Frank Merriwell's Alarm Part 30

Frank interrupted himself with the exclamation, a strange look having come to his face.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"I have an idea."

"Put us on."

"That cave, my boy--that cave!"

"What about it?"

"It is said that Carter Morris, the queer old miner, lives in some sort of an underground place."

"That's right!" cried Rattleton, catching Frank's meaning, and growing excited.

"He has some sort of mysterious mine."

"Sure, old man!"

"And he wrote Bernard Belmont that Mildred Morris was buried from the sight of the world."

"Now, you believe----"

"I do--I believe it possible that man may be occupying the very cave once occupied by the counterfeiters."

Rattleton was following Frank along the path, and he nearly ran Merriwell down in his excitement.

"You know the way to that cave?" he shouted. "You can find it?"

"I might be able to do so, although I am not sure of it. I can try.

Even if we find the cave, we may not find the man and girl there."

"It is a chance, anyway. It's the best we can do."

After they had proceeded into the mountains some distance, Frank began to look for a slope they could scale, so they might get out of the pa.s.s.

It was finally found, and, with their wheels on their backs, they labored to the top. Getting down on the other side was even more difficult, but they succeeded.

Then Frank led Harry a wild chase, till Rattleton was pretty well played out. His head had ceased to bleed, and he had removed the handkerchief, but he could feel that the blow had taken not a little of the stamina out of him.

"How long are you going to keep this up, Merry?" he asked.

"We must be somewhere near that cave," declared Frank. "It is getting toward night. I hoped to be fortunate and find it before dark."

"If we don't----"

"There's another day coming. We have hard bread and smoked beef in the carriers, and we can find water here. We're not nearly as bad off as we were on the Utah desert."

"That's right. That was a bad fix, but we pulled out of it all right.

If our clothes were somewhat drier I could regard the approach of night with greater complaisance."

"Our clothes are nearly dry, and they will be much more so in two hours."

They continued the restless search, Frank seeming utterly tireless.

Rattleton admired him for his resistless energy and unwavering determination and confidence.

Fortune must have smiled on them, for, as they were making their way along a narrow cut, they turned a short corner and beheld the dark mouth of a cave just ahead of them.

Both lads stopped and stood beside their wheels, uttering exclamations of satisfaction.

"Is that it, Frank?" asked Harry.

"It may be one of the entrances to the old cave of the counterfeiters," answered Merry. "That cave has several mouths. This is not the one I saw, but----"

"It is a cave, and it may be the one we are searching for. Come on!"

"What are you going to do?"

"Go in."

"We can't go in without torches."

"That's right--dead right! Was so excited I didn't think of that.

But--hooray!--we have found it!"

"Don't be so sure yet. We'll go up and look in."

They approached the mouth of the cave.

Suddenly, as they came near, there was a roar from within, and out of the cave rushed a man whose long hair and beard were white, and whose clothes were rude and worn.

The boys halted in amazement, staring at this man, who also stopped.

Frank spoke to Harry:

"It must be Carter Morris!"

"It is!" cried the old man, whose ears had caught the words. "How do you know me? What right have you to know my name? I am buried--buried from the world!"

"Crazy as a bedbug!" whispered Rattleton.

"Oh, crazy, am I!" sneered the man, much to Harry's astonishment, for it had not seemed possible he could hear that whisper. "That's what they think--the fools!"

Rattleton clutched Frank's wrist.

"Look," he panted; "she is coming! There she is!"

Out of the darkness within the mouth of the cave advanced the strange girl they had seen in the canoe. She was hatless, and she looked marvelously pretty with her golden hair hanging about her ears and reaching down upon her shoulders.