CHAPTER I.
ADRIFT IN THE DESERT.
Once more the bicycle boys pushed on westward, and it must be saidthat in spite of all their perils they were in the best of spirits.
The beautiful valley in Utah was left behind, and some time laterfound them on the edge of the great American Desert.
Water was not to be had, and they began to suffer greatly from thirst.
The thirst at last became so great that nearly all were ready to dropfrom exhaustion.
Toots was much affected, and presently he let out a long wail ofdiscouragement.
"Land of watermillions! mah froat am done parched so I ain't gwan tehbe able teh whisper if we don' find some warter po'erful soon,chilluns! Nebber struck nuffin' lek dis in all mah bawn days--no,sar!"
"You're not the only one," groaned Bruce. "What wouldn't I give forone little swallow of water!"
"We must strike water soon, or we are done for," put in Jack.
Toots began to sway in his saddle, and Frank spurted to his side,grasping him by the arm, as he sharply said:
"Brace up! You mustn't give out now. The mountains are right ahead,and----"
"Lawd save us!" hoarsely gasped the darky. "Dem dar mount'ns had beenjes' as nigh fo' de las' two houah, Marser Frank. We don' git a bitnearer 'em--no, sar! Dem mount'ns am a recepshun an' a delusum. Weain't nebber gwan teh git out ob dis desert--nebber! Heah's where we'sgwan teh lay ouah bones, Marser Frank!"
"You are to blame for this, Merriwell," came reproachfully fromDiamond. "You were the one to suggest that we should attempt to crossinstead of going around to the north, and----"
"Say, Diamond!" cried Harry; "riv us a guest--I mean give us a rest!You were as eager as any of us to try to cross the desert, for youthought we'd have it to boast about when we returned to Yale."
"But we'll never return."
"Perhaps not; still I don't like to hear you piling all the blame ontoMerry."
"He suggested it."
"And you seconded the suggestion. We started out with a supply ofwater that we thought would last----"
"We should have known better!"
"Perhaps so, but that is the fault of all of us, not any one person.You are getting to be a regular kicker of late."
Jack shot Harry a savage look.
"Be careful!" he said. "I don't feel like standing too much! I amrather ugly just now."
"That's right, and you have been the only one who has shown anythinglike ugliness at any time during the trip. You seem to want to put theblame of any mistake onto Merry, while it is all of us----"
"Say, drop it!" commanded Frank, sharply. "This is no time to quarrel.Those mountain are close at hand, I am sure, and a last grim pull willtake us to them. We will find water there, for you know we were toldabout the water holes in the Desert Range."
"Those water holes will not be easy to find."
"I have full directions for finding them. After we get a square drink,we'll feel better, and there'll be no inclination to quarrel."
"Oh, water! water!" murmured Browning; "how I'd like to let about aquart gurgle down past my Adam's apple!"
"Um, um!" muttered Rattleton, lifting one hand to his throat. "Why doyou suppose a fellow's larynx is called his Adam's apple?"
"Nothing could be more appropriate," declared Bruce, soberly, "forwhen Adam ate the apple he got it in the neck."
Something like a cackling laugh came from Harry's parched lips.
Diamond gave an exclamation of disgust.
"This is a nice time to joke!" he grated, fiercely.
"The matter with you," said Rattleton, "is that you've not got overthinking of Lona Ayer, whom you were mashed on. You've been grouchyever since you and Merry came back from your wild expedition into theforbidden Valley of Bethsada. It's too bad, Jack----"
"Shut up, will you! I've heard enough about that!"
"Drop it, Harry," commanded Frank, warningly. "You've worn it out.Forget it."
"Great Scott!" grunted Browning. "I believe my bicycle is heavier thanthe dealer represented it to be."
"Think so?" asked Rattleton.
"Sure."
"Then give it a weigh."
Browning's wheel gave a sudden wobble that nearly threw him off.
"Don't!" he gasped. "It's not original. You swiped it from the verysame paper that had my Adam's apple joke in it."
"Well, it was simply a case of retaliation."
"I'd rather have a case of beer. Oh, say!--a case of beer! I wouldn'tdo a thing to a case of beer--not a thing! Oh, just to think ofsitting in the old room at Traeger's or Morey's and drinking all thebeer or ale a fellow could pour down his neck! It makes me faint!"
"You should not permit yourself to think of such a thing as beer,"said Frank, jokingly. "You know beer will make you fat."
"Don't care; I'd drink it if it made me so fat I couldn't walk. I'dtrain down, you know. Dumbbells, punchin' bag, and so forth."
"Speaking of the punching bag," said Frank, "makes me think of a goodthing on Reggy Stevens. You know Stevens. He's near-sighted. Goes infor athletics, and takes great delight in the fancy manner in which hecan hammer the bag. Well, he went down into the country to see hiscousin last spring. Some time during the winter his cousin had found abig hornets' nest in the woods, and had cut it down and taken it home.He hung it up in the garret. First day Stevens was there he wanderedup into the garret and saw the hornets' nest hanging in the dim light.'Ho!' said Reggy. 'Didn't know cousin had a punching bag. Glad I foundit. I'll toy with it a little.' Then he threw off his coat and made arush at that innocent looking ball. With his first blow he drove hisfist clean through the nest. 'Holy smoke!' gasped Reggy; 'what have Istruck?' Then the hornets came pouring out, for the nest was not adeserted one. They saw Reggy--and went him several better. Say,fellows, they didn't do a thing to poor Reggy! About five hundred madefor him, and it seemed to Reggy that at least four hundred andninety-nine of them got him. His howls started shingles off the roofof that old house and knocked several bricks out of the chimney. Hefell down the stairs, and went plunging through the house, with astring of hornets trailing after him, like a comet's tail. The hornetsdid not confine themselves strictly to Reggy; some of them sifted offand got in their work on Reggy's cousin, aunt, uncle, the kitchengirl, the hired man, and one of them made for the dog. The dog thoughtthat hornet was a fly, and snapped at it. One second later that dogjoined in the general riot, and the way he swore and yelled fire indog language was something frightful to hear. Reggy didn't stop tillhe got outside and plunged his head into the old-fashioned wateringtrough, where he held it under the surface till he was nearly drowned.The whole family was a sight. And Reggy--well, he's had the swelledhead ever since."
Rattleton laughed and Bruce managed to smile, while Toots gave acracked "Yah, yah!" but Diamond failed to show that he appreciated thestory in the least.
However, it soon became evident that the spirits of the lads had beenlightened somewhat, and they pedaled onward straight for the grimmountains which had seemed so near for the last two hours.
The sun poured its stifling heat down on the great desert, wherenothing save an occasional clump of sage brush could be seen.
Heat shimmered in the air, and it was not strange that the youngcyclists were disheartened and ready to give up in despair.
Suddenly a cry came from Diamond.
"Look!" he shouted. "Look to the south! Why haven't we seen it before?We're blind. Water, water!"
They looked, and, at a distance of less than a mile it seemed theycould see a beautiful lake of water, with trees on the distant shore.The reflection of the trees showed in the mirror-like surface of theblue lake.
"Come on!" hoarsely cried Jack, as he turned his wheel southward."I'll be into that water up to my neck in less than ten minutes!"
"Stop!" shouted Merriwell.
Jack did not seem to hear. If he heard, he did not heed the command.He was bending far over the handlebars and using all his energy tosend his wheel
spinning toward the beautiful lake.
"I must stop him!" cried Frank. "It is a race for life!"
Frank forgot that a short time before Jack Diamond had accused him ofleading them all to their doom by inducing them to attempt to crossthe barren waste--he forgot everything save that his comrade was indanger.
No, he did not forget everything. He knew what that race meant. Itmight exhaust them both and render them unable to ride their wheelsover the few remaining miles of barren desert between them and themountain range. When Diamond learned the dreadful, heart-sickeningtruth about that beautiful lake of water it might rob his heart ofcourage and hope so that he would drop in despair and give himself upto death in the desert.
Frank would save him--he must save him! He felt a personalresponsibility for the lives of every one of the party, and he hadresolved that all should return to New Haven in safety.
"Stop, Jack!" he shouted again.
But the sight of that beautiful lake had made Diamond mad with alonging to plunge into the water, to splash in it, to drink his filltill not another swallow could he force down his throat.
Madly he sent his wheel flying over the sandy plain, panting, gasping,furious to reach the lake.
How beautiful the water looked! How cool and inviting was the shade ofthe trees on the other shore! Oh, he would go around there and restbeneath those trees.
Frank bent forward over the handlebars, muttering:
"Ride now as you never rode before!"
The wheel seemed to leap away like a thing of life--it flew as if itpossessed wings.
But Frank did not gain as swiftly as he desired, for Diamond, also,was using all his energy to send his bicycle along.
"Faster! faster!" panted Frank.
Faster and faster he flew along. The hot breath of the desert beat onhis face as if it came rushing from the mouth of a furnace. It seemedto scorch him. Fine particles of sand whipped up and stung his flesh.
He heard a strange laugh--a wild laugh.
"Heaven pity him!" thought Frank, knowing that laugh came from Jack'slips. "The sight of that ghostly lake has nearly turned his brain withjoy. I fear he will go mad, indeed, when he knows the truth."
On sped pursued and pursuer, and the latter was still gaining. FrankMerriwell had engaged in many contests of skill and endurance, butnever in one where more was at stake. His success in overtaking hisfriend meant the saving of a human life--perhaps two lives.
Now he was gaining swiftly, and something like a prayer ofthankfulness came from his lips.
Once more he cried out to the lad in advance, but it seemed thatDiamond's ears were dumb, for he made no sound that told he heard.
One last spurt--Frank felt that it must bring him to Diamond's side.He gathered himself, his feet clinging to the flying pedals as iffastened there.
A slip, a fall, a miscalculation might mean utter failure, and failuremight mean death for Diamond.
Now Frank was close behind his friend. He could hear the whirringsound of the spokes of Diamond's wheel cutting the air, and he couldhear the hoarse, panting breathing of his friend.
A steady hand guided Merriwell's wheel alongside that of his friend; asteady and a strong hand fell on the shoulder of the lad who had beencrazed by the alluring vision of the lake in the desert.
"Stop, Jack!"
Diamond turned toward his friend a face from which a pair of glaringeyes looked out. His lips curled back from his white teeth, and hesnarled:
"Hands off! Don't try to hold me back! Can't you see it, you fool! Thelake--the lake!"
"There is no lake!"
"Yes, there is! You are blind! See it!"
"Stop, Jack! I tell you there is no lake!"
Frank tried to check his friend, but Diamond made a swinging blow athim, which Merriwell managed to stop.
"Wait--listen a moment!" entreated Frank.
But the belief that a lake of water lay a short distance away hadcompletely driven anything like reason from Diamond's head.
"Hands off!" he shouted. "If you try to stop me you'll be sorry!"
Frank saw he must resort to desperate measures. He secured a firm gripon the shoulder of the young Virginian, and, a moment later, gave asurge that caused them both to fall from their wheels.
Over and over they rolled, and then lay in a limp heap on the desert,where the earth was hot and baked and the sun beat down with a fierceparching heat.
Diamond was the first to stir, and he tried to scramble up, his onethought being to mount his wheel again and ride onward toward theshimmering lure.
Frank seemed to realize this, for he caught at his friend, grasped himand held him fast.
Then there was a furious struggle there on the desert, Diamond makinga mad effort to break away, but being held by Frank, who would not lethim go.
The eyes of both lads glared and their teeth were set. Frank tried toforce Diamond down and hold him, but Jack had the strength of aninsane person, and, time after time, he flung his would-be benefactoroff.
The eyes of the young Virginian were red and bloodshot, while his lipswere cracked and bleeding. His cap was gone, and his straight darkhair fell in a tousled mass over his forehead.
Occasionally muttered words came from Diamond's lips, but the otherwas silent, seeming to realize that he must conquer the mad fellow bysheer strength alone.
So they fought on, their efforts growing weaker and weaker, gaspingfor breath. Seeing that fierce struggle, no one could have imaginedthey were anything but the most deadly enemies, battling for theirvery lives.
At last, after some minutes, Diamond's fictitious strength suddenlygave out, and then Frank handled and held him with ease. Merriwellpinned Jack down and held him there, while both remained motionless,gasping for breath and seeking to recover from their frightfulexertions.
"You fool!" whispered the Virginian, bitterly. "What are you trying todo?"
"Trying to save your life, but you have given me a merry hustle forit," answered Frank.
"Save my life! Bah! Why have you stopped me when we were so near thelake."
"There is no lake."
"Are you blind? All of us could see the lake! It is near--very near!"
"I tell you, Jack, there is no lake."
"You lie!"
"You have been crazed by what you fancied was water. Some time youwill ask my pardon for your words."
"You will ask my pardon for stopping me in this manner, FrankMerriwell! You did it because I was the first to discover the lake!You were jealous! You did not wish me to reach it first! I know you!You want to be the leader in everything."
"If you were not half crazy now, you would not utter such words,Jack."
"Oh, I know you--I know!"
Then Diamond's tone and manner suddenly changed and he began to beg:
"Please let me up, Merry--please do! Oh, merciful heaven! I amperishing for a swallow of water! And it is so near! There is waterenough for ten thousand men! And such beautiful trees, where theshadows are so cool--where this accursed sun can't pour down on one'shead! Please let me up, Frank! I'll do anything for you if you'll onlylet me go to that lake!"
"Jack, dear old fellow, I am telling you the truth when I say there isno lake. There could be no lake here in this burning desert. It is animpossibility. If there were such a lake, the ones I asked about thewater-holes would have told me."
"They did not know. I have seen it, and I know it is there."
Frank allowed his friend to sit up.
"Look, Jack," he said; "where is your lake?"
Jack looked away to the south, the east, the north, and then towardthe west, where lay the mountains.
There was no lake in sight.