The Broncho Rider Boys Along the Border

  CHAPTER XVI.

  THE BLANK WALL.

  Billie wanted to go with them very much; not that he felt any greatdesire to come into close contact with that grim looking old medicineman; but he disliked being left alone worse still. After his recentexperience on the desert he felt like having company, no matter underwhat conditions.

  Of course the others would have much preferred that Billie stay with theanimals, but neither of them dared hint as much. He had as much right togo as they did, if he felt so inclined.

  So Donald hastily started to fasten the pack mule to a branch. As for_Wireless_, the broncho had been well trained, as a cow pony always is,and when his reins were dropped over his head he would stand a long timeunless something unusual occurred to frighten him.

  Adrian was of the same mind, as could be seen from the way he threw hisbridle forward, and then landed on his feet.

  "Me too," said Billie, promptly; and with the words he proceeded to fix_Jupiter_ after the same fashion, knowing that the horses would be quitecontent to stand there in company.

  All this had taken place in much less time than it takes to tell it. TheWitch Doctor had disappeared from sight, but could not be so far aheadbut that they might quickly overtake him, if they were spry.

  Donald led off, as it had been his proposition which the others hadaccepted; and on this account, as well as his familiarity with thecustoms of these strange cliff dwellers, he might be accorded theposition of pilot, during the time they remained in the neighborhood ofthe Zuni village.

  The boy had taken particular note of the place where the strangelyattired old medicine man had last been seen; and it took the three chumsbut a few seconds to arrive there.

  Just as the guide anticipated, he found that there was something in thenature of a path worn along the rocks, and among the dead fragments ofbrushwood. It was as though the Witch Doctor had gone back and forthalong this same route many times a week for years and years.

  What influenced Donald and Adrian to accept of this sudden opportunityto spy on the Zuni medicine man it would be hard to say. Perhaps Donald,whose father was a mine operator as well as a big rancher, may have hada little notion that he would like to know more about the source of thatprecious metal which report said the old magician knocked from somewonderfully rich ledge inside the mountain nearby the village. Thatwould not be so very strange after all, though the boy might be takingfearful risks in thus following such a vindictive old fellow as theWitch Doctor was reported to be.

  As for Adrian, he did not have the same sort of temptation beckoning himon. In all probability the subject of mines and rich ore deposits wouldhave failed to lure him; whereas the prospect of a pleasant littlemystery to be solved would act as a spur.

  And somehow, what Donald had told about that mysterious music, thestrains of which often floated faintly to the ears of the Zuni peopleafter their medicine man had betaken himself off to one of these famousaudiences with Manitou, had taken a firm hold on the mind of Adrian. Hehoped that before they quitted the country of the Zunis a chance wouldarise whereby they could find out if there was really any truth in thesestories; and should it prove to be so, learn just what caused the musicthat the ignorant natives believed supernatural or angel voices.

  And as has already been said, Billie went along simply because he wasafraid to stay there alone, and not that he felt any particular interestin either gold mines or cherub voices.

  Two minutes later, and Donald held up a hand warningly. That was enoughto tell the others he had sighted the object of their pursuit. And asthey did not wish to let the hideous figure that stalked along aheadknow how he was being followed, they hung back until their guide againbeckoned them on.

  "He's just gone back of that line of brush yonder," Donald whispered, asthey joined him. "Let's wait here a minute, to give him a chance to movealong. And we can keep an eye on that cliff over yonder; because, unlessI'm mistaken, he was heading that way when last I glimpsed him."

  They crouched there and waited, Billie nervously fingering his camera,as if in readiness to use it again should the chance arise.

  "There he goes!" ejaculated Adrian, suddenly.

  "Oh! where?" asked Billie, giving a start, as if he had at firstsuspected that the old fellow might have stolen a march upon them; andfrom the way Billie looked above his head one would think he halfexpected that that hideous figure would come tumbling down upon them,his arms filled with rattlesnakes, perhaps.

  "Over near the cliff, just as I said," replied Donald, pointing as hespoke.

  "I see him, all right," announced Billie, immediately, as though thatwere something worth mentioning.

  "Looks like he meant to climb up somewhere," suggested Adrian.

  "We'll watch, and see the circus, then," added Donald; "but better keepdown, so he won't glimpse us if he happens to look back this way."

  "That's good advice!" muttered Billie, dropping flat, and then pokinghis head up as best he knew how, so that he might see without betrayinghis presence; Billie had not been in the company of these two prairieboys for weeks without picking up at least a smattering of the thingsthey knew.

  "Why, he's gone!" he exclaimed, a second or two later; and commenced torub his eyes vigorously, as though inclined to suspect that they hadplayed him a trick.

  "Did you see that?" remarked Donald, of Adrian; for they had beenlooking all the time Billie was fussing, and getting himself so nicelyfixed that he had temporarily lost track of the medicine man.

  "He went behind that twisted cedar, and then seemed to just melt away inthin air," the other replied, with a vein of wonder in his voice.

  "Then he _is_ an old wizard after all, ain't he?" remarked Billie,hearing this.

  "That remains to be seen," declared Donald. "Shall we go over there, andtake a look around, Ad?"

  "Sure he ain't just hidin' behind some rock?" asked Billie, growncautious, it appeared, after his recent experiences.

  "You can see for yourself that the whole face of the cliff looks open,and there isn't an outlying stone that would shelter a cat, much less afellow of his heft," Donald told him; "how about it, Ad?"

  "If you think it's right, why let's walk over, and make out to beinterested in the formation of the wall of rock," replied the other. "Ifhe chances to pop out on us, then we can make him believe we'regeologists, and interested in the history of these old-time hills."

  "A good idea, sure it is!" admitted Billie, always wanting to put in hisoar, and at the same time willing to give praise where it was due.

  Donald no doubt thought the same, even if he only smiled, and nodded hishead.

  Having thus decided they stepped out from their place of concealment,and in an apparently careless manner walked toward the cliff that rearedits head far above, being fully a hundred feet from base to summit.

  Billie trailed along in the rear. He did not feel wholly at ease,although in the society of his chums, whom he knew to be capable ofholding their own with any ordinary peril. But somehow Billie had anidea that they were taking big chances when they accepted the risk ofspying on the Witch Doctor. And he wanted to be in a position to rendera good account of himself, in case anything happened.

  He had slung his little camera over his shoulder by means of the strapattached for this very purpose; and now held his rifle in both hands,feeling very much of responsibility, somehow or other, because he camein the rear, and let them do all the looking for an explanation of themysterious disappearance of the old Zuni, while he kept his eyes on thealert for trouble.

  Just as Donald had so positively said, there were no outlying stones ofany size along the base of this cliff. The two boys had even glancedeagerly upwards more than once, half expecting to discover signs thatmight tell how the mountain here had once been used by some of the cliffdwellers; but so far as they could see there was not a single hole hewnin that blank wall from top to bottom.

  Adrian picked up a piece of stone, as though carrying out the littlescheme he had suggested about their
pretending to be geologists; andwhile he and Donald put their heads together, as though they wereexamining the same, they were exchanging remarks.

  "See any sign of the old fraud, Ad?" asked Donald.

  "Not around here, that's flat," answered the other.

  "But we're directly behind that crooked cedar," urged the rancher's son;"and as sure as I'm here, that's just where I saw him last. And you knowas well as I do, Adrian, he couldn't have slipped away to either side,nor yet climbed the face of this cliff!"

  His chum shook his head as he glanced all around; and then steppingcloser to the face of the height that arose far above, he scrutinized itcarefully.

  Then he laughed.

  "Tell you what, Donald," he said, "this makes me think of plays I'veseen on the stage, where the magician disappears through the face of therock in a wonderful way; but everybody knows that it's only canvas,painted to look like the solid wall. Here, though, there's no suchthing; and yet you say he came to this spot and then just went up like apuff of smoke. Take it from me now, that there must be some secret wayof getting in back here, if only we had the key to the mystery!"

  "Whew! is that what you think too, Donald?" asked Billie, taking time tostare at the wall of rock, which up to now had interested him verylittle, since it was the Witch Doctor himself for whom he was looking.

  "I reckon it must be something like that," Donald admitted. "We don'tbelieve in magic, and all that stuff; there must be a real explanationfor everything that looks so queer; if, as Adrian says, we only had theclue to the trail. But even the rocks here show no trace of hisfootsteps, so we can only give a guess how he gets in and out."

  "Huh!" grunted the incredulous Billie; "I reckon, then we're up againsta blank wall right now, in more ways than one; and the old chap's got usguessing, all right."