by Old scout
fired at by the villains, she thought,but there was really no telling, so she drew her revolver and lookedover her shoulder as she ran.
Both the man who saw her when she was nearly out and the other villainwere now running swiftly through the cave, and each of them had a drawnrevolver.
Arietta ran as far as she could go, and then she came in contact withthe painted curtain.
She did not know how to manipulate it, of course, so the best thing shecould do was to reach for the bottom and lift it.
This she did, and, much to her joy, it came up easily.
A quick move and she had darted under it and was outside in the pass.
Then it was that she gave a cry of delight, for Cheyenne Charlie wasright there to greet her.
The girl did not say a word, however, but motioned for the scout to getbehind a rock that was close at hand.
She darted after him as he obeyed her, and then out came the foremost ofthe men who were chasing her.
Crack!
The scout fired without any hesitation and down went the villain in aheap.
But his action checked the others from coming out, and the curtain wentdown in a jiffy.
Arietta's action in lifting it had caused the log to fall and pull it upto its full height.
"That's putty good, I reckon," said Charlie, smiling grimly. "Is Wildall right, Arietta?"
"He is safe for the present, I think," was the girl's reply. "They arewaiting for the captain to come. He won't be here until some time afterdinner, so there is a good chance of saving Wild."
"If that's ther case, I reckon there'll he a good chance, fur thercaptain will never git here!"
There was no mistaking the meaning of Cheyenne Charlie just then.
Cap Roche's life was surely in danger if he showed up in Forbidden Passthat day!
"Take him alive, Charlie," advised Arietta, "Where are Jim and thegirls?"
"Right back there a little ways," was the reply. "But you jest leave itter me ter settle with Cap Roche. I'll show ther two-faced galoot what'swhat!"
Arietta said no more, but hurried through the pass in the directionCharlie had indicated.
She found the rest waiting for her, for they had heard the shot, and hadseen her with Charlie.
"Is Wild all right?" Dart asked, anxiously.
"Yes, for a while, anyhow," was the reply as Anna and Eloise both triedto embrace her at one time.
She quickly let them know the situation, and then she turned herattention to the spot where Charlie was in waiting for the outlaws toshow themselves.
The scout's blood was up now, and she knew quite well that he wouldshoot the villains as fast as they showed themselves.
Ten minutes passed by, and no one showed up.
Charlie was waiting patiently, however.
He was confident that one of the outlaws would want to get out to seewhat had happened to the fellow that followed in pursuit of the escapinggirl.
But Charlie did not know that the villains had a peephole in thatcleverly contrived curtain, and that they had already looked through itand learned that their comrade was dead on the ground.
To say that the outlaws were enraged at what had happened would beputting it mildly.
The girls escape had happened so unexpectedly that they could hardlyrealize it, and then, right on the back of it, another man is shot!
"Chuck," said the man called Bob, "I reckon we're in fur it."
"Don't say that," was the retort. "Ain't we got Young Wild West hard an'fast?"
"Yes, an' we thought we had ther gal that way, too. But she ain't herenow, is she?"
"Well, I wouldn't care two cents about her, if it wasn't that it wasthrough her that Wally got shot."
"Poor Wally! An' jest as we was fillin' up ther grave of ther other two,too. Well, yer didn't finish their job, did yer?"
"No; when we heard ther hubbub inside we stopped an' run in."
"An' left Young Wild West out there alone, eh?"
"Yes; but he couldn't git away; you know that well enough."
"There ain't no tellin' what he might do."
Snivel hurried out of the rear of the cave.
But the prisoner was still there, tied to the post, just as he had beenleft.
The horses of the outlaws had been led out there, and they were croppingat some sparse grass that grew there.
As the sun did not get much of a chance at the bottom of the hole, as itwas called by the outlaws, the vegetation there was scarce.
"So you're here yet, eh?" said Snivel, as he stepped up to the boy.
"Why, yes," was the reply. "You didn't think I was going to leave sosoon, did you?"
"No, I didn't think so. But funny things is happenin' jest about now."
"What was the matter in the cave?"
Wild asked the question in an indifferent way, but he was really anxiousto hear, for he had no idea that Arietta had made her escape.
He had heard the shot, too, and he was eager to find out what it allmeant.
"Yer want ter know what was ther matter in ther cave, eh?" asked Snivel,looking at the boy and scowling. "Well, I don't know as it will do anyhurt ter tell yer. Ther gal got away from us--that's what was thermatter."
"Is that so? Who fired the shot I heard?"
"One of your pards, I s'pose."
"Did it hit any one?"
"I reckon it did. Another of our men got laid out. Oh, this is onlymakin' it all ther worse fur you, Young Wild West. You don't stand nolivin' show, so there's no use in thinkin' yer do."
"I wish Cap Roche would come, so I call find out my fate," said Wild,though he did not mean it.
The longer the leader of the outlaws stayed away the better were hischances of being rescued by his partners.
"How do you know that Cap Roche is ther one that's goin' ter settleabout your fate, Young Wild West?"
"Why, I have heard you fellows talking about him."
"Yer did, eh? I reckon yer never heard none of us say any more than Cap.We didn't say that Cap Roche had anything ter do with our crowd."
"Well, I thought you did."
"I don't know as it makes any difference, though. You ain't never goin'away from here alive. Ther toll that you'll pay is your life, Young WildWest! Cap Roche will soon say that."
"Maybe he will, and maybe he won't," retorted our hero, as calmly asthough he was simply talking business with a friend. "Cap Roche mighttake a notion to let me go. His business at the store in Silver Bendmight require him to do so."
"I reckon he'd be a fool ter let yer go. Where would he land if he did?'
"Well, if he made a deal with me he might land all right."
Wild was adopting different tactics now. Anything to gain time, and hethought that he might get the men in the humor to make terms for hisrelease.
Not that he meant to pay the "toll," as they called it; but if he couldmake them believe that he had a large sum of money at his command itmight work all right.
The fact was that our hero had very little money on his person.
His experience had taught him not to carry much with him.
Therefore, he always kept the bulk of what he brought with him in ahidden pocket in his saddlebags.
Hop was the one who had taught him that this was the safest way, forroad agents seldom took a notion to make a thorough search of ahorseman's saddlebags.
"How much money have yet got with yer, Young Wild West?" Snivel asked.
"Not much. But I have plenty in the banks of Denver and Phoenix."
"Denver an' Phoenix is both a mighty good distance from here."
"I know that. But an order from me would fetch the money any time youwent for it."
"That's so, too."
"And my word is worth as much as my money, I reckon!"
"I don't know about that. I wouldn't take ther word of any one. I don'tthink any one would tell ther truth in a case like this."
"Well, there is no use in flying, to make a deal with you, then. I'llwait till the capt
ain comes, I reckon."
"He's ther one ter talk ter, anyhow."
It was just then that another shot sounded from the pass.
The next minute Bob came running out of the rear of the cave.
"Another man got his medicine, Chuck!" he exclaimed. "He would go outter git ther body of Wally, an' he got shot down afore he could git holdof it!"
"That makes four of you!" said Young Wild West coolly gazing at thevillains. "Where do you think you are coming out in this game?"
CHAPTER XI.
WHAT HOP WAH DID.
Though he had been told to