The Merriweather Girls in Quest of Treasure

by Lizette M. Edholm

  CHAPTER XV

  _A SPY_

  The professor's hand trembled with excitement as he scratched thesurface of the rock, tapped the face of the wall for a possible hollowsound, then called on Bet to bring him a pick.

  He dug at the base of the wall, but soon came to solid rock.

  "There's nothing there!" he exclaimed. "But this is interesting." Thedesert weeds had grown over all the crevices in the rock, and when theprofessor had carefully scraped them away, he found what he had hopedfor; a small opening. Behind that wall there was a tunnel. As helooked into the darkness, a rattlesnake glided through the hole, andthe old man sprang back just in time to save himself.

  "That was a close shave!" Wiping his forehead with his handkerchief,Professor Gillette sat down on the rock to decide what the next stepwould be.

  "Guess we'd better call it a day. We are all tired out. We can justget back in time for dinner," said Enid. "And Dad said you were tocome home with us, Professor."

  "I'd like to consult with the judge," said the old man. "He can giveus valuable advice I'm sure." He wouldn't for the world acknowledgethat the hot dinner, already prepared, tempted him to accept theinvitation.

  The girls turned away from the wall, unwillingly. They now felt surethat they were leaving a treasure behind them. And tomorrow seemed sofar away!

  Bet and Enid helped Joy to hobble along to the edge of the cliff, andKit hastened down the incline to where they had left the horses nearthe stream.

  "I'll bring Dolly up, that is if she'll climb, the lazy thing!" calledKit as she disappeared. By this time Joy's foot was badly swollen andwas giving her acute pain.

  Before leaving the wall, the professor had concealed the opening thathe had found. As he turned to go he picked up a bit of the rock thathe had pried loose.

  It was this rock that kept the secret of the tunnel from Ramon Salazar,hidden in the brush of the hill opposite, where he had been set to spyon the girls by Kie Wicks.

  He had become rather weary of his job until he saw the professorexamining the wall of the cliff, then he braced himself up expectantly,but relaxed again when he saw the old man looking closely at a rock inhis hand, which he carried away with him.

  "He's found a colored stone that he likes," Ramon said to himself witha sneer of contempt at the professor who was always treasuring thebrightly colored mineral specimens.

  And it was this report that he carried to Kie Wicks: "They just fooledaround, had a picnic, and climbed the hill above the claims. I don'tbelieve they even know you jumped them."

  "You mean you jumped their claims," corrected Kie Wicks.

  Ramon laughed and slapped his leg. "That's a good one, yes, I jumpedtheir claims."

  "And you'd better get busy with the assessment work, too," advised Kie.

  "Who pays me for that?" demanded the cross-eyed Mexican.

  "There you go again! Always wanting money! I find you some goodclaims and a chance, maybe, to sell out at a big price in the future,and you want pay for doing the assessment work. You're an ungratefulcur!"

  "Then I won't do the work. No pay, no work!"

  But even as he spoke, Ramon knew that he would do whatever Kie Wicksasked him to do. The habit of obedience to this man was too strong inhim. He had been a tool for this unscrupulous rogue for more than tenyears. Just why, he could not have told, for Kie Wicks was not agenerous master and the Mexican got little enough for his work. Rarelyever did he get any cash out of the storekeeper, and the supplies thatKie doled out were given grudgingly. Yet the man always returned,after promising himself many times that he was through.

  Kie had given him a small shack in the canyon, that had once been usedby some friends of his for a summer vacation, and it was this home thatsheltered his wife and eight children, which kept the Mexican faithfulto Kie.

  Ramon had a bad name in the hills. He had tried his hand at every kindof rascality. Cattle had disappeared, horses rustled and Ramon wassuspected of knowing more about them than he should. Yet it was KieWicks behind him, threatening and driving him on, that made Ramon thecharacter he was.

  And while Ramon refused, at first, to go on with the assessment work onthe stolen claims, he knew that he would do it in the end, and that Kiewould also give him supplies while he was working on the job.

  Ramon did not like to meet the girls and perhaps Judge Breckenridge.The professor, he felt, was harmless, a silly old man who roamedthrough the hills, but the impressive looking judge was a differentmatter.

  Yet the next morning when the professor arrived with the girls, Ramonwas digging away at the farthest claim, and did not even look up.

  "Guilty conscience!" whispered Bet to the professor.

  "He complicates matters considerably," frowned the old man. "I hardlyknow how we are going to proceed, if he stays around here."

  "With Ramon watching, the only thing to do was to go on with thedrilling on the Orphan Annie claim. Bet fumed and fussed, scoldinganyone who came near her. She insisted on being the professor'shelper, holding the drill in place with the strong wire while hehammered. This gave her an audience and was an outlet for her angeragainst Kie Wicks and his Mexican hanger-on.

  "Take it easy, child. There's lots of time to find that treasure--thatis if there is one. We don't need it right away, you know," soothedthe professor.

  But it took Bet a long time to regain her poise. The other girls hadrecovered from their disappointment and were trying to make friendswith the Mexican before Bet would even smile.

  "I do wish we could tell which of us he's talking to. His eyes are socrooked they overlap," whispered Enid to Bet. The Mexican did not wantto make friends with the girls. He answered a few words to theirquestions then went moodily on with his work. But not for long.Without a master over him, the man grew lazy and before the morning wasfar advanced he had disappeared in the canyon.

  "I thought he'd get tired of it," smiled Kit. "A Mexican miner has tohave someone to keep him on the job. And I don't believe that KieWicks will spend much time over here."

  Ramon was no sooner out of sight than the professor dropped the drilland they rushed for the wall to begin digging there. They had juststarted to work when Judge Breckenridge rode up.

  "Let's have a look at that treasure tunnel, Professor," greeted theJudge with a laugh. "How much bullion have you found?"

  "Not any yet, but who knows?" returned the old man, his eyes shiningwith excitement.

  "Stranger things have happened!" The Judge followed the girls andlooked at the wall. "Well, well," he exclaimed, "this certainly looksinteresting."

  The professor had already begun to pick away the crumbling rock at thesmall opening, and found that they had hit upon the spot where themouth of the tunnel had been filled up. After half an hour's work hehad opened it sufficiently to look in. Using a flashlight, he couldsee that the tunnel was very shallow, another wall confronted him andthis appeared to be the solid rock of the mountain.

  He was about to give up when he noticed a peculiar stone on the floorof the tunnel, or what appeared to be a stone. With the pick hedragged it forward and was able to reach it. Drawing it forth, hestood before the Judge with glowing face.

  "See this!" he exclaimed excitedly. "This comes up to any story ofburied treasure that I've ever read in my life." He displayed hisfind, a tiny disc of copper and on it were engraved strange figures andsigns. They had no meaning to the group of people that stood about thetunnel. But that little copper plate was telling a story, of thatthere could be no doubt.

  "What do you think of it?" the professor gasped in a hoarse whisper.The old man was almost too excited to speak. He made several attemptsthen gave up, but he held the disc as if it were a jewel.

  "Let's sit down away over here and have a look at it," the Judgesuggested. "And if anyone is spying on us, he'll not be apt to suspectanything."

  Judge Breckenridge examined the disc carefully then spoke.

  "Now there is a possibility--a
slight one, we'll say, that there is atreasure in that vault somewhere. Do you think your friend Ramon issuspicious?"

  "It's hard to say," Kit burst out. "Kie Wicks may be watching us thisminute from over the hill across the canyon."

  "We will want to carry on the work as quietly as possible, but if Kiehears about a treasure, we'll not have a minute's peace," said theJudge, rising and surveying the ground. "The first thing we ought todo," he continued, "is to stake out a claim covering this wall. Thenwe'll own it."

  "Yes, and have Kie Jump that claim, if he is watching us." Betshrugged her boyish shoulders.

  "We'll get ahead of him on that. We'll stake the claim and I'll send aman over to record it first thing in the morning, and tonight we'llhave a watchman--two in fact. We'll not leave the tunnel unguarded fora minute until we find out what it contains."

  "Oh, please, Judge, let us guard it!" cried Bet.

  "No!" There was a harsh, decided ring in the Judge's voice and thegirls did not urge him further. That "no" meant exactly that.

  "I think it might be a good idea for me to go back to the ranch and getTommy and some of the boys to move the professor's tent up here andTommy and Seedy Saunders might stay for a few nights to guard yourclaims. You'll have all the excitement there is in it, even if thereis no treasure."

  Bet flared up at once. "We're not so silly as to want excitement andnothing else. We want the treasure now that we have started out tofind one. Nothing else will do."

  The Judge laughed as he mounted his horse and rode down the trail.

  But when he returned to the ranch and informed the boys what he wanted,he was met with roars of laughter.

  "You want us to guard a buried treasure! That's a good one!" saidSeedy Saunders, the old cowboy who was now staying with JudgeBreckenridge. "Let Tommy do it! He has a treasure map in his shackthat he paid five dollars for. He'd love to do it!"

  However, when the cowboys heard how much it meant to the girls to havethe tunnel guarded against Kie Wicks, they entered into the spirit ofit, and even though they laughed and joked, they carried out theJudge's instructions.

  They moved all the professor's belongings over the mountain, and tookanother tent and cots for themselves.

  "There just naturally has to be two of us," insisted Seedy. "We'd bescared stiff to sleep alone there, even with the professor."

  "Which are you scared of?" laughed Tommy Sharpe. "Kie Wicks or theghost of the Indian Chief's daughter?"

  "Both," returned Seedy pretending to shake with fright. "But I'mmostly scared of that there ghost that walks."

  The boys were hilarious as they unpacked their stuff at the OrphanAnnie claim.

  "By rights we ought to camp in the canyon, we'll have to pack all thewater up the hill," suggested Tommy.

  "You'll camp right at the mouth of that tunnel, boy!" insisted Enid,and there was something of Tilly the Waif in her command. Tommy lookedup at her quickly, then burst into laughter.

  "Yes'm," he said meekly with a twinkle in his eye. "I obey!"

  They had the tents pitched and the girls were arranging the beds andmaking them cozy when Judge Breckenridge returned, with a boy driving aburro loaded with provisions.

  In his hand he held something white which he waved as he came up themountain?

  "It's a letter!" exclaimed Bet. "I hope it's from my Dad. I haven'thad a letter for a week."

  "It's a letter for me," announced the Judge, "but it may contain newsthat will please you. The boys will arrive this week. Phil and Bobare going to join us."

  A shout went up and echoed through the hills.

  Tommy gave an Indian war-whoop and the girls danced about, hugging eachother in their joy.

  "Won't it be good to see them!" exclaimed Bet.

  "Is Paul coming with them?" asked Enid. "I'm homesick for my brother,"she murmured with a happy sigh.

  "Yes, the three boys will come together by airplane to Phoenix," saidthe Judge.

  "By airplane!" echoed Bet Baxter. "If they don't let me go up withthem, I'll never speak to them again, never. I want to fly!"

  The hunting for treasure took second place now. The coming of theirfriends was more important than anything else.

  "You know," said Kit solemnly, "we shouldn't get so fond of those boys.We'll spoil them."

  "I've never seen any spoiling!" Billy Patten had helped JudgeBreckenridge bring over the supplies, and now confronted Kit. "Don'tpretend you're soft-hearted, for you're not."

  Kit laughed at her teasing brother and with a wave of her hand pushedhim aside. "Children should be seen and not heard," she said.

  "What did Joy say when you told her that Bob was coming?" asked Bet.

  "She shed a few tears; perhaps she was afraid she would miss all thefun with her sprained ankle."

  "She's in luck if she only knew it," laughed Enid. "A girl with asprained ankle will just appeal to the sympathy of those boys. Joywill be the center of the stage."

  "And won't she love it?" chuckled Kit.

  With many final instructions to the boys to guard the tunnel, the girlsmounted their horses and hurried toward home, their faces glowing withjoy.

  From the mountain opposite, where Ramon had watched the previous day,Kie Wicks was on guard. He saw the preparations for camping at theclaims and wondered what it was all about.

  His eyes narrowed to pin-points when he saw the professor examining thewall of the cliff.

  "What's he got there?" he muttered to himself. "But he can't putanything over on me. If I could get my hands on Ramon, I'd teach himto do as I tell him. If he had stuck around, I'd know what all thisfuss is about."

  But that was all that Kie was to know for some days. He watched by thehour, he questioned every man, woman and child he met, but theprofessor and his men were not talking. The location work on theOrphan Annie claim and the digging of a tunnel seemed to be their onlyinterest.

  Kie noticed that a monument had been built to cover the claim where thetunnel was being driven and smiled to himself. "These city fellowsthink they've got a mine with a couple of claims. They've got a lot tolearn!"

  The secret had to come out, of course. And when Kie Wicks heard it afew days later, he was wild with fury.

  "Digging for treasure, are they?" he snorted. "I'll get them yet,those two-faced, underhanded robbers. They haven't got no business inthese mountains. I'll show them!"

  "If they've found a treasure, it's _mine_! I've hunted for it foryears! I'll get it somehow!" Kie Wicks was almost beside himself withrage when he reached the store and told his discovery to Maude.

  "Oh, maybe it's not the treasure," Maude tried to soothe the angry man."Come eat your supper."

  But Kie was too unhappy to eat. He glared about the cheerless kitchenand did not seem to see anything. He stared moodily. Finally he roseand went outside, grumbling like a spoiled child.

  He sat for a long time, his head in his hands, not looking up to greethis customers.

  "What's the matter with the old man?" inquired a neighbor. "'T ain'toften you see Kie Wicks sick or under the weather."

  "Somebody's stolen some property from him, and he's thinkin' out a wayto get even. Let him alone," counselled Maude. "The more down heseems, the better schemes he can think up. And this one will be adandy. He ain't eat a bite and he won't talk." Maude seemed quiteelated.

  It was not until some hours later that Kie came to life once more anddemanded his supper. On his face was a determined scowl, as if he wereready to challenge the whole world. As he went into the store he waswhistling cheerfully.

  Maude smiled at him. But no words were exchanged. That smileexpressed everything. Kie had a scheme, a big one, and Maude couldafford to wait until he was ready to tell her what it was all about.

  Meanwhile on the hill near Orphan Annie, the professor was dreaming ofIndian villages and treasure, and with the two watchmen beside him, hadno uneasiness.