Hunting for Hidden Gold (16 page)

“Run for it!” Frank yelled.

Joe turned and plunged into the narrow passageway. Frank followed but more slowly, keeping his light aimed back at the wolves. The pack was gathering around its downed leader, sniffing and growling at the carcass.

Suddenly Frank heard a cry from Joe. It faded abruptly somewhere in the distance.

“Joe! Are you all right?” Frank glanced around hastily but saw only darkness.

A loud snarl drew his attention back toward the main cave. Glowing eyes were peering into the passage as if the wolves were nerving themselves for a renewed attack. Frank backed away fast, hoping to keep them dazzled with the flashlight beam.

Suddenly the ground seemed to end. His foot encountered only empty space!

The next instant Frank was plunging downward through a narrow hole. Instinctively he doubled up and a moment later landed hard amid dirt and rubble.

Frank was breathless from the jolting shock. Luckily he was still clutching the flashlight. He rolled quickly to his feet and played the beam around. A surge of relief swept over him.

Joe was lying on the ground only a few feet away. He, too, had fallen through the hole, but apparently had retained enough presence of mind to roll clear before Frank fell on him.

“Whew!” Joe was struggling for breath. “Had the wind knocked out of met” As Frank helped him to his feet, he asked, “What about those wolves?”

“Guess they won't bother us down here,” Frank replied. He shone his flashlight up the hole, which seemed to be a natural chimney in the rock, but he could see nothing.

Meanwhile, Joe was examining the area into which they had fallen. This too appeared to be a passageway, but larger than the one they had ducked into while escaping from the wolves.

“Frank—look!” Joe exclaimed.

“What's the matter?”

“Timbering!” Joe's beam picked out a few moldy uprights and crossbeams, still in position at intervals along the passage despite years of disuse. “This place is a mine tunnel!”

“You're right!” Frank's voice quivered with excitement. “This must be the tunnel of the Lone Tree diggings that Dawson told us about!”

“Feels like cold air coming from over there,” Joe said, glancing toward his right. A curve of the tunnel prevented them from seeing more than ten yards in that direction, but Joe reasoned, “The entrance must be at that end.”

Frank agreed and added, “So the chamber with the bluish dirt walls would be the other way. Come on. Let's find out!”

Shining their flashlights ahead, the Hardys plodded on. The tunnel was wide enough for them to proceed side by side, but at times they had to duck their heads to avoid bumping them on a crossbeam or a low-hanging clump of rock. Presently the boys' excitement grew as they noticed blue-gray streaks appearing in the earth of the tunnel walls.

“There it is!” Frank cried suddenly.

Far ahead, dimly revealed by the glow of their flashlights, the tunnel opened out into a wider cavern. The boys sprinted forward eagerly. As they burst into the underground chamber, Joe gave a low shout of triumph.

“This is the place, all right!” Joe exclaimed.

The Hardys excitedly shone their flashlights around the chamber. Several rusty picks and shovels lay scattered about, abandoned by the miners who had worked there many, many years before. The floor of the cavern was hard-packed, but in a few moments Frank and Joe discovered a heap of earth which looked as though at some time it had been dug up, then replaced.

“Grab a shovel, Joe!” Frank said. “I'll bet this is where Dawson buried the gold! Let's see if it's still here!”

Both boys set to work. Though the spot was not rocky, the digging was difficult. Frank exchanged his shovel for a pick and began loosening the earth. Then he switched to a shovel again and helped Joe scoop out the dislodged dirt and gravel. After several minutes the Hardys were streaming with perspiration from the exhausting job.

“Boy! No wonder miners use dynamite!” Joe took off his heavy jacket. Frank, too, removed his and the boys returned to the digging. Their flashlights had been propped nearby to illuminate the spot.

Suddenly a yellowish-brown patch showed beneath the dirt. The boys frantically scraped and shoveled away the earth in a frenzy of anticipation.

A moment later they could make out four bulging leather pokes buried in the hole. As Frank beamed his flashlight into it, Joe tipped up a bag. Suddenly one side of the rotting leather burst open and gleaming yellow coins poured from it! The other bags held nuggets.

“Dawson's and Onslow's gold!” Frank cried out.

The boys dropped to their knees, tense with excitement.

“Wow! Imagine how Mike Onslow will feel when he gets the news!” Joe exclaimed.

“He never will!” said a harsh voice directly behind the Hardys.

Frank swung the flashlight around. Not ten feet away stood a glowering man.

“Big Al!” Joe gasped.

“That's right.” The gang leader gave an ugly laugh. “Thanks for finding the gold, kids. Too bad you'll never live to enjoy it!”

CHAPTER XX

“WHAT do you intend to do?” Frank demanded.

“What do
you
think?” Big Al rasped. “I'm going to get rid of you brats for keeps.”

“You've tried before,” Joe said defiantly.

“I sure have.” Big Al's face was hard. “Since your pa's a big detective, I tried to fix you so it would look like an accident. Then I made out like I'd gone over the cliff and got killed. But you punks were still camping there next morning—so I swiped your horses, figuring you'd wind up starved or frozen, and nothing could be pinned on me. That didn't work either.”

Frank regarded the outlaw coolly. “So?”

“So now, I've got the gold and that's all that matters. You kids'll never leave here alive.” The outlaw's hand went to the holster he was wearing.

“Click off your light, Joel” Frank said in a whisper, snapping off his own.

As Big Al snaked out his gun, the cavern was plunged into darkness. Frank and Joe dived clear of his line of fire and clawed for their shovels.

The outlaw's gun thundered as both boys hurled their shovels toward the spurt of flame. There was a thud and a cry of pain. At least one of the shovels had found its target!

The boys closed in on Big Al. Frank found the outlaw's gun arm and levered it backward with both hands. Joe was busy on the other side.

Big Al fought like a madman, but Frank and Joe hung on. The outlaw screeched in pain as Frank applied bone-cracking pressure to his wrist, and a moment later the gun dropped from Big Al's numbed fingers. Frank heard it fall and for an instant slackened pressure as he kicked the revolver out of reach.

The momentary diversion gave Big Al the chance he needed. Digging his fingers into Joe's throat, he hurled the boy hard against the rocky wall. Joe sank to the ground, stunned.

“Now I'll take care of
you,
kid!” Big Al snarled at Frank.

The huge outlaw was more than a match for Frank alone. Frank fought desperately to maintain his hold, but Big Al grabbed his shoulder, jerked him loose, and drove a punch to Frank's face. Frank staggered back, tripped over a rock, and fell heavily to the ground.

“Don't try anything more or I'll beat your brains out!” Big Al warned as he groped for his lost gun.

Meanwhile, Joe had recovered from the pounding Big Al had given him, and was feeling around stealthily for one of the shovels. His fingers closed around a wooden handle just as Big Al spoke. Seizing the implement, Joe sprang to his feet and swung hard in the direction of Big Al's voice.

There was a thudding impact, a gasp, and the sound of a body hitting the ground.

“I got him, Frank!” Joe exclaimed. “Are you all right?”

“Sure—just woozy.” Frank pulled himself together and began searching for a flashlight. A moment later he found one and switched it on. Big Al lay stretched on the floor of the cavern, unconscious.

“Good work, Joe! I thought we were goners,” Frank confessed, still panting from the struggle. “Let's tie him up before he comes to.”

The boys took off their belts and strapped the gang leader's wrists and ankles tightly. Then, with Frank taking his shoulders and Joe his legs, they managed to lug their prisoner through the mine tunnel. The outlaw's roan horse was standing outside, hitched to a rock.

“Stay here and guard him,” Frank said to his brother as they dumped their prisoner across the horse's back. “I'll go and get the gold.”

Making two trips, Frank hauled out the four bags. Then he stood watch over the unconscious outlaw while Joe went to retrieve their horses.

Joe soon sighted the two animals wandering through the snow along the foot of the mountainside. Evidently the scent of the wolves, or their snarling, had frightened the horses away from the cave.

Joe quickly rounded up their mounts and brought them back to the mouth of the mine tunnel. Big Al had not yet recovered consciousness and Frank was tying him fast to the roan.

“I found some rope in his saddlebag,” Frank explained.

The boys loaded the gold into their saddlebags, then Joe attached the lead rope of Big Al's horse to the saddle of his own mount.

The outlaw was showing signs of reviving. Joe rubbed snow in his face to bring him around faster. As the man's eyes opened, he roared with rage and struggled violently against his bonds. But he soon realized he was helpless.

Big Al's face took on a sullen scowl. “I hope that gold brings you punks and Dawson and Onslow the same kind of bad luck it brought me!” he muttered viciously. “That gold should've been mine twenty-five years ago!”

“You mean when you were Black Pepper, and you and your gang tried to snatch it from those four miners?” Joe asked.

“You know that too, eh?” The outlaw glared at the Hardys. “All right, it's true. I was Black Pepper, and I'd have had the gold if that skunk Dawson hadn't cheated me out of it!”

“Cheated
you?” Frank retorted sarcastically.

“Because I'd put sand and gravel in the gas tank of his plane. But he managed to take off, and after he crashed a bad storm came up—so we couldn't even find the wreck.”

Big Al went on bitterly, “Other jobs came up after that, and I was dodging lawmen. But I never forgot there was a fortune in gold somewhere in these mountains. When my men and I came up here to lie low after that payroll robbery, I figured this was my chance. I'd have had the whole loot if it hadn't been for you!”

“Aren't you forgetting something?” Frank asked. “You'd never have found where Dawson hid the gold if you hadn't overheard us talking at the cabin.”

Big Al laughed harshly. “Sure. Even before you two showed up, I was hidin' in the horse shed attached to the cabin and was tryin' to find out what was goin' on. But once I wised up to the fact that Dodge was really Dawson, I'd have choked the truth out of him!”

“Just out of curiosity,” Joe said, “how did you find the mine today? For that matter, how did you survive the storm?”

“I'm used to this country, kid—found a snug place to hole up for the night,” Big Al said boastfully. “This morning I spied your tracks leadin' to that wolf cave. But I spotted the pack before I went barging in. So I searched around and found the real mine tunnel. After that, all I had to do was keep strikin' matches till I saw where the tunnel ended.”

“Come on, Joe. We've spent enough time talking,” said Frank. “Let's get started!”

The boys knew the trip back to Lucky Lode would be treacherous, especially with a heavy load of gold and the task of keeping a close eye on Big Al. They quickly mounted and started off. Just as the trio emerged from the valley, the Hardys shouted joyfully. They had sighted Hank Shale and Sheriff Kenner topping Lone Tree Ridge!

“Boys! Are you all right?” Hank yelled as he and the sheriff spurred forward to meet them.

Frank and Joe told their story and turned Big Al over to the sheriff. Hank had listened with growing astonishment and admiration.

“You sure are wonders,” he said to Frank and Joe. “We were afraid you'd be frozen stiff by now. And here you're bringin' back Big Al
and
the gold! And you solved the mystery o' Bart Dawson!”

“Your pa should be mighty proud of you lads!” Sheriff Kenner added.

The boys grinned and Frank said, “I'm glad we could help out.” Then he asked the men, “How did you get here?”

The sheriff explained that after handcuffing Slim and Jake, he and Hank had tried to follow the boys and the fleeing gang leader. But in the darkness, with the other two outlaws on their hands, the chase had proved impossible.

“So we took 'em back to Lucky Lode,” said Kenner. “We arrested Burke. He made a full confession about being Slip Gun—the gang's spy in town—and pushing the boulder into Hank's cabin. Later that day we started back to search for you. We looked everywhere and had just given up hope when we ran into Dodge—or Dawson, rather—on his way back and heard part of the story.”

“How's Dad?” Frank asked anxiously.

“Doin' fine. Fact is, the doc says he can take the tape off'n his ribs in another day or so,” Hank replied. “We practically had to tie him down to keep him from comin' along.”

Late that night the lights of Lucky Lode were sighted and by midnight the party rode into town.

Frank and Joe and their father held a warm reunion at Ben Tinker's cabin.