LIEUT. FREDERICK GARRISON, U. S. A.
Every American boy takes a keen interest in the affairs of West Point.
No more capable writer on this popular subject could be found than
Lieut. Garrison, who vividly describes the life, adventures and unique
incidents that have occurred in that great institution--in these famous
West Point stories.
Off for West Point
Cadet's Honor, A
On Guard
West Point Treasure, The
West Point Rivals, The
HEADON HILL.
The hunt for gold has always been a popular subject for consideration,
and Mr. Hill has added a splendid story on the subject in this romance
of the Klondyke.
Spectre Gold
HENRY HARRISON LEWIS.
Mr. Lewis is a graduate of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, and has
written a great many books for boys. Among his best works are the
following titles--the subjects include a vast series of adventures in
all parts of the world. The historical data is correct, and they should
be read by all boys, for the excellent information they contain.
Centreboard Jim
King of the Island
Midshipman Merrill
Ensign Merrill
Sword and Pen
Valley of Mystery, The
Yankee Boys in Japan
LIEUT. LIONEL LOUNSBERRY.
A series of books embracing many adventures under our famous naval
commanders, and with our army during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.
Founded on sound history, these books are written for boys, with the
idea of combining pleasure with profit; to cultivate a fondness for
study--especially of what has been accomplished by our army and navy.
Cadet Kit Carey
Captain Carey
Kit Carey's Protege
Lieut. Carey's Luck
Out With Commodore Decatur
Randy, the Pilot
Tom Truxton's School Days
Tom Truxton's Ocean Trip
Treasure of the Golden Crater
Won at West Point
BROOKS McCORMICK.
Four splendid books of adventure on sea and land, by this well-known
writer for boys.
Giant Islanders, The
How He Won
Nature's Young Nobleman
Rival Battalions
WALTER MORRIS.
This charming story contains thirty-two chapters of just the sort of
school life that charms the boy readers.
Bob Porter at Lakeview Academy
STANLEY NORRIS.
Mr. Norris is without a rival as a writer of "Circus Stories" for boys.
These four books are full of thrilling adventures, but good, wholesome
reading for young Americans.
Phil, the Showman
Young Showman's Rivals, The
Young Showman's Pluck, The
Young Showman's Triumph
LIEUT. JAMES K. ORTON.
When a boy has read one of Lieut. Orton's books, it requires no urging
to induce him to read the others. Not a dull page in any of them.
Beach Boy Joe
Last Chance Mine
Secret Chart, The
Tom Havens with the White Squadron
JAMES OTIS.
Mr. Otis is known by nearly every American boy, and needs no
introduction here. The following copyrights are among his best:
Chased Through Norway
Inland Waterways
Unprovoked Mutiny
Wheeling for Fortune
Reuben Green's Adventures at Yale
GILBERT PATTEN.
Mr. Patten has had the distinction of having his books adopted by the
U. S. Government for all naval libraries on board our war ships. While
aiming to avoid the extravagant and sensational, the stories contain
enough thrilling incidents to please the lad who loves action and
adventure. In the Rockspur stories the description of their Baseball and
Football Games and other contests with rival clubs and teams make very
exciting and absorbing reading; and few boys with warm blood in their
veins, having once begun the perusal of one of these books, will
willingly lay it down till it is finished.
Boy Boomers
Boy Cattle King
Boy from the West
Don Kirke's Mine
Jud and Joe
Rockspur Nine, The
Rockspur Eleven, The
Rockspur Rivals, The
ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE.
Mr. Rathborne's stories for boys have the peculiar charm of dealing with
localities and conditions with which he is thoroughly familiar. The
scenes of these excellent stories are along the Florida coast and on the
western prairies.
Canoe and Camp Fire
Paddling Under Palmettos
Rival Canoe Boys
Sunset Ranch
Chums of the Prairie
Young Range Riders
Gulf Cruisers
Shifting Winds
ARTHUR SEWELL.
An American story by an American author. It relates how a Yankee boy
overcame many obstacles in school and out. Thoroughly interesting from
start to finish.
Gay Dashleigh's Academy Days
CAPT. DAVID SOUTHWICK.
An exceptionally good story of frontier life among the Indians in the
far West, during the early settlement period.
Jack Wheeler
The Famous Frank Merriwell Stories.
BURT L. STANDISH.
No modern series of tales for boys and youths has met with anything like
the cordial reception and popularity accorded to the Frank Merriwell
Stories. There must be a reason for this and there is. Frank Merriwell,
as portrayed by the author, is a jolly whole-souled, honest, courageous
American lad, who appeals to the hearts of the boys. He has no bad
habits, and his manliness inculcates the idea that it is not necessary
for a boy to indulge in petty vices to be a hero. Frank Merriwell's
example is a shining light for every ambitious lad to follow. Twenty
volumes now ready:
Frank Merriwell's School Days
Frank Merriwell's Chums
Frank Merriwell's Foes
Frank Merriwell's Trip West
Frank Merriwell Down South
Frank Merriwell's Bravery
Frank Merriwell's Races
Frank Merriwell's Hunting Tour
Frank Merriwell's Sports Afield
Frank Merriwell at Yale
Frank Merriwell's Courage
Frank Merriwell's Daring
Frank Merriwell's Skill
Frank Merriwell's Champions
Frank Merriwell's Return to Yale
Frank Merriwell's Secret
Frank Merriwell's Loyalty
Frank Merriwell's Reward
Frank Merriwell's Faith
Frank Merriwell's Victories
VICTOR ST. CLAIR.
These books are full of good, clean adventure, thrilling enough to
please the full-blooded wide-awake boy, yet containing nothing to which
there can be any objection from those who are careful as to the kind of
books they put into the hands of the young.
Cast Away in the Jungle
Comrades Under Castro
For Home and Honor
From Switch to Lever
Little Snap, the Post Boy
Zig-Zag, the Boy Conjurer
Zip, the Acrobat
MATTHEW WHITE, JR.
Good, healthy, strong books for the American lad. No more interesting
books for the young appear on our lists.
Adventures of a Young Athlete
Eric Dane
Guy Hammersley
My Mysterious Fortune
Tour of a Private Car
Young Editor, The
ARTHUR M. WINFIELD.
One of the most popular authors of boys' books. Here are three of his
best.
Mark Dale's Stage Venture
Young Bank Clerk, The
Young Bridge Tender, The
GAYLE WINTERTON.
This very interesting story relates the trials and triumphs of a Young
American Actor, including the solution of a very puzzling mystery.
Young Actor, The
ERNEST A. YOUNG.
This book is not a treatise on sports, as the title would indicate, but
relates a series of thrilling adventures among boy campers in the woods
of Maine.
Boats, Bats and Bicycles
DAVID McKAY, Publisher, Philadelphia.
End of Project Gutenberg's Frank Merriwell's Bravery, by Burt L. Standish