Dr. Dumar’s voice was gentle when he spoke, his eyes kind behind his spectacles. “What do you plan on doing, Chuck?”
“Well, I want to go ahead by myself.”
“What!” Masterson shouted. “You plan on leaving us here.”
“Only so that I can find higher ground,” Chuck said over Masterson’s voice. “If I can, I might be able to see that hill again. It’s just a chance.”
“I’ll go with you,” Arthur said.
“No. Ill go alone.”
“I’ll go with you,” Arthur repeated.
“I’d like to come, too,” Dr. Perry said.
“But, I...”
“What is it, Chuck?”
“I didn’t want to endanger anyone’s... I mean, I thought I should go alone.”
“We’re coming,” Arthur said firmly.
Chuck took quick stock of the situation. Perhaps it would be better if they came along. Three heads should certainly be better than one. “All right,” he said quickly. A new thought struck him. If Arthur and Dr. Perry came along, that would leave only Pete, Denise and Dr. Dumar to cope with Masterson and Gardel. Pete was a good man and strong — but Denise was a girl, and Dr. Dumar wasn’t exactly a weight lifter.
“I’d like you to come with us too, Gardel,” Chuck said suddenly.
Gardel pulled his black brows together into a scowl. “Why?”
“I like your company.”
“Don’t get smart with me, you little...”
Chuck allowed his hand to drop to the .45 at his waist. “I’d like you along, Gardel,” he almost whispered.
For an instant it seemed as if Gardel would jump Chuck. Anger flowed between them like live electricity. Then Masterson caught Gardel’s eye, and the thin, gaunt man seemed to swallow his anger in one big gulp.
“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you say.”
“Let’s go, then,” Arthur said.
Denise walked over to Chuck and looked up into his face. “Chuck, be careful.”
“I will,” he murmured.
Then they started off.
At the end of an hour Chuck was sorry he’d suggested the trip. They’d climbed every rock they came across, clawing at slippery jagged facings with desperate fingers. In each case the results were the same. The fog was too deep. They couldn’t see further than three feet from their noses.
At last Chuck gave up.
“Let’s get back,” he said. “The rest will be worried.”
“Not such a smart stunt, eh, Junior?” Gardel cracked.
“Listen...” Chuck started.
“You didn’t find your marker and you don’t know where the rendezvous site is, either. For a bright boy, you certainly messed things up.”
Arthur was beside Gardel instantly. “Shut your mouth,” he said.
Gardel turned to face Arthur. His mouth curled back in a sneer. “What?” he asked. “Are you talking to me?”
There was much of Masterson’s bluff manner in Gardel, Chuck noticed. He felt uneasy as Arthur moved closer to the man.
“Yes, I’m talking to you, Gardel. You know I’m talking to you.”
Gardel looked at the rifle slung on Arthur’s back. “Most men talk big when they’re carrying guns,” he said.
Without hesitation, Arthur unslung the rifle and handed it to Dr. Perry. Gardel grinned a superior grin.
“That’s much better,” he said.
Arthur didn’t wait for more. His big, brown fist lashed out in fury, catching Gardel on the side of his jaw. Gardel reeled backward, struggling for balance, and then pulled himself erect. He charged forward, his hands reaching for Arthur’s throat.
Arthur hit him twice. A short, solid jab to Gardel’s stomach that bent him over double, and then a solid uppercut to the jaw that brought him erect again. Gardel stared at Arthur blankly, and that was when Arthur released the final explosive punch. It caught Gardel on the point of his jaw again. This time he threw his arms back like a bird preparing to fly. He went all the way back, though, hitting the ground with a solid thwack that told Chuck just how unconscious he was.
Arthur stood over the man, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry, Chuck. I shouldn’t have.”
“He deserved it,” Chuck answered. He sighed heavily. “I think we’d better get back now.”
Arthur reached down and, with one fluid motion, threw Gardel over his shoulder. Together, they started the long trek back to where they’d left the party.
“You’ve got a nice left,” Dr. Perry said.
“Why, thanks,” Arthur replied.
Dr. Perry began to chuckle. “As a matter of fact, my friend, your right isn’t bad, either. Not bad at all.”
Arthur laughed, too, and Chuck found a smile forming on his own face — though he certainly couldn’t understand how anything could seem funny in their present predicament.
When they were almost back to where they’d left the party, Gardel regained consciousness. Arthur put him on his feet instantly, and the remainder of the trip was made in silence, with Gardel grumblingly walking a few paces ahead of the other three.
“We should be there soon,” Chuck said, at last.
“I don’t see anybody,” Arthur said.
“This fog,” Dr. Perry complained. “We could trip over them before we’d be able to see them.”
And that was almost what happened.
They found Pete sprawled over the ground like a crooked stick. He was unconscious, and his rifle was gone.
There was no sign of the rest of the party.
Chapter 15
Pursuit
They worked on Pete for a good ten minutes. They rubbed his wrists and they slapped his face, and Chuck desperately wished for smelling salts to revive the portly cook. After awhile his eyelids blinked, quivered, were still again. “Pete,” Chuck said.
The red-fringed eyelids blinked again and this time they stayed open to reveal wondering green eyes. “Wh-where am I?” Pete said classically. “It’s all right, Pete,” Chuck murmured. Pete sat bolt upright, twisting his head to one side. “Masterson! Where...?”
“He’s gone, Pete,” Arthur said. “And Dr. Dumar and Denise with him.”
Pete let out a low moan and cradled his head in his hands.
“What happened?” Dr. Perry wanted to know. Gardel stood by silently, a secret smile on his thin face.
“I don’t remember exactly,” Pete said.
“Try,” Dr. Perry prompted.
“Well, it couldn’t have happened more than twenty minutes ago. Masterson was all right up to then. After you left, we sat around talking about our chances. Masterson wasn’t too happy about the situation, but he wasn’t grumbling the way he did. He even said you were a capable guide, Chuck.”
“Masterson said that?”
“Yep. His very words.”
“You should have smelled a rat right then.”
“Well, I thought it was funny at the time, but I figured maybe he was having a change of heart. It looks like I figured wrong.”
“What happened?” Dr. Perry asked again.
“Like I said, we were just sitting around. I had the rifle alongside me on the ground while I was talking to Dr. Dumar. He was telling me about France. I learned that Pierre means Pete in French. I got a big kick out of that and I started to laugh. All of a sudden Masterson had the rifle in his hands.”
“Ouch!” Arthur said.
“He pointed the gun at me and told me to turn around and put up my hands. When I did that, he ordered Denise and Dr. Dumar to come over to him. Dr. Dumar objected, but Masterson shoved the gun at him and he finally obeyed. I was about to turn around when something hit me on the back of the head.” Pete put an exploratory hand to his red hair. “I guess he used the stock of the rifle. Next thing I knew, Chuck was looking down at me, and I was coming up out of a long black tunnel.”
“How long ago was this?”