Frank Merriwell's Son; Or, A Chip Off the Old Block
Page 25
CHAPTER XXV.
A STARTLING DISCOVERY.
Having escorted Juanita back to the house, Carker called Frank aside andtold him what had happened at the lake.
"I'm afraid I'm responsible for a dead Mexican," said Carker. "I thinkMurillo was drowned."
"It's unfortunate that you are concerned in it," said Frank; "butMurillo will be no great loss to the world. Nevertheless we'll do ourduty and report the affair to the authorities without delay."
Making an excuse to the rest of the party, Frank and Greg walked intothe village, found Bill Hunker, the constable, and told him preciselywhat had taken place.
"The Mexican pulled a knife on ye, did he, young feller? Well, consarnthem Mexicans! I've allus heerd they was dangerous critters. 'Cordin' toyour story, you wan't none to blame in this affair. So the dod-rabbitedcritter kinder went in swimmin' arter that, did he? Think he's drowned,do ye? Um-her! I don't s'pose it'll do no good for us to go fishin' forhim to-night. I'll git some fellers and drag for him in the mornin'.Don't s'pose you want him to soak there in your lake, Mr. Merriwell, andspile the water. We'll dig him out and bury him in the pauper's lot, ifnobody don't claim his carkiss. I judge there'll be a settin' of thecoroner's jury on the case, but I kinder guess you needn't worry, youngman. A Mexican that tackles a woman gits what he desarves if he'sdrownded same as this one. Don't you worry. Don't you fret. I s'posethis'll make plenty of talk for the boys at Applesnack's to-night. I wasover there a while ago and hung around a-listenin' to Cy Tellmoreyarnin' it until he made me sick and I had to git out. I swan that mancan lie more inside of five minutes than any human critter that everbreathed."
Frank smiled.
"Cyrus has a vivid imagination," he observed.
"'Magination? 'magination?" squawked Hunker. "Mebbe that's what you callit, but I'd give it a stronger name than that. When I tell him aboutthis affair I bet a squash he'll have some kind of a story 'boutdrowndin' seventeen Mexicans all in a bunch. Say, have any of your folksdown that way seen anything of Eli Given this arternoon?"
"Why," answered Frank, "we saw Mr. Given, Mr. Small, and Deacon Hewettshortly after midday."
"Er-haw! haw! haw!" laughed Hunker. "I reckon the whole town seen 'em,too. Say, they hit up Applesnack's cider barrel, and the stuff fixed'em--it suttinly fixed 'em. They were corned for keeps. Went throughtown a-hoorayin' and a-whoopin' for you and for all your friends. Saidthey was goin' down to show their good feelin's toward ye. Applesnackand a few of the boys tried to keep 'em away, but 'twan't no use. Tenminutes arter they went down the road Mis's Given come lookin' for Eli,and some one told her where he'd gone. She hit the trail, and next wesaw she was marchin' him back through town, with Uncle Eb and the deaconpeggin' along behind, lookin' as meek and meechin' as wet cats.
"I dunno what happened arter Mis's Given gut Eli home, but he broke outag'in and took to the woods or somewheres, and she ain't been able tofind him. She was so all-fired mad that she come to me and wanted him'rested. I had hard work to persuade her not to have him jugged. 'Courseif it had been some feller who was inclined to git on a tear and raisethunder, I'd 'a' jest gone out and muckled onto him and shoved him intothe lockup. But I did kinder hate to lock Eli up.
"I went over to Uncle Eb's lookin' for him, and there was Eben out inthe woodshed a-snoozin' on a hoss blanket. Took me 'bout fifteen minutesto wake him up. He didn't know nuthin' 'bout Eli, so I went over toDeacon Hewett's. Er-haw! haw! haw! The deacon's wife had him on thelounge a-bathin' his head with cold water and a-holdin' smellin' saltsto his nose. She said he'd been took sick sudden and was havin' acrackin' headache. She was in for callin' the doctor, but the deacon hewouldn't have it. He jest laid on the lounge and groaned and keptsayin' he was a poor sinful worm of the earth.
"When I left Mis's Hewett she follered me outside, pulled me by thesleeve and kinder looked shamed and downcast and asked me did I believethe deacon had been drinkin'. She said he told her he jest took a littlemedicine when the headache fust struck him. I didn't give him away. Ilooked s'prised and shook my head and told her he wasn't a drinkin' man,so 'course there wan't no question on that p'int. But we're kinderworried 'bout Eli. If he don't turn up before long, we're goin' to sendout searchers for him."
"You needn't bother to do that, Bill," said a mild, mournful voice, as adusky figure came round the corner of the house. "I'm all right. I'mpurty well straightened out now, and I guess I'll go back home andkinder quiet mother's narves. You see she was rather excited anddisturbed over the affair, and she wouldn't let me rest arter I gut tothe house, so I sneaked off into Silus Cobb's barn, crawled into thehaymow and slept a while. It was dark when I woke up, and I didn't knowjest where I was. 'Twixt you and me, I'm going to tell Rufe Applesnackwhat I think of him. That cider was the most violent stuff I ever putdown my woozle. It had an awful kick. I s'pose me and Eben and Elnathanare disgraced in Bloomfield for the rest of our lives. I don't thinkI'll show my head outside of the house for a month."
Frank slapped the downcast old man on the shoulder and tried to bracehim up, but Given was so depressed that he refused to cheer up in theslightest.
"Think you can find your way home, Eli?" asked Hunker.
"Well, I'm over seven and I'm sober now," was the answer. "Don't youfret 'bout me. I'll git home, all right."
Bright and early the following morning Hunker and several villagersappeared at Merry Home and asked leave to use Frank's boats in thesearch for the body of the Mexican.
After breakfast Merriwell and a number of his friends went over to thelake and found the searchers at work.
Hunker reported that they had discovered no trace of the missing man.Carker, Hodge, and Merriwell launched a boat from the boathouse andjoined in the work.
"It was on this cliff here that we had the encounter," explained Greg,as they rowed back and forth beneath the bluff. "The man's body shouldbe here somewhere. There seems to be no particular current at this spotto carry it away. I think we'll find Jose Murillo within thirty yards ofthis locality."
There was a harsh, unpleasant laugh, and a voice cried:
"Senyor Carkaire ees right. Jose Murillo ees witheen thirtee yards ofheem thees minute."
Looking up in astonishment, the trio in the boat beheld the Mexicanstanding on the brink of the cliff. His clothes were somewhat wrinkledand soiled, seeming to need cleansing and pressing. But the man wasthere in the flesh, grinning at them in a malicious, triumphant manner.
Greg Carker smothered an exclamation of amazement.
"Evidently you were mistaken in thinking the man drowned," said Frankquietly. "We've had all this trouble for nothing."
"Oh, eet ees not so easee to keel Jose Murillo!" sneered the rascal."Where he fall in the lake the water ees not so deep. He stand up, withhees head out. He walk to the shore. He see Carkaire look for heem, andhe keep steel. Now he look for Carkaire. Better have a care, gringo, forJose Murillo weel find the time to strike you yet! _Adios!_ He weel seeyou lataire!"
The man turned and hurried away.