CHAPTER III.
THE MAP VANISHES.
While Cap'n Wiley had been relating this yarn Merriwell seemed utterlyunconscious of his presence. Having produced his field glasses from thecase at his side, he was surveying the impregnable valley. Suddenly hestarted slightly and touched Bart's arm.
"Look yonder, Hodge," he said, in a low tone. "Away up at the far end ofthe valley where the timber is, I can see smoke rising there."
"So can I!" exclaimed Hodge. "What does it mean?"
"There is but one thing it can mean, and that is----"
"There's some one in the valley."
"Sure, sure," agreed Cap'n Wiley. "Somebody has found a passage intothat harbor."
"Do you suppose," asked Hodge, in consternation, "that there are otherparties searching for that mine?"
"It's not unlikely."
"But you were the only one told of its existence by Benson Clark."
"Still, it's likely others knew he was prospecting in this vicinity."
"It will be hard luck, Merry, if we find that some one has relocatedthat claim ahead of us."
"That's right," nodded Frank. "The fact that there is smoke rising fromthat part of the valley proves it is not impossible to get down there.It's too late to-day to make any further effort in that direction. Wewill return to the camp and wait for morning."
"And if you find other men on the claim, what will you do?"
"I haven't decided."
"But it belongs to you!" exclaimed Hodge earnestly. "Clark located it,and when he died he gave you the right to it."
"Nevertheless, if some one else has found it and has registered hisclaim, he can hold it."
"Not if you can prove Clark staked it off and posted notices. Not if youcan prove he gave it to you."
"But I can't prove that. Clark is dead. He left no will. All he left wasquartz in his saddlebags and some dust he had washed from the placer,together with this map I have in my pocket. You see, I would find itimpossible to prove my right to the mine if I discovered other partiesin possession of it."
Bart's look of disappointment increased.
"I suppose that's right, Merry," he confessed; "but it doesn't seemright to me. The Consolidated Mining Association of America tried totake your Queen Mystery Mine from you on a shabbier claim than you haveon this mine here."
"But I defeated them, Bart. You must not forget that."
"I haven't forgotten it," Hodge declared, nodding his head. "All thesame, you had hard work to defeat them, and, later, Milton Sukes made itstill harder for you."
"But I triumphed in both cases. Right is right, Bart; it makes nodifference whether it is on my side or the other fellow's."
"That's so," Hodge confessed. "But it would be an almighty shame to findsome one else squatting on that claim. I'd like to get down into thatvalley now!"
"It can't be done before nightfall, so we will go back to camp."
They set out, and an hour later they reached their camp in a smallvalley. There they had pitched a tent near a spring, and close at handtheir horses grazed. As they approached the tent, little Abe camehobbling up to them.
"I am glad you're back," he declared. "That man has been going on justawful."
"Who? Worthington?" questioned Merry.
"Yes; he said over and over that he knew his ghost would be lost. Hedeclared his ghost was in danger. He said he could feel the dangernear."
"More of his wild fancies," said Hodge.
"Mates," observed Cap'n Wiley, "if there's anything that upsets my zebrospinal column it is a crazy gentleman like that. I am prone to confessthat he worries me. I don't trust him. I am afraid that some morning Iwill wake up and find a hatchet sticking in my head. I should hate to dothat."
"I am positive he is harmless," declared Merry. "Where is he, Abe?"
"I don't know now. A while ago he just rushed off, calling and calling,and he's not come back."
Frank looked alarmed. "He promised me he would stay near the camp. Hegave me his word, and this is the first time he has failed to obey meimplicitly in everything."
"He said he'd have to go to save you."
"It was a mistake bringing him here, Frank," asserted Hodge.
"But what could I do with him? He wouldn't remain behind, and I knew thedanger of leaving him there. Any day he might escape from the valley andlose himself in the desert to perish there."
"Perhaps that is what will happen to him now."
Merry was sorely troubled. He made preparations to go in search ofWorthington without delay. But even as he was doing so the deranged mancame running back into the camp and fell panting at his feet.
"I have found you again, my ghost!" he cried. "They are after you! Youmust beware! You must guard yourself constantly!"
"Get up, Worthington!" said Merry. "I am in no danger. No one can hurt aghost, you know."
"Ah! you don't know them--you don't know them!" excitedly shouted thelunatic. "They are wicked and dangerous. I saw them peering over thoserocks. I saw their evil eyes. Abe was asleep. I had been walking up anddown, waiting for you to return. When I saw them I stood still as astone and made them believe I was dead. They watched and watched andwhispered. They had weapons in their hands! You must be on your guardevery minute!"
"I have heard about crazy bedbugs," muttered Wiley; "but I never saw onequite as bad as this. Every time I hear him go on that way I feel theneed of a drink. I could even partake of a portion of Easy Streetfirewater with relish."
Worthington seized Frank's arm.
"You must come and see where they were--you must come and see," heurged.
"Never mind that now," said Merry. "I will look later."
"No! no! Come, now!"
"Be still!" commanded Merry sharply. "I can't waste the time."
But the maniac continued to plead and beg until, in order to appeasehim, Merry gave in.
Worthington led him to a mass of bowlders at a distance, and, pointingat them, he declared in a whisper:
"There's where they were hiding. Look and see. There is where they were,I tell you!"
More to pacify the poor fellow than anything else, Frank looked aroundamid the rocks. Suddenly he made a discovery that caused him to changecountenance and kneel upon the ground. Bart, who had sauntered down,found him thus.
"What is it, Frank?" he asked.
"See here, Hodge," said Merry. "There has been some one here amid theserocks. Here's a track. Here's a mark where the nails of a man's bootheel scratched on the rocks."
Hodge stood looking down, but shook his head.
"You have sharper eyes than I, Frank," he confessed. "PerhapsWorthington has been here himself."
"No! no!" denied the deranged man. "I was afraid to come! I tell you Isaw them! I tell you I saw their wicked eyes. This is the first time Ihave been here!"
"If he tells the truth," said Frank, "then it is certain some one elsehas been here."
Behind Worthington's back Bart shook his head and made signalsexpressive of his belief that whatever signs Frank had discovered therehad been made by Worthington.
"Now, you see," persisted the madman; "now you know they were here! Nowyou know you must be on your guard!"
"Yes, yes," nodded Merry impatiently. "Don't worry about that,Worthington. I will be on my guard. They will not take me by surprise."
This seemed to satisfy the poor fellow for the time being, and theyreturned to the tent. There a fire was again started and supper wasprepared. Shadows gathered in the valley and night came on. Overhead thebright stars were shining with a clear light peculiar to thatSouthwestern land.
After supper they lay about on the ground, talking of the EnchantedValley, as Merry had named it, and of the mysterious smoke seen risingfrom it. Later, when little Abe and Cap'n Wiley were sleeping andWorthington had sunk into troubled slumber, through which he mutteredand moaned, Frank and Bart sat in the tent and examined the map by thelight of a small lantern.
"Beyond question, Merry, the mine is nea
r here. There is not a doubt ofit. Here to the east is Hawley Peak, to the south lies Clear Creek. Hereyou see marked the stream which must flow through that valley, and hereis the cross made by Clark, which indicates the location of his claim."
They bent over the map with their heads together, sitting near the endof the tent. Suddenly a hand and arm was thrust in through theperpendicular slit in the tent flap. That arm reached over Frank'sshoulder, and that hand seized the map from his fingers. It was done ina twinkling, and in a twinkling it was gone.
With shouts of astonishment and dismay, both Frank and Bart sprang upand plunged from the tent. They heard the sounds of feet running swiftlydown the valley.
"Halt!" cried Merry, producing a pistol and starting in pursuit.
In the darkness he caught a glimpse of the fleeing figure.
"Stop, or I fire!" he cried again.
There was no answer. Flinging up his hand, he began shooting into thegloom. He did not stop until he had emptied the weapon. Having run onsome distance, he paused and listened, stopping Bart with anoutstretched hand.
Silence lay over the valley.
"Did you hit him?" asked Bart.
"I don't know," confessed Frank.
"I can hear nothing of him."
"Nor I."
"You may have dropped him here."
"If not----"
"If not, my map is gone."
As he was talking, Frank threw open his pistol and the empty shells wereejected. He deftly refilled the cylinder.
"By George, Merry!" whispered Bart, "Worthington may have been rightwhen he told you he saw some one beyond those bowlders."
"He was."
"Then we have been followed! We have been spied upon!"
"No question about it."
"Who did it?"
"That's for us to find out."
Together they searched for the man at whom Frank had fired in thedarkness. They found nothing of him. From the tent little Abe begancalling to them. Then Worthington came hurrying and panting through thedarkness seeking them.
"They have gone!" declared the man wildly. "They were here! In my sleepI felt them! In my sleep I saw them!"
"We must have a light, Hodge," said Frank. "Bring the lantern."
Bart rushed back to the tent and brought the lantern. With it Frankbegan examining the ground.
"Poor show of discovering any sign here," he muttered.
After a time, however, he uttered an exclamation and bent over.
"What have you found?" questioned Hodge excitedly.
"See here," said Frank, pointing on the ground before him.
On a rock at their feet they saw fresh drops of blood.
"By Jove, you did hit him!" burst from Bart's lips. "If we can followthat trail----"
"We will find the man who has that map," said Merry grimly. "I wonderhow badly he is wounded."
"Blood!" moaned Worthington. "There is blood on the ground! There isblood in the air! There is death here! Wherever I go there is death!"
"Keep still!" said Frank sharply. "Look out for Abe, Bart."
Then he began seeking to follow the sanguine trail with the aid of thelighted lantern. It was slow work, but still he made some progress.
"We're taking big chances, Merry," said Bart, who had a pistol in hishand.
"It's the only way we can follow him."
"Beware!" warned Worthington, in a hollow whisper. "I tell you there isdeath in the air!"
They had not proceeded far when suddenly a shot rang out and the bulletsmashed the lantern globe, extinguishing the light. Hodge had beenexpecting something of the sort, and he fired almost instantly inreturn, aiming at the flash he had vaguely seen.
"Are you hurt, Merry?" he asked.
"No; the lantern was the only thing struck. Did you see where the shotcame from?"
"I caught a glimpse of the flash."
Then a hoarse voice hailed them from the darkness farther down thevalley.
"You gents, there!" it called.
They did not answer.
"Oh, Frank Merriwell!" again came the call.
"It's somebody who knows you," whispered Hodge.
"What is it?" called Merry, in response.
"You holds up where you are!" returned the voice, "or you eats leada-plenty."
"Who are you?"
"That's what you finds out if you come. If you wants to know so bad,mebbe you ambles nearer and takes your chances o' getting shot up."
"It's sure death to try it," warned Hodge, in a whisper.
"Death and destruction!" Worthington screamed. "It is here! Come away!Come away!"
He seized Merry and attempted to drag him back. Frank was forced tobreak the man's hold upon him.
"I must save you!" the deranged man panted. "I knew it would come! OnceI left you to perish in the flames; now I must save you!"
He again flung himself on Frank, and during the struggle that followedboth Hodge and Wiley were compelled to render assistance. Not until themadman had been tripped and was held helpless on the ground did hebecome quiet.
"It's no use!" he groaned; "I can't do it! It is not my fault!"
Merry bent close and stared through the gloom at the eyes of theunfortunate man.
"You must obey me," he said, in that singular, commanding tone of his."You have to obey me! Go back to the tent!"
Then he motioned for Hodge to let Worthington up, and Bart did so.Without further resistance or struggling, the man turned and walkedslowly back to the tent.
"Go with him, Wiley, and take Abe with you."
Although Wiley protested against this, Frank was firm, and the sailoryielded. Then, seeking such shelter as they could find amid the rocksand the darkness, Bart and Frank crept slowly toward the point fromwhich that warning voice had seemed to come. A long time was spent inthis manner, and when they reached the spot they sought they wererewarded by finding nothing.
"He has gone, Frank," muttered Hodge. "While we were struggling withWorthington, he improved the opportunity to escape."
"I fear you are right," said Merriwell.
Further investigation proved this was true. In vain they searched thevalley. The mysterious unknown who had snatched the map and who had beenwounded in his flight by Frank had made good his escape.