CHAPTER XV.
THE BRIDGE OF CLOUDS.
There seemed to be no end to the stairway. It wound and twisted aboutin a bewildering fashion, and, before they reached the top, Frank andArchie came to the conclusion that they had either been a long wayunder the ground, or else that the rancho was a much taller buildingthan they had imagined it to be. At last, however, their guide pushedopen a door, and the boys found themselves in the same room to whichhe had conducted them when they first arrived at the rancho. Stillclosely followed by his watchful companions, the Don went straightacross the room, and stopped in front of a wardrobe.
"Now, leetle poys," said he, addressing himself to Archie, "you gotthe keys. Make dis door open."
Archie quickly found a key that would fit the lock, and when the boysentered the wardrobe, they discovered that, although it was used as areceptacle for clothing, it was intended to conceal a door that ledinto some secret apartment. When this door had been opened--it was soheavy that it taxed Archie's strength to the utmost to move it--thecousins found themselves in a room, about twenty feet square, whichhad one peculiarity that they noticed as soon as they crossed thethreshold. There was not a single opening in it; and when Archie hadshut the door, they found themselves surrounded on all sides by roughstone walls. Even the door itself, which closed behind them with thesharp click of a spring lock, could not be seen.
"I say, Don," exclaimed Frank, "what use do you make of this dungeon?I don't see any thing stowed away here."
The chief's answer was not given in words. He was standing close byFrank's side, and before the latter could move, he had suddenly jerkedthe lantern from his hand, and dashed it upon the floor, smashing itinto a thousand pieces, and extinguishing the light. As quick asthought Frank bounded forward, and made a blind clutch at the placewhere he had last seen the Don, but with no other result than to comein violent contact with the wall. A moment afterward, the astonishedand bewildered boys heard a grating sound at the other side of theroom, and the Don's voice calling to them through the darkness.
"Dis ish all right," said he. "Dere's somethings shtowed away herenow, ain't it? It's petter you shtays here awhile."
The truth flashed through the boys' minds at once--they were prisonersagain. In spite of all their vigilance, the chief had succeeded incarrying out the plan he had formed while he was watching theoperation of binding Pierre Costello. His movements had been so rapid,that, even had his captives been aware of his intention, they couldnot have prevented him from carrying it into execution. Before theycould tell what was the matter, the lantern had been smashed, theirtreacherous enemy had made his exit from the room in some mysteriousmanner, and they were alone in the darkness.
"We're in for it now," panted Archie, sinking down upon the floor allin a heap. "We've got out of some tight places to-night, but there isno escape from this predicament. The Don will soon be back with hismen."
"And if they once get their hands upon us, we need never expect to seehome again," said Frank. "Give me some of your matches, and we willexamine the walls of this dungeon. There's a spring to that door, andif we can find it, we can get out."
After the matches had been lighted, the boys found that the firstdifficulty to be overcome was the finding of the door. They did notknow where to look for it, for the walls appeared to be as solid asthe ground. They made the circuit of the room several times, lightingnew matches as fast as the old ones were consumed, and carefullyexamining each separate stone in the wall, from the floor up to alevel with their heads; but nothing in the shape of a spring or lockrewarded their search. Then they turned their attention to the floor;but, if there was any opening in the solid oak planks, it could not befound. Five minutes--it seemed much longer to the frightened andexcited boys--were passed in this way, and then, for the first timethat night, Frank's courage and fortitude were utterly exhausted.
"It's no use," said he. "The Don got out somewhere, but it is veryevident that we can't. We might as well sit down, and wait for him tocome in and dispose of us. Do you see any thing encouraging?" headded, noticing that his cousin was holding a match above his head,and closely examining the roof of the dungeon.
"I believe I do," replied Archie. "Isn't that a scuttle?"
"That's just what it is," exclaimed Frank, joyfully; "and it isfastened with hooks."
"Oh, if we could only get up there," cried Archie. "But there isn't athing here for a fellow to stand upon."
"I've got a pair of shoulders. Come here, and I will hold you up."
After burning another match to determine the exact position of thescuttle, Frank took his stand directly beneath it, and in a momentmore, Archie was balanced on his shoulders, and panting loudly, as hestrove with nervous haste to unfasten the hooks. Every thing botherswhen one is in a hurry, and one's fingers are all thumbs. It wasawkward working in that intense darkness, and, besides, the hooks hadbeen driven into the staples so tightly, that it required the outlayof all Archie's strength to start them. But patience and perseveranceconquered at last, and in an excited voice he informed his cousin thathe had unfastened the scuttle, and asked him if he should open it.
"Of course," replied Frank.
"But how do we know what we shall find on the other side? Perhaps itleads into a room full of Mexicans."
"We must run that risk. Venture nothing, gain nothing, you know."
Frank awaited the issue of events with a good deal of anxiety. Heheard the heavy scuttle lifted slowly and cautiously from its place,then a smothered cry of exultation, and the weight was suddenly liftedfrom his shoulders. Upon looking up, he saw the stars shining downupon him through the scuttle-hole, and his cousin's heels disappearingover the combings.
"We are safe now," whispered Archie, thrusting his head into theopening, and extending his hand down into the darkness. "I am on theroof of the rancho. Give us your fist."
"I can't reach you," replied Frank.
Archie hesitated a moment, and then pulled off his jacket, and firmlygrasping one of the sleeves, threw the other down to his cousin. Onehundred and fifty pounds was no light weight for a boy of his size tosustain, but he clung manfully to the jacket, while Frank went up,hand-over-hand, as a sailor goes up a rope. He soon ascended highenough to seize the combings of the scuttle, and in a moment morestood safe upon the roof.
The cousins did not stop to congratulate themselves upon their goodfortune. Time was much too precious for that, and, besides, they didnot yet regard their escape as a settled thing. There was the creek tobe crossed; a belt of timber to be passed; and five miles of lonelyprairie to be traversed, before they reached their uncle's rancho; andthere was no knowing what might happen to them while they were makingthis journey. Their first care was to put the scuttle back in itsplace, so that the Don, when he returned to the dungeon, should notimmediately discover the manner of their escape, and the next toreconnoiter the ground before them. They found themselves on the roofof a wing of the rancho--a space about twenty feet square. On threesides was a stone parapet, two feet high, and on the fourth loomed upthe walls of the main building. In this wall was a door, which openedupon the wing. The boys merely glanced at it, and scarcely thought ofit again; but they afterward had good cause to remember it. Theylooked all around them, but there was no one in sight; they listenedintently, but could hear nothing.
"The coast seems to be clear," said Archie, walking to the parapet andlooking cautiously over, "and we had better be off. It isn't more thanfifteen or twenty feet to the ground, and we can hang by our hands anddrop without much danger of injuring ourselves."
"Be careful," said Frank. "A sprained ankle wouldn't be a funny thing,just now."
The boys jumped upon the wall, and were on the point of swingingthemselves over, when an interruption they had not dreamed of arrestedtheir movements. Frank's quick ear caught the faint tramping ofhorses' hoofs. He laid his hand upon his cousin's arm, and they sprangback to the roof, and concealed themselves behind the parapet.
"Something is always bo
thering us," said Archie, straining his eyesthrough the darkness in the direction from which the sound came."What's up now, I wonder!"
If Frank had known just what was about to transpire, he could not havedescribed it in less time than the scene occupied in taking place.While Archie was speaking, the sound of the horses' hoofs ceased, anda faint light, like that emitted by a match, blazed up in the busheson the opposite side of the creek. The signal (for the boys were sureit was a signal) was repeated twice, and then arose a commotion in thehouse, as if men were running hurriedly about. This continued for afew seconds, and then a flatboat suddenly made its appearance in thecreek. Where it came from, the boys could not imagine; but there itwas, and there was a man in it, who was sculling it toward theopposite bank.
"By--gracious!" whispered Archie, in great excitement. "We are goingto witness the very scene that frightened old Bob so badly."
"But Bob must have been dreaming," answered Frank. "He said the boatwas ferried across without hands, and that man is using an oar."
Our heroes were too deeply interested in what was going on to continuethe conversation. Archie pulled off his sombrero, and pushed back hissleeves, as if he were preparing for a trial of strength withsomebody, while Frank settled himself into a comfortable positionbehind the parapet, after the manner of a boy who had selected hisfavorite book from the library, and seated himself in an easy chair toenjoy it. They kept a sharp lookout, for they were determined that noteven the smallest incident should escape their notice. They had anopportunity now to learn the secret of these strange doings, and, whenthey were over, they would know as much about them as Don Carloshimself.
At the same moment that the flatboat appeared, the boys heard thegrating noise below them, and suddenly the banks of the creek and thewoods, for two hundred yards around, which had been shrouded indarkness an instant before, were flooded with light.
"I know what Bob's 'streaks of fire' are now," said Frank.
"That light comes from a dark-lantern," chimed in Archie. "There'sonly one thing, so far, that I can't understand, and that is, wherethat boat came from in such a hurry. What's that?"
Just then a large white object, which appeared to unfold itself as itmoved along, came into view, and rolled down the bank toward thecreek. It stopped when it reached the water's edge, thus forming awalk, which extended from the creek to the walls of the rancho. Thiswas another thing that Archie could not understand, and neither couldFrank. They knew that it was what the trapper had called the "bridgeof clouds,"--and there it was, "rolling and tumbling, like the smokefrom the mouth of a cannon," just as Dick had described it tothem--but what was it made of? that was the question. Of course itcouldn't be a cloud, but it certainly looked like one. Archie sanklower behind the parapet, and muttered his favorite expression a goodmany times, and Frank puffed out his cheeks, and scratched his head tostir up his ideas.
While the bridge of clouds (the boys did not know what else to callit) was placing itself in position on that side of the creek, asimilar operation had been going on on the opposite bank. The boat hadby this time crossed the creek, and a white object, like the one justdescribed--another bridge of clouds--extended from it into the woods.Presently, two horsemen appeared, riding down the bridge toward theboat. One was mounted on Roderick, and the other on King James; andeach led a horse which had doubtless been stolen that night. They rodeupon the flatboat, the bridge along which they had just passed rolleditself up after them, and the boat began to move across the creek. Itwas plain, now, that the old trapper had not been dreaming. Thehorsemen were still in their saddles; the Mexican, who had gone overin the boat, was standing quietly in the stern; the oar lay upon thebottom where he had thrown it; and yet the boat moved rapidly throughthe water. There was no mistake about it, for the boys could see thewhole proceeding as plainly as though it had been broad daylight. Theboat was certainly coming across the creek, and it was equally certainthat not one of its three passengers was propelling it. A dozenoarsmen could not have sent it through the water as rapidly as it wasmoved by that invisible power. It was not more than half-a-minute incrossing the creek, and as soon as it touched the bank, the horsemenrode out on the bridge of clouds, and came toward the rancho. Frankand Archie kept close watch of their movements, thrusting their headsas far over the parapet as they dared, and it seemed to them that thehorsemen went into the wall. They suddenly disappeared somewhere verysuddenly; and no sooner were they out of sight, than the bridge ofclouds rolled itself up behind them, the light was extinguished, anddarkness once more settled down over the rancho.
These various incidents followed one another with a rapidity that wasutterly bewildering. The horsemen had crossed the creek, and were safein the rancho, almost before the boys knew it. They had moved asswiftly and silently as spirits; and when they had passed out ofsight, Archie struck the parapet with his fist, to make sure that hewas awake. He felt the cold chills creeping along his back, and he didnot wonder now that old Bob had been frightened. He was willing toconfess that he was frightened himself.
"Well!" said Frank, after a moment's pause.
"Don't ask me any questions," replied Archie. "I don't know any moreabout it now than I did before. Where did those fellows go?"
"What was that white thing the horses walked on, and what moved it? Ididn't see any one near it!"
"Where did that flatboat come from, and where could it have gone sosuddenly? It disappeared the instant the horsemen left it."
"No doubt we shall know all about it some day," said Frank--"that is,if we succeed in making our escape. I wonder if the coast is clearnow?"
"No, it isn't," answered Archie. "See there!"
Frank looked over the parapet, and saw a Mexican standing in theshadow of the wall beneath them. He had doubtless been stationed thereto see if the horsemen were pursued. The boys wished him a thousandmiles away, for he was sadly interfering with their arrangements. Theywaited impatiently for him to follow the robbers into the rancho, buthe seemed to have no such intention. He stood there as upright as apost, and as silent and motionless.
"Are we not having miserable luck?" asked Archie, impatiently. "Let'sjump down on him, before he knows it. We can both manage him."
"But we would alarm the rest of the band," replied Frank. "Let's dropdown on the other side, and go around the rancho."
The attention of the boys had been so fully occupied with what hadjust transpired, that they had not thought of looking for enemies intheir rear. While they were watching the Mexican beneath them, thedoor in the wall of the main building, of which we have before spoken,was noiselessly opened, and several Rancheros, headed by Don Carlos,came out and approached the boys on tip-toe. As the latter arose totheir feet to carry out the plan Frank had suggested, Archie's collarwas seized in a strong grasp, and his cousin looked up just in time tosee a long, bony hand stretching out toward him. It was the robberchief's hand; but it was much too slow in its movements to make aprisoner of Frank Nelson. The boy lingered just long enough to seethat the Don was backed up by a force too strong to be successfullyresisted, and then, striking up the threatening hand, he jumped to theparapet and swung himself over. He did not immediately let go hishold, but looked down to take a survey of the ground beneath him. Hewanted to strike squarely on his feet, in order to be on equal termswith the sentinel who would doubtless pounce upon him at once. He hungsuspended in the air but a moment, but that was long enough for theDon to reach the parapet, and bend over and seize him by the collar.
"Hold on, leetle poys," exclaimed the chief. "It's petter you comesback here. Ach! Dis ish von grand shwindle," he yelled, changing histone very suddenly. "Vat you making here, leetle poys?"
The Don was greatly alarmed now, for he was being dragged over theparapet. When he seized Frank, he did not attempt to pull him backupon the roof, but braced himself, intending to hold fast to hisprisoner until some of his men could come to his assistance. Frankunderstood his plans; and knowing that the loss of a single instantmight be fatal to him,
he quickly loosened his grasp upon the wall,and seized the Don by the hair. He hoped by this move to compel hisenemy to let go his hold; but it had a very different result. Thechief, not being equal to the task of sustaining a dead weight of onehundred and fifty pounds by the hair of his head, suddenly lost hisbalance, and he and Frank fell whirling through the air.