Harry Gordon

“ The horse and rider had certainly gone down the precipice! He awoke Don and told him of what he had seen. Don looked serious.
“It is the ghost of the canyon,” he said. “For years, on moonlight nights, the horse and rider have gone over the precipice. It is said that a rider met death there years ago, and that his bones, and the bones of his horse, were found at the bottom of the precipice by a hunter. For a long time no one would come within sight of that shelf at night.”
“I don’t believe in ghosts!” Case asserted. “I don’t believe it was a ghost at all! It is some trick to drive us away!” ”

“ Clay whispered, with a grin. “We tread on dangerous ground! Aha! These papers tell of the whereabouts of a buried treasure!”
“Hush!” repeated Case, with a mocking face. “Hush! Also S’cat!”
Alex looked at his chums reprovingly. This did not seem to him to be a time for by-play. He had lost a large sum of money which did not belong to him, and all the world looked black and creepy!
“Oh, cheer up!” Clay laughed, slapping the boy on the back. “We’ll find your money for you! Everything always comes out right with us! You know that yourself. Everything always comes out just as it should!” ”

“ Do you get me?”
“I never knew that a shovel could dig through stone or iron,” observed Tom, still despondent. “You’re just trying to think you can dig out.”
“Son,” chuckled Clay, “these stones are laid on solid ground. I don’t know how deep the foundation runs below the bottom of the cellar, but, no matter about that. We’ll dig down until we get under the wall, and then the stones will come tumbling down and we’ll walk out—to the confusion of King and the great delight of the boys and Captain Joe and Teddy.” ”

“ Still sniffing the air, bruin rose on his rear feet as if to take the intruder into a crushing embrace. This was too much for the little cub who had been taught boxing lessons by three reckless boys.
He shot out of the obscurity of the interior of the cave, ambled up to the person of the house, and gave him a cracking box on the ear! The big bear went down under the impact of the blow, not having been prepared for it, and Teddy stood there ready for another round! There was added peril in every instant now, but, in spite of all, Alex snickered and Don broke into a ringing laugh. ”

“ Always when the rider moves down the ledge you will see the shadow of that granite monument resting on the white boulder which nestles like a setting in that cliff.”
“Who compiled all the ignorance there is in the world regarding ghosts?” Case grinned. “I guess if people got a chance to return to earth after death, they wouldn’t be monkeying around in fool ways like that! This is some trick! You’ll see if we don’t get to the bottom of it before we go away! Headless horse, and headless rider! Why, even Captain Joe knew that they were not ghosts, for he woke me up growling at them!” ”

“ The Colorado river, in passing through the Grand Canyon, makes many sharp turns in drift because of great rocks which have tumbled down from the cliffs, and so block the flow, turning it aside in angry swirls. It was one of these eccentricities the boys faced.
“There’s where I want to fish!” Clay explained, bending to the oars again. “Keep her over to the west, and we’ll get a big one in that deep pit next to the shore. If we ease along with the current, we won’t tip over. Don’t let the current strike her on the side!” ”

“ Alex was glad of this arrangement, as he was anxious to get a look at the belt, in order to see if the papers he had seen Don have were still there.
The motor boat was speeded for an hour or more, and then Case and Clay sought their bunks in the cabin. The little room was insufferably hot, but it was, at that, a slight improvement on the deck outside, so the lads made the best of it. Alex did not permit himself to sleep with the others, but lay awake, listening, with his eyes closed, until the regular breathing of his chums told him that they had passed into the land of dreams. ”

“ Teddy, the bear cub, nosed close to him, seeking physical warmth from the chill of the night, and finally went to sleep himself. When Alex and Captain Joe looked back from the rim of sand which lay between the shore line and Chimney Peak, there were no lights to be seen on board the motor boat—only the bulk of the craft outlined against a starlit sky. ”

“ That’s all bunk!”
“About the ghosts? Of course, but there is something mysterious in the Grand Canyon! There are noises no one can account for, and sights which no one can explain are common. It is a haunted place!”
“I’m glad of that!” Alex exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to form the acquaintance of a really, truly ghost! One may come to-night!”
“If one should,” laughed Clay, “you would be the first one to jump out of your skin with fright! I don’t want to be bothered with ghosts, for one, for I’m tired and sleepy. Besides, we have a hard climb before us for to-morrow.” ”

“ Then he thrust the papers into an inside pocket and looked Tom in the face, his own eyes staring with amazement.
“What is it?” asked Tom. “What did you find?”
“Government bonds!” Clay almost shouted. “There are thousands of dollars’ worth in that package! Think of drowning with all that wealth in sight! Buck up, young fellow! You’ll soon be a rich man!”
“I was in hopes the lever opened the door!” Tom muttered. “I’m not interested in government bonds just now! What good would a million do us if they found us dead here on this floor?” ”

“ The former caught the boat as the wash moved it toward the current and drew it up on the shore, a dilapidated-looking craft, with the prow on one side crushed in!
“We are having great luck with rowboats!” Clay said, viewing the craft whimsically. “We ought to buy ’em by the dozen!”
“The boat be hanged!” Don grunted, rubbing his elbow, “what we need is a dozen lives! Say, but that was a dump!”
“Cheer up!” grinned Clay. “All we’ve got to do now is to swim a mile or so across the stream and get back to the Rambler! ”

“ Still, he could not account for Alex’s being there with Don.
“King is going to remain here until he gets his prisoner,” he said, presently, glancing at Don. “He wants that reward,” he continued, “and is likely to get it, too, for all of you fellows!”
“He may have the reward,” snarled the Mexican, glancing at the boy angrily, as if ready to punish him for speaking without permission. “He may have the reward. All we want is the stolen money!” ”

“ The boys saw the man who had first approached the motors spring into the air with a look of pain and terror on his face. Then the others almost turned handsprings getting to the prow of the boat. There was a sullen snarl on the deck, and then a furry object shot forward to the prow where the intruders stood.
In a moment the deck was clear, except that Teddy lifted his paws to the railing and looked across the island at the boys, winking one eye as if calling attention to a battle well won. He had been asleep by the motors and the intruder had stepped on him! That told the tale! ”

“ Tom grunted, “and I can swim ashore, hire a boat, and come out after you, if you have the price! I haven’t seen a cent of real money since the birth of Adam!”
“Exaggeration seems to be your failing,” Clay laughed. “Well,” he concluded, “you may go and get a boat if you care to, and can. But don’t bring a boatman with you. We don’t want any one to know that the Rambler is unguarded. It seems a pity to awake the boys, so we’ll take the risk of leaving the boat alone for a time—alone with Captain Joe and Teddy on guard!”
“The dog ought to guard the boat, all right,” suggested Tom. ”

“ Alex muttered, and Case nodded agreement.
“You’ll find that horses’ feet are surer than your own,” Don predicted. “There is rarely an accident here.”
The boys anchored the Rambler close to the shore, opposite the little spread-out of rocky soil and built a fire of driftwood. When night settled down the stars looked into the gulch bright and clear, and in time the moon arose and lighted the upper air, though its rays did not penetrate to the inner gorge at first, of course.
After supper the lads sat on the deck of the motor boat and watched the line of moonlight drop down on the west wall. ”

“ A motion on the deck caught the attention of the boys, and Clay went out to find the pirate who had fallen at the second shot trying to crawl to the railing. The boy did not interfere. The wounded man reached the railing at last and threw himself into the river.
“I don’t believe he is strong enough to swim ashore,” Clay said, “but we’ll leave that part to him. If he lives, he’ll be hanged some day, so he may as well drown now. Any man who will resort to physical torture to extort money has no claims whatever on humanity.” ”

“ Teddy welcomed them on deck with a grin that was almost human.
After Captain Joe had been praised for his part of the fight on shore, and after Teddy had been told what a hero he was and given all the honey he could consume at one sitting, the two, the dog and the bear, repaired to the aft deck to compare notes and fall asleep.
“That’s some bear!” King said, as Teddy shambled away.
“The fellow must have stepped on him,” Alex grinned. “Teddy is particular about not being stepped on. He doesn’t like to be used as a rug. My, how those chaps did swim! ”

“ Dazed as he was by the blow he had received, Case heard the fellow shooting at Teddy, and heard Clay and Don arguing with the men who were the cause of the commotion in the cabin.
“Come!” the boy heard a hoarse voice saying, “we have no time to lose. “You boys went to a bank at Yuma to-day and drew out a lot of money and a package of government bonds. We want them! Produce!”
“You are mistaken,” Clay replied, his voice sounding harsh and strained, as if he was just out of a struggle. “We put our money in the bank, and the bonds in the bank. We drew nothing out. ”

“ Alex cried. “The boys are asleep and Captain Joe is gone! Now do you see why the dog was abducted? We’ve got to get down there just as soon as we can. No knowing what may happen!”
“I guess we’re not going to lack for excitement!” Case mused. “We’ve got out of the path of commerce, but we seem to have struck a live wire, after all!”
“Shall we go back, or just wake the boys and go find the dog?” asked the other.
“If we don’t go back, we may not have any boat to go back to!” Case predicted. “The people down there are never prowling around for their health.” ”

“ If you are an officer, you may summon the coroner and have him empanel a jury. And one of you would better remain with the body, without disturbing it in any way, until the coroner comes.”
“Are you really going to take us back to the Rambler?” asked Clay, his attitude toward King changing instantly. “You’re a squarer man than I thought!” he went on, “and I’ll withdraw all I said against you a minute ago! You won’t lose anything by giving Case and Alex a chance to show that they didn’t do the shooting!”
“No officer ever loses anything by being fair,” King said. ”

“ Things disappear from the cabin, Alex goes up in the air, and now the Rambler wiggles off without any motive power showing!”
“Look at Captain Joe!” shouted Clay. “Just look at the fool dog?”
Case continued to pull at the oars, anxious to gain the Rambler.
“What is he doing?” he asked, not turning around to see.
“He’s barking and snapping at something that doesn’t exist!” Clay replied. “He is fighting with the air—and getting the worst of it!”
“Keep your head, chum!” Case grinned. “Keep on trying to think! The worst is yet to come!”
“Turn around and look, if you don’t believe me,” Clay shouted. ”

“ Don suggested. “I can’t swim across!”
“I don’t believe the Rambler can get over to this shore,” Clay said, looking over the mass of broken waters. “There’s more than a million big rocks in there. You know, we kept off this shore when we came up.”
“Well we can walk up and see what the chances are,” Don grunted.
But the lads did not walk up very far before they came to a cliff which stood out flush with the water, and against which the current thundered with a sound like the booming of heavy artillery. To the west the canyon wall rose sheer a thousand feet. ”

“ After a short wait the Rambler was gotten under way, and the boys prepared for a wakeful night. They sat on the forward deck for a long time, talking over the strange events of the day, and then Alex was almost forced by his chums off to his bunk.
As the weary, discouraged lad turned into his bunk he heard noises on deck which set him to wondering what his chums were doing, but he was too sleepy to open his eyes. He turned his face to the wall and was soon asleep. Case and Clay sat well forward and did not hear the bump of a boat against the stern. ”

“ If Alex was not on the boat, they reasoned, then he must have fallen into the water! It had been at least ten minutes since he had left them to visit the aft deck, and one might float a long way down stream in that time! The wonder was that he had not cried out when he fell!
Case rowed with all his strength, doubled by the excitement of the time, and Clay sat in the prow watching the river ahead. Now he thought he saw a head bobbing on the waves; now he called out that he had caught sight of the boy clinging to the shore ”

“ Tom complained. “I knew Uncle David had such a hole as this, but I never thought I’d be locked up in it!”
“How do you think King found out about it?” asked Clay.
“There must have been papers Don didn’t get with the handbag,” was the reply. “I don’t know! He found out, anyway, and so did we! I suppose we are about nine thousand feet under the surface of the earth!”
“Make it a good one while you are at it,” chuckled Clay.
“How are we ever going to get out?” asked Tom. “I’m afraid down here in this musty hole! I always was afraid in the dark. I see ghosts in every shadow! ”

“ Clay exclaimed. “And while we are looking in the odd crevices the water has made we may find some way of getting the Rambler up the river. Anyway, I’m not going to give up the trip until I have to! A man once went the whole length of the Grand Canyon in a boat! He must have got many a ducking!”
“Yes, but he was coming down, while we want to go up! If we were up above these falls, we might get down, by risking the boat and our own lives, but I don’t see how we are ever to get up!”
“There’s always a way!” laughed Alex. ”