CHAPTER XXX.
FRANK'S SHOT.
Frank and his two companions were profoundly astonished. As soon as hecould recover, Frank asked:
"Did you hear that?"
"Av course we hearrud it!" returned Barney, excitedly.
"It sounded very much like the voice of a woman or girl," said ProfessorScotch, who was so amazed that he forgot for the moment that he wasscared.
"That's what it was," declared Frank; "and it means that our aid isneeded in that quarter at once."
"Be careful! be cautious!" warned the professor. "There's no tellingwhat kind of a gang we may run into."
"To thunder with thot!" grated Barney Mulloy, quivering with eagerness."There's a female in nade av hilp."
"Go ahead!" directed Frank, giving utterance to his old maxim.
The professor was too agitated to handle a paddle, so the task ofpropelling the canoe fell to the boys, who sent it skimming over thewater, Frank watching out for snags.
In a moment the water course swept round to the left, and they soon sawthe light of a fire gleaming through the rushes.
The sounds of a conflict continued, telling them that the quarrel wasstill on, and aiding them in forming their course.
In a moment they came in full view of the camp-fire, by the light ofwhich they saw several struggling, swaying figures.
Frank's keen eyes seemed to take in everything at one sweeping glance.
Six men and a girl were revealed by the light of the fire. Five of themen were engaged in a fierce battle, while the sixth was bound, in astanding position, to the trunk of a tree.
The girl, with her hands bound behind her back, was standing near theman who was tied to the tree, and the firelight fell fairly on the facesof man and girl.
A low exclamation of the utmost astonishment broke from Frank's lips.
"It can't be--it is an impossibility!" he said.
"Pwhat is it, me b'y?" quickly demanded Barney.
"The man--the girl! Look, Barney! do you know them?"
"Oi dunno."
"Well, I know! There is no mistake. That is Captain Justin Bellwood,whose vessel was lost in the storm off Fardale coast! I am certain ofit!"
"An' th' girrul is----"
"Elsie Bellwood, his daughter!"
"Th' wan you saved from th' foire, Frankie?"
"As sure as fate!"
"It can't be possible!" fluttered Professor Scotch. "Captain Bellwoodhas a new vessel, and he would not be here. You must be mistaken,Frank."
"Not on your life! That is Captain Bellwood and his daughter. There isno mistake, professor."
"But how----"
"There has been some kind of trouble, and they are captives--that isplain enough. Those men are sailors--Captain Bellwood's sailors! It'slikely there has been a mutiny. We must save them."
"How can it be done?"
"We must land while those ruffians are fighting. We are well armed. Ifwe can get ashore, we'll set the captain free, and I fancy we'll be ableto hold our own with those ruffians, desperate wretches though theyare."
"Wait!" advised the timid professor. "Perhaps they will kill each other,and then our part will be easy."
Frank was not for waiting, but, at that moment, something happened thatcaused him to change his plan immediately.
The fighting ruffians were using knives in a deadly way, and one man,bleeding from many wounds, fell exhausted to the ground. Another, whoseemed to be this one's comrade, tore himself from the other three,leaped to the girl, caught her in his arms, and held her in front ofhim, so that her body shielded his. Then, pointing a revolver over hershoulder, he snarled:
"Come on, and I'll bore the three of ye! You can't shoot me, Gage,unless you kill ther gal!"
The youngest one of the party, a mere boy, but a fellow with the air ofa desperado, stepped to the front, saying swiftly:
"If you don't drop that girl, Jaggers, you'll leave your carcass in thisswamp! That is business, my hearty."
Frank clapped a hand over his mouth to keep from uttering a great shoutof amazement. The next moment he panted:
"This is fate! Look, Barney! by the eternal skies, that is Leslie Gage,my worst enemy at Fardale Academy, and the fellow who ran away to keepfrom being expelled. It was reported that he had gone to sea."
"Ye're roight, Frankie," agreed the no less excited Irish lad. "It'sthot skunk, an' no mistake!"
"It is Leslie Gage," agreed the professor. "He was ever a bad boy, but Idid not think he would come to this."
"An' Oi always thought he would come to some bad ind. It wur thotspalpane thot troied to run Frank through with a sharpened foil wantoime whin they wur fencing. He had black murder in his hearrut thin,an' it's not loikely th' whilp has grown inny betther since."
"Keep still," whispered Frank. "Let's hear what is said."
The man with the girl laughed defiantly, retorting:
"You talk big, Gage, but it won't work with me. I hold the best handjust at present, and you'll have to come to terms. Keep back!"
"You don't dare shoot," returned the young desperado, as he took stillanother step toward the sailor.
In a moment the man placed the muzzle of the revolver against the templeof the helpless girl, fiercely declaring:
"If you come another inch, I'll blow her brains out!"
"The dastard!" grated Frank. "Oh, the wretch! Wait. I will fix him, ormy name is not Merriwell!"
He drew an arrow from the quiver, and fitted the notch to thebow-string. His nerves were steady, and he was determined. He waitedtill the man had removed the muzzle of the weapon from the girl'stemple, and then he lifted the bow.
Barney and the professor caught their breath. They longed to checkFrank, but dared not speak for fear of causing him to waver and send thearrow at the girl.
The bow was bent, the line was taut, the arrow was drawn to the head,and then----
Twang! The arrow sped through the air, but it was too dark for them tofollow its flight with their eyes. With their hearts in their mouths,they awaited the result.
Of a sudden, the ruffian uttered a cry of pain, released his hold on thegirl, and fell heavily to the ground.
The firelight showed the arrow sticking in his shoulder.
"Ugh!" grunted a voice close beside the canoe. "Very good shot for awhite boy. Not many could do that."
The trio turned in amazement and alarm, and, within three feet of them,they saw a shadowy canoe that contained a shadowy figure. There was butone person in the strange canoe, and he immediately added:
"There is no need to fear Socato, the Seminole, for he will not harmyou. He is the friend of all good white men."
It was an Indian, a Seminole, belonging to the remnant of the once greatnation that peopled the Florida peninsula. Frank realized this in amoment, and, knowing the Seminoles were harmless when well treated, feltno further alarm.
The Indian had paddled with the utmost silence to their side, while theywere watching what was taking place on shore.
The arrow had produced consternation in the camp. The fellow who waswounded tried to draw it from his shoulder, groaning:
"This is not a fair deal! Give me a fair show, and I'll fight you all!"
"Where did it come from?" asked Gage, in dismay.
The two canoes were beyond the circle of firelight, so they could not beseen from the shore.
Gage's two companions were overcome with terror.
"This swamp is full of Indians!" one of them cried. "We've been attackedby a band of savages!"
Gage spoke a few words in a low tone, and then sprang over the prostrateform of the man who had been stricken down by the arrow, grasped thegirl, and retreated into the darkness. His companions also scuddedswiftly beyond the firelight, leaving Captain Bellwood still bound tothe tree, while one man lay dead on the ground, and another had an arrowin his shoulder.
Close to Frank's ear the voice of Socato the Seminole sounded:
"Light bother them. They git in the dark a
nd see us from the shore. Thenthey shoot this way some."
"Jupiter and Mars!" gasped Professor Scotch, "I don't care to stay here,and have them shoot at me!"
"White boys want to save girl?" asked Socato, swiftly. "They pay to gether free? What say?"
"Of course we will pay," hastily answered Frank. "Can you aid us insaving her? If you can, you shall be----"
"Socato save her. White man and two boys go back to cabin of Great WhitePhantom. Stay there, and Socato come with the girl."
"Begorra! Oi don't loike thot," declared Barney. "Oi'd loike to take ahand in th' rescue mesilf."
"Socato can do better alone," asserted the Seminole. "Trust me."
But Frank was not inclined to desert Elsie Bellwood in her hour oftrouble, and he said:
"Socato, you must take me with you. Professor, you and Barney go back tothe hut, and stay there till we come."
The Indian hesitated, and then said:
"If white boy can shoot so well with the bow and arrow, he may not be inthe way. I will take him, if he can step from one canoe to the otherwithout upsetting either."
"That's easy," said Frank, as he deliberately and safely accomplishedthe feat.