Frank Merriwell"s Alarm.
by Burt L. Standish.
CHAPTER I.
ADRIFT IN THE DESERT.
Once more the bicycle boys pushed on westward, and it must be said that in spite of all their perils they were in the best of spirits.
The beautiful valley in Utah was left behind, and some time later found them on the edge of the great American Desert.
Water was not to be had, and they began to suffer greatly from thirst.
The thirst at last became so great that nearly all were ready to drop from exhaustion.
Toots was much affected, and presently he let out a long wail of discouragement.
"Land of watermillions! mah froat am done parched so I ain"t gwan teh be able teh whisper if we don" find some warter po"erful soon, chilluns! Nebber struck nuffin" lek dis in all mah bawn days--no, sar!"
"You"re not the only one," groaned Bruce. "What wouldn"t I give for one little swallow of water!"
"We must strike water soon, or we are done for," put in Jack.
Toots began to sway in his saddle, and Frank spurted to his side, grasping him by the arm, as he sharply said:
"Brace up! You mustn"t give out now. The mountains are right ahead, and----"
"Lawd save us!" hoa.r.s.ely gasped the darky. "Dem dar mount"ns had been jes" as nigh fo" de las" two houah, Ma.r.s.er Frank. We don" git a bit nearer "em--no, sar! Dem mount"ns am a recepshun an" a delusum. We ain"t nebber gwan teh git out ob dis desert--nebber! Heah"s where we"s gwan teh lay ouah bones, Ma.r.s.er Frank!"
"You are to blame for this, Merriwell," came reproachfully from Diamond. "You were the one to suggest that we should attempt to cross instead of going around to the north, and----"
"Say, Diamond!" cried Harry; "riv us a guest--I mean give us a rest!
You were as eager as any of us to try to cross the desert, for you thought we"d have it to boast about when we returned to Yale."
"But we"ll never return."
"Perhaps not; still I don"t like to hear you piling all the blame onto Merry."
"He suggested it."
"And you seconded the suggestion. We started out with a supply of water that we thought would last----"
"We should have known better!"
"Perhaps so, but that is the fault of all of us, not any one person.
You are getting to be a regular kicker of late."
Jack shot Harry a savage look.
"Be careful!" he said. "I don"t feel like standing too much! I am rather ugly just now."
"That"s right, and you have been the only one who has shown anything like ugliness at any time during the trip. You seem to want to put the blame of any mistake onto Merry, while it is all of us----"
"Say, drop it!" commanded Frank, sharply. "This is no time to quarrel.
Those mountain are close at hand, I am sure, and a last grim pull will take us to them. We will find water there, for you know we were told about the water holes in the Desert Range."
"Those water holes will not be easy to find."
"I have full directions for finding them. After we get a square drink, we"ll feel better, and there"ll be no inclination to quarrel."
"Oh, water! water!" murmured Browning; "how I"d like to let about a quart gurgle down past my Adam"s apple!"
"Um, um!" muttered Rattleton, lifting one hand to his throat. "Why do you suppose a fellow"s larynx is called his Adam"s apple?"
"Nothing could be more appropriate," declared Bruce, soberly, "for when Adam ate the apple he got it in the neck."
Something like a cackling laugh came from Harry"s parched lips.
Diamond gave an exclamation of disgust.
"This is a nice time to joke!" he grated, fiercely.
"The matter with you," said Rattleton, "is that you"ve not got over thinking of Lona Ayer, whom you were mashed on. You"ve been grouchy ever since you and Merry came back from your wild expedition into the forbidden Valley of Bethsada. It"s too bad, Jack----"
"Shut up, will you! I"ve heard enough about that!"
"Drop it, Harry," commanded Frank, warningly. "You"ve worn it out.
Forget it."
"Great Scott!" grunted Browning. "I believe my bicycle is heavier than the dealer represented it to be."
"Think so?" asked Rattleton.
"Sure."
"Then give it a weigh."
Browning"s wheel gave a sudden wobble that nearly threw him off.
"Don"t!" he gasped. "It"s not original. You swiped it from the very same paper that had my Adam"s apple joke in it."
"Well, it was simply a case of retaliation."
"I"d rather have a case of beer. Oh, say!--a case of beer! I wouldn"t do a thing to a case of beer--not a thing! Oh, just to think of sitting in the old room at Traeger"s or Morey"s and drinking all the beer or ale a fellow could pour down his neck! It makes me faint!"
"You should not permit yourself to think of such a thing as beer,"