had merriwell not been as tough as sole leather, that ugly fall might have had serious consequences. as it was, he was merely stunned, and in a minute or two he was sitting up on the ground, rubbing the side of his head and trying to guess what had happened.
although he could not remember it, yet at the moment he was seized and thrown sideways, a startled cry had escaped his lips. ears accustomed to hearing sounds through the clamor of the mill had caught that cry, and merriwell was conscious of a dark form hastening in his direction.
“what’s the matter here?” demanded a voice, as the form halted at merriwell’s side. “that you, lenning?”
“no, burke, it’s not lenning,” merry answered, recognizing the man as the recently appointed superintendent at the mine, “it’s merriwell.”
“merriwell! what the blazes are you doing here, at this time o’ night?”
“looking for lenning.”
“well, he ought to be around the tanks somewhere.”
“i couldn’t find him,” said frank, and jumped to his feet. he was dizzy for a moment and leaned back against the wall of the building. “he wasn’t anywhere around the tanks,” he went on, “and i started for the laboratory. when i got this far i stopped and looked through the window. somebody grabbed me from behind, all at once, and jammed my head against the window sill. when i came to i was sitting up on the ground,
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and you were hustling toward me. i haven’t the least idea how long my wits were woolgathering, but it couldn’t have been long.”
“it wasn’t,” answered burke, his voice showing his concern. “you yelled, and i was prowling around and happened to hear. i wasn’t more than a minute in getting here.”
“what the mischief is going on, burke?”
“search me. everything has been as quiet and peaceable around these diggings as a sunday-school picnic, right up to now. you say you couldn’t find lenning?”
“no.”
“you don’t suppose he was the one who came up behind you and——”
“lenning? great scott, no! why should he want to slam me into the laboratory wall?”
“he didn’t use to be a very warm friend of yours.”
“i know, but things are different, now. you see, i’m helping him to square away and——”
“yes, yes, i’m next to all that. he wouldn’t have been taken on here, if it hadn’t been for you. i haven’t much use for the fellow, though, even if you have. that’s why i was strolling around the tanks when i ought to have been ‘hitting the hay.’ thought it was just as well to keep an eye on lenning for the first few nights. say, merriwell,” and the super smothered a laugh as he spoke, “is that why you’re out here to-night?”
“you’re too darned keen, burke,” laughed merriwell. “i heard you finished a cyanide clean-up, this afternoon, and were to have some bullion in the laboratory safe for overnight.”
“that’s correct. four ten-pound bars were locked in the safe about eight o’clock.”
“well,” frank proceeded earnestly, “don’t think for a
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minute that i’m not trusting lenning. i just happened around to have a talk with him during his first night on duty.”
“he wasn’t on duty. if he had been, you’d have found him. how does that look—for a new hand?”
“there’s some reason for it, i’ll bet.”
“yes,” said the super dryly, “there must be a reason; but, whatever it is, it’s no credit to lenning. come on and we’ll see if we can find him.”
burke walked hurriedly along the side of the laboratory to the door, frank following close at his heels. the bruise on the side of frank’s forehead was not serious enough to bother him, and his head was as clear as a bell. the consequences of the fall had spent themselves on the first shock, and only the bruise remained to remind him of his disagreeable experience.
as his wits grew active, they picked up his interrupted chain of reflections where they had been broken off. he recalled the gleam of the bull’s-eye, and his suspicions of lenning. although he wanted to believe the fellow innocent of any treacherous work, yet his mysterious absence was the strongest bit of circumstantial evidence against him.
“the door’s unlocked,” announced burke, halting at the entrance and drawing a long breath of relief, “and that means that lenning is probably inside. queer, though, that he hasn’t got a light.”
he pushed open the door and was about to step into the dark interior of the laboratory. frank suddenly reached out a restraining hand and gripped his arm.
“don’t be in a rush, burke,” he warned. “when i was looking through the window i saw the gleam of a bull’s-eye lantern.”
“thunder!” cried burke, alarmed.
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shaking frank’s hand from his sleeve, he flung himself into the darkness of the big room. frank, tremendously excited, posted himself in the open door and watched and waited.
the ray from the lantern had vanished. that was a disturbing fact in itself. listening with all his ears, merry tried to follow the movements of the super by the noise he made in moving around. this was difficult, owing to the loud roaring of the stamps.
at last, burke struck a match. the glimmer moved a few paces through the dark and then touched the wick of a lamp. in a moment there was light, and the large, brick-floored room slowly took form under frank’s staring eyes.
the furnaces stood duskily out of the half gloom, quartering-down tables, glass-inclosed assayer’s scales, a pyramid of crucibles, a heap of charcoal, a huge safe in a distant corner—frank saw all these dimly. the lamp stood on a table in the center of the room, with burke’s tall form reared upward beside it.
“there doesn’t seem to be any one here but us,” said the super, “although there are plenty of places where a man could hide. close the door, lock it on the inside, and keep the key in your pocket. we’ll make a search to see what we can find, if anything.”
the key was in the lock. frank followed the super’s orders, and then went around helping him in his search.
burke, lamp in hand, peered here and there in every place where a prowler would have a chance to conceal himself. in a few minutes it became evident that the lad and the super were the only ones in the laboratory.
burke moved to the corner where the safe stood, and a shout of consternation burst from him. “look there!” he gasped, as frank rushed to his side.
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with a shaking finger the super was pointing to the safe. the big door had been wrenched open, and broken scraps of steel and iron lay in a clutter in front of it.
“by jove!” whispered merry hoarsely. “there’s been a robbery.”
“i should say so,” ground out burke. “there’ll be merry blazes to pay, now. see this!”
he bent over the wrecked door of the safe and pointed out a rim of some soft substance that had been plastered around the edge.
“what’s that?” queried frank.
“only a little evidence of how the safe was wrecked. soft soap and nitroglycerin did the work. the soap was ridged around the edge of the door, and then the explosive was poured in and touched off. i’ve heard how such things are done. hold the lamp a minute.”
frank took the light, and the super went down on his knees and pushed head and shoulders into the safe. an instant later he drew back.
“those four bars of bullion are gone,” he reported. “i was positive of that, of course, before i looked, but now there isn’t a shadow of a doubt. yeggmen have cracked the safe and made off with the bars. here’s a go!” he growled, starting to his feet and giving frank a troubled look. “when you saw the gleam of that bull’s-eye through the window, the cracksman had just about finished the job. one of them must have been outside, posted as a lookout. he was the scoundrel who crept up behind you. while you were stunned, the thieves got away with the gold. give me the key to the door, merriwell, and stay here a minute.”
burke snatched the key as frank offered it to him, dashed for the door, unlocked it, and flung it wide, then plunged away into the night. the lad, left alone with his
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reflections, put the lamp back on the table and dropped down on a bench. what his thoughts were need not be discussed, but they were sufficiently unpleasant.
the superintendent had been gone only a short time when frank, through the open door of the laboratory, saw half a dozen lanterns emerge from the stamp mill, separate and go scurrying off into the night in as many different directions. a little later, burke returned.
“i’ve started men out to beat up the camp,” he reported, “and i’ve telephoned to mr. bradlaugh. he will get hold of hawkins, the deputy sheriff, and get him on the trail as soon as possible. it’s a long chance, merriwell, whether we ever get back that missing bullion. lenning is pretty foxy.”
“lenning?” echoed frank.
“sure. you know he is at the bottom of this robbery, don’t you? all he wanted the job for was to be in a position to get hold of that bullion.”
“he’s not a cracksman, burke!” protested frank. “the work here was done by a man who knew the business. don’t make any snap judgments on the spur of the moment. lenning was brought up by colonel hawtrey, and i don’t think he ever had a chance to take lessons in cracking safes. give him the benefit of the doubt.”
“let’s look this business square in the eyes,” answered burke determinedly. “lenning was at the bottom of it, but he certainly had help. that was part of the scheme. some fellow who knew how acted as his confederate. while lenning was around the place, after the bullion was locked up, it was easy for him to let his confederate into the laboratory. probably lenning himself was the lookout, while the confederate was tinkering with the safe. the noise of the explosion was drowned in the roar from the stamp mill. after all, merriwell, it must have
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been lenning who grabbed you and shoved you against the wall. you can consider that you got off pretty luckily, i think.”
“how much was that bullion worth?” queried frank, with a sinking heart.
“it was base bullion—all this cyanide product, as we turn it out, is a good way from being the pure stuff. there were about six hundred ounces at, say, ten dollars an ounce. placer gold runs double that, you know.”
“six thousand dollars!” muttered frank. “if lenning took the gold, and if we don’t get it back, i’m in for that amount. ouch! i wonder what dad will say when he hears of this brilliant piece of work?”
