by Various
CHAPTER II.--MARK MULLEN DISAPPEARS
"Now then, Mark, down you come," said Tom Ellison, as he shook the lad,who had lowered the upper sleeping-berth in the train and gone to sleep.
"What time is it? Where are we?" Mark asked drowsily.
"Near midnight, and we are at Gunjyal," answered Tom.
"What a beastly hour to turn out!" grumbled Mark as he scrambled down.
In half an hour the servants and a camel--which had been waiting--hadstarted for the Doctor's destination, a place on the Salt Range sometwelve miles away.
At daybreak three horses arrived, and the Doctor and his two companionsstarted for their camp.
After breakfast the Doctor took his son and Tom Ellison, accompanied bya servant, to a small valley about a quarter of a mile from the camp.
"Here you are," said the Doctor; "this is the exact spot where I foundthe pieces of slab."
"Then I should say the rest can't be far away," remarked Tom, and theycommenced poking around with the ends of iron-shod sticks. They had beentwenty minutes at their task when a boy in charge of some goats plantedhimself on a rock not far away and keenly watched the Sahibs at work.
"Don't you think it would be a good plan, Doctor, if we got a fewcoolies to loosen the subsoil and turn over some of these loose stonesabout here?--it would be easier for us to search," suggested Tom.
"Yes, we may as well make a thorough search now we are at it," repliedthe Doctor, who at once sent the servant to the village near the campfor some coolies and tools.
The boy had disappeared before the coolies arrived, for he had receiveda signal from a man who was secretly watching the search-party from thetop of a cliff some seventy yards away.
The natives had not been long at work when one of them slipped, and hispuggari pitched off exactly on to the spot where the next coolie hadturned over a stone. The man picked up his puggari and moved a few yardsoff to wind it round his head again, and almost immediately the goat-boyappeared and asked him if he had seen a stray goat.
Tom Ellison happened to be standing up examining a strange fossil he hadfound, and as he casually glanced at the boy he saw the coolie hand himsomething, which he promptly hid in the folds of a kind of scarf hangingover his shoulder.
In a moment a suspicion flashed into Tom's mind, and he rushed forwardand seized the boy before he could make off, and no sooner had he feltthe lad's kupra (cloth) than he discovered that the youngster had hiddena newly found piece of the slab which had been picked up by the coolie.
The Doctor and Mark were at once by Tom's side examining the fragmentand listening to Tom's explanation. In their excitement they forgotabout the boy, and when they looked round became aware that both he andthe coolie had disappeared.
The sides of the hills all about were covered with low shrubs, largestones, and nullahs, or ravines, and, although a quick search was made,neither man nor boy could be seen.
When the day was over they had met with no further success as regardsfinding parts of the slab, but they took away several other stones whichthey thought might possibly prove to be of some interest, and most ofthe evening after dinner was spent in discussing the reason whichprompted the theft from the Museum, and the attempt to steal the stonefound during the day.
"There can be no doubt I was seen examining the fragments I found," saidthe Doctor. "I remember now that three or four natives were watching metrying to place the several pieces together in my attempts to get anidea of the whole. Strange that these natives should take so keen aninterest in an old, broken slab, for the pieces must have been lyingthere for years."
"I expect we shall have to keep a sharp eye on this piece, for they aresure to have a try for it, judging by what they have already done," saidTom.
"They seem to have a sharp eye on us. I shouldn't be surprised if theythought we came here purposely to hunt for the stones," said Mark.
"Well, I will take a copy of the letters on it at once, in case anythinghappens to the stone," said the Doctor.
Next day an official letter arrived which necessitated either the Doctoror Tom returning to Lahore for a few hours, and it was decided theletter should go.
"Now listen," said the Doctor as Tom was about to start on his journey."Take the stone to the Museum and tell them to place it where they canwatch any one who takes any peculiar interest in it. Further, get adescription of those men who were fighting there on the day the stoneswere stolen; and don't forget to post my letter to the Professor, for itcontains a rubbing from the last piece."
With these parting instructions Tom started on his ride to Gunjyalstation so as to arrive there before dark, there being practically noroad from the foot of the Salt Range across the miles of dismal tract ofsandy plain to the station, although his train did not leave untilmidnight; but it was the only train in the twenty-four hours.
Tom was half-asleep when he got into the train; he had the compartmentto himself, and he thought it likely he would remain alone until hearrived at Lala Musa, about eight o'clock, where he would have to changeto get on to the main line, so he quickly spread his bedding, and,drawing the green-baize shade over the lamp, he was soon asleep.
He could not say where it happened, but when he roused up the train wasin motion and he was just conscious he was not alone; but the instant heattempted to move, a rug was thrown over his face, and he knew he wasbeing held down by at least two powerful assailants. In a very shorttime, notwithstanding his fierce struggles, he was bound hand and foot,a gag in his mouth, and blindfolded, without having the slightest ideaof the appearance of those who had attacked him.
Whilst Tom was in this condition the train stopped several times, but noone entered the compartment, and, as the Venetian shutters were down, itwas impossible for any one to peer through the window and so becomeaware of his position.
He tried to knock his feet against the side of the carriage at the firststation, but he was bound too securely to the seat which formed his bedto allow of the slightest movement, so wearily and painfully the hoursdragged on until the guard discovered him and set him free at Lala Musastation.
The moment he was released he found that the only thing missing was thefragment of slab he was to have taken to the Museum.
"They followed me to Gunjyal and then slipped into my carriage at somestation whilst I was asleep, and quietly slipped out at the next stationwhen they had got what they wanted," mused Tom.
By the time he had given an account of what had happened to him he hadonly a few minutes in which to rush over to the refreshment-room and getsome breakfast before his train was due.
When Tom arrived in Lahore he went straight to his office, and in acouple of hours he had completed the special work which had necessitatedhis journey; then he went over to the Museum.
"The thief has been caught, Sahib," said one of the attendants as Tomentered the building.
"When? Who is he?" asked Tom, in considerable surprise, for he hadconcluded that his late assailants were the men who had robbed theMuseum.
"They caught him during last night, but I don't know much about it yet,"replied the man.
Tom at once hurried off to the police-station to learn full particulars.
"Yes, we found a piece of stone with some strange device on it," saidthe Superintendent of Police. "This is it. Do you recognise it?" headded, as he handed Tom the stone.
"No, this is not the one the Doctor found," said Tom, after a moment'sexamination.
"Well, it is the only bit we got, and we are told it was stolen fromthe Museum with some others, during a fight," said the officer.
"How did you get this?" asked Tom.
"Well, in rather a strange way. The night after the stones haddisappeared three clever burglaries took place in Lahore, and thethieves made valuable hauls in each case, but we could get no clue. Lastnight an anonymous letter came to us, and we decided to act upon it, sowe searched a house in the bazaar and recovered this stone together withsome gold and silver ornaments which had been stolen; we fo
und them inthe exact spot where we were told to look for them. The man says he isinnocent, and that they were placed where we found them unknown to him.Now you know the whole case," said the police-officer.
"And the man you have arrested, do you think he is connected with themen who were fighting in the Museum?" asked Tom.
"He says not. He certainly is not one of the fighters. He does not bearthe best of characters, however," was the reply.
Tom related what had happened to him in the train; several theories wereadvanced to account for the keen interest taken in the stones, and thepolice began exerting themselves to fathom the mystery.
The morning after Tom Ellison had left the camp a shikari went to Markwith the information that some oorial (wild sheep) were feeding abouthalf a mile away, and Mark, who was a keen sportsman, promptly got hisrifle and went with the shikari.
Mark was able to get a long shot, but missed, so sat down while theshikari climbed the peaks around to try and find the oorial again. Inabout ten minutes Mark heard a slight rustling in the bushes some twentyyards away, and he got a glimpse of a porcupine. He did not wish to fireat it lest he should startle the oorial if they had halted anywherenear, so he picked up a stone and threw it at the animal when next hesaw it.
"I have hit it," he muttered, as he heard a peculiar cry, and he hurriedforward, but he could find no sign of the porcupine, and he concluded ithad entered a small cave he discovered.
Mark struck a match and went in a few feet, but it appeared to be verylow, and when his match went out he decided to go no farther, for he hadno desire to stumble on the top of a porcupine.
In a short time the shikari returned, and Mark thought no more about theanimal until he had been back at the camp some time.
While Mark had been away on his shooting expedition, Harry Burton, theSuperintendent of Police, had called, and during the afternoon Markcasually mentioned the incident of the porcupine.
"I think you are mistaken about it being a porcupine, my boy," saidBurton.
"I don't think so. I saw it twice and hit it with the stone, for Idistinctly heard it make a peculiar noise as though hurt," persistedMark.
"That is exactly what makes me certain it was not a porcupine, for itis one of the animals without vocal cords, therefore cannot make a vocalsound. It was more likely a wild pig, for there are a number abouthere," said Burton, who was a great sportsman.
Mark, however, felt certain he had distinctly seen the animal's quills,so a little later he quietly left the camp without saying a word to anyone as to where he was going.
At nine o'clock that night Mark had not returned to camp, and Burton,who had remained to dinner, suggested that he might have got lost, ormet with an accident; so a search was at once commenced.