CHAPTER XVII.
BROTHER AND SISTER.
"There's a light ahead, Harry!"
Frank uttered the words in an excited whisper, after they had beengroping their way through the darkness of the great cavern for whatseemed to be many hours.
Rattleton was greatly agitated.
"It is a light, sure!" he panted. "Frank, we're all right at last!"
For some time they had heard a strange puffing sound that seemedsmothered and far away, like the panting breathing of somesubterranean monster. This was accompanied by a singular buzzing roarthat sounded very uncanny.
"What is it?" asked Rattleton, in awe--"what can it be?"
"Give it up," confessed Frank. "Let's find out. Come on."
They moved toward the light, and soon they found themselves lookingdown into a round chamber of the great cavern from a height of manyfeet.
What they saw filled them with inexpressible astonishment.
The place was lighted with electric lamps, and down there in thechamber was a steam engine and a small electric dynamo.
The engine was running steadily, and the dynamo hummed with a soundabout which there now was nothing uncanny.
Near the engine, watching it with interest, was the girl of the goldenhair.
Harry clutched Frank's arm.
"There she is!" he panted. "We have found her at last!"
They stood in silence for several moments, watching the girl, wholooked very pretty beneath the light of the electric lamps.
Suddenly a cry came from Harry, and he clutched Merriwell's arm withquivering fingers, pointing with his other hand.
"Look! look!" he exclaimed. "The dwarf--there he is!"
Sure enough, the crouching figure of Apollo was seen emerging from thedarkness of a black opening and advancing toward the girl with swift,catlike steps.
The girl had heard Harry's exclamation, and, startled, she looked uptoward where the boys were standing.
Then the dwarf rushed upon her and clutched her with his iron hands.
A scream of terror came from the lips of the frightened girl, and rangin weird echoes through the cave.
The hand of Apollo was pressed over her mouth.
But that scream had been heard, and there was an answering shout fromnot very far away.
The girl struggled, but the dwarf dragged her along toward the darkopening.
"How can we get down there, Frank? We must take a hand! How can we doit? It is too far to jump!"
Rattleton was frantic.
Frank was looking for some way of getting down into the chamber.
Before either of them could discover a means of going to theassistance of the girl, Carter Morris, the strange old hermit, rushedinto the cavern.
Morris sprang to the aid of the girl, but it seemed Bernard Belmonthad been waiting for such a thing to happen, for he leaped out of thedarkness and grappled with the hermit.
Then a savage battle took place before the eyes of the boys.
"Furies!" roared the man of the cave, writhing to break the grasp ofhis assailant. "Who are you?"
The girl got her mouth free from Apollo's hand and screamed:
"It is my stepfather--it is Bernard Belmont!"
It seemed that those words filled the hermit with a mad frenzy. Hestruggled furiously, and Belmont was forced to exert all his strengthto prevent himself from being overcome, although he was the assailant.
"We must go to the rescue, Frank--we must!" palpitated Rattleton.
The boys were determined to find a way of getting down into the roundchamber, and Frank fancied he saw a manner of descending. It would benecessary to drop at least fifteen feet, but he started to make theattempt and Harry followed.
The battle between Belmont and Carter Morris continued with greatfury, and Morris seemed to become perfectly mad with rage when he wasunable to overcome his assailant.
Bit by bit the hermit dragged the man toward the buzzing dynamo, hiseyes glowing with an awful purpose.
Suddenly he tried to hurl Belmont upon the dynamo.
Belmont realized the intention of the man, and a scream of fearescaped him.
A moment later both men went down upon the machine!
A second they seemed to cling there, and then they were flung off,falling upon the rocky floor of the cavern and lying still, holdingfast to each other in death!
The girl screamed, and the dwarf seemed overcome with sudden fear. Hestared at the contorted face of his dead master, seeming unable torealize what had happened in the twinkling of an eye.
Down from the heights above dropped two boys.
"Give it to him, Frank!" screamed Harry.
They rushed at the dwarf, but, for once in his life, at least, Apollowas mastered by terror, for, with a shout of dismay, he released thegirl and fled, disappearing in a hopping, bounding manner into thedarkness.
Rattleton caught the half-fainting girl in his arms, crying:
"Hurrah, Merry, we have found her, and we've saved her!"
But she had fainted.
When another morning dawned the two boys and the girl left the greatcave and started for Carson City.
Already had Mildred explained to them how it happened that the steamengine and the dynamo were found in the cavern. The coiners who hadoccupied that retreat years before had discovered a valuable vein ofore, and they had devised a scheme of mining with the aid ofelectricity. The engine was brought there to run the dynamo. As acertain portion of the cave yielded coal in liberal quantities, it wasnot difficult to find fuel for the engine.
Carter Morris, being somewhat of an electrician, had put the abandonedmachinery in running order when he took possession of the cave.
It had been his intention to protect himself from intruders by the aidof electric currents, and he had given Frank and Harry a frightfulshock at the mouth of the cavern by means of hidden wires.
The electric current had caused his death when he fell upon the dynamoin struggling with Bernard Belmont.
The graves of both men were made in the cave, and Little Milly shedtears over the body of her mad uncle, who had sought to befriend herby "burying" her.
The hidden bicycles were found, and the sailboat was discovered wherethe boys had left it.
After setting sail to cross the lake, Frank touched Harry's arm andpointed to an object that was floating in the water, at the same timepressing a finger to his lips and shaking his head, with a look towardMilly.
Harry looked and started, for he saw the ghastly, upturned face ofApollo, the dwarf, the scar on his cheek having turned a purplishblue.
The girl did not see this object, and the boys believed it far betterto leave the dwarf than to horrify her by letting her see the body.
Carson was reached without further adventure, and there a joyoussurprise awaited Mildred Morris.
Jack Diamond met the little party outside the hotel.
"Where are Toots and Bruce?" asked Frank, in a low voice.
"Standing guard, as you directed," said Jack. "We have taken turnssince you went away, and he has not been left alone a moment."
"How is he?"
"Better--much better. The doctor says he thinks he'll come around allright."
Then Frank and Harry accompanied Milly to a certain room of the hotel.Browning and the colored boy were called out of the room, andMerriwell said to the girl:
"Go in, Miss Morris. There's some one in there who will be glad to seeyou."
He held the door open, and urged her gently into the room.
A moment later there was a cry of joy--two cries--a rush. Then,peering in at the door for a moment, the delighted lads saw Millyspring toward the bed and clasp her living brother in her arms.
Frank closed the door.
Immediately Toots danced a wild cancan of delight.
"Golly sakes teh goodness!" he chuckled. "Dat gal sho' am a peach. I'djes' lek teh take dat sick boy's place 'bout five minutes. Yah! yah!yah! Oh, mommer!"
The boy whom Mildre
d had rushed to meet was her brother, George, whowas not dead, but had fainted at sight of his cruel stepfather and thedwarf. Belmont had thought the boy dead, and had left Carson withoutdelay, much to the satisfaction of Frank Merriwell.
And now the doctor who was attending George said the boy had a fairshow to recover.
"Say," observed Diamond, suddenly, "the buried heiress is out ofsight! I think I will----"
"If you try it," spluttered Rattleton, menacingly, "I'll hake yourbread--I mean I'll break your head! I saw her first, and I have firstclaim there!"
"Break away, there, you chumps," laughed Frank. "We have businessfirst, you know. We must speed on toward California and bring thiswonderful trip of ours to a successful finish. Onward is the cry."
That afternoon they bade farewell to George and Mildred, and rodeaway, sorry indeed at the parting.