CHAPTER IV.
"INDIANS!"
"Gone!" cried Jack.
"Sure!" nodded Frank.
"Lordy massy sakes teh goose-grease!" gasped Toots, again shiveringwith terror. "Didn't I done tole yeh, chilluns! If yo' know when yo'am well off, yeh'll git erway from heah jes' as quick as yeh cantrabbel! Oh, mah goodness!"
Shaking in every limb, the colored boy tried to get his bicycle outfrom the others, lost his balance, fell over, and sent the entirestack of wheels crashing to the ground.
"Well, this seems to be a regular sleight-of-hand performance," coollycommented Browning. "Now you see it, and now you don't; guess whereit's gone. It drives me to a cigarette."
But he discovered that his cigarettes were gone, which seemed toconcern him far more than the vanishing of the skeleton. He declaredhe had lost a whole package, and seemed to feel quite as bad about itas if they were solid gold.
Rattleton was excited.
"What sort of pocus-hocus--no, hocus-pocus is this, anyway?" hespluttered. "Where's it gone? Who wayed the old thing a took. I meanwho took the old thing away?"
"It couldn't have gone away of its own accord," said Frank, "so someone must have removed it."
"Don' yeh fool yo'se'f dat way, Marser Frank!" cried Toots, sitting upamid the fallen wheels. "Dat skillerton am de berry ol' scratchhisse'f! De next thing some ob dis crowd will be disumpearin' dat way.Gwan ter git kerried off, chilluns, if yo' don' git out ob dis in ahurry."
"Oh, shut up!" snapped Diamond. "You make me tired with your chatter!"
"Mistah Dimund," said the colored boy, with attempted dignity, "ifyo'll let dat debbil kerry yo' off yo'll nebber be missed--no, sar."
Jack pretended he did not hear those words.
"Here goes to see what has become of the thing!" cried Frank, as hescrambled up to the niche where the skeleton had sat.
"I am with you!" cried Diamond, as he followed Frank closely.
Reaching the nook in the face of the cliff, they looked about for somesign of the skeleton that had been there a short time before, but nota sign of it could they see. The ghastly thing was gone, and theglittering ornaments had vanished with it. The block of stone on whichthe object had sat was still there.
"Well, fat do you whind--I mean what do you find?" cried Rattleton,impatiently.
"Not a thing," was the disgusted reply. "It has gone, sure as fate!"
"So have my cigarettes!" groaned Browning.
"The treasure--is any of that there?" asked Harry, eagerly.
"Not a bit of it."
"Well, that's what I call an unfair deal," murmured Bruce. "It is ablow below the belt. If the old skeleton had desired to go away, noneof us would have objected, but it might have left the trimmings withwhich it was adorned."
Frank was puzzled, and the more he investigated the greater grew hiswonder. He knew they had seen the skeleton, yet it had vanished likefog before a blazing sun.
Jack shrugged his shoulders and shivered, saying:
"There's something uncanny about it, old man. I believe it is awarning."
"Nonsense!" cried Frank. "What sort of a warning?"
"A warning of the fate that awaits all of us."
"You are not well, Jack."
"Oh, it is not that! First we see a lake of water, and thatdisappears; then we see this skeleton, and now that has vanished. Youmust confess that there is something remarkable in it all."
"The vanishing of the mirage came about in a natural manner, but----"
"But you must confess there was something decidedly unnatural aboutthe vanishing of the skeleton."
"It was removed by human hands--I will wager anything on that."
"Then where is the human being who removed it?"
"I don't know."
Unable to remain below, Rattleton came climbing up to the niche.
"I've got to satisfy myself," he said, as he felt about with hishands, as if he expected to discover the vanished skeleton in thatmanner. "I can't see how the blamed old thing could get away!"
"Well, you can see quite as well as we can," acknowledged Frank. "Itis gone, and that is all we can tell about it."
The boys satisfied themselves that the thing had really disappeared,and they could not begin to solve the mystery. After a time theyreturned to the ground.
"It am de debbil's work!" asserted Toots. "Don' yeh mek no misteks'bout dat, chilluns."
They held a "council of war," and it was resolved that they should goon through the pass and try to find the second water-hole beforedarkness fell.
Already night was close at hand, and they must needs lose no time.
"We can come back here in the morning and see if we're able to solvethe mystery," said Merriwell. "I, for one, do not feel like going awaywithout making another attempt at it."
"Nor I," nodded Rattleton.
"It is folly," declared Jack, gloomily. "I say we have been warned,and the best thing we can do is get away as soon as possible."
"By golly! dat am de firs' sensibul fing I've heard yo' say in fo'days!" cried Toots, approvingly.
They picked up their wheels, and soon were ready to mount.
"Here's good-by to the vanishing skeleton for to-night," cried Frank.
He was answered by a wild peal of mocking laughter that seemed to runalong the face of the cliff in a most remarkable manner.
"Ha! ha! ha!" it sounded, hoarsely, and "Ha! ha! ha!" came down fromthe rocks, like a mystic echo.
"O-oh, Lordy!"
Toots made a jump for the saddle of his bicycle, but jumped too farand went clean over the wheel, striking his knee and turning in theair, to fall with a thump on the back of his neck.
"Mah goodness!" he gurgled, as he lay on the ground, dazed by theshock of the fall. "De ol' debbil done gib meh a boost then fo' suah!"
The other lads looked at each other in perplexity.
"Well, wh-wh-what do you think of that?" stammered Rattleton.
"He ought to file his voice, whoever he is," coolly observed Browning."It's a little rough along the edges."
"It strikes me that somebody is having fun with us," said Merriwell, alook of displeasure on his face.
"What are you going to do about it?" asked Harry.
"We don't seem able to do much of anything now. Come on."
Toots scrambled up, and they mounted their wheels. As they started toride away, a hollow-sounding voice cried:
"Stop!"
"Oh, riv us a guest--I mean give us a rest!" flung back Rattleton.
"Stop!" repeated the mysterious voice. "Do not try the pass. There isdanger beyond. Turn back."
"I told you it was a warning!" cried Jack. "What do you think of itnow?"
"I think somebody is trying to have a lot of sport with us!" exclaimedFrank.
"Well, what are you going to do?"
"Not a thing. I don't propose to pay any attention to it, Come on,fellows. We must have more water, and there's none too much time tofind it before dark."
Diamond was tempted to declare he would not go any further, but heknew the others would stand by Frank, and so he pedaled along.
As they drew away from the spot where they had seen the skeleton, theyheard the mysterious voice calling to them again, commanding them tostop and turn back. Thus it continued till they had ridden on so thatit could be heard no longer.
Despite himself Frank had been impressed by what he had seen andheard, and a feeling of awe was on him. Ahead the shadows were thickwhere the dark cliffs seemed to come together, and there was somethinggrim and overpowering about the bare and towering mountains thatsullenly frowned down upon the little party.
The boys were silent, for they had no words to speak. Each was busywith his thoughts, and those thoughts were not of the most pleasantcharacter.
A feeling of heart-sickening loneliness settled down upon them andmade them long for the homes that were so far away. What satisfactionwas there, after all, in this great ride across the continent? Theyhad encountered i
nnumerable perils, and now it seemed that they wereovershadowed by the greatest peril of all.
How still it was! The mountains seemed like crouching monsters of thegreat desert, waiting there to spring upon and crush them out ofexistence. There was something fearsome and frightful in their grimair of waiting.
The whirring of the wheels was a warning whisper, or the deadly hissof a serpent. As they passed between the frowning bluffs, which roseon either hand, the whirring sound seemed to become louder and loudertill it was absolutely awesome.
Frank looked back, and of all the party Bruce Browning was the onlyone whose face remained stolid and impassive. It did not seem that hehad been affected in the least by what had happened.
"He has wonderful nerve!" thought Merriwell.
Diamond's dark face seemed pale, and there was an anxious look on theface of Rattleton. Toots betrayed his excitement and fear mostdistinctly.
Frank feared they would not get through the pass in time to find thesecond water-hole, and he increased his speed.
The ground was favorable for swift riding. At that time Merriwellthought it fortunate, but, later, he changed his mind.
Of a sudden the pass between the bluffs ended, and they shot out intoa valley or basin.
A cry of astonishment and alarm came from Frank's lips, and he usedall his energy to check and turn his flying wheel.
Before them blazed a fire, and around that fire were gathered----
"Indians!" palpitated Harry Rattleton.