CHAPTER XII.
AT LAKE TAHOE.
Poised like a sparkling gem in a grand and glorious setting ofmountain peaks, lies Lake Tahoe, the highest body of water on theAmerican continent.
The sun was shining from a clear sky when Frank Merriwell and HarryRattleton reached a point where they could look down upon the bosom ofthe lake, from which the sunlight was reflected as from the surface ofa mirror.
"There it is, old man!" cried Frank, enthusiastically--"the mostbeautiful lake in all the wide world!"
"That is stutting it rather peep--I mean putting it rather steep,"said Harry, with a remonstrating grin.
"But none too steep," asserted Frank. "People raved about the beautiesof Maggiore and Como, and thousands of fool Americans rush over to theold world and go into raptures over those lakes, but Tahoe knocks theeye out of them both."
"I think you are stuck on anything American, Frank."
"I am, and I am proud of it, too. Rattleton, we have a right to beproud of our country, and we would be blooming chumps if we weren't.It is the greatest and grandest country the sun ever shone upon, and afellow fully realizes it after he has been abroad and traveled aroundover Europe, Asia and Africa. I've been sight-seeing in those lands,my boy, and I know whereof I speak."
"You are thoroughly American, anyway, Frank."
"That's right. I love my native land and its beautiful flag--OldGlory! I never knew what it was to feel a thrill of joy that wasabsolutely painful till I saw the Stars and Stripes in a foreign land.The sight blinded me with tears and made me feel it would be aprivilege to lay down my life in defense of that starry banner."
"Well, you're a queer duck, anyway!" exclaimed Harry. "I never saw achap before who seemed cool as an iceberg outside and had a heart offire in his bosom."
Frank laughed.
"Every man is peculiar in his own way," he said "I never try to beanything different than I am. I am disgusted by affectation."
"We have found Lake Tahoe, but that is not finding the 'buriedheiress,' as you call her."
"But we will find her."
"I scarcely think it will be an easy task."
"Nor do I think so, but I gave George Morris my word, and I am goingto keep my promise to him, poor fellow!"
"You never seem to consider the possibility of failure, Frank."
"The ones who consider the possibility of failure are those who fail,old fellow. Those who succeed are the ones who never think offailure--who believe they cannot fail. Confidence in one's self is anabsolute requisite in the battle of life."
"There is such a thing as egotism."
"Yes. That consists in bragging about what you can do. It is mostoffensive. It is the fellow who does things without boasting who cutsice in this world. The other fellow often spends his time in tellingwhat he can do, but never does much."
"I think you are right; but let's get down nearer the lake. I've heardthat the water is marvelously clear."
"It is so clear that a small fish may be seen from the surface, thoughthe fish is near the bottom where the lake is the deepest."
"Then it can't be very deep."
"It is, nevertheless. In many places it is thirty or forty feet--evenmore than that."
"Then who invented the fish story?"
"The fish story is all right," laughed Merriwell. "I know."
"How do you know?"
"I've been here before."
"Here--at Lake Tahoe?"
"Sure."
"Well, say!" cried Rattleton, in astonishment, "I'd like to know whereyou haven't been!"
"Oh, there are lots of places where I haven't been, but this is one ofthe places where I have been. That's all."
"What brought you here?"
"I came here in pursuit of a young lady in whom a friend of mine, BartHodge, was interested."
"I think I have heard you speak of Hodge."
"Yes, he was my chum when I was in Fardale Military Academy. We wereenemies at first, and Hodge did his best to down me, but we becamefriendly after that, and Hodge turned out to be a very decent fellow."
"Where is he now?"
"Give it up. Haven't heard from Bart in a long time. Last I knew hewas out here in the West somewhere."
The boys had reached Tahoe on their wheels, there being a road to thelake. The road was not a very good one for bicycle traveling, but theyhad ridden a portion of the way.
Now they had left the road and pushed down to the lake by a windingpath, along which they had been forced to carry their wheels at times.
They made their way down to the edge of a bluff, from the verge ofwhich they could look over into the water.
"Say! it is clear!" cried Harry.
"I told you so," smiled Frank.
"But--but--why, it almost seems to magnify! I can count the pebbles onthe bottom. Look at those tiny fishes swimming around there."
In truth the water was marvelously clear, and things on the bottomcould be seen almost as plainly as if they were not beneath thesurface.
"Why, it don't seem possible that a boat can float on it!" broke fromHarry.
"It is something like floating in the air."
"Are there boats to be obtained near here?"
"There are a number of boats on the lake. There once was a man nearhere by the name of Big Gabe who owned a boat."
"Let's get it, if he is here now. I want to take a sail on this lake.How do we find Big Gabe?"
"I don't know that we'll be able to find him at all. He was aconsumptive."
"Oh, then he may be dead?"
"Not from consumption. He came here to die, but in less than a year hewas stronger and heartier than he had ever before been, and he was solazy that he didn't care to do anything but lay around and take lifeeasy. He said he was going to stay here till he died, but there seemedlittle prospect that he'd ever die. He----"
At this moment there was a sudden wild snarl behind them, and, beforethey could turn, each lad received a powerful thrust that sent himwhirling from the bluff to fall with a great splash into the waterbelow.
Both lads had pulled their bicycles over the brink, so the wheels fellwith a loud splash into the water which washed against the base of thesteep rock.
The boys themselves had been sent whirling still farther out, and theysank like stones when they struck the water.
But they came up quickly, wondering what had happened.
"Blate glisters--no, great blisters!" gurgled Harry, as he spurtedwater like a whale. "Where are we at?"
"Christmas!" said Frank. "What struck us?"
And then, on the top of the bluff, they saw a creature that wasdancing and howling with rage and satisfaction.
It was Apollo, the dwarf.
"May I be hanged!" exploded Rattleton. "It's that thing!"
"It is!" agreed Frank; "and I supposed that thing must be hundreds ofmiles from here."
"Going East."
"Of course."
"Belmont didn't let any grass grow under his feet before he got out."
"Not much."
The creature on the bluff danced and screamed and waved its long arms,while its hideous face was convulsed with expressions of rage.
"Oh, I'd like to get at him!" grated Frank.
"Thank you, I'd much rather keep away!" exclaimed Harry.
Then the boys started to swim ashore.
Suddenly the dwarf began throwing stones at them. He picked up hugestones from the ground and sent them whizzing through the air withgreat force and something like accuracy.
"Well, this is getting rather hot!" exclaimed Frank, as a huge jaggedstone shot down past his head and sank in the water.
"Hot!" gurgled Rattleton. "I should say so--some!"
"Look out!"
Another huge stone struck between them.
"If that had hit either of us, it would have fixed us!" came fromFrank.
"You bet!"
"Swim, old fellow! We must get away."
But as they swam, looking for a
place to go ashore, the dwarf followedalong the top of the bluff, still pelting them with stones, while heuttered those savage cries.
One of the smaller stones struck Merry and hurt him not a little.
"Wait!" he muttered. "I'll get a chance at you yet!"
Then, regardless of the shower of stones, he started to swim in towardthe shore where he saw a place that they could get out of the water.
But another stone whizzed down, and there came a broken, stranglingcry from Harry.
"What happened, old fellow?" asked Frank, who was now a bit inadvance. "Did the cur hit you?"
No answer.
Frank looked around, and found Harry had disappeared from view.
The dwarf on the bluff danced and howled with fierce delight.
As quickly as he could, Frank turned about, swam back a little anddived. It did not require a great effort to go down, for now hisclothes were thoroughly wet, and he sank easily.
As soon as he was below the surface, keeping his eyes open, he saw hisfriend lying on the bottom. The water was so clear that there was notthe least difficulty in this.
Down Frank went till he reached Harry, whom he grasped. Planting hisfeet on the bottom, he gave a great leap and shot upward.
The water was not more than eight feet deep, and he quickly reachedthe surface, immediately striking for the shore.
But his watersoaked garments and Harry's weight dragged on him, and itwas a desperate battle to keep from going down again.
"You must do it, Merriwell!" he told himself. "It's your only show!Pull him out somehow!"
Several times his head was forced below the surface and it seemed thatthe struggle was over; but he would not give up, and he would not letgo his hold on Harry.
"Both or none!" he thought. "If I can't get out with him, I'll not getout without him!"
The dwarf had disappeared from the bluff, which was a fortunate thing,as he would have been given a fine opportunity to pelt them with rocksas Frank slowly and laboriously swam ashore. Just then, if Merriwellhad been struck on the head by a stone, it must have ended the wholeaffair.
"Oh, if my clothes were off!" panted Frank. "Then I could do it. Imust do it anyway."
He wondered how badly Harry was hurt, but it was impossible to telltill the shore was reached.
The water did not seem so buoyant as it should, and he almost feltthat there was a force dragging him down.
Purely by his power of determination he succeeded in reaching therocks and dragging himself out with his burden, when he sank downutterly exhausted.
"Thank goodness!" he gasped. "I did it!"
He had not been there many moments when he heard a cry above, and,looking upward, saw the dwarf had returned to the edge of the bluff.
The dwarf seemed astonished when he saw the boys had reached shore,and he sent a stone whistling down at them.
Frank dodged the missile, and then, with a fresh feeling of strength,hastened up the rocks toward the top of the bluff.
Apollo saw the boy coming and immediately took to his heels, quicklydisappearing from view.
Finding the dwarf had escaped, Frank turned back, lifted Harry in hisarms, and again mounted the rocks.
He reached the top and bore his friend to a place where he could reston some short grass where he was sheltered from the sunlight.
Then Frank looked for Harry's injury.
Rattleton had been struck on the head by a stone, which had cut ashort gash in the scalp, and from this blood was flowing.
"It doesn't seem very bad," said Frank, as he examined the wound. "Irather think it stunned him, and that is all. He was not under waterlong enough to drown."
Frank took a handkerchief from his pocket and wrung it out, intendingto bind up Harry's head with it.
At that moment, happening to glance up, he saw a pale, horrible facepeering out from a mass of shrubbery.
It was the face of Apollo, the dwarf.
"That creature still here!" grated Merriwell, as he sprang up. "If heisn't driven away, he may find a way to injure us further."
Then he ran after Apollo, who quickly disappeared.
Frank pursued the dwarf hotly, hearing the little wretch crashingalong for some distance, but Apollo succeeded in keeping out of sight,and, at last, he could be heard no more.
Merry was disgusted. He spent some time in searching for Apollo, andthen returned to the spot where he had left Harry.