"I have all the evidence I need," a.s.serted the money king. "Merriwell, I have men who will swear that you fired that shot."
"Did they see me do it?"
"They did."
"Most amazing, Morgan! Are you aware of the fact that Sukes was shot in the dark? Are you aware that every light in the place had first been extinguished by other shots? Will you explain to me how any one could have seen me shoot him under such circ.u.mstances?"
"One of the men was standing within two feet of you. He saw the flash of your weapon, as did the other man, who was a little farther away."
Frank smiled derisively.
"Wonderful evidence!" he said. "I doubt a great deal if a jury anywhere in this country would convict a man on such proof. At the time, as I think you will acknowledge, there was another man who did some shooting.
I deny that I fired the shot. But even had I done so, who could say that it was not I who shot out the lights and the other man who killed Milton Sukes?"
"Did you know that you left a pistol with your name upon it in a hotel where you stopped in Snowflake?"
"I did nothing of the sort."
"You did, Merriwell! The bullet that killed Sukes is in my possession.
It is a bullet such as would have been fired from that pistol. The pistol is in my possession, Merriwell! I have the evidence against you, and you can"t escape!"
"Although you are lying in every particular, Morgan, I am curious to know what your game may be. What is behind this singular procedure of yours?"
Macklyn Morgan seemed to hesitate for a few moments, and then, leaning forward on the edge of his chair and holding up one finger, he suddenly exclaimed:
"There is only one escape for you!"
"And that is----"
"If I abandon the case you may escape. If I drop it there will be no one to push it."
"And you will drop it?" questioned Merry, with pretended anxiety. "On what inducements?"
"Now you"re coming to your senses," nodded the man. "Now I fancy you comprehend just where you are. You possess several mines, and they are of considerable value. I have spent some money to get possession of one of those mines, having, as both Milton Sukes and I believed, a good claim to it. I speak of the Queen Mystery. Frank Merriwell, the day you deed over to me the Queen Mystery and give me possession of it I will abandon my determination to prosecute you for murder. I will even place such proofs as I have in your hands and you may destroy them. Of course there will remain the two men who are ready to swear they saw you fire the shot, but they may be easily silenced. That"s my proposition. And it is by that method alone you can save your neck. Now give me your answer."
"I will!" exclaimed Merriwell suddenly.
And then, with a spring, he seized Macklyn Morgan by the collar.
Immediately he ran the man to the door, which he hurled open.
"That is my answer!" he cried, as he kicked Morgan out of the room.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE MESSENGER.
As Morgan was hurled headlong from Merry"s room he collided with a man outside, who was very nearly upset. This young man caught a glimpse of Frank in the act of violently ejecting the man of money, and what immediately happened to Morgan was the result of this discovery.
"What"s the meaning of this great agitation by which you seek to overthrow my corporosity?" savagely demanded Cap"n Wiley, for it was he.
"This insult to my indignity is several degrees beyond my comprehension, and without waste of verbosity or the expenditure of violent language, I feel called upon to precipitate your corporosity on its journey."
Saying which, he sprang, catlike, on the millionaire, seized him, ran him swiftly along the corridor and flung him head over heels down the stairs. As Morgan crashed to the bottom, Wiley stood at the head of the stairs, his arms akimbo, nodding with satisfaction, and remarked:
"Possibly that jarred you some."
Morgan was not seriously hurt, but he arose in a terrible fury.
"I will land you both where you belong for this outrage!" he declared, white to the lips. "I will place you both behind iron bars!"
Then he limped away. Merriwell had followed, and his hand fell on the sailor"s shoulder.
"Why do you mix up in this, Wiley?" he demanded sternly. "It was not your quarrel."
"If I have offended by my impulsive and impetuous demeanor, I entreat pardon," said the sailor. "When the gent b.u.mped me and I saw that he had been scientifically ejected by you, I couldn"t resist the temptation to give him another gentle boost."
"And by doing so you may find yourself in a peck of trouble," said Frank. "That man has power and influence, and he will try to make good his threat, which you heard. He is a money king."
"What is money?" loftily returned Wiley. "I scorn the filthy stuff. But, regardless of his money, it seems to me that you unhesitatingly elevated his anatomy with the toe of your boot."
"It was my quarrel, Wiley; and there is no reason why you should pitch in."
"My dear comrade, I ever feel it my duty to stand by my friends, and your quarrel in some degree must be mine. I inferred that in some manner he offended you most copiously."
"He did arouse my ire," admitted Merry, as he walked back to his room, followed by the sailor. "But he is the sort of a man who will seek to make good his threat and place us behind bars."
"It will not be the first time your humble servant has lingered in endurance vile. In connection with that, I might mention another little nannygoat. On the last occasion when I indulged too freely in Western jag juice I was living in regal splendor in one of those hotels where they have lots of furniture and little to eat. I started out to put a red stripe on the city, and somewhere during my cruise I lost my bearings. I didn"t seem to remember much of anything after that until I awoke with my throat feeling as dry as the desert of Sahara and my head splitting.
"Just where I was I couldn"t tell. I had some vague remembrance of whooping things up in glorious style, and knew I had been hitting the redeye. In a somewhat dormant condition I stretched my hands above my head, and, to my horror, they encountered iron bars. This aroused me slightly, and I looked in that direction and beheld before me, to my unutterable dismay, the bars I had touched. "Cap"n," says I, "you have again collided with the blue-coated guardians of the peace, and you are pinched."
"I noted, however, that these iron bars seemed somewhat frail and slender, and it struck me that my colossal strength might be able to bend them. With the thought of escape, I wrenched the bars apart and thrust my head between them. By vigorous pushing I injected my shoulders, but there I stuck. In spite of all my desperate efforts, I could not crawl through, and I finally discovered that I couldn"t get back. I floundered and kicked a while and then gave it up and yelled for help. My cries finally brought some one, who entered the place and dragged me from the trap, at the same time nearly shaving off my left ear with one of the bars. My rescuer proved to be a hotel attendant, who asked me, in no small astonishment, what I was trying to do. Then, to my inexpressible relief, on sitting up and looking round, I found that I was in my own room at the hotel, where I had somehow landed, and that my delusion had led me to endeavor to escape from limbo by crawling through the bars at the head of my iron bedstead. I gave the attendant who had dragged me out seven thousand dollars and pledged him to eternal silence. This is the first time my lips have ever betrayed the tale to mortal ears."
In spite of the humor of the sailor"s whimsical story, Merry did not laugh. This convinced Wiley that the affair with Macklyn Morgan was far more serious than he had at first apprehended.
"Cap"n," said Frank, "I wish you would find d.i.c.k and send him here.
After that, if you can get track of Morgan and keep watch of his movements it will be a good thing. I"d like to know just what he means to do."
"Depend upon me," nodded the sailor. "I will shadow him with all the skill of those heroes about whom I used to read in the yellow-backed literature."
Saying which, he hastily left the room. Within ten minutes d.i.c.k appeared and found Merry walking up and down.
"What"s the matter, Frank?" he asked. "From Wiley"s words I inferred there was trouble in the air."
"There is," Merry nodded; and he proceeded to tell his brother the whole story.