the Haunted Mesa (1987)

by L'amour, Louis

  "If someone expects miracles they will see miracles."

  "I got some ideas." Gallagher looked at Raglan. "Better keep this under your hat. No use to get a lot of talk started."

  Raglan started his car and moved down the road. The turnoff was miles ahead and very easily missed. He would have to watch closely.

  Kawasi was quiet, resting her eyes, almost asleep. Mike did not feel like talking nor did she, it seemed. He was trying to remember the map Erik had sent him. It was a far different route from the one he had taken down the Canyon road, which was far away to the south. He was well over an hour from town when he turned off the highway and took the dim desert trail. When he had driven a short distance the road dipped into a hollow and he stopped the car.

  Kawasi's eyes opened. "What is it?"

  He was getting out of the car. "I want to look at the road. See if there are tracks."

  He walked to the road ahead, pausing by the front bumper to study the trail. After a moment he walked on ahead, keeping alongside the trail, not wishing to smudge the tracks.

  There were tire-prints from two different vehicles. The tracks were several days old, with the paw-prints of a porcupine and several ground squirrels and some snake tracks crossing them. He walked several hundred feet, studying the tracks. The first car had been driven very fast by someone who obviously knew the road--probably Erik Hokart. He had been followed by another car, certainly not the white van. Yet there were no returning tracks, so where was Erik now? Where had they taken him?

  Kawasi was sitting up, watching him. "They did not come back this way," he told her.

  She shrugged. "They have other ways, not sure ways, but they exist."

  Where was Erik? If they had a hideout, a base on this side, had they taken him there? He suggested it to Kawasi.

  "I think maybe," she said, "but not long. The Hand would wish to have him to be questioned."

  "And then killed?"

  "Perhaps, but I do not think so. He is scientist? I think The Hand keep him, work him. He has ... how do you say? He has things for listening. Big ears."

  She paused. "He listen to what people speak to each other. All the time listen."

  From where Mike stood he could see the highway, if such it could be called. It was a lonely road along which maybe two or three cars an hour traveled. He saw nothing now. He turned, sweeping the country with his eyes. Of course there were many places a watcher could be and remain hidden.

  He got into the car and started down the road. He should have a rifle or, better still, a shotgun, a sawed-off shotgun for easy handling.

  After a few miles the trail branched and he took the easternmost branch. The desert growth increased as they drew nearer to some rugged ridges of bare rock. He glanced at Kawasi. "Are you frigntened?"

  "Yes. They bad people. They want me very much. They very much afraid of people over here. No discipline, they say."

  "Have many been over here?"

  "Oh, no! It is impossible! Almost impossible. For a long time, nobody. Sometimes an accident. If someone come from here he is tracked down and killed. At once."

  "And Johnny? The cowboy?"

  "They try. He too wise. He leave no tracks. He hide very well. Several places for hide. Finally they decide he not important."

  "And you?"

  "I am rebel. I think too much. I ask questions. I am threat, so I escape to hills where others wait." She paused while Raglan negotiated a sharp turn and a dip through a wash. "There is bad dry time. Nothing grow. The plants make no seeds. Some die, many sick. They send a man for seeds, but some will not grow." She looked at Raglan. "Is not same as here--some plants grow, some not. We do not know why. It is decide there must be a permanent way. You saypermanent ? It is always way we need. Much seed."

  She paused again, looking out over the desert. "What you call broccoli? It will not grow over there. It is try often. Tried often.

  "Your corn is different, much bigger. But your seed does not grow well over there. It is puzzle."

  Raglan drew up behind a juniper to study the road ahead and the country around. Something was bothering him, and he had known such feelings before. Something was wrong, and he was feeling increasingly uneasy, yet he could see nothing out of the ordinary.

  He had been listening with only half his attention. Some seeds that would not grow? Broccoli, among others. But wasn't broccoli a developed plant? He knew too little about such things.

  He was foolish to have come out here so late in the day. He should have waited, as he had planned to do, until morning, when he would have a full day of sunshine in which to look about.

  But he had to find Erik, and if Erik was lying injured on the mesa, he must be found and helped. Above all, the key to this must be at its point of origin. At least, that was where he must begin.

  Chapter X

  Nothing moved on the desert. He started on, taking the car around a bend in the trail and down a steep incline. Momentarily he took his right hand from the wheel to touch his .357 magnum. It was reassuring.

  "When you cross over," he asked, "is there any physical reaction? I mean, does it affect your body? Or your mind?"

  "A little. Sometimes the head spins. What is it you say--'dizzy'? I think so. And"--she put her hand on her stomach--"one is sickish, feeling bad down there. Some never get over. Sometimes it is hours, sometimes days."

  She put her hand on his arm. "Mr. Raglan? There is somebody out there. I know it. I feel it."

  He stopped the car again. It was not very hot now, but there seemed to be heat waves dancing. Slowly, he let his eyes search out the terrain before him.

  Nothing ... Nothing he could see, but he knew what she meant. He could feel it, too.

  "Over there"--she pointed--"is where Erik leaves his car. You can get no closer."

  He let the car roll forward. The place was too open, too exposed. There were low hills around, much growth such as would be found in any semidesert area. Here and there were boulders, rocks, and a few ridges.

  She touched his arm again. "Mr. Raglan? I fear."

  "Call me Mike," he said.

  For an instant after he switched off the ignition he felt a wave of almost panic. The sound of the motor had been somehow reassuring, and now in the utter silence he felt cut off, isolated. The car was security; it was escape, a way back to the normal, the usual, the everyday.

  What was he doing here, anyway? Why was he not back at Tamarron, going down to the San Juan Room for breakfast in a normal, sensible, attractive world? What was he doing out here at the end of everything?

  Shadows were appearing now, shadows among the rocks, among the scattered juniper and the brush. A faint wind stirred. He swallowed, checked his gun again, and took a flashlight from the glove compartment. "We won't be long," he said, and hoped he was right. "We will just walk over and see if Erik is around."

  He stepped down from the car and closed the door The sound was loud in the stillness. She sat very quietly, staring ahead. He walked around the car and opened her door. She took his hand and stepped down.

  She looked at him. "I fear," she said. "Something is wrong. There is something--"

  "We won't be long," he said again, wondering why he had been such a fool as to bring her. Yet she knew the way and he did not. "Let's go," he said, and she started off, looking quickly around. He felt in his pocket to be sure he had taken the keys from the ignition. He had them. Turning, he checked the position of the car. He was a fool. He should have turned it around for a quick getaway. He had always done that when in wild country. Why had he not done so now?

  Was it because he was not coming back? That was absurd. Of course he was coming back, and within the hour.

  Kawasi walked quickly, surely. He followed, keeping his eyes busy, straining his ears for the slightest sound. What was wrong with him? He had been in the desert before. He had been in many deserts--the Sahara, the Takla Makan, the Kalahari--and all of them had their mysteries. His thoughts returned to the Takla Makan and the
smoky fires of camel dung and movements in the night.

  He had been close to something there, not only in the desert but in the Kunlun Mountains, which bordered that desert on the south. He had been close to something disturbing, something with which he had been unwilling to cope. Was not this the same sort of situation?

  There was no more than a suggestion of a path. When they neared the end of the mesa on which they walked, he could see that other one ahead of him, and beyond, a small box canyon. He turned left, weaving his way among rocks and wild shrubs. Pausing to catch his breath he found Kawasi close behind him. The car was now far away, barely discernible among the rocks. For a moment he had an overwhelming urge to turn back. What was he getting into, anyway?

  "If Erik is not there ..."he began.

  "He will not be," Kawasi said. "He is on the Other Side. They have him."

  Something within him cringed. He did not like to think of that "Other Side," nor to believe in it. He knew now that he did not wish to cope with unreality, and that was how he thought of it. Of course, he reminded himself, if it did exist it was simply another phase of reality. He had dealt most of his life with the eerie, the impossible, the strange. These had been his daily fare, but they had been, for the greater part, simply illusion, fraud, and legerdemain. People were gullible because they wished to believe. His role had been to see the reality, to expose the chicanery.

  So far, all he had encountered except for some experiences in Sinkiang and Tibet, had been easily exposed by someone skilled in illusion.

  Pausing, she pointed. "It is right over there, beyond the rocks."

  She indicated a low mound of red rock. "Erik planned to build there, using the standing rock for walls."

  "And the kiva?"

  "It is close by."

  They started on and his hand touched his pistol butt. It was a comforting feeling, but would a bullet work against these ... what? These creatures?

  Whatwas he thinking? Kawasi was one of them, or said she was.

  What if it was some kind of an elaborate swindle? After all, Erik was a wealthy man. He had money, lots of it. Suppose all this was some kind of a plan to get money from him?

  If so, Kawasi must be a part of it, and this he did not wish to believe. Yet better men had been deceived by seemingly nice women before this. But if it was not a fraud, was Kawasi normal? Was shehuman ?

  What were they like, those creatures from the Other Side? Did Kawasi truly exist? Or was she merely a phantom, something from beyond the veil, from that world of evil the old Indians had fled?

  What was the Other Side? That question shadowed Mike's every thought, every decision. He had heard of parallel worlds, of other dimensions. Strange disappearances had been a part of his life. And there had been many such. The case of theIron Mountain , for example, a riverboat with a crew and fifty-five passengers that steamed around a bend in the Mississippi into oblivion. Or at least that was the story.

  Its barges were found adrift, but there had been no wreckage, no sound of an explosion. The story had been well known along the river in 1872 and since, but of course, the Mississippi had given birth to many legends.

  There was no path, no trail as such, yet Kawasi walked quickly among the rocks until suddenly they were there. He stopped, struck by the strange appearance of the mesa top. It gave the appearance of having been a field, badly leached, but nonetheless a field.

  Mesas with any amount of soil on top were few. More often than not, in this part of the country, mesas were almost flat rock with occasional patches of earth supporting a meager growth of brush and occasional small trees, usually juniper.

  The ruined walls were close by, covered by a sheet of plywood weighted down with rocks to make a temporary shelter. Inside he found Erik's sleeping bag, an air cushion, a small gas stove, and a few dishes. There was also a small portable ice chest and a food box, closed tight.

  He glanced around the workroom where, on a wide and long table, were spread the plans for the house Erik had projected. Glancing out the window he could see the space between the rocks Erik planned to utilize. If the natural rock floor were smoothed just a little, it would be quite level. Two major walls would be solid rock, both flat on the inner side. Actually, he would have only two walls to build, unless he decided to add more rooms--something easily done. The view was magnificent.

  Across the river, and downriver just a little, was the great mesa where he had seen the flare of light. He paused, frowning. With all that had happened since, he had forgotten the incident. Was there a connection? Might that have been the instant that Erik vanished?

  Looking around for Kawasi, he saw her standing, staring off at the mesa.

  "What is it?" He spoke softly, moving toward her.

  She did not turn toward him, but said, "That place! It looks like ..."

  "Like what?"

  She shook her head. "It cannot be." She looked toward the west. "If it was ... over there ..." She shook her head again. "It cannot be."

  He looked around again. "Erik is not here, that's obvious. I guess we'd better go back."

  "No! Please! You must not! We must not! Not tonight!"

  "What's wrong? Why not tonight?"

  "It would be dangerous. They ... they are worse at night. They would see us but we could not see them. It is better if we stay here."

  He did not want to stay. He wanted to get away, to get back to a town, to people--anywhere but here. Nor did he relish the drive back over those winding desert trails where it was easy enough to miss a turn by daylight, let alone at night.

  It was an eerie, lonely place. The drop down to the river must be almost sheer, and several hundred feet. The mesa was a peninsula of rock pointing downstream, almost due west, and surrounded by deep gorges except at the place where they had approached it.

  "All right," he agreed reluctantly, "but as you can see, the accommodations aren't much."

  He went back into the ruin. A glance into the portable refrigerator showed cheese and some cold cuts, a few cold drinks. There was a case of cold drinks, a mixed lot, sitting nearby. He went outside and looked around for fuel. He wanted a fire; he wanted very much to have a fire.

  Nearby there was a stack of roots, broken branches, and the trunks of a few lightning-blasted trees--nothing large but good fuel. He needed only a few minutes to build a fire. Kawasi walked to it and put out her hands to it, gratefully. "It is cold," she said.

  Stars were appearing now, and only the tops of mesas, ridges, and the distant Navajo Mountain were catching the last glow of light. "I'll make some coffee," he said.

  Erik had planned well. There were supplies enough to last for some time. Did he bring them all himself? Or did someone come to him? By helicopter, perhaps? That would certainly be the easiest way, and there was plenty of room for landing.

  He took out his gun and checked it. Kawasi watched him, then asked, "It is a weapon?"

  "A gun," he said, "a pistol. Did Erik have one, do you know?"

  "I do not know. I think possible. I think maybe. It is different, more flat."

  "An automatic, I expect. I wonder if they found it?" He glanced at her. "Would they search him? Go through his pockets?'!

  "I think yes. I do not know, but ..."

  More than likely they would. How much did they know of guns? Or did they have some of their own? Or some similar weapon? Or, if they could come back and forth, might they not have brought weapons from this side?

  The last light was disappearing, so he added fuel to the fire, causing it to blaze up. Instinctively, he looked toward the long mesa where he had seen the flare. It was dark and ominous.

  Closer, just across the river, was another mesa. He recognized its shape, remembering there had been some mining there at one time, but unsuccessful mining, if he remembered correctly.

  He found some bread in the food chest and made sandwiches from the cold cuts. When the coffee was ready, they sat down in the opening of the ruin. He thought, suddenly, of the kiva. It would be o
n his left. Or was it to the right? He tried to remember what Erik had said.

  He turned to Kawasi. "I am afraid," she said.

  "You need not be. We will manage."

  "But if they come?"

  He shrugged. "Stay behind me. Let me handle it."

  "But you do not know. They have means to ... to make you helpless. And they are evil, evil!"

  He added fuel to the fire and handed her a plate with a sandwich and then a cup of coffee. He sipped his own, and it tasted good. The air was cold, and the coffee warmed him.

  His eyes were busy, his every sense alert. He bit into his sandwich, glad of the silence, realizing that every slightest sound could be heard. He glanced at Kawasi. She was beautiful. Really, truly beautiful in a very quiet unassuming way.

  "Over there," he suggested, "you live in a house?"

  " 'House'?" She puzzled over the word. "It is a cave where I live. Where the old ones lived. You see, we must hide. They look for us. Always they look."

  "How do they live?"

  "What you call this?" She indicated the walls. "It is room?"

  "It was once. Yes, I'd call it a room."

  "Over there, in the other place, many rooms are together, many people live. Each family have rooms but all in one place."

  "Like an apartment building? Or a pueblo?"

  "Yes! Pueblo! It is a word I know. I hear it spoken, although the word is not ours. There are many pueblo, some very fine."

  He stood up, cup in hand, and let his eyes reach beyond the firelight, out into the darkness, seeking, watching. "How large is your country?" he asked. "How much land?"

  She shook her head. "I do not know. I think no one knows. Those who work know where they work. They know where are park places. To go far from where we sleep or work is not allowed."

  She paused. "Sometimes I believe even they do not know, those who command us. I think they know little more than we."

  She paused. "Once it was not so. When my people ruled--"

  "Your people?"