Burt L. Standish

“ I have great confidence in Socato."
"The bad white men leave their captive alone," said Socato, "and I should have set him free, but the great white phantom came, and then the white captive disappeared."
"What's that?" cried Frank, in astonishment. "Make it plain, Socato. Whom do you mean by the great white phantom?"
"The one who owns the canoe that goes alone—the one who built this house and lives here sometimes. Every one fears him. My people say he is a phantom, for he can appear and disappear as he likes, and he commands the powers of light and darkness. ”

“ Miller staggered, his face turning pale as if struck a heavy blow, and a bitter exclamation of fury came through his clinched teeth.
"Rufe!" he grated. "Then it's fight fer life!"
"Yes, it's fight!" roared Kate Kenyon's brother, as a long-bladed knife glittered in his hand, and he thrust back the sleeve of his shirt till his arm was bared above the elbow. "I swore ter finish yer, Miller; but I'll give ye a squar' show! Draw yer knife, an' may ther best man win!"
With the snarl that might have come from the throat of a savage beast, Miller snatched out a revolver instead of drawing a knife. ”

“ From the first, Frank had believed the old man a fraud, and he was soon satisfied that the fellow was Carlos.
On Carlos Merriwell's cheek was a scar that had been hidden by the false beard—a scar that he would bear as long as he lived.
Professor Scotch nearly collapsed in a helpless heap, so completely astounded that he could not utter a word.
As for Hans, he simply gasped:
"Shimminy Gristmas!"
A snarling exclamation of fury broke from Carlos' lips.
"Oh, you're too sharp, my fine cousin!" he grated, his hand disappearing beneath the ragged blanket. "You are too sharp to live!" ”

“ She quickly released herself from his hold and sprang to her feet, the warm blood flushing her cheeks.
"We cannot always be right," she admitted; "but we should be right when we can. Frank, Inza Burrage befriended me. She thinks more of you than any one else in the wide world. Do not forget Inza!"
He lifted his hand to a round hole in his coat where a bullet from Leslie Gage's revolver had cut through, and beneath it he felt the ruined and shattered locket that held Inza's picture. ”

“ Never before had Frank seen anything of the kind one-half as beautiful, and he was sincerely glad they had reached the Crescent City in time to be present at Mardi Gras.
The stampede of the Texan steers and the breaking up of the parade that day had made a great sensation in New Orleans. Every one had heard of the peril of the Flower Queen, and how she was rescued by a handsome youth who was said to be a visitor from the North, but whom nobody seemed to know. ”

“ Hans and Professor Scotch uttered exclamations of horror, starting back from the sight revealed by the light that came from the window set deep in the adobe wall.
Frank's teeth came together with a peculiar click, but he uttered no exclamation, nor did he start.
This seemed to affect the old man unpleasantly, for he turned on Frank, crying in an accusing manner and tone:
"Have you no heart? Are you made of stone?" ”

“ Frank clutched his arm, gasping:
"Merciful goodness! look there—look at that man's face! Can the dead return to life?"
He pointed at the man on the brink of the ravine above them. The light of the moon fell fairly on the face of this man, which was plainly revealed to every one of the startled and thunderstruck party.
"Move lively, down there!" cried the man, with a warning gesture.
"There have been spies upon you, and Pacheco knows where you have stopped for the night."
Bushnell dropped his rifle, clutching at the neck of his shirt, and gasping for breath.
"By ther livin' gods!" ”

“ Frank knew this well enough, and he was expecting just such a move, so it happened that the words had scarcely left the girl's lips when the revolver was sent flying from Wade Miller's hand.
The boy had leaped forward, and, with one skillful kick, disarmed his foe by knocking the weapon out of his hand.
Miller seemed dazed for a moment, and then he started for Frank, once more grinding his teeth.
"Oh, let me take a hand in this!" cried Barney Mulloy, who was eager for a fight. "Me blud is gittin' shtagnant."
"Keep away!" ordered Frank. "I can look out for myself."
"I'll kill ye! I'll kill ye!" ”

“ The one exception was the Queen of Flowers, who lay motionless and apparently unconscious in the street, with the beautiful flowers piled on every side of her.
"She is hurt!" cried Frank, who was watching her. "Why doesn't some one pick her up?"
"They do not see her there amid the flowers," palpitated the professor. "They do not know she has not fled with the other girls!"
"The cattle—the steers will crush her!" shouted the driver.
"Not if I can save her!" rang out the clear voice of our hero.
Professor Scotch made a clutch at the lad, but too late to catch and hold him. ”

“ What surprised them the most was the wire screens in the windows, a screen door that swung inward, and a mosquito-bar canopy over the bed and the couch.
"By Jove!" cried Frank; "the person who lives here is prepared to protect himself against mosquitoes and black flies."
"It would be impossible to live here in the summer," gravely declared Professor Scotch, forgetting his own misery for the moment. "The pests would drive a man crazy." ”

“ I am in no condition to receive visitors."
"Be calm, professor," chirped Frank, soothingly.
"Be calm, profissor," echoed Barney, serenely.
"Be calm!" bellowed the excited little man. "How can I be calm on the eve of murder and assassination? I am an unarmed man, and I am not even dressed!"
"Niver moind a little thing loike thot," purred the Irish lad.
"It's of no consequence," declared Frank, placidly.
"No consequence!" shouted Scotch. "Oh, you'll drive me crazy! You want me to be killed! It is a plot to have me murdered! I see through the vile scheme! I'll call the police!" ”

“ Why, you'll miss all the fun to-morrow, and we're here to see the sport."
"Confound the sport! I wish we had stayed away from this miserable place!"
"Why, you were very enthusiastic over New Orleans and the people of the South this morning."
"Hang the people of the South—hang them all! They're too hot-headed—they're altogether too ready to fight over nothing. Now, I'm a peaceable man, and I can't fight—I simply can't!"
"Well, well! I don't fancy you'll have to fight," said Frank, whose conscience was beginning to smite him. ”

“ Frank, you're a puzzle to me. You are cautious about running into danger of any sort, but, once in it, you seem to take a strange and unaccountable delight in the peril. The greater the danger, the happier you seem to feel. ”

“ CHAPTER XXXII. A MYSTERIOUS TRANSFORMATION.
"Ha! ha! ha!" wildly laughed the wounded sailor. "That time he did not escape! Leave me to die, would he? Well, he is dead already, for I shot him through the brain!"
"That's where you are mistaken, Jaggers," said the cool voice of the boyish leader of the mutineers. "I saw your move, saw the revolver, and dropped in time to avoid the bullet."
Gage sprang to his feet.
A snarl of baffled fury came from the lips of the wounded sailor.
"The foul fiend protects you!" he cried. "See if you can dodge this bullet!" ”

“ The heat affected Hans much more than it did Frank. The Dutch boy suffered, but he made no complaint.
With the sun well over into the western sky, they pushed onward again. They did not halt as the grateful shadows of night lay on the desert, but followed Pedro on and on.
At last, far across the desert, they saw the twinkling of a light that seemed like a fallen star.
"It's a camp-fire," declared Pedro, in Spanish. "Who can be there?"
"It may be bandits," suggested Frank, somewhat wary.
"No," declared the guide, "bandits do not build fires on the open plains. Bandits it cannot be." ”

“ You had better be careful!"
"Now you threaten," laughed Frank. "Well, I expected as much from a beggar, a fraud, and a scoundrel!"
Professor Scotch and Hans fell into each other's arms, overcome with excitement and wonder.
Frank was calm and deliberate, and he did not lift his voice above the tone used in ordinary conversation.
Still another step did the man fall back, and then a grating snarl broke from his lips, and he seemed overcome with rage. He leaned forward, hissing:
"You insulting puppy!"
"The truth must always seem like an insult to a scoundrel."
"Do you dare?" ”

“ If you are forced into trouble, professor, Barney can serve as a substitute."
"That sounds very well, but Colonel Vallier would not accept a boy."
"Then Barney can disguise himself and pretend to be a man."
"I'm afraid it won't work. Not that Barney Mulloy will hesitate to help me out of the scrape, for he was the most dare-devil chap in Fardale Academy, next to yourself, Frank. You were the leader in all kinds of daring adventures, but Barney made a good second. But he can't pass muster as a man." ”

“ If you are captured, he may turn back. I want him to follow you—I want you to lead him into the snare. That is why I am here, and that is why I have warned you, señors. It is done, and now I will go."
He arose to his feet, heedless of Bushnell's command to "keep still," and strode toward the horses. They saw an extra animal was there, and, in a moment, he had flung himself on the creature's back.
"Buenos dias, señores."
A clatter of hoofs, the flutter of a poncho, and a crimson serape, and Rodeo's horse was galloping up the ravine that still led deeper into the mountains. ”

“ Frank and Barney could not see, but they felt well satisfied with their lot, for they had been saved from death for the time being, and, somehow, they felt that Muriel did not mean to harm them.
"Frank," whispered Barney, "are yez there?"
"Here," replied Frank, close at hand.
"It's dead lucky we are to be livin', me b'y."
"You are quite correct, Barney. I feel like singing a song of praise and thanksgiving. But we're not out of the woods yet."
"Thot Muriel is a dandy, Frankie! Oi'm shtuck on his stoyle."
"He is no more than a boy. ”

“ The sun never shone more brightly and New Orleans never presented more subtle allurements.
Seated in a private carriage that had stopped at a particularly favorable spot were Professor Scotch and Frank, who had arrived a few days before.
"Professor," said Frank, who was almost bursting with pent-up enthusiasm and youthful energy, "this makes a fellow feel that it is good to be living. In all the places we have visited, I have seen nothing like this. I am sorry Hans is no longer with us to enjoy it." ”

“ They were brought here on a steamer."
"Texas long-horns on a stampede in a crowded city!" fluttered Frank. "That means damage—no end of it."
In truth, nearly half a hundred wild Texan steers, driven to madness by the shrieking whistles and thundering cannons, had broken out of the fraily constructed yard, and at least a dozen of them had stampeded straight toward Canal Street.
Persons crushed against each other and fell over each other in frantic haste to get out of the way for the cattle to pass. Some were thrown down and trampled on by the fear-stricken throng. ”

“ If you were to go there and should never be heard of again, it would not be easy for your friends to discover what had become of you. Pacheco directed [Pg 43] you to go there, and he means you no good. It is likely you will walk into a trap that Pacheco has set for you."
"I have considered that," said Frank, quietly; "and I have decided to go."
"Oh, very well," with a gesture expressive of regret. "I know it is quite impossible to change the determination of you Americans. If you have firmly decided to go, you will go, even though you knew all the deadly dangers that may lie in wait for you." ”

“ Well, I don't think you'll apologize, Frank, and you're not going to fight. You're a boy; let him take a man. If he wants to fight anybody, I'm just his hairpin, and I'll agree to do him up with any kind of a weapon from a broad-ax to a bologna sausage! ”

“ CHAPTER XX. THE PROFESSOR'S COURAGE.
Colonel Vallier seemed utterly crestfallen and subdued, but Rolf Raymond's face was dark with anger, as he harshly said:
"Now that this foolishness is over, we will proceed to business."
"That's right," bowed Frank. "The quicker you proceed the better satisfied we will be. Go ahead."
Rolf turned fiercely on Frank, almost snarling:
"You must have been at the bottom of it all! Where is she?"
Frank was astonished, as his face plainly showed.
"Where is she?" he repeated.
"Whom do you mean, sir?"
"It is useless to pretend that you do not know. ”

“ An undulating mass of yellow dust finally revealed itself as a drove of sheep, urged along by peons, appeared.
Groups of natives were strolling in both directions, seeking the shadows along the canal. The women were in straw hats, with their black hair plaited, and little children strung to their backs; the men wore serapes and sandals, and smoked cigarettes.
Along the side of the canal were scattered scores of natives of all ages and both sexes, lolling beneath the bushes or soaking their bodies in the water, while their heads rested on the ground. ”

“ The Westerner and the professor came creeping to his side.
"What is it?" asked Bushnell.
"Look," directed Frank. "What do you make of it?"
Peering down into the dark depths of the gorge, they saw black figures flitting silently past, men and horses, as they were able to make out.
"Horsemen!" breathed the professor. "They must be the bandits!"
"But look!" came cautiously from Frank's lips; "they are riding swiftly, yet the feet of their horses make no sound!" [Pg 65]
"That's right!" gasped Scotch. "Great Jupiter! can they be more ghosts?"
"Mysteries are crowding each other," said Frank. ”

“ The phantom of a moon was in the sky, hanging low down and half-inverted as if spilling a spectral glamour over the ghostly mists which lay deep in Lost Creek Valley.
The sweet breath of flowers and of the woods was in the morning air, and from some cabin afar on the side of a distant mountain a wakeful watchdog barked till the crags reverberated with his clamoring.
"Thar's somethin' stirrin' at 'Bize Wiley's, ur his dorg wouldn't be kickin' up all that racket," observed Kate Kenyon. "He lives by ther road that comes over from Bildow's Crossroads. ”

“ Frank was awakened by a sharp shake, and his first thought was of danger, but his hand did not reach the revolver he had placed beneath the pillow, for he felt something cold against his temple, and heard a voice hiss:
"Be easy, you-uns! Ef ye make a jowl, yo're ter be shot!"
Barney was awakened at the same time, and the boys found they were in the clutches of strong men. The little room seemed filled with men, and the lads instantly realized they were in a bad scrape. ”