CHAPTER XIV.
RALPH’S HOUR OF DANGER.
“The next moment the door was flung open and a flood of light rushedinto the room. The latter came from a lantern carried by the beardedman, who was the individual that had unlocked the door. In a flash itcame to me to employ the fellow’s own tactics on himself. Before hehad recovered from his evident astonishment at seeing me on my feet, Iflung myself at him like a thunderbolt.
“With the lantern he could not raise his hands in time to defendhimself, and he went down under my onslaught like a log. And thena startling and astonishing thing occurred. My fingers had becomeentangled in that monstrous beard, and in pulling them away the mass ofblack hair came with them. It was as if a mask had been pulled off andrevealed the face underneath.
“The countenance I then beheld was the last on earth I expected to seejust then.
“It was that of Alvarez himself. He snarled like a vicious dog whenhe saw what I had done. But I had him down and he could do nothing. Iforgot to mention that when he entered the room he had with him a coilof hair rope, no doubt intending to bind me before I should recoverconsciousness. I now used this on Alvarez while he bit and literallyfoamed at the mouth. It was turning the tables with a vengeance.
“’Now then, you hound,’ I said, when I had finished, ‘tell me wherethose cattle are and where your ponies are, or I’ll kill you here andnow instead of taking you back across the Border.’
“Of course, I had no intention of carrying out such a threat; but Iput on such a ferocious look as I spoke that the fellow changed froma defiant, snapping wolf to a timid, cowering cur in an instant. Hebegged me to save his life and he would tell me the whole truth.
“’See that you do,’ I said sternly.
“He told me that the lonely house was used as headquarters for hisgang, all of whom were now absent on a drive in another part of theprovince.
“I was glad enough to hear this, for I by no means fancied having abig fight on my hands, which would have been the case had the rascal’scompanions reappeared. My next questions, of course, dealt with thewhereabouts of the stolen cattle. He told me they were all rounded upin a gulch not far from the house. I told him that at daybreak we wouldgo and get them and that he should help me drive them back across theBorder.
“To this he readily consented and side by side we waited for daylight.As soon as it broke we made a hasty meal, I having to feed myprisoner, for I dared not release his hands. This done, I ordered himto set out ahead of me and show me the way to the secret cañon wherethe cattle were cached. First, however, I made him take me to where theponies were picketed in a corral at the bottom of an arroyo. It was notmore than a few hundred yards from the house, but so well concealedthat if I had not heard one of the animals whinny, as I told you, Ishould never have guessed at its existence. Before setting out, too, Ilooked my pinto over and was glad to see that he appeared to be gettingover the effects of the poisonous dose.
“I tied Alvarez’s feet together under his pony’s body and made himride in front of me all the way to a range of low hills, in which hesaid lay the place were the stolen cattle were ‘cached’ before beingdriven to the coast. It was a wild and desolate–looking spot, but aftertraversing the foothills of the dreary range we came to a valley inwhich there was a stream and a plentiful crop of wild oats and bunchgrass. Feeding placidly amongst these was a bunch of cattle which Iinstantly recognized as those I was in search of.
“I made Alvarez help me round them up and then began a drive the likeof which I never participated in before. We stopped at the ranch houseon the return journey for the pinto, who was, by this time, strongenough to be led behind one of the other ponies. What a drive that was!Besides watching the cattle, I had to keep a constant eye on Alvarez,whom I had determined to bring back a captive to the States.
“But in spite of all my vigilance the tricky fellow escaped me. Rightlyjudging that I valued the cattle more than his worthless hide, hewaited till we reached the vicinity of the Border. Then, taking hisopportunity when the cattle were restless, he struck spurs to his horseand, tied as he was, dashed off. I fired after him, but that did notstop him. The last I saw of him was a cloud of dust. It would havebeen useless to pursue him, so I devoted myself to the cattle, and thenext night brought them home again safe and sound.
“Soon after that I became a Ranger, and have remained one ever since.I’d like to tell you lads other tales of the Border, but it is late andwe must make an early start, so now—good–night.”
“Good–night,” echoed the boys, who had listened with the deepestinterest to the grizzled Ranger’s story, “we shall dream of that loneranch house.”
“I often do, I can assure you,” rejoined Captain Atkinson, with alaugh. “I wonder if Alvarez does. I’ve never heard of him from thatday to this, except that I did hear some place that he had become arevolutionary leader in Mexico.”
At the moment Captain Atkinson little imagined how close he was to asecond meeting with the notorious Alvarez, revolutionist and cattlerustler.
* * * * *
Jack flung himself face downward on the turf at the crest of theprecipice he had so miraculously conquered. His senses were swimming,his lungs felt as if they would burst, his heart beat wildly, shakinghis frame. In truth the boy had come perilously close to the limit ofendurance. The feat he had accomplished would have been a test to ahardened Border man, let alone a youth.
For the first few minutes Jack felt a deep conviction that he was goingto die—and he didn’t much care. But as life came back he struggledto his feet and began to look about him. First he peered down intothe valley he had left to see if he could signal Alvarez and give himto understand that he was bringing help if possible. But deep purpleshadows now obscured the valley floor, and he could see nothing of thedrama that was taking place below him.
It will be recalled, of course, that we left Alvarez thunderstruck atthe approach of three figures along the valley from the direction ofthe Pool of Death. This was just after he had watched Jack’s speck–likeform vanish over the cliff top. For the sake of clearness we will nowrelate what took place in the valley following Alvarez’s discovery ofthe approach of the newcomers, and then go on to tell what befell Jackafter his recovery from exhaustion.
Alvarez kept his eyes fixed in wonderment on the trio as they came downthe valley. All at once he recognized one, slightly in advance, with acry of astonishment. At the same instant Captain Atkinson, for it washe, recognized Alvarez. For an instant neither spoke, and the two ladsaccompanying the captain, who, as the reader will have guessed, wereRalph Stetson and Walt Phelps, also came to a halt.
“What’s the matter, captain?” inquired Ralph, regarding the Mexicanwith some astonishment, for his perturbation was only too evident.
“Why, boys, of all the adventures that have befallen us since we setout to look for Jack this is the most surprising.”
“How is that?” inquired Ralph.
“Simply that this man before us is the very Alvarez about whom I toldyou the other night.”
But the reader must be wondering how the captain of the Rangers andthe two lads came to be in the inaccessible valley. To explain this wemust, at the risk of being tedious, go back a few hours.
The morning following Captain Atkinson’s narration of his experiencewith Alvarez the trail had once more been taken up. Before many hourshad passed the searchers came to the fork in the Rio, and stoppedalmost nonplussed. They had no means of judging whether the boat orraft which they believed had carried off Jack had gone down the Rio orhad been swept down the branch stream.
The question was decided in an ingenious manner by Captain Atkinson.Some distance above the fork in the stream lay a big log near thewater’s edge. Doubtless it had been carried down in some freshet. Atany rate, to the Ranger’s shrewd mind it suggested a way of solving theproblem. Under his direction the boys rolled it into the stream, wadingout with it as far as they dared.
Th
en they watched it as the river swept it along. At the fork a currentcaught the log and whirled it off down the branch stream.
“That decides it,” declared Captain Atkinson, “we will follow the forkof the Rio. If Jack was on anything that floated it would have beenswept from the main stream in the same way as that log.”
They then proceeded to find a way to cross the main stream so as toget on the bank of the branch current. They soon found a ford about amile up the river. After some cautious reconnoitering Captain Atkinsondecided to cross the stream at that point. But he warned the boys thatthey might have to swim with their horses before they reached the otherside.
“It is impossible to tell if there aren’t deep holes in the middle ofthe stream,” he said. “In case we do flounder into any of them justfling yourself from the saddle, keeping hold of the pommel. Then letthe ponies do the rest and they will land you safe and sound.”
For the first few yards all went well. The water came up to theponies’ withers, but it did not appear to get deeper. Ralph was justcongratulating himself that they would get across with ease and safetyif things continued that way when his pony suddenly floundered into adeep hole. Instantly it lost its footing and went clear under.
Ralph had not time to extricate his feet from the stirrups, and wascarried with it. As he vanished from view under the turbid current analarmed cry broke from both Captain Atkinson and Walt Phelps.