CHAPTER XIV.
THE HERMIT'S POWER.
Around the shore of the cove the two boys went toward the hut. As theyapproached it Frank placed his hands to his mouth in the form of ahorn, and shouted:
"Oh, Gabe! Oh, Mr. Blake!"
His voice came back in a distinct echo from a distant rocky steep, butthat was all the answer he received. The rising breeze stirred theopen door, seeming to wave it at the boys in derision, but the air ofloneliness about the place was oppressive.
"There's no one about," said Frank.
"Not a soul," agreed Harry.
They reached the cabin and looked in. It had not been occupied for twomonths, at least.
"Big Gabe is dead or gone," said Merriwell, with sincere regret. "Ihoped to find him here."
"Well, let's see if his boat is all right," came anxiously fromRattleton. "That is what we want to know most."
Leaving their wheels leaning against a tree, they hastened to the spotwhere the boat lay moored at a short distance from the shore.
"We'll have to swim to get it," said Frank. "It is plain that otherboat in which we saw Belmont and the dwarf was used by Gabe to getfrom the shore to the sailboat."
Frank stripped off quickly and plunged into the lake, although thewater was cold, as he well knew from recent experience.
Out to the boat he swam, came up by her stern, and got in withoutdifficulty, which was a very neat thing to do, as the average boywould have tried to crawl in over the side, with the probable resultof upsetting the boat.
"How's she look, Merry?" called Harry, anxiously.
"O. K.," answered Frank. "There's some water in her, but it is a smallamount, and the sails are well reefed. They may be somewhat rotten,but we'll be careful of them."
"How are we to get our wheels on board?"
Frank stood up and surveyed the bottom, which he could do with ease,because of the unruffled surface of the cove, as the wind did nottouch it there.
"There's a channel leading up to that large rock," he said. "I'llbring the boat up there."
"Look out to not get her aground so she can't be brought off," warnedHarry. "That would be a scrape."
"I'll look out."
Frank did not find it difficult to get up the anchor, and then, withthe aid of a long oar, he guided the boat to the rock.
In the meantime, Harry had hastened to bring the bicycles down to thecove, and they were all ready to be taken on board. This wasaccomplished, and Harry followed them.
"Now away, away," he cried. "We'll set our course for yonder shore."
"Of course," punned Frank, and Rattleton made a grimace.
"Bad--very bad," he said. "That habit has been the cause of moresudden deaths than anything else of which I know."
Frank laughed, and they pushed the boat from the great rock.
Rattleton set about unfurling the sails and getting them ready forhoisting.
"Are you a sailor, Merry?" he asked, as if struck by a new thought.
"Am I?" cried Frank. "Ha! ha! also ho! ho! Wait a wee, and you shallsee what you shall see."
"Then you have been to sea?"
Frank gave the other boy a look of reproach.
"And you had the nerve to do that after saying what you did about thebad pun I made a short time ago!" he cried. "Rattleton, your crust issomething awful!"
They made preparations for running up the sail, saw that the tillerwas all right and the rudder worked properly, and looked after otherthings. The bicycles were in the way, but that could not be helped.
Harry aided Frank in setting the sail, and, with the aid of the oar,the boat was worked out to a point where they could feel the breeze.
"By Jove! this is rather jolly," commented Rattleton, as they began tomake headway. "With a fair wind, we'll run over there in a short time,and then--then if we can find that girl!"
"My boy, your face is aglow with rapture at the thought," smiledFrank. "You have been hit a genuine heart blow. Look out that itdoesn't knock you out."
Away they went, making fair speed, although the boat was decidedlycrude and cumbersome.
The mountainous region beyond the lake was wild and picturesque, but,fortunately, the boys found a cut that led down to the very shore ofthe lake.
They reached a spot where they could run up close to the shore, whichenabled them to take their bicycles off without trouble.
The boat was made fast, the sails having been reefed once more, andthen the lads deliberately mounted their wheels and attempted to rideinto the cut.
This was not so difficult as might be thought, for they found whatseemed to be an antelope "run" that led from the shore, and theypedaled along that path.
"It was somewhere in this region that we found the retreat of the gangof money makers when I was here before," said Frank.
"What's that? A gang that made money?"
"Yes."
"I suppose they had some kind of an old hut here-abouts in which theydid the work?"
"They had a cave--a most wonderful cave it was said to be. That cavehad never been fully explored, and---- By Jove!"
Frank interrupted himself with the exclamation, a strange look havingcome to his face.
"What is it?" asked Harry.
"I have an idea."
"Put us on."
"That cave, my boy--that cave!"
"What about it?"
"It is said that Carter Morris, the queer old miner, lives in somesort of an underground place."
"That's right!" cried Rattleton, catching Frank's meaning, and growingexcited.
"He has some sort of mysterious mine."
"Sure, old man!"
"And he wrote Bernard Belmont that Mildred Morris was buried from thesight of the world."
"Now, you believe----"
"I do--I believe it possible that man may be occupying the very caveonce occupied by the counterfeiters."
Rattleton was following Frank along the path, and he nearly ranMerriwell down in his excitement.
"You know the way to that cave?" he shouted. "You can find it?"
"I might be able to do so, although I am not sure of it. I can try.Even if we find the cave, we may not find the man and girl there."
"It is a chance, anyway. It's the best we can do."
After they had proceeded into the mountains some distance, Frank beganto look for a slope they could scale, so they might get out of thepass.
It was finally found, and, with their wheels on their backs, theylabored to the top. Getting down on the other side was even moredifficult, but they succeeded.
Then Frank led Harry a wild chase, till Rattleton was pretty wellplayed out. His head had ceased to bleed, and he had removed thehandkerchief, but he could feel that the blow had taken not a littleof the stamina out of him.
"How long are you going to keep this up, Merry?" he asked.
"We must be somewhere near that cave," declared Frank. "It is gettingtoward night. I hoped to be fortunate and find it before dark."
"If we don't----"
"There's another day coming. We have hard bread and smoked beef in thecarriers, and we can find water here. We're not nearly as bad off aswe were on the Utah desert."
"That's right. That was a bad fix, but we pulled out of it all right.If our clothes were somewhat drier I could regard the approach ofnight with greater complaisance."
"Our clothes are nearly dry, and they will be much more so in twohours."
They continued the restless search, Frank seeming utterly tireless.Rattleton admired him for his resistless energy and unwaveringdetermination and confidence.
Fortune must have smiled on them, for, as they were making their wayalong a narrow cut, they turned a short corner and beheld the darkmouth of a cave just ahead of them.
Both lads stopped and stood beside their wheels, uttering exclamationsof satisfaction.
"Is that it, Frank?" asked Harry.
"It may be one of the entrances to the old cave of thecounterfeiters," answered Merry
. "That cave has several mouths. Thisis not the one I saw, but----"
"It is a cave, and it may be the one we are searching for. Come on!"
"What are you going to do?"
"Go in."
"We can't go in without torches."
"That's right--dead right! Was so excited I didn't think of that.But--hooray!--we have found it!"
"Don't be so sure yet. We'll go up and look in."
They approached the mouth of the cave.
Suddenly, as they came near, there was a roar from within, and out ofthe cave rushed a man whose long hair and beard were white, and whoseclothes were rude and worn.
The boys halted in amazement, staring at this man, who also stopped.
Frank spoke to Harry:
"It must be Carter Morris!"
"It is!" cried the old man, whose ears had caught the words. "How doyou know me? What right have you to know my name? I am buried--buriedfrom the world!"
"Crazy as a bedbug!" whispered Rattleton.
"Oh, crazy, am I!" sneered the man, much to Harry's astonishment, forit had not seemed possible he could hear that whisper. "That's whatthey think--the fools!"
Rattleton clutched Frank's wrist.
"Look," he panted; "she is coming! There she is!"
Out of the darkness within the mouth of the cave advanced the strangegirl they had seen in the canoe. She was hatless, and she lookedmarvelously pretty with her golden hair hanging about her ears andreaching down upon her shoulders.
"Well, she is a fairy!" admitted Merriwell. "If you win that, you'llbe a lucky lad, Rattles."
"Ha! ha! ha!" harshly laughed the man, without a trace of mirth inface or voice. "That is all they think of, the fools! That is whatbrings them here! They know you are rich, my dear--they know it! Andthey seek to win you! But you are dead to the world--dead and buried!"
"Mr. Morris," said Frank, speaking quietly, "we have a message for theyoung lady."
"Bah!" cried the man.
"It is from her brother," said Frank.
"Bah!" repeated the hermit.
But the girl started forward, crying:
"My brother--what do you know of him?"
The man put out his hand and held her back.
"It is a trick," he declared--"a shallow trick! They think to fool youthat way. Don't listen to them, child! Let me talk to them."
Then he turned on the boys, his face dark with anger.
"Go away from here!" he cried. "Every moment you remain here yourlives are in danger! If you care to live, go away at once!"
The girl looked frightened.
"We can't go away till we have delivered our message," said Frank,calmly, as he started forward.
"Back!" cried the strange old man, flinging out his hand with awarning gesture. "It means death if you advance another step!"
The girl looked more frightened than ever, and the boys halted again.
"The old pirate!" whispered Harry. "We must save her from him somehow,Frank! I know he is detaining her against her will."
Again that harsh, mirthless laugh.
"You know a great deal," sneered the man; "but you do not know enoughto go away and save your lives! You do not know my power, but youshall feel it!"
The girl cried out and started to lift a hand. Then the man stepped tothe right and touched the wall of stone.
To Frank and Harry it seemed that the mountains fell on them and beatthem down with a great blow that stretched them helpless and senselesson the ground!