“Oh, Hamilton, what is it?” cried Emma.
“The flaming arrow!” exclaimed Tom Gray. “That’s an Indian trick. No white man ever thought of that. What does it mean, White?”
“Wait!” The guide removed a thin piece of bark that had been bound to the arrow near its butt, and from under the bark he drew out a piece of paper. “It is a message,” he announced after peering at the piece of paper, and then handed it to Tom Gray.
CHAPTER XIX
HIS FATE IN THE BALANCE
“It’s a red hot one, I’ll bet!” exclaimed Hippy.
“Hippy!” admonished Nora.
“What is it, Tom?” begged Grace, slipping an arm through his. “I think I know.”
“You are right, Hippy.” Captain Gray held the slip of paper down so the feeble light of the fire shone upon it. “It is from Stacy. Listen:
“‘Help! I’m in Dutch again. Get me out, quick. They are a lot of ruf—of fine gentlemen here, but they want something that you’ve got. If they don’t get it I’m to be shot at sunrise. Oh, wow! They want a book they say you have, and they want it bad. You are to leave it on top of the rock by the camp and go away. They want something else, too—a bag of gold that you or somebody took from that fellow Petersen. Mebby I’ll see him soon. Do you folks know anything about the gold? I told them the nearest thing to gold that I’d seen up here was a sunset the other night. They say the book and the gold doesn’t belong to you—that one of our party stole it. You folks have been holding out on me! I’ll be even with you for that. Can’t write any more ’cause the mail man won’t wait. Hurry, for the love of Mike! Hurry or I’m a dead one! Wow! Stacy.’”
“They wouldn’t dare!” cried Nora.