In a twinkling, the cab containing Merriwell was overturned, and Frank was thrown out. He struck so heavily that he was stunned, though he knew men picked him up and carried him to the sidewalk, where they put him down.
Then he heard a cry, felt his head lifted, and, as through a dreamy haze, he saw a beautiful face bending over him—the face of the mysterious girl.
CHAPTER IX
THE GIRL FROM FAR AWAY.
It was like a dream to Frank, and he looked up at that face, which was now filled with an expression of agony, as the girl’s lips moved, and he heard her whisper:
“My hero! my hero! Did I save you from the powder-keg only to see you killed like this?”
It was still a dream, but these words suddenly changed the scene, and he was transported to the depths of a deep forest, far away in Maine, close to the Canadian border. He saw himself helpless and bound fast to a keg of powder in a deserted hut, while two brutal men hurried out by the open door, one of them pausing and turning back long enough to say:
“In one minute the fuse’ll reach the powder! Good-by!”
Behind him he heard a spluttering, hissing sound, while over his shoulder rose a mass of smoke. He could turn his head and see the burning end of a lighted fuse that ran down into the keg.
Those men had tied him there and lighted that fuse, their intention being to blow him into eternity. He knew their murderous purpose would be accomplished the moment the fire reached the powder.