CHAPTER XV.
MERRY'S DISCOVERY.
The actions of Tracy seemed strangely suspicious to Merry, who undertookto watch the man, only to find that Pablo seemed to be watching himstill more closely. Thus it happened that Merry followed the foreman upthe valley and saw him meet another man at a point removed beyond viewof the mine.
The man Tracy met was none other than Hop Anson, readily recognized at adistance by his bandaged hand.
"Something doing!" muttered Frank, as he crouched behind the rocks andwatched the two. "Tracy wanted to lynch Anson. Now they meet like this,apparently by appointment. My foreman is playing some sort of a doublegame."
This point was settled in Frank's mind. He longed to be near enough tohear what was passing between the two, but could not reach such aposition without exposing himself.
The men were suspicious that they might be watched. They did not remainthere long. But Frank distinctly saw Anson give Tracy something, whichthe latter placed in his pocket. Then the foreman turned back, and HopAnson vanished in the opposite direction.
Frank was tempted to step out and confront the foreman, demanding toknow what it meant, but he chose to remain quiet and seek the truth inanother manner. So he let Tracy pass.
But when the foreman had disappeared Merry sprang up and went racingafter Hop Anson, hoping to run the rascal down. He came out where hecould see far along a broad gorge, and there, riding into the distance,mounted on a good horse, was Anson. Frank knew the folly of tryingfurther pursuit, so he stood still and watched the vanishing figure.
"I'd like to know just what it was that Hop Anson gave Tracy," he said,aloud.
Immediately, within less than twenty feet from him, Pablo, the Mexicanboy, arose into view.
"I teel you what eet was," he said. "Eet was monee."
Frank was startled by this sudden appearance of the boy.
"What are you doing here?" he asked sharply.
"Oh, I watch de Tracy man," returned the lad craftily. "I seesomething."
"Were you near enough to hear their talk?"
"Just a leetle beet."
"Ha! What was it? What did you hear?"
"De man with hurt hand he geef oder man monee. Oder man take eet. Sayeet not enough. Must have two times more as much before he do somethingman with hurt hand want heem to do. Man with hurt hand mad. Eet do nogoode. Oder man say breeng as much more twice over to heem at sameplace same time to-morrow."
It is needless to say that this revelation was intensely interesting toMerriwell.
"Why, Hop Anson has no money!" exclaimed Frank. "Where did he get it? Itmust have come from Bill. In that case, an attempt is being made tobribe my foreman. I have a traitor in the mine, and he means to deliverme into the hands of the enemy."
"Tracy man he say to man with hurt hand that Pablo, the brother ofGonchita, ees here."
"So Tracy told Anson that?"
"_Si, senor_."
"Well, I think I need a new foreman--and need him bad! It is about timefor Mr. Tracy to get out!"
"You wait and watch, you ketch heem."
It was arranged that Pablo should return in advance to the mine, inorder that they might not be seen coming in together. So the Mexican boystrolled back with assumed carelessness.
But it happened that Jim Tracy was watching, and he saw Pablo, whereuponhe hastened to meet the boy.
"Where have you been?" harshly demanded the foreman.
Pablo looked surprised.
"I go to tak' de walk," he said.
"You little liar!" snarled Tracy. "You have been playing the spy! I knowwhat you have been doing!"
"De spyee--how you mean?"
The Mexican lad seemed very innocent.
"I've seen you sneaking around. Why are you hanging around here, anyhow?Why don't you get out?"
"Dat none of your busineeze," returned the lad saucily.
"You little runt!" growled Tracy, catching the boy by the shoulder. "Doyou dare talk to me that way?"
"You beeg rufeen!" cried Pablo. "You hurt! Let of me a-go!"
Then he kicked the foreman on the shins. Immediately, with a roar ofrage, Tracy struck Pablo with his fist, knocking the boy down.
Pablo was armed with a pistol, and this weapon he snatched out when hescrambled to his feet. But Tracy was on hand to clutch him and wrest theweapon from his grasp.
"You little devil!" grated the man. "I'll cut your throat on the spot!"
There was a terrible look in his eyes as he whipped out a knife andlifted it.
"Drop that!"
Crack!--the report of a revolver emphasized the command, and the bulletstruck the knife and tore it from the hand of the aroused ruffian.
Frank Merriwell had arrived just in time to save Pablo, who was benthelplessly backward over Tracy's knee, the hand of the wretch being athis throat.
Tracy shook his benumbed and quivering hand, releasing the boy andlooking at Frank resentfully.
"Oh, you're not badly hurt!" said Merry, as he strode up. "My leadstruck the knife blade, not your hand. And I seemed to be barely intime, too."
"Oh, I wasn't going to hurt the kid!" declared Tracy harshly. "I wasgoing to teach him a lesson, that was all. I wanted to frighten him alittle."
"Well, your behavior looked remarkably bloodthirsty. You seemed on thepoint of drawing the knife across his throat. That was enough for me.You may go, Tracy, but you are to let Pablo alone in the future."
"If he insults me----"
"Report to me; I'll make him apologize. Go."
Tracy seemed to wish to linger to argue over the matter, but the look inMerriwell's eyes forbade it, and he picked up the knife and slouchedsullenly away.
"I hope he did not hurt you much," said Frank, lifting Pablo's hat tosee the bruise made by the ruffian's fist.
With a cry, the boy grasped his hat and pulled it down upon his head.
But Frank had made a most surprising discovery, and it was enough togive Merry something to meditate over.
He decided that the boy must be closely watched, and he longed for thepresence of old Joe Crowfoot, than whom no one was more fitted to such atask.
But the outlaws had averred that old Joe was "food for buzzards," andthe protracted absence of the redskin led Merry to fear that he hadlooked into the Indian's beady eyes for the last time.
Frank spoke to no one of his discovery. As far as possible, he kept hiseyes on Pablo, as if he believed the boy meditated treachery of somesort.
Frank's friends wandered about the place and investigated the mine,watching operations.
The calm of the valley was most deceptive, and both Ready and Gallupdeclared they could not conceive any possible danger lurking near.Hodge, however, professed to feel a warning in the very peacefulness,which he declared was the calm before a storm.
Jim Tracy sulked. His treatment by Frank was altogether displeasing tohim, and he felt that he had been humiliated, which caused him toregister a secret vow of vengeance.
Pablo was generally found lingering about Frank's cabin or somewherenear Merry.
"He knows a good thing when he sees it," said Ready sagely, "and hemeans to stick to it. He doesn't seem in any great hurry about rushingto the rescue of his 'seestar.'"
Frank smiled in a knowing manner, observing:
"Perhaps he has reasons to know that his sister is in no great peril atpresent, and he is satisfied to stay here."
"He's a gol dern lazy little beggar!" said Gallup. "An' he oughter hevto wash his face once in a while."
The evening was cool and agreeable. The sun dropped peacefully behindthe mountains and the shadows gathered deeply in the gorges and canons.The roar of the stamps sank to silence, and peace lay like a prayer onthe valley.
Frank and his friends sat about the cabin door and chatted of old times.Sometimes they sang little snatches of the old songs.
And as the darkness deepened a slender, boyish figure lay on his stomachand wiggled cautiously nearer and nearer, taking the utmost
pains not tobe seen.
This eavesdropper was Pablo, and he evinced the greatest interest in allthey were saying; but it was when Frank spoke or sang that he listenedwith the utmost attention, keeping perfectly still. Thus it was that theboy heard Hodge say:
"Merriwell, I'm half-inclined to believe that dirty little Mexicanrascal is a fakir. I suspect him."
"Of what?" asked Frank.
"Of being a spy. He told a slick tale, but I've had time to think itover, and somehow it seems too thin. Why shouldn't Bill send him here toplay the spy?"
"My dear Bart," said Merry, with a laugh, "what would be Bill's object?What could the boy do?"
"He might get a chance to put a knife in your back, old man."
"I'll chance it. I do not believe Pablo that bad. I'll trust him."
"Well, I wouldn't trust any greaser."
"I hate you, Senor Hodge!" whispered the listening boy, to himself. "Ihate you; but I lofe Frank Merriwell!"
The miners gathered near their quarters. As far as possible, Frank hadsecured miners who were not Mexicans, but there were a few Mexicansamong them.
Among the men were some who were hard characters when they weredrinking, and Merry had taken particular pains to make rules andregulations to keep liquor away from them.
The morning after the encounter between Pablo and Jim, the foreman,Frank arose and flung open the door of his cabin, but immediately madethe discovery that a sheet of paper was pinned to the door with a knife.
"Hello!" he exclaimed. "Here's something interesting!"
Gallup came slouching forward, followed by Ready.
"What, ho!" cried Jack, as his eyes fell on the knife and the paper."Methinks I see something! Hist! That is what the tragic actor said whenhe appeared upon the stage. He crept in and looked around, after whichhe said, 'Hist!' And he was hissed."
"By gum!" cried Ephraim. "There's writin' written on it! What does itsay?"
This is what they read written sprawlingly on the sheet of paper thatwas pinned to the door by the knife:
"FRANK MERRIWELL: You are hearby giv notis that you are to send away the boy Pablo instanter. He promised to come to his sister, and he has not come. You are warned not to keep him. BILL."
Frank looked at the notice and laughed.
"Well," he said, "that is rather interesting. So Bill wants the boy? Whydoesn't he come and take him?"
Hodge came and read the notice, a deep frown on his darkly handsomeface.
"What do you make of it, Merry?" he asked.
"Give us your opinion."
"Nerve."
"Shall we give up the boy?"
Now Bart had not favored Pablo, but at this juncture he grimly declared:
"I'm against it."
"Good!" nodded Merry. "Let Bill come and take him! If the boy's story istrue, it would not be a healthy thing for him to fall into Bill'shands."
Just as he spoke these words Jim Tracy came around the corner andappeared on the scene. He halted, appearing surprised, and stared at theknife and the notice.
"Whatever is it?" he asked.
"Something left there during the night," said Merry. "Read it."
Tracy looked it over.
"Well, Bill sure wants the greaser kid," he said, "an' I reckon you'dbest give the youngster up."
"Why do you reckon that?"
"Cimarron Bill is a heap dangerous."
"He may be," said Merry; "but he has failed thus far to get ahead of me.I don't like his notice, if this came from him. But I thought you tookpains to have the place guarded at night, Tracy?"
"So I does, sir."
"Then how did Bill or any of his gang manage to creep up here and pinthis to my door?"
"That I can't say, sir."
"I think I'll look after things to-night," said Frank grimly. "If we'regetting careless around here Bill may walk in some night and seize themine before we know a thing of what's going to happen."
He jerked the knife from the door, took the paper and placed it in hispocket, after which he indicated that he was ready to speak with theforeman, who had some matter of business to discuss.
When Tracy departed Frank sat down and meditated, for he had noticedsomething peculiar and remarkable.
There were ink-stains upon the thumb and two of the fingers of JimTracy's right hand.