The Legend of Red Horse Cavern (2 page)

The passage narrowed. The air was musty, and they had to duck to avoid the stalactites.

Will flashed his light around the tiny room. “Wouldn’t it be great if the legend of the rain god were true and we found the golden statue down here?”

Sarah made a face. “The statue part would be all right. I’m not too sure about finding Red Horse’s head though.”

Sarah pointed her light at the far end of the cavern wall. “What was that?” Something gold reflected the light.

They both spoke at once. “The statue!”

Will jumped over a small boulder and ran for the shiny object. He tripped and fell to the rocks on one knee. A jagged stalagmite ripped his flesh. Pain tore through his body.

“Are you all right?” Sarah held the light on his leg. His pants were torn, and blood was trickling out of an open gash.

“It looks bad, Will. We’d better get you out of here.”

Will shook his head. “Reach in my pack. I wrapped some apples with a bandanna. Get it for me.”

She quickly pulled out the bandanna and handed it to him.

“Point your light over here.” He folded the cloth and tied it around his leg the way his grandfather had taught him. “There. That ought to hold it for a while.”

Sarah was still rummaging in his backpack. “Look at all this stuff. You’ve got everything from ropes to flares in here.”

Will jerked it away from her. “I like to be prepared.” He eased himself into a standing position. “Come on. Let’s see what’s over there.”

“I don’t know, Will. You’re hurt pretty bad, and this place is spooky. Maybe we should come back another day.”

“It’ll only take a minute.” Will made his
way to the edge of the wall. “Well, how about that? I guess we’re not the first people to explore down here after all.”

Sitting on a ledge in front of them, shimmering in the flashlight’s soft glow, was an old-fashioned metal trunk.

“It’s locked.” Will sat down on the ledge beside the trunk. “What I wouldn’t give for a hacksaw right about now.”

Sarah sat down beside him. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

“Yeah. If we can get this thing open, we’ll be filthy rich.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Think about it. How did that chest get in here?”

Will shrugged. “Somebody hid it here.”

“Don’t you get it? There weren’t any tracks the way we came. There has to be another entrance.”

He hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. “Duh. Of course. I was so busy thinking about treasure I didn’t stop to think about how the trunk got here. But now that you mention it, there is a lot of fresh air in here. It has to be coming from somewhere.”

“Maybe tomorrow we can find the other entrance.”

Will stood up on his good leg. “Why not now?”

“It was nearly dark when we came in here. Your grandfather will be worried if you don’t show up pretty soon.”

“I guess you’re right.” Will patted the chest. “This thing’s not going anywhere. We’ll come back and explore some more tomorrow.”

Sarah put her backpack on one shoulder. She took the light. “I’ll lead the way back to the entrance. If I go too fast for you, holler.”

Sarah made one last sweep of the room with the light. “It looks like a palace.” She held the light on a big rock. “There’s the throne.”

Will hobbled over to it and sat down. “How do I look? Would I make a good king?”

“I don’t know. I was thinking it looked more like a throne for a queen.”

Will picked up a handful of gravel and tossed it at her. “That’ll be the day.”

Sarah moved into the small passage where they’d started. “I can see daylight.”

A deep voice boomed at her. “But not for long, sister.”

Will swung around. Two burly men were holding guns on them.

The shorter man had a mustache and wore a brown felt cowboy hat. The bigger one had a wide scar running from his cheek to his neck.

The short man spoke first. “Take them in the back to one of those bottomless holes we found. Push them over the edge. No one will be the wiser. Don’t fire your gun unless you have to.”

Will was stunned. These men were serious. They actually intended to kill them.

“You heard him.” The man with the scar
pushed Will and motioned with his gun for them to go ahead of him.

Sarah bent over. “I just need to tie my shoe.” She came up with two handfuls of thick black dirt and threw it in Scarface’s eyes.

“Run, Will!”

Will didn’t hesitate. His leg burned like fire from his wound, but he ran for all he was worth. When he reached the entrance he didn’t slow down. He ran into the forest until he was sure no one was following him.

The short man grabbed Sarah by her braid. “That was stupid.” He slapped her hard across the face and knocked her to the ground.

Shorty yelled at Scarface. “Go after him, you idiot. Let him know that if he goes for the cops, we’ll kill the girl.”

Scarface glared at Sarah. “I owe you one, girlie. I’ll be back.”

Shorty growled after him, “Don’t come back without that kid.”

The big man stumbled down the passage
and out the cave’s entrance. The bright sunlight blinded him. He searched the ground for Will’s footprints and started tracking him.

“Come here, sonny. Let’s talk. Listen, I wasn’t really going to hurt you. Shorty just said that to scare you.”

The big man still had his gun out. He followed Will to a cluster of pine trees and then lost his trail in the pine needles. He wiped his brow with a dirty handkerchief.

“Come on out, boy. I’m through playing games. We have your girlfriend. She’s not going to look so pretty after a while. If you come out, I’ll let you both go.”

A rabbit jumped out from behind some brush. The startled man raised his gun and fired. The rabbit fell to the ground.

Will looked through a crack in the brush. He was crouched down—waiting, hoping. He saw the rabbit fall. The big man walked within two feet of him. Will held his breath.

“All right, boy. Have it your way. But if you go for the cops, I’ll kill her personally.”

The man turned and walked away.

Will didn’t dare come out for fear Scarface might hear something and come back.

He waited there, hardly breathing for what seemed an eternity. His mind was blank except for one thought …

Sarah.

The first edges of darkness came. Will had moved to the shelter of the trees. He sat clutching his knees, thinking.

Sarah’s mother and his grandfather would be worried by now. They had probably already called the sheriff. The only problem was, no one would know where to look for them.

What was the smart thing to do? Maybe he should go for help while he had the chance. After all, the police were trained to deal with this sort of thing.

No. That goon said if he did, they would
kill Sarah. Where did that leave him? Alone, that’s where. He had to try to save her by himself. But how? It was one thing to pretend he was an Apache warrior, but it was another to actually pull it off.

Even with all the things his grandfather had taught him about survival, he knew he would have a tough time.

And time was short. The crooks could decide to leave at any minute. They could just shove Sarah into the pit and take off. Whatever he was going to do he’d have to do it soon.

He rummaged through his backpack. Ropes, flares, candles, a bottle of drinking water, apples, matches, and a small lantern.

Will bit his lower lip and thought. He remembered something his grandfather had told him and slowly he began to form a plan.

He grabbed the bottle, poured out the water, and filled it with lantern oil. Next he untied the bandanna from around his leg and stuffed it in the bottle, saturating it with oil, leaving one end sticking out like a fuse. He filled one pocket with pebbles and put his matches and flashlight in the other.

Quickly he lit the two flares and fired them into the sky, watching them arc red against the dark, knowing that by the time help arrived—if it arrived—his plan would have worked or failed miserably. Either way the police would be needed to clean up the mess.

Will repacked his backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and started toward the cave.

There was hardly any light, and he had to pick his way carefully. His leg throbbed, but he tried hard not to notice.

He watched the front of the cave for several minutes. It seemed odd that there was no guard. Obviously the goons didn’t think of him as a threat. And as Sarah said, they probably knew a secret way out of the cave.

Will crept closer to the entrance. There was no noise. The first room of the cave was dark. He wanted to turn on his flashlight but knew he couldn’t. He’d just have to feel his way.

The wall was slimy with bat guano. He made a face but kept going until he reached the first passage. That’s when he heard the voices.

“Get the girl’s pack and put some of the money in it. I’ll put the rest in this bag.”

Will moved down the passage toward the voices. He looked out from behind a large stalagmite. The two men were taking the money from the old trunk and stuffing it in bags.

At first he couldn’t find Sarah. Then he spotted her. She was sitting on the floor near the side of the small cave. When she raised her head, Will drew a sharp breath.

One side of her face was a mass of purple bruises, and both eyes were black.

Will’s eyes narrowed. They’ll pay, he thought. Reaching in his pocket, he drew out some of the pebbles. He waited until he was sure the men weren’t looking and then threw one.

It hit Sarah. She grabbed her shoulder and looked in his direction. Slowly she began to inch toward the opening.

Will took out his bottle and slid the matches out of his pocket. He had intended for Sarah to keep coming until she was out of danger, but the short man turned and caught her.

“What do you think you’re doing? Get back over—”

Will lit the bandanna. He stood up and threw it at the short man’s feet. It exploded
into a ball of flame, setting the man’s clothes on fire. Shorty screamed and rolled on the floor.

Sarah jumped to her feet and ran to Will. He grabbed her hand and bolted.

Scarface was right behind them.

Will veered to the left and ducked into one of the passages leading away from the palace room. Sarah stumbled and fell. Will pulled her up. They could hear the big man closing in on them. Will took another left turn and then another. Scarface’s footsteps echoed in their ears.

Sarah’s heart was pounding. She leaned against the wall of the dark passageway and whispered, “Do you think we’ve lost him?”