CHAPTER VIII.
THE DARK FACE OF DANGER.
"Are we in actual danger?"
It was Ralph who put the question. The Eastern lad looked rather whiteunder his tan. Walt, however, seemed as imperturbable as ever, andgazed out at the approaching horsemen with no more sign of emotion thana tightening of the lips.
Coyote Pete's reply was a curious one. He handed the boy the glasses,and said curtly:
"Take a squint fer yourself."
Ralph gazed long and earnestly. Pete talked the while in low undertone.
"Do you recognize him--that fellow on the big black horse? I'd knowthat horse ten miles away, even if I didn't know the man. He's----"
"Black Ramon de Barros!" burst from the Eastern lad's astounded lips,while the others gave a sharp gasp of surprise.
"That's the rooster. Here, Jack; take a look."
The boy, as you may suppose, lost no time in applying the glasses tohis own eyes. Viewed through the magnifying medium, a startlingmoving-picture swung into focus.
Surrounding a big, covered wagon, of the prairie-schooner type, werefrom ten to a dozen wild-looking Mexicans, their straggling elf-lockscrowned by high-peaked sombreros, and their serapes streaming outwildly about them, whipped into loose folds by the pace at which theyrode. As Coyote Pete had said, there was little difficulty for any onewho had seen him once, in recognizing Black Ramon de Barros. Hismagnificent black horse--the same on which he had escaped from the oldmission--made him a marked man among a thousand. The wagon was drawnby six mules, and driven by a short, stocky, little Mexican. Thehorsemen seemed to act as escort for it. Evidently they had no fear ofbeing observed by hostile eyes, for, as they advanced, they waved theirrifles about their heads and yelled exultingly.
Fortunately for the party on the summit of the mesa, their stock wastethered on the opposite side of the formation to that on which thecavalcade was approaching. Thus, Black Ramon and his men could not seethat the mesa was occupied. Jack caught himself wondering, though, howlong it would be before, and what would happen when, they did.
"Have you got any plan in your head?" he asked, turning to Pete, as helaid the glasses down. But for once, to his dismay, the old plainsmanseemed fairly stumped. The danger had come upon them so suddenly, soutterly unexpectedly, that it had caught them absolutely unprepared.They had not even a rifle with them on the mesa summit, and it was nowtoo late to risk exposing themselves by descending for weapons. Therewas nothing to do, it seemed, but powerlessly to await what destinywould bring forth.
"You boys get back to the altar. You can act as company fer theprofusser, and it will be a snug hiding-place in case of trouble,"whispered Pete. "I wish to goodness we'd brought the stock up insidethe mesa, and then those fellows might never have discovered we werehere. I don't see how they can help it, as things are, though."
"They'll be bound to see our footmarks in the assembly hall," said Jack.
"Not bound to, lad," rejoined Pete. "You see, they may be only goingto make this a watering-place fer their stock, and then press right on."
"Press right on across that rocky range yonder?"
"Hum," resumed Pete, "that's so. They couldn't very well get thatwagin across that, could they?"
"Whatever do you suppose they've got a wagon for, at all?" asked Jack.
"I've got my own ideas, lad, and I'll find out afore long if I'm right.Now, you and the other boys get back in that altar. If it gets too hothere, I'll jump in and join you. If the worst comes to the worst, weought to be able to lay hid in there fer a while."
"In the meantime what are you going to do?"
"Keep my eyes and ears open. There's something mighty strange aboutthis whole thing."
The boys knew that obedience to Pete's commands was about the bestthing they could do at the moment, so they hastened to concealthemselves within the altar, which afforded a comfortable hiding-place,even if it was a trifle hot. The poor professor was in great pain fromhis ankle, but Jack, after as able an examination as he could give theinjured member, was unable to find that it was anything more than asevere sprain.
It did not take the professor long to become acquainted with what hadhappened within the last fifteen minutes, and, in his anxiety over theoutcome of their situation, his pain was almost forgotten.
"If we only had the rifles," he breathed in such a savage voice thathad the circumstances been different the boys could have smiled at theodd contrast between his mild, spectacled countenance and hisbloodthirsty words.
It seemed hours, although in reality not more than half an hourelapsed, before Coyote Pete returned. His reappearance was not anorderly one. Instead, he landed in the interior of the altar in onebound. His face was streaming with sweat, and he looked anxious andworried.
"What news?" asked Jack.
"The worst," was the rejoinder.
"Have they found our camp?"
"Not yet, but that's only a question of a few minutes now. At presentthey are unhitching and cooking a meal. Luckily the shade at this timeof day lies to the north-west of the mesa, so that they may not explorethe other side for some time."
"Let us hope not. But what have you found out about them? What arethey doing here?"
"Just what I suspicioned. They are a part of a gang of gun-runners."
"Gun-runners?"
"Yes. From listening to their conversation, I have found out that thisinsurrection's a heap worse than we ever supposed. Half of Chihuahuais up in arms ag'in the government, and they are plotting to blow uprailroad bridges, cut wires, and paralyze the country generally. Thenthey are goin' ter raid all the American mines and get the gold."
"Why, dad's mine's in Chihuahua, close to the border," gasped Jack.
"I know it. I heard that greaser ragamuffin, Black Ramon, mention hisname. Your dad's the first one they're goin' after----"
"The scoundrels."
"They owe him a grudge, you know, and now's their chance to get even."
"Do they know that dad is in Mexico now?"
"I didn't hear that. All I found out was what I told you, and that, asI said, they are running guns across the border. That wagon's loadedup with machine-guns in heavy cases. They are labeled as agriculturalmachinery, and were taken off the train by white accomplices seventymiles or more from here. They chose this part of the border, I guess,as even Uncle Sam would never suspect any one of trying ter get gunsover them hills yonder."
"Well, they can't take a wagon over those rocky, desolate places. Howare they going to get them across, do you suppose?" asked theprofessor, his pain almost forgotten in the tense interest of themoment.
"That's just the funny part uv it," said Pete; "they never mentionedthe mountains. You don't suppose there's any other way they could get'em over the border, do you?"
"Maybe they have an airship," suggested Walt Phelps.
"Maybe," said Pete quite gravely, "I wouldn't put nothin' past agreaser."
"Hush!" exclaimed Ralph suddenly, "somebody's coming."
With beating hearts they sank into absolute silence. The three boyscrouched at one end of the hollow altar, the professor and Coyote Petebundled together into as small a space as possible at the other.
Voices, conversing in Spanish, could now be heard, and, from theinflection, the boys judged that whoever was talking was very muchastonished over something.
"I recognize that voice," said Jack suddenly, in a low whisper, "it'sRamon de Barros."
The other two boys nodded. Ralph Stetson's heart beat so hard and fastthat it fairly shook his frame. Truly the predicament of the party wasa terrible one. Discovery by as wolf-hearted a band of ruffians--ifthey were all like their leader--as ever infested the border, wasinevitable within the next few minutes. Taking into considerationtheir connection with Black Ramon in the past, it was unlikely in theextreme that any mercy would be shown them. Never had any of themlooked so closely into the dark face of danger.
Suddenly the listeners
, crouching in their hiding-place, heard a shoutof astonishment from the Mexicans.
"They've seen our camp over the edge of the mesa!" exclaimed Pete in alow, tense voice; "in another minute they'll start looking for us."
As he spoke, the voice which Jack had recognized as Black Ramon's,uttered a crisp, curt command of some sort. The lads could hearfootsteps hurrying hither and thither. Without doubt, the order thatmeant their probable doom had just been given.
"I can't stand this a minute longer," cried Ralph suddenly. The boy'seyes were blazing wildly. Clenching his fist, he sprang to his feet.
"Come back here, you blockhead," snapped Jack, tugging his friend down.Ralph came backward sprawling, and landed in a heap in Jack's lap,knocking Walt Phelps with him. Together the three boys were tangled ina struggling heap.
"Get up," whispered Jack. "They'll hear us. You----"
He stopped short. All at once an astonishing--an incredible thing--hadhappened. The floor beneath them,--the solid floor, as it hadseemed,--began to tremble.
Before any of the amazed lads could utter a word, the foundation uponwhich they rested tipped, and, with a loud, ringing cry of terror fromRalph, they were plunged out of the sunlight into blackness asimpenetrable as the pocket of Erebus.
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