CHAPTER VII.
A HEAVY REWARD.
Frank, we repeat, was obliged to come over to his cousin's way ofthinking before he was many hours older; but now he believed his ownopinions to be correct, and showed his contempt for Archie's bysettling back into an arm-chair, and becoming deeply interested in abook which he selected from among the numerous volumes on thecenter-table. Archie, being left to himself, walked restlessly aboutthe room, looking at the pictures, gazing out at the port-holes,examining the weapons that hung on the walls, and so interested was hein his investigations, that his good-breeding alone restrained himfrom peering into closets and wardrobes. He kept up an incessanttalking, but Frank's answers were given only in monosyllables, andArchie finally became disgusted, and left him to read in peace. "Youwill turn into a book one of these fine days," said he. "But I'll tellyou what it is, old fellow, you'll not take things so very easily muchlonger."
Archie continued his walk about the room, passing his hands over thewalls, looking under the bed, and behind tables and sofas, as ifsearching for something that he was in a great hurry to find, and thelast his cousin saw of him he was standing with his hands behind hisback, and his head turned on one side, closely examining a largeoil-painting which extended from the ceiling to the floor. The nexttime Frank looked up, he was alone in the room--Archie haddisappeared.
"What trick are you up to now?" exclaimed Frank, laying down his book."Come out from under that bed. What would you have to say for yourselfif the Don should come in and find you there?"
But Archie was not under the bed, nor was he anywhere in the room.Frank called him, but there was no answer. He looked into every nookand corner of the apartment in which it was possible that Archiecould have concealed himself, and then he caught up his hat andhurried through the hall, looking into all the rooms he passed, andout into the court. The rancho seemed to be deserted, with theexception of a solitary Mexican, who stood leaning against a door-poston the opposite side of the court. This man scowled fiercely, andlooked suspiciously at him as he came up; and instead of makinginquiries about Archie, as he had intended, Frank thrust his handsinto his pockets, and strolled slowly toward the stables, peering inat the doors and windows, and keeping one eye on the Mexican, whoclosely watched every move he made.
"Archie hasn't had time to get far away," thought Frank; "and no doubthe is roaming about the rancho, searching high and low for someevidence to confirm his ridiculous suspicions concerning Don Carlos;and that is something he won't find, of course. That is avillainous-looking fellow," he added, with another glance over hisshoulder toward the Mexican, "and I should feel quite as well pleasedif he would take less interest in my movements. He acts as though hehad been stationed there to watch me."
Frank finally found his way to the stables, but without discoveringany signs of the missing Archie. He found his horse there, and hiscousin's, standing quietly in their stalls; and he also saw severalother fine animals, which the Don had doubtless brought in there forprotection from the horse-thieves. Frank did not think it veryprobable that he would lose any more of his stock, for the most expertrobber would have found it a difficult task to effect an entrancethrough those well-secured doors; and, more than that, Frank noticedthat there were several beds in a small room adjoining the stable, andthe garments, lassos, weapons, and other articles that were scatteredabout, showed that the apartment belonged to some of the Don'sRancheros. The old Spaniard was not out on the rancho with hisherdsmen, as Frank had supposed, but he was in this room, holding anearnest conversation with some one who disappeared very suddenly andmysteriously when Frank thrust his head in at the door. The latterthought, by his actions, that the old Spaniard would rather not havebeen discovered; but he greeted his guest very cordially, and seeingthat he was alone, made hurried inquiries for Archie.
"He is out somewhere looking around, I suppose," answered Frank. "Nodoubt he will turn up all right in a few minutes."
"Ah, yes," said the Don, with some anxiety in his tone; "but I wouldlike to know _vare_ he ish. Peppo! you von grand rascal!"
The young Mexican was on hand immediately. He came out of a darkcorner of the stable, to which he had retreated when Frank came in,and where he had stood watching him.
"Peppo!" continued his employer, "it's petter you go find dis leetlepoys, and tell him we will have some suppers now."
There was nothing in the old Spaniard's words or manner to indicatethat haste was desirable, but Beppo, perhaps, seeing or hearingsomething that escaped Frank's notice, started off on a keen run. Thisseemed to be a signal to the Mexican who stood leaning against thedoor-post, for he walked rapidly across the court, and presently halfa dozen Rancheros appeared and hurried about in different directions,all searching for Archie. The Don watched their movements, and so didFrank. The former was evidently growing uneasy, and his guestcertainly was. The Spaniard stepped nervously about, talking hurriedlyin his broken English on indifferent matters, and laughinguproariously at his own jokes; and Frank glanced toward the gate-wayas if he had half a mind to take to his heels. He believed, now, thatit would have been much better for him if he had kept at a respectfuldistance from Don Carlos and his rancho. A dread of impending evil,which he could not shake off, began to press upon him; and it wasplain to him that if he was not in a scrape already, he soon would be.It is true that nothing had been said to induce this belief, but hehad seen and felt enough to satisfy him that such was the fact. In thefirst place, it seemed to him that an air of mystery brooded over therancho, and that the Don, in spite of his cordial greeting and jovialmanner, was trying to conceal something from him. He acted, now, asthough he did not want him there. And then, the sudden appearance ofthose men was another thing that troubled Frank. Until within a momenthe had seen but two persons on the rancho besides the Spaniard, but,at an instant's warning, half a dozen herdsmen had sprung into view,and to save his life he could not tell where they had come from. Theyappeared at the same moment, and in different directions, as if theyhad come up out of the ground, or found their way into the courtthrough secret trap-doors in the pavement. Why had they remainedconcealed? and what was the reason that Archie's disappearance hadcreated such a commotion among them? Frank judged from the oldSpaniard's words that he was particularly anxious to know where Archiewas, and what he was doing; and this implied that there were thingsabout the rancho that the Don did not want him to see.
Frank's uneasiness increased as the search progressed, and finally hebecame thoroughly frightened when he noticed the excited looks of theRancheros as they hurried past him, and heard the angry, threateningwords which they exchanged with one another. The Don began to bealarmed also.
"Vell! vell!" he exclaimed, looking back into the stable for thetwentieth time, to assure himself that Archie's horse was still there,"vare ish dis leetle poys?"
"He may have gone out," replied Frank, with as much indifference as hecould command. "I'll step to the gate and look for him." "And when Iget there," he added, mentally, "I won't stop. I'll show you Greaserssome running that will make you wonder. You may be all right in here,but I don't like your company."
Frank had great confidence in himself, and he was certain that if hecould only get half way to the gate, he could elude any attempts thatmight be made to detain him. He had not the remotest idea, however,that any such attempts would be made. That would be a heinous offensein the eyes of the settlers, who would never allow it to passunnoticed. Frank turned to leave the Don, but the latter steppedforward and laid a heavy hand on his arm. "I guess it's petter youdon't go," said he.
Frank was thunderstruck. The old Spaniard's tone and manner showed himthat he was in earnest, and he knew now that Archie's suspicions werecorrect, and that he himself had been sadly mistaken in the opinionshe had formed regarding his host. If he had been allowed his choice inthe matter, he would much rather have been standing in front of thatlog, awaiting the onset of another Old Davy. He would have felt morecertain of escape than he did now, surrounded as he was by thosev
illainous Mexicans. A wonderful change had come over Don Carlos. Hisjovial, good-natured smile had given way to a terrible scowl, and hisface was pale with rage or fear; Frank could not tell which. With thenext words he uttered, he threw off the mask entirely, and appeared inhis true character.
"This is von grand shwindle," he exclaimed, making a sudden effort toseize Frank by the collar. "I know now why you come here to minehouse. Hi, Bedro! make dat gate shut. It's petter you don't go, leetlepoys."
"It is better I _do_ go," replied Frank, quickly. "I want you tounderstand that it will take a man with more muscle than you have gotto detain me."
During the next two minutes the Don learned more of the qualities thatgo to make up a sixteen-year-old Young America, than he had ever knownbefore. Frank was as quick as a cat in his movements, and he knew thatif he hoped to escape from the rancho now was his time or never. Pedrowas already hurrying toward the gate, to execute the commands of hisemployer, and if that gate was once closed on him, he was a prisoner.While the Old Spaniard was speaking, he thrust out his arm; but hisfingers, instead of fastening upon Frank's collar, closed only uponthe empty air. An instant afterward the boy was half way across thecourt, and he and Pedro were having a lively race for the gate; whilethe Don stood watching them, his body bent forward, and his mouth andeyes open to their widest extent. He could not understand how Frankhad escaped. The ease with which he had slipped out of his clutchesbewildered him. But his inactivity did not long continue, for hespeedily became aware that the clumsy Pedro was no match, in ahurried, off-hand foot-race, for the nimble young hunter.
"Hi! hi!" he yelled, stamping his foot frantically on the pavement;"catch him! catch him! Vat you making dere, Bedro? Von dousand tollarsto de mans vot catches dat leetle poys! Two! dree! five dousand!" headded, in a still louder tone, seeing that Frank was rapidly leavingPedro behind, and nearing the gate. "Ach! mine heavens! _Tendousand!_"
The fugitive heard every word he said, and his wonder, astonishment,and alarm increased proportionately with the rewards the Spaniardoffered for his capture; and how intense must have been his amazementand terror when he heard the Don declare in frantic tones that hewould give twenty, forty, and finally, fifty thousand dollars, if hewas captured alive and unharmed.
"It is some consolation to know that he doesn't mean to kill me,"thought Frank. "I don't intend to let him take me prisoner, either.The offer of every cent he is worth, could not make those awkwardMexicans run fast enough to beat me in a fair race."
If Frank had run swiftly before, his headway was fairly astonishingnow. He exerted himself to the utmost, and flew over the ground at arate of speed that the fleet-footed Dick Lewis himself would not havebeen ashamed of. A few leaps brought him to the gate, through which hewent like an arrow from a bow, and bent his steps toward the nearestpatch of woods, which was about a quarter of a mile distant. TheRancheros followed him, but they might as well have tried to overtakea railway train, or a bird on the wing.
Don Carlos was almost beside himself. He stood in the gate-way gazingafter the fugitive, flourishing his arms wildly about his head,shouting orders to his men in Spanish and English, and calling uponFrank to stop and surrender himself a prisoner, or he would dosomething terrible to him.
"I think it would be a good plan to catch me first," said Frank, tohimself, looking back at his pursuers. "I am like Dick Lewis now: myenemies are all behind me, and I know I am safe. Hallo! What's that?"
It was a bullet, which whistled through the air most uncomfortablynear his head. Another followed close after, and plowed up the groundin front of him, and then came the crack of two rifles in quicksuccession. Frank felt the cold chills creeping all over him; and thenext time he looked back he discovered several men, whom he had notseen before, hurrying out of the rancho with their weapons in theirhands, followed by three on horseback. This was a most discouragingprospect. He did not stand in much fear of the bullets (although itwas by no means pleasant to hear them whistling around him), but hewas afraid of those mounted men. He could not hope to distance them,and he trembled when he thought of the fate in store for him when theycame near enough to reach him with their lassos. If they did not chokehim to death, they would take him back to the rancho a prisoner, andthat would be almost as bad. Of course he did not intend that theyshould do either if he could prevent it. He was armed, and if theysucceeded in overtaking him, he would show them how he could use arevolver.
Frank had accomplished more than half the distance that lay betweenhim and the woods before the horsemen came out; and he hoped to beable to reach its friendly shelter before they could come up with him.He did it, too, although his escape was a very narrow one. As hedashed into the bushes he heard the lassos whistling through the airbehind him, and he even felt the "wind" of one as it flew past hisear. But once fairly in the woods he was safe from those dreadedweapons. The Rancheros could not use their lariats among the trees,and neither did they attempt to follow him farther. They fired theirpistols at him, and then began circling around the woods to cut himoff from the creek, and place themselves between him and his home.
Frank kept straight on into the woods for at least two miles, withoutonce slackening his speed, and then turned and ran toward the creek.When he came within sight of it, he sat down on a log to recover hisbreath, and to listen for the sounds of pursuit.
"I thank my lucky stars that they are all Mexicans," panted he,glancing suspiciously through the bushes on all sides of him. "Ifthere had been a few such rifle-shots among them as Dick Lewis and oldBob Kelly I should not be here now. Fifty thousand dollars! I littledreamed that I should ever have a price set upon my head."
For ten minutes Frank sat on the log, resting after his long run, andthinking over the incidents that had transpired at the rancho. Hebelieved now that Don Carlos was one of the robbers; the evidenceagainst him was strong enough to satisfy any one of his guilt. The airof mystery with which every thing was conducted; the unusual number ofmen on the rancho; the magical manner in which they had appeared theinstant their services were needed; the Spaniard's unreasonable alarmat Archie's absence; and his attempts to detain Frank--all thesethings were against him. Frank understood now what the Don meant whenhe said that he knew why the boys had come there. He probablymistrusted that the settlers were suspicious of him, and had sentFrank and Archie to his rancho to spy out something. If that was hisidea, Frank thought it a very ridiculous one; for he might have knownthat two boys would not have been selected to carry out so dangerousan enterprise, while there were such men as Dick and Bob in thecountry. His guilty conscience made him betray himself--that was thesecret of the matter.
Frank was not yet safe by any means. He knew that Don Carlos and hismen would leave no stone unturned to effect his capture--it would bedangerous to them to allow him to go home after what had transpired atthe rancho--and that they would search every nook and corner of themountains, and hunt him down as they would a wolf. Still he had nofears for his own safety; but, now that the excitement of the race wasover, he was deeply concerned about his cousin. There was a mysteryattending his disappearance that he could not fathom. He hoped thatArchie had left the room while he was reading, and that he had slippedout of the rancho and gone home. That was not much like his cousin'sway of doing business, but it was the only reasonable way in which hecould explain his absence.
"That boy could not long exist without getting into some sort of ascrape," said Frank; "and if I ever put eyes on him again, I'll watchhim more closely than I have done heretofore."
"Stand where you are; don't move hand or foot," said a gruff voice,breaking in upon his reverie.
Frank sprang up, and found himself face to face with a Ranchero, whostood holding his rifle to his shoulder, with his finger resting onthe trigger.