CHAPTER XI.
RUFFIANS AT ODDS.
Some of the men were idly lounging about as they smoked, while otherswere playing cards. The card players were gambling, and money clinked onthe table before them. A picturesque and desperate-looking group theywere, yet Merriwell felt and knew by experience that they were far moredangerous in appearance than in actual fact. He had met a number of themface to face, and succeeded in holding them in check with no more thanthe crooked staff of the old monk for his weapon of defense. They werethe kind to strike at a man's back and cower before his face.
The card players did not always get along amicably. At times theyquarreled excitedly, over their game. Finally one of them losteverything and flew into a passion, roundly berating his more luckycompanions. They laughed at him as they puffed their cigarettes.
"What matters it, Pachuca?" cried one. "It is only a little. Soon youwill have more."
"Oh, yes, much more!" smiled another. "The chief has promised you plentywhen he shall get the girl safely away."
"I much prefer money to promises," solemnly retorted Pachuca. "It's anhonest game I play. Why should I win with you?"
"Now, it's best that you have a care with your tongue," rather hotlyreturned one of the winners. "Yesterday it was your luck to win; now itis mine."
"Is it luck you call it?" sneered Pachuca. "Ha! ha!"
"Yes, luck. What was it when you won?"
"It was my skill," declared Pachuca loftily. "But even skill is no matchfor some methods."
At this the little fellow who had won the most sprang up and struck thetable with his fist, glaring across at Pachuca.
"Do you dare say to my face that I cheat?" he sharply cried. "Speak itout, if you do!"
Merry was quite satisfied by the course events seemed to be taking, forhe felt that it might be much to his advantage if a quarrel betweenthese two men followed.
Pachuca, however, shrugged his shoulders and showed his teeth, as herolled a cigarette.
"You have won, Ramon," he returned. "Keep the money. My turn comes."
"Any time you like," was the defiant challenge. "When I lose it is notlike a stuck pig that I squeal."
Then Ramon sat down as if quite satisfied, and the game proceededwithout Pachuca participating further.
Merry was disappointed. Still he saw there was bad blood among the men,and he felt that what he had heard in the courtyard and since indicateddissension and dissatisfaction.
As the gamblers continued they again fell to speaking of "the girl."
Suddenly behind him, toward the stairs, Merry heard a soft footfall. Hepressed himself closer into the darkness of his niche and scarcelybreathed as a man brushed past. This man halted in the door, hearingsomething of the words of the gamblers. Suddenly he stepped forward.
"What is this?" he demanded angrily. "Again you are talking too much. Ihave warned you before. You are not to speak at all of the girl. Youknow she's here; let that be enough, and hold your tongues!"
"Hello, my fine friend!" whispered Frank to himself, as the light fellon the face of the newcomer and he saw that there was a scar on theman's cheek. "So it's you?"
Sudden silence fell upon the men. The man with the the scar singled outRamon, at whom he pointed.
"You are always talking too much," he declared. "When will you learnbetter?"
As he stood behind the table, Ramon's hand slipped down to his sash,where it touched the hilt of a knife, and the look on his face was farfrom pleasant.
"It's me you always single out, Carlos!" he exclaimed. "Why do you nevertalk thus to the others?"
"Because it is you who make trouble. It is you I have been compelled tocaution. What think you the chief would say should he hear you?"
"The chief!" cried Ramon. "Where is he? It is easy to make promises,Carlos. How know we that we are to receive all that is promised?"
"Have you not been satisfied in the past?"
"Not always," was the bold retort. "I am not the only one; there areothers here who have not been satisfied. It is time to speak plainly.When all danger is over----"
"It is already," was the assertion.
"How so?"
"You know the three dogs who followed the trail have been trapped. Theyare secure, and never from this place will they go forth."
"But there may be others. There was another who followed us far."
"What of him?" sneered Carlos, snapping his fingers. "He has long lostthe scent. It is only these three fellows who tracked us here, andbetter for them had they never come. Here their bones will rot!"
"If that is true, there is now nothing to prevent the chief fromcarrying the girl whither he likes. Who is she? That you have not toldus, Carlos."
"That is nothing to you. It is a matter to concern the chief alone."
"Ah! we know she must be of great value to him, else he would have nevertaken so many chances. Why was she deceived with the tale that she wasto be carried to her father?"
"How know you so much?" grimly demanded Carlos.
Then suddenly he wheeled on Jimenez.
"It's you who talk a great deal likewise!" he snarled.
Up to this point Jimenez had been silent. Now, like a flash, he sprangup and advanced to the side of Ramon.
"My tongue is my own," he harshly said. "On it no one has placed a lock.What harm has the child done that she should be deceived? We are the menwho did the work; why should not we be trusted? Answer that--if you can.I know that she was told that she should find her father here. I know,too, that he is a fugitive and has long hidden from his enemies.However, I know that she was led to believe that he had sent for her.Where is this man?"
"You fool!" burst from Carlos. "I knew that it was a mistake when youwere placed to guard her. I knew it was unsafe that she should tell youtoo much. Wait until the chief learns of this."
"Let him pay us what he has promised," said Ramon. "We will take it andbe silent. He may then go where he pleases and carry the girl. Carlos,we are not the only ones here who demand to see this money and to hearit clink in our hands. Comrades, it is time we show our colors. Letthose who are with me stand forth."
At this there was a stir. Some of the men seemed to hesitate, but amoment later two more men came over to the side of Ramon and Jimenez.
"This is not all," Ramon declared. "There are still others who are notsatisfied with bare promises. Let the chief satisfy us. Where is he?"
Merry had been so deeply interested that he failed to hear a step behindhim, and had not he been cautiously pressed in the shadows of his nookhe might have been observed. The approaching man, however, had heardsounds of a quarrel in that room, and he strode past Frank and enteredby the door.
"Who calls for me?" he demanded, in a clear, steady voice. "Why all thisuproar?"
"Joaquin!" muttered one, while others exclaimed, "The chief!"
And Frank recognized Felipe Dulzura!
Sudden silence fell upon them. Dulzura, whom Frank now knew to be BlackJoaquin, stood boldly looking them over. Despite the assertion made byone of the men that the chief was one who avoided danger, his bearingnow seemed that of utter fearlessness and command.
"Speak!" he exclaimed. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Ask Ramon," said Carlos. "He will tell you--perhaps."
Ramon drew himself up. The time had come that he must face the matterunflinchingly.
"It is this," he said; "we have been promised much and have receivedlittle. Some of us are not satisfied."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Black Joaquin. "And you are one of the dissatisfied,I see."
"I am," was the admission; "but I am not alone. You will find that thereare many more. Ask them. You will find nearly all are dissatisfied."
The chief glanced them over, and what he saw in their faces convincedhim that Ramon spoke truly. Suddenly he smiled on them in that pleasantmanner of his, and his voice was soft and musical as he spoke again.
"I would not have any of my faithful fellows dissatisfied," he decl
ared."If there is anything I can do in justice, let them name it."
Carlos seemed disappointed by this unexpected manner of their leader.
"It is that you have promised us a great deal we have not received,"said Ramon.
"And is it yet time?" was the placid question.
"Why not? You said the time would come when the girl was safely yours,with no danger of pursuit. To me it seems that time has come. The threeAmericans who pursued you are captured and cannot escape. The girl isnow yours to do with as you like. Is it strange we suspect she is aprize of great value? If she were not, why should Black Joaquin puthimself to so much trouble?"
"You are right," smiled the man Merry knew as Dulzura. "But you arehasty. It is only lately the pursuers I most feared have fallen into myhands. Had you waited a little it might have given me more satisfaction.You were always too hasty, Ramon."
The rebuke was of the mildest sort, and Ramon accepted it without a showof anger.
"However," continued the chief, "I can pardon you this once, but youshall be satisfied. I have not at hand all I have promised you, but itis where I can soon secure it. Nevertheless, I have something here, andit shall be divided among you."
As he said this, he drew forth a leather pouch, which he flung with acareless gesture upon the table. It struck with a heavy thud and aslight clanking sound.
"I call upon you," he said, "to see that it is divided equally andfairly. The rest shall be paid you soon. Carlos, I would speak withyou."
He then turned toward the door, and Carlos followed him. Outside, in theshadows, they halted not fifteen feet from Frank.
"Carlos," said Joaquin, "not one coin more will those dogs get. I haveno further use for them. You and I must abandon them and get away beforethe coming of another day. It is no longer well for us to remain in thisland. As Black Joaquin my work is done. Can we reach Spain in safetywith the girl, our fortunes are made. But those snarling curs willobject if they suspect we are contemplating leaving them behind. You Idepend on. You know where the wine is kept. Take this which I give youand with it drug the wine. When you have done so, bring it for them todrink. Make merry with them, and encourage them to drink deeply. Theywill sleep soundly after that, and we shall have no trouble. I will getthe girl ready. Before those fools awaken I shall be far from here, andwe can laugh at them."
"Good!" said Carlos, having accepted from Joaquin's hand the bottleproffered him. "It shall be done. Leave it to me."
The chief clapped his trusted comrade upon the shoulder.
"Faithful Carlos!" he said. "With me you shall share the reward. Lose notime, for time is precious now."
"The Americans," questioned Carlos, "what of them?"
"Leave them where they are. Let them starve there."
Little did they dream when they turned away that they were followed byFrank Merriwell, who observed the greatest possible caution. Theyseparated, and it was Black Joaquin whose footsteps led Frank throughmany winding ways and up long flights of stairs into one of the turrets.When Joaquin unbarred the door and entered the little room up thereFrank was near at hand. Merry stole forward and peered into that room,from which the light shone forth.
"She's there!" he told himself, in deep satisfaction, as he beheldFelicia.
The captive girl had been weeping. When Joaquin saw this he spoke to herin a voice that seemed full of tenderness and compassion.
"My dear child," he said, "why do you shed these foolish tears?"
"Oh, sir!" exclaimed Felicia, "where are the friends I saw from thewindow? Why are they not permitted to come to me?"
"They are near and you shall see them soon," was the treacherouspromise.
"How am I to believe you?" cried the girl. "You told me I should find myfather here. You told me he was hiding here to escape his enemies. Youtold me he had sent for me to come to him, longing to see my face oncemore. I believed you. I trusted you. At your command I even deceived thegood friends I knew in San Diego. Now I fear it was wrong and wicked forme to do so. Now I know it was wrong! But what was I to do? You told me,over and over, that my father would be placed in awful peril if Ibreathed a word of the truth."
"Which clears up that part of the mystery," thought Frank, as helistened outside.
"I told you nothing but the truth," declared Joaquin. "Your father sentthat message to you by me."
"But he is not here--he is not here!" panted the distressed child. "Yousaid I should find him here. If you deceive me in that, why not ineverything?"
"Your father was here, but ere we could reach this place he found itnecessary to depart. Enemies were searching for him, and he was forcedto flee; but he left a message for me, telling me whither he went anddirecting me to bring you. Trust me, Felicia, and you shall soon seehim."
Frank quivered a little with rage as he listened to the lying wretch.
Felicia drew a little nearer and looked earnestly into the face of theman.
"Oh, I can't believe you are deceiving me!" she said. "You do not seemso terribly wicked."
He laughed pleasantly.
"I know it must seem suspicious to you, child; but trust me a littlelonger."
"If you had only let my friends come to me!"
"Within two hours you shall be with them. Some of my men, I regret tosay, I cannot trust, and so I hastened to send your friends away. Theyare not far from here, and we will join them. Are you ready to go,child?"
"Quite ready," she answered.
"Then give me your hand and trust me in everything."
She placed her hand confidingly in his, and they turned toward the door.Then Black Joaquin found himself face to face with a great surprise, forin that doorway stood Frank Merriwell, a cocked pistol leveled straighttoward the scoundrel's heart.
"Up with your hands, Joaquin!" commanded Merry sharply. "One moment ofhesitation on your part and I shall pull the trigger. I will send yourblack soul to the bar of judgment as true as my name is FrankMerriwell!"
The villain paled and was utterly dumfounded by the marvelous appearanceof the man he believed secure in the dungeon.
"Put up your hands!" palpitated Frank, and in that second command therewas something that caused Black Joaquin to quickly lift his hands abovehis head.
"One cry, one sound, even a murmur from your lips, will cause me toshoot you on the spot," declared the young American.
Felicia had been spellbound, but now she started forward, uttering acry.
"Be careful," warned Frank, not taking his eyes off Joaquin for aninstant. "Don't touch me! Keep out of the way!"
She paused and hastened to say:
"You must not hurt him, Frank. He is taking me to my father."
"He has lied to you from start to finish, like the treacherous snake heis," asserted Merry. "He doesn't mean to take you to your father."
Then he advanced two steps, and another command came from his lips.
"Face about, Joaquin," he said, "and walk straight toward that wall. Bequick about it, too."
Now, for all of the complaints of his followers that he seldom placedhimself in danger, Black Joaquin was not a coward. Nevertheless, inthose terrible, gleaming eyes of the American youth he had seensomething that robbed him of his usual nerve and convinced him beyonddoubt that unless he obeyed to the letter he would be shot on the spot.This being the case, he turned as directed and advanced until his facewas against the wall.
"Stand thus," said Frank, "and don't move for your very life."
One glance around showed him a blanket upon a couch. Behind Joaquin'sback he quickly took out and opened a knife.
"Here, Felicia, take this and cut that blanket into narrow strips.Hasten as much as possible."
She was, however, too trembling and excited to make the needed haste.Seeing this, Frank lost no time in searching Joaquin's person anddisarming him, removing every dangerous weapon he found upon the man.
When this was done, he directed Felicia to bring the blanket, and,holding his pistol ready in his left hand, he gave he
r directions andassistance in cutting and tearing it into strips. As soon as one good,strong strip had been removed from the blanket Frank took it, seizedJoaquin's hands, twisting them downward and backward behind his back,and tied them thus. After this he was able to remove from the blanketfurther strips he needed, although as he worked his pistol was ready forinstant use. All the while he kept Joaquin with his face toward thewall, three times cautioning the man against turning his head in theslightest.
With the strips removed from the blanket Joaquin's ankles were securelytied. Then Frank unceremoniously kicked the fellow's feet from beneathhim and lowered him to the floor upon his back. The rage, fury, andhatred in the conquered fellow's eyes was terrible to behold, butMerriwell heeded it not in the least. Deftly he rolled a wad of theblanket and forced it between Joaquin's teeth. With another piece of thetorn blanket he fastened it there, knotting a strip behind the man'shead. He took pains to make this as secure as possible, so that it wouldrequire no simple effort to remove it.
"Now, Black Joaquin, otherwise known as Felipe Dulzura," said Frank,standing over the man and looking down on him, "we will bid yougood-night. You can rest easy here until your comrades recover on themorrow and release you. Perhaps they will find you. I hope, for yoursake, that you do not smother before they awaken and come here. You havemy best wishes for a short life and a speedy hanging."
With Felicia he left the chamber, closing and barring the door behindthem.
Thus far Frank's success had been enough to astonish himself, but now hethought with dismay of Dick and Brad still confined in the chamber fromwhich he had escaped. As with Felicia he descended the stairs he paused,hearing in some distant portion of the ruins the sound of singing.
"Carlos is doing his work," he thought. "He has brought them the wine.Thanks, Carlos; you have given me great assistance."
Merry decided that it would be necessary to conceal Felicia somewherewhile he sought to return to Dick and Brad by means of the secretpassage.
He found his way back to the terrace from which he had first looked downinto the courtyard after his escape. As they reached that place, Merryheard beneath him some slight sound that caused him to again lookdownward. He was surprised to see a dark figure coming from thedirection of the stables and leading three horses. His surpriseincreased when the feet of the horses gave forth no more than a faint,muffled sound on the courtyard flagging.
"What's up now?" he asked himself. "That must be Carlos preparing forflight. Whoever it is, he has muffled the feet of those horses. Morethan that, I believe they are our horses."
The human being and the horses crossed the courtyard and disappearedinto the arched passage that led outward.
"Keep close behind me, Felicia," whispered Merry. "Be courageous. I mayhave to leave you for a short time; but I will return as soon aspossible."
He had decided to conceal her in the secret passage while he endeavoredto return to the prison chamber. The door of the passage he found to beslightly ajar. Swinging it open, he entered, with Felicia at his heels.Barely had he advanced ten feet into the passage before he felt himselfsuddenly clutched by a pair of strong hands.
"Keep still, Felicia!" called Frank, knowing she would be greatlyfrightened by the struggle.
Instantly the hold of these hands slackened and a joyous voice exclaimedin his ear:
"Frank! Frank! my brother, is it you?"
"Dick!" gasped Frank; "how did you get here?"
"We managed to pry open a hidden door which was disclosed when a part ofthe wall fell after you crept into that opening," said Dick.
"Where is Brad?"
"That's what I'd like to know. We separated to search for you. He was tomeet me here. We agreed on a signal. When you entered the passagewithout giving the signal I thought you must be an enemy."
"It's up to us now," said Merry, "to find Brad and get away from here ina hurry. We have a fine chance to do so. I can't explain everything, butI will tell you later. Here is Felicia."
"Felicia!" gasped Dick.
She uttered a low cry of joy, and the cousins were clasped in eachother's arms.
"Come," said Merry. "Moments are precious."
"But Brad----"
"We will hope that luck may lead us to him."
But it was something more than luck, for Brad Buckhart was returning tomeet Dick as he had promised when they encountered him. He heard them,and, thinking it might be Dick, whistled the soft signal agreed upon.Immediately Dick answered, and when the Texan found them all together,he came very near throwing up his hat and giving a cowboy yell.
"Oh, great jumping horned toads!" he whispered. "If this don't beat therecord you can have my horse, saddle, and the whole blamed outfit! Talkabout your miracles! So help me Davy Crockett, this is the greatest onrecord. You hear me gurgle!"
"There is yet danger in the air," said Merry. "As we were seeking thepassage I saw a man, leading three horses with muffled feet, crossingthe courtyard below. It must have been Carlos, Black Joaquin'slieutenant, for they planned a flight to-night, and Joaquin's wretchedgang has been drugged."
"Guess again," advised the Texan, chuckling. "The gent you observed wasyours truly, Bradley Buckhart."
"You?" gasped Frank, astonished.
"Precisely, pard--precisely. I was it. In my perambulations I discoveredour horses, and it struck me as being something a whole lot proper toget them outside and have them where we could straddle them in a hurrywhen we took to our heels. I muffled their feet with the aid ofblankets, and I can lead the way straight to them."
"Brad, you're a dandy!" laughed Frank softly. "Watch out for Carlos andlead on, you son of the Lone Star State."
They had come down into the courtyard when somewhere above, amid theruins, there was a sudden sound of high-pitched voices, followed by asingle pistol shot. Then came silence.
"If fortune is still with us," said Merry, "the bullet from that pistollodged in the carcass of Carlos. Evidently he has kicked up some sort oftrouble, and I fancy a little chap by the name of Ramon fired thatshot."
Outside the ruins they came upon the horses where Buckhart had concealedthem. They were not long in mounting. Frank took up Felicia behind him,and away they rode into the night, with no hand raised to stay them.