Frank Merriwell's Bravery

by Standish, Burt L

  Frank loitered along, looking into windows. He betrayed no uneasiness. At last he came to a restaurant. Into this he wandered, proceeding to a table at the farther end. Here he sat and gave his order.

  The boy had taken a seat where he could watch the front door. In a short time a small man entered quietly, walked straight to a table, sat down, without glancing round, having hung his hat close at hand, and looked over the bill of fare.

  "You are the shadower," decided Frank. "I wonder how I can give you the slip?"

  * * *

  CHAPTER XXXIX.

  PURSUED.

  Fortune gave the boy the opportunity he desired.

  Along the street came two runaway horses, attached to a carriage. In front of the restaurant they crashed into another team, and there was a rush to see how much damage had been done. The attention of every one seemed diverted toward the front.

  Frank had observed an open door at the back of the room, and through this he quickly sprang, ran along a narrow passage, and burst into the kitchen.

  "Hello, here!" cried the cook, in astonishment. "What's the matter?"

  "Terrible smashup, out in front," replied the boy. "Don't know how many have been killed. It is awful!"

  "That so?" came stupidly from the bewildered man in white. "How did it—— Well, he was in a hurry!"

  But Frank had sprung out by an open door and was gone.

  The boy reached a side street, sprinted round a corner, doubled and turned at every opportunity, and settled to a swift walk.

  He soon discovered which direction he should take without having asked to be directed toward any particular point.

  "This is an unpleasant scrape," muttered the boy; "and it came about through my readiness to exchange my good money for bad. If I remain in this town I am liable to be arrested at any moment."

  He wondered what Bart would say when he was told. What could Bart think about a girl who carried two bright new counterfeit fifty-dollar bills in her purse?

  Frank began to doubt. He was forced to confess to himself that such a thing was remarkable. If the girl had had but one bad bill in her possession, it would have seemed that she had obtained it unwittingly; but two—and exactly alike——

  "Can it be possible she is, in some way, connected with a gang of counterfeiters?" Frank asked himself. "I will not believe it! Her face is too innocent."

  Then he remembered how, in the city of Chicago, he had encountered a beautiful girl who was connected with counterfeiters; but he also remembered that she was an unwilling tool, and had embraced the first opportunity to get clear of the meshes of the net into which she had fallen.

  "If Isa Isban is connected with such a gang, I am certain it is against her will."

  Then he thought how, when she had discovered that he had plenty of money, she had hastened to get him to change two fifty-dollar bills, and his faith was shaken.

  "It looks bad," he confessed.

  As he approached the place where he had left Bart on guard over the house in which the girl was believed to be, he passed a livery stable. He was hurrying on when some one ran out of the stable and clutched him by the arm.

  "Just in time!" palpitated the voice of Bart Hodge.

  "Hello!" exclaimed Frank, surprised. "Just in time for what?"

  "They're gone!"

  "Who?"

  "Vida Melburn and that man."

  "Gone where?"

  "Taken the lake road. Something has caused them to hustle out on the jump. I do not believe they are coming back here."

  "Then we must follow."

  "Sure."

  "How——"

  "Here—in the stable. I have ordered a horse. We'll have two. They'll not slip us easily."

  "How did they travel?"

  "Horseback."

  "How much of a start?"

  "Twenty minutes."

  Together the boys ran back into the stable, and another horse was ordered saddled.

  "Look here," cried Frank, displaying his money. "We wish to overtake some people who have a start on us. Give us the best animal in the stable."

  The proprietor of the stable was on hand, and he looked the boys over doubtfully.

  "How do I know I'll ever see my critters again?" he asked.

  "We'll make a deposit," declared Frank. "We'll stick up a hundred dollars apiece on 'em. If they are worth more you can afford to take chances. If we're horse thieves you won't have much trouble in tracing us. Besides that, horse thieves do not work in this way. If they did they'd get the worst end most of the time, for they'd have to chance it on the horses being worth a hundred each."

  The proprietor was rather bewildered. He believed something was wrong, but still he did not wish to refuse to let the boys have the horses.

  The money was counted out and thrust into his hands.

  "Hustle!" cried Merriwell. "We can't afford to lose a moment."

  The stable-keeper roared out an order to his assistants. The horse that Bart had ordered was quickly brought out, ready for mounting, and then he was followed by another, onto which a saddle was flung. Frank looked the animals over with a critical eye.

  "They'll do," he said, approvingly.

  In a few seconds the lads were mounted and dashing away from the stable. The proprietor stood looking after them, doubt written on his face.

  "Gee whiz!" he muttered. "I never thought of that! Bet I've made a derned fool of myself! Well, I reckon I'll git the critters back."

  "What is it you did not think of?" he was asked.

  "Why, it's remarkable kids like them should be so flush with money. And they looked scared. They're runnin' away. I reckon they've been stealin' an' they wuz hustlin' to get away before they wus arrested."

  The boys disappeared down the street.

  Frank allowed Bart to take the lead.

  "I suppose you know the shortest cut to the lake road?" he asked.

  "I do," said Bart. "You follow close, that's all."

  As they rode, Frank related his adventure in the bank.

  Bart whistled in astonishment.

  "Bogus money?" he cried. "And you received it of the girl? That is strange."

  "It looks bad," said Frank.

  "I don't understand it. How do you suppose she happened to have it? It's not at all probable she knew what it was."

  "I am not so sure of that."

  The dark-eyed boy gave his companion a reproving look.

  "She is as innocent as a flower! I will not believe she could do such a thing! But she is in trouble."

  They were regarded with some surprise as they dashed along the streets. The citizens wondered why two boys were riding at such speed. A sleepy policeman shouted at them, but they gave him no heed.

  Soon they came to the outskirts of the city. Before them lay the lake road.

  "This is the way they came?" questioned Frank.

  "Sure," nodded Bart. "They are somewhere ahead."

  "What makes you think they are skipping the city? It strikes me they may be simply out for a canter. Perhaps they are going to take a look at Tahoe up there among the mountains."

  "They did not buy horses for a canter of a few hours."

  "They bought horses?"

  "Yes."

  "Then it is pretty certain they have no notion of coming back to Carson. You have a level head, my boy. Forward!"

  The road became rugged and steep. They were looking for a mounted man and girl in advance, and they constantly urged forward their sweating horses.

  "I do not see anything of them."

  "The road crooks away up yonder, so they would be hidden. They have quite a start, and they are in a hurry."

  A cloud of dust rose behind the galloping horses, drifting away to the left. The road was rough, but the boys did not mind that.

  "Tahoe must be on the top of a mountain," grumbled Bart, after a time.

  "It is six thousand, two hundred and eight feet above the level of the sea," said Frank. "That is elevated somewhat."


  "I should say so. It must be the highest body of water in this country, if not in the world."

  "It is higher than the peaks of many lofty mountains."

  "And this so-called 'lake road' is hardly better than an ordinary trail. We are in for a hard pull of it."

  "But the ones we are pursuing are in for just as hard a pull."

  "That's right, and one of them is a girl."

  The mountains loomed formidably before them. The bleak heights seemed to block their way. But the road wound onward and upward, and they followed it.

  "What was that?" questioned Frank.

  "What? I did not hear anything."

  "It sounded like a cry. There it is again."

  "I heard it that time. It did not seem to be ahead of us, and so it—— Great Scott! Look back!"

  Frank looked back down the road. Far away, several horsemen were riding toward them. They were urging forward their animals, and the sunlight glinted on polished weapons.

  "We are pursued, partner!" said Frank, grimly. "We are in for a hot chase."

  * * *

  CHAPTER XL.

  ELUDED.

  "Who are our pursuers?" asked Bart, angrily. "What do they want? They are shouting and waving their hands."

  "They are shouting for us to stop. They want me."

  "For what?"

  "Have you forgotten, as soon as this, what I told you about the queer money I tried to get changed at the bank?"

  "Think that is why they are after you, eh?"

  "Without a doubt?"

  "Then they must be officers."

  "It is certain that at least one of them is an officer. The others he may have called to his aid hastily."

  "It will not do for them to overtake us."

  "Surely not. I would be arrested and taken back into Carson. Even if I were sure of proving my innocence, the man and girl would get away."

  "And you cannot be sure you could prove your innocence. The working of the law is sometimes strange and erratic. That money has placed you in great danger, Frank."

  "You are right. I wish I had kept my money in my pocket, and had not been so ready to break fifty-dollar bills for a pretty girl."

  Frank said this laughingly, but Bart's dark face wore a very serious look. He was not at all inclined to regard serious matters in a humorous light, while Frank had faced deadly dangers many times, and had come to laugh in the face of the gravest peril.

  "We'll have trouble in escaping those men," came soberly from Bart's lips. "It is still rather wild up around Tahoe, I fancy, and this road must end at the lake."

  "Well, we'll leave the road and ride over the mountain tops, if we do not overtake the man and girl."

  "What if we do overtake them?"

  "It will be a good plan to freeze onto them, and hold them for the officers."

  "No," cried Bart, sharply. "I will not agree to that."

  "You will not?"

  "No."

  "Why not?"

  "It would place the girl in peril. She would be——"

  "That's where you're off, my boy. It might rescue her from peril. If she is in trouble, as we imagine, it would be the very best thing that could happen for her."

  "How is that?"

  "She could tell her story truthfully, and it might get her out of trouble by putting the man with the black mustache in a box. At the same time it would clear me."

  Bart was obliged to confess that Frank had made a point, and still he did not like to think of turning the girl over to the officers of the law.

  "Perhaps she would not 'peach' on the gang, if there is a gang behind her, which I doubt. She might keep her mouth closed, might swear she never let you have the queer money."

  "And I can prove she did by the conductor of the Pacific Express. He saw me give her the small stuff for the two bills."

  "Still, I do not feel like nabbing her and turning her over to the officers. We might not be able to nab her, anyway."

  "That is true enough. I rather fancy her companion would be likely to put up a stiff fight. He looks to me like a dangerous man."

  Frank fancied that he was beginning to understand Bart's feelings. He believed the boy was afraid the girl might prove to be one of a gang of counterfeiters, and he was so badly smitten that he did not wish to be instrumental in her arrest.

  Frank, himself, had been highly interested in Isa Isban; but events had transpired which caused him to doubt that she was all her innocent face would lead a casual observer to believe, and his admiration for her had waned swiftly.

  Having been brought beneath a cloud of suspicion, Frank was determined to vindicate himself in some manner. He sincerely hoped it might turn out that the girl was innocent. If she were innocent, then she must be in trouble, and he hoped to be instrumental in relieving her.

  It was well the lads had obtained two good horses, for they were able to keep well in advance of the pursuers.

  Once or twice they fancied they saw rising dust in the far distance, which led them to believe the man and girl were there.

  If they were right, then the couple in advance were urging their horses to the limit, for they kept beyond view.

  The road grew rougher and rougher. The mountains shut in on either hand, and still they climbed upward. The horses panted and perspired, while horses and lads were covered with dust.

  "Do you know how far it is to the lake by this road?" asked Bart.

  "It can't be over ten miles."

  "Well, it is the longest ten miles of road I ever passed."

  The windings of the road shut the pursuers out from view. They were coming on when last seen, but had not seemed to gain in the least. At last an exclamation of satisfaction broke from Bart's lips.

  "There they are!"

  Far up the road, halted and looking back, were the man and girl, mounted on two dust-covered horses.

  "Sure as you live!" cried Frank. "We have been gaining on them."

  The boys were seen by the ones in advance, and the man made a gesture of rage, while the girl reached out and caught him by the arm, seeming to speak earnestly to him. He listened a moment, and then both touched up their horses, quickly galloping from view.

  Now the chase became hot, although the road became more difficult and perilous. Several times the lads obtained glimpses of the man and girl.

  Finally, with appalling suddenness, they came out upon the shore of Lake Tahoe, resting like a blue gem upon the mountain tops, upheld like a perfect mirror to a cloudless sky.

  Cries of surprise and admiration broke from the lips of both boys, for never before had they beheld such a lovely sheet of water. The surface of the lake was unbroken by a ripple, and the water, into which the heated horses thrust their noses, was clear as crystal.

  Afar, the mountain peaks rose like sentinels, their outlines softened to a purple shade. Along the shores were unmarred forests.

  For a few seconds the boys sat silent, gazing in speechless admiration on the beautiful scene, and then Frank gave a start and drew the nose of his horse from the water, saying:

  "Don't let your animal drink too much, Bart. They are very hot."

  "That's right," nodded the dark-haired lad, following Frank's example. "But where are the man and girl?"

  "They must have hidden up or down the shore of the lake. Look for the tracks of their horses."

  It did not take them long to discover which direction had been taken, and away they went.

  "I don't see how they are going to escape us," said Bart. "We have them cornered."

  "And we must be ready to fight, for that man will raise a rumpus."

  They looked at their revolvers, making sure they were in good working order. There was a look of resolution on Frank's face that contrasted strongly with the expression of doubt and uncertainty which had been growing on the face of his companion.

  They rode round a point and came in view of a beautiful cove. Then they again uttered exclamations of surprise, for out of the cove a light ca
noe was skimming, and the canoe contained the man and the girl. The man was handling the paddle with strength and skill.

  "Tricked!" exclaimed Frank, somewhat dismayed. "They have slipped us after all."

  As he saw this, the expression of doubt on Bart's face turned to one of intense anger. He was enraged at being baffled. Riding his horse into the edge of the water, he drew a revolver, pointed it at the canoe, and shouted:

  "Hold on, there! If you don't come back, you are liable to find yourself dodging bullets."

  The reply of the man was a scornful laugh, the sudden uplifting of one hand, a puff of smoke, and the singing of a bullet that passed over Bart's head.

  "Don't shoot!" cried Frank. "You might hit the girl."

  Bart was in a white rage; he quivered with anger.

  "Oh, I won't shoot!" he said; "but, if he were alone I'd give him a few lead pills, hang him!"

  After the shot, which seemed flung at the boys in derision, the man resumed paddling, and the canoe glided on.

  But that shot had aroused some on the opposite side of the cove, for a man came bursting out of the trees, rushed down to the shore, and stared after the canoe.

  He was a gigantic fellow, being at least six feet and six inches in height, roughly dressed in woolen clothes, wearing long-legged boots and a wide-brimmed hat. He had a heavy mustache, and a long imperial.

  Suddenly his voice rang in a roar across the cove:

  "Hold on, thar! Whatever are you doin' with my canoe? Ef yer don't bring it back, burn my hide ef I don't turn a cannon on yer an' sink yer at sea!"

  The man in the canoe made no immediate reply, but pulled the harder at the paddle.

  "Derned ef yer don't git grapeshot an' canister!" howled the big man. "I'll riddle yer!"

  Then the man in the canoe shouted:

  "Don't shoot! You will find two horses hitched to a tree near where we obtained this canoe. They're yours in exchange."

  "W'at do I want uv hawses!" roared the big man. "Bring back thet canoe instanter! I won't take yer hawses!"

  But the man in the canoe continued to pull at the paddle, and the little craft glided straight out on the tranquil bosom of the lake.