CHAPTER III.
THE SKELETON.
Frank began talking to Diamond in a smooth, pleasant way, appealing tohis sense of justice. At first Jack turned away, as if he did not careto listen, but he heard every word, and he was affected.
"You are not yourself, old fellow," said Frank, softly, placing hishand gently on Diamond's shoulder. "If you were yourself you would notbe like this. It is the burning desert, the blazing sun, the frightfulthirst--these have made you unlike yourself. I don't mind anything youhave said about me, Jack, for I know you are my friend, and you wouldnot think of saying such things under ordinary circumstances. A littlewhile ago, away out on the desert, you told me that much. It was thenthat reason came back to you for a little while. Knowing how you havesuffered, I gave you the first drink from this water-hole. The waterran in slowly, and I did not know that there would be enough to goaround twice. You were not the only one who had suffered from thirst,but the others made no objection to your having the first drink--theywanted you to have it. But it was necessary that they should have someof the water, so that all of us would be in condition to search forthe other water-hole. Surely, old fellow, you see the common sense ofthis. And now, Jack, look--the water has cleared, and more is runninginto the hole. It will quench your thirst, and you will be yourselfagain. You are my friend, and I am yours. We stand ready to fight foreach other at any time. If one of my enemies were to try to get at mebehind my back, why, you would----"
"Strangle the infernal cur!" shouted Diamond. "Give me that water,Frank! You are all right, and I'm all wrong! Just let me have a chanceto fight for you, and see if I don't fight as long as there is a dropof blood in my body!"
Merriwell had conquered, but he showed no sign of triumph, although hequietly said:
"I knew all the while, dear old fellow; in fact, I believe I know youbetter than you know yourself."
Then, when the others came up, ready to jolly Diamond about refusingto drink, Frank checked them with a gesture.
Jack felt better when he had taken a second drink of water. As waterhad risen in the hole, all the boys were able to get another round,and the spirits of all of them were raised.
"I believe we have some hard bread and jerked beef, haven't we,Merry?" asked Browning.
"Yes."
"Well, we are all right, then. Can't knock us out now. All I need is agood chance to rest."
"Oh, you need rest!" nodded Rattleton. "You always need that. You cantake more rest and not complain than any fellow I ever saw."
"Young man," said Bruce, loftily, "it won't work. I refuse to let youget me on a string, so drop it."
"You'll be lucky if you get out of this part of the country withoutgetting on a string with the other end hitched to the limb of a tree."
"That reminds me," drawled Bruce; "at the last town where we stopped Iasked a citizen if there were any horse thieves in that locality, andhe said there were two of 'em hanging around there the night before."
"Yes," nodded Harry, "that was the place where they said they weregoing to stop lynching if they had to hang every durned lyncher theycould catch."
"Boys," laughed Merriwell, "we are all right. When you chaps get tospringing those things I feel there is no further danger. We'll pullout all right."
"Suttinly, sar," grinned Toots. "I's gwan teh bet mah money on discrowd ebry time, chilluns. We's hot stuff, an' dar ain't nuffin' gwanteh stop us dis side ob San Francisco--no, sar!"
Finally, refreshed and filled with new hope, the boys mounted theirwheels and started to seek for the second water-hole.
Frank led the way, and they turned to the south, riding along the baseof some barren cliffs.
"Are you sure we'll be able to find our way back to the water-hole wehave left if we fail to discover the other one?" asked Rattleton.
"I am taking note of everything, and I do not think there will be anydifficulty," answered Frank.
They had proceeded in this manner for about two miles when they sawbefore them a place where the barren cliffs opened into a pass thatseemed to lead into the mountains.
"There is our road!" cried Merriwell, cheerfully. "It should lead usstraight to the second water-hole."
"Yah! yah!" laughed Toots. "Cayarn't fool dat boy, chilluns! He knowshis business, yo' bet! Won't s'prise me a bit if he teks us stret to aresyvoyer--no, sar!"
They made for the pass, and, in a burst of energy, the colored boyspurted to the front, taking the lead.
Of a sudden, as they approached a point where the bluffs narrowed tillthey were close together, the negro gave a sudden wild howl of terror,tried to turn his wheel about and went plunging headlong to theground.
"Wow!" gasped Rattleton. "What's struck him?"
"Something is the matter with him, sure as fate," said Frank.
Toots was seen to sit up and stare toward the wall of stone, while itwas plain that he was shaking as if struck by an attack of ague. Thenhe tried to scramble up, but fell on his knees, with his hands claspedand uplifted in a supplicating attitude, while he wildly cried:
"Go 'way, dar, good Mr. Debbil! I ain't done nuffin' teh yo'! Pleasedon' touch me! I's nuffin' but a po' good-fo'-nuffin' nigger, an' Iain't wuff bodderin' wif--no, sar! Dar am some white boys wif me, an'I guess yo'll lek them a heap sight better. Jes' yo' tek one of them,good Mr. Debbil!"
"Has he gone daffy, too?" muttered Frank, in astonishment.
Then the boys came whirling up and sprang from their wheels, at whichToots made a scramble for Frank, caught hold of his knees, andchatteringly cried:
"Don' yeh let him kerry me off, Marser Frank! I knows yo' ain'tafeared of nuffin', so I wants yeh ter protect po' Toots from dedebbil wif de fiery eyes!"
But Frank was so astonished that he scarcely heard a word the coloredboy uttered.
Seated on a block of stone in a niche of the wall was a humanskeleton. It was sitting bolt upright and seemed to be staring at theboys with eyes that flashed a hundred shades of light.
"Poly hoker--no, holy poker!" palpitated Harry, leaning hard on hiswheel. "What have we struck?"
For a time the others were speechless.
Wonderfully and fantastically was the skeleton decorated. On its headwas a rude crown that seemed to be of glittering gold, while goldbracelets adorned its arms. About the fleshless neck was a chain ofgold, to which a large locket was attached, and across the ribs wasstrung a gold watch-chain, while there were other fantastic and costlyornaments dangling over those bones of a human being.
The eyes of the skeleton, flashing so many different lights, seemed tobe two huge diamonds of enormous value.
No wonder the young cyclists stared in astonishment at the marvelouslybejeweled skeleton!
"Well," drawled Browning, with his usual nonchalance, "the gentlemanseems to have dressed up in his best to receive us. Some one must havesent him word we were coming."
Toots, seeing the others did not seem frightened, had got on his feetand picked up his bicycle.
"Goodness!" muttered Diamond. "If all those decorations are solidgold, there is a small fortune in sight!"
"What is the meaning of this, Frank?" asked Rattleton. "How do yousuppose this skeleton happens to be here?"
"Ask me something easy," said Merriwell, shaking his head.
"The skeleton must have been decorated in that manner by some livingperson," asserted Rattleton.
"But where is that person?"
"Not here, that is sure."
"It may be a warning," said Jack, gloomily.
"Warning, nothing!" exclaimed Frank. "It is plain the thing has beenleft there by some person, and we are the discoverers. It must be thatthe skeleton is that of some poor devil who perished here for want ofwater."
"And it may be that the one who placed it there perished also," saidRattleton.
"Very likely."
"In which case," came eagerly from Jack's lips, "all that treasurebelongs to us! Boys, it is a wonderful stroke of fortune! We have madeenough to take the whole of us
through Yale, and----"
"If we ever get back to Yale, old fellow! This unfortunate fellowperished here, and our fate may be similar."
"Boo!" shivered Browning. "That's pleasant to think about!"
"More than that," Frank went on, "the treasure does not belong to usif we can find the real owner or his heirs."
The excitement and interest of the boys was great. They were eager toexamine the decorations of the mysterious skeleton.
"We'll stack our wheels, and then one of us can climb up and make aninspection," said Frank.
So they proceeded to stack their wheels, Toots observing:
"Yo' can fool wif dat skillerton if yo' wants to, chilluns, but disnigger's gwan teh keep right away from it. Bet fo' dollars it willjest reach out dem arms and grab de firs' one dat gits near it. Wo-oh!Land ob wartermillions! it meks me have de fevah an' chillins jes' tofink ob it!"
"We'll draw lots to see who goes up," said Frank, winking at theothers. "You will have to go if it falls to you, Toots."
"Oh, mah goodness!" gasped the frightened darky. "I ain't gwan tehdraw no lots, Marser Frank--no, sar! I's got a po'erful bad case obheart trouble, an' mah doctah hab reckermended dat I don't fool roun'no skillertons. He said it might result distrus if I boddered wifskillertons."
"What's that?" cried Frank, sternly. "Would you drink your share ofwater when water is so precious and not take even chances with therest of us in any danger?"
"Now, Marser Frank!" cried the darky, appealingly; "don' go fo' to betoo hard on a po' nigger! De trubble wif me is dat I'm jes' a nacheralbo'n coward, an' I can't git over hit nohow. Dat's what meks mah heartturn flip-flops ebry time dar's any dangar, sar."
"But think of the treasure up there that we have found. If it shouldfall to you to investigate, and you were to bring down that treasure,of course you would receive your share, the same as the rest of us."
"Lawd bress yeh, honey! I don' want no treasure if I've goter go an'fotch hit down. I'd a heap sight rudder nebber hab no treasure dan gitwifin reachin' distance of dat skillerton--yes, sar!"
"Don't fool with him, Merry," said Diamond, impatiently. "Of courseyou don't expect to send him up, and you won't think of giving him anypart of the treasure."
Frank flashed a look at the Virginian, and saw that Jack was inearnest.
"You are mistaken, old man," he said. "I do not expect Toots to go upthere, but, if there is a real treasure and it is divided, you may besure he will receive his share."
"Oh, well!" cried Jack, somewhat taken aback; "of course I don't carewhat you do about that, but I thought you were in earnest about whatyou were saying."
"The trouble with you," muttered Rattleton, speaking so low that Jackcould not hear him, "is that you never see through a joke."
"Come," spoke Browning, "if we've got to take chances to see who goesup and makes the examination, come on. I hope to get out of it myself,but if I must, I must."
"We need not take chances," said Frank, promptly. "I will go."
"It will not be difficult, for it is no climb at all," said Jack. "Twoof us can swing ourselves up there in a moment, and I will go withyou, Merry."
Then it was that Rattleton suddenly gave a great cry of stupefiedamazement.
"What's the matter?" asked Merriwell.
"Look! Look!" gasped Harry, pointing toward the niche in the rocks."The skeleton--it has disappeared!"
They looked, and, dumb for the time with amazement and dismay, theysaw Rattleton spoke the truth.
The mysterious skeleton had vanished!