It may seem a daring thing for one man to stop a stage full ofpassengers, and require them to surrender their money and valuables, butthis has been done time and again in unsettled portions of the West. Forthe most part the stage passengers are taken by surprise, and the roadagent is known to be a desperado, ready to murder in cold blood anyonewho dares oppose him.
In the present instance, however, the passengers had been warned oftheir danger and were ready to meet it.
Brown--for, of course, the masked man was the landlord--saw fourrevolvers leveled at him from inside the stage.
"Let go that horse, my friend, or you are a dead man!" said ConradStiefel, calmly. "Two can play at your game."
Brown was taken by surprise, but he was destined to be still moreastonished.
Col. Warner protruded his head from the window, saying:
"Yes, my friend, you had better give up your little plan. It won'twork."
Such language from his confederate, on whom he fully relied, whollydisconcerted the masked robber.
"Well, I'll be blowed!" he muttered, staring, in ludicrous perplexity,at his fellow conspirator.
"Yes, my friend," said the colonel, "I shall really be under thenecessity of shooting you myself if you don't leave us alone. We are allarmed and resolute. I think you had better defer your little scheme."
Brown was not quick-witted. He did not see that his confederate wastrying cunningly to avert suspicion from himself, and taking the onlycourse that remained to him. Of course, he thought he was betrayed, andwas, as a natural consequence, exasperated.
He released his hold on the horses, but, fixing his eyes on the colonelfiercely, muttered:
"Wait till I get a chance at you! I'll pay you for this."
"What an idiot!" thought Warner, shrugging his shoulders. "Why can't hesee that I am forced to do as I am doing? I must make things plain tohim."
He spoke a few words rapidly in Spanish, which Brown evidentlyunderstood. His face showed a dawning comprehension of the state ofaffairs, and he stood aside while the stage drove on.
"What did you say?" asked Conrad Stiefel, suspiciously.
"You heard me, sir," said the colonel, loftily. "You owe your rescuefrom this ruffian to me. Now, you can understand how much you havemisjudged me."
Conrad Stiefel was not so easily satisfied of this.
"I heard what you said in Mexican, or whatever lingo it is, but I didn'tunderstand it."
"Nor I," said Benson.
"Very well, gentlemen; I am ready to explain. I told this man that if heever attempted to molest me I should shoot him in his track."
"Why didn't you speak to him in English?" asked Stiefel.
"Because I had a suspicion that the fellow was the same I met once inMexico, and I spoke to him in Spanish to make sure. As he understood, Iam convinced I was right."
"Who is it, then?" asked Benson.
"His name, sir, is Manuel de Cordova, a well-known Mexican bandit,who seems to have found his way to this neighborhood. He is a recklessdesperado, and, though I addressed him boldly, I should be very sorry tomeet him in a dark night."
This explanation was very fluently spoken, but probably no one presentbelieved what the colonel said, or exonerated him from the charge whichGeorge Melville had made against him.
Five miles further on Col. Warner left the stage.
"Gentlemen," he said, "I am sorry to leave this pleasant company, but Ihave a mining claim in this neighborhood, and must bid you farewell.I trust that when you think of me hereafter, you will acquit me of theinjurious charges which have been made against me. I take no credit tomyself for driving away the ruffian who stopped us, but hope you won'tforget it."
"No one interfered with the colonel when he proposed to leave the stage.Indeed, the passengers were unanimous in accepting his departure as arelief. In spite of his plausible representations, he was regarded withgeneral suspicion.
"I wish I knew the meaning of that Spanish lingo," said the German,Conrad Stiefel.
"I can interpret it for you, Mr. Stiefel," said George Melville,quietly. "I have some knowledge of Spanish."
"What did he say?" asked more than one, eagerly.
"He said: 'You fool! Don't you see the plot has been discovered? Itwasn't my fault. I will soon join you and explain.'"
This revelation made a sensation.
"Then he was in league with the road agent, after all?" said Parker.
"Certainly he was. Did you for a moment doubt it?" said Melville.
"I was staggered when I saw him order the rascal away."
"He is a shrewd villain!" said Benson. "I hope we shan't encounter himagain."
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE CONSPIRATORS IN COUNCIL.
Do and Dare — a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune Page 27