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In sheer desperation the outlaw leader fired his gun at the black hence the cry ca away Following the shot was an interval of silence; the horses becaathered closer to the fire, with the halters still held firar--thet 'd scare hiar," replied Wilson "Wait an' see!"

They all waited, listening with ears turned to different points, eyes roving everywhere, afraid of their very shadows Once h and babble, dolen

"Boss, let's shake this spooky hole," whispered Moze

The suggestion attracted Anson, and he pondered it while slowly shaking his head

"We've only three hosses An' mine 'll take ridin'--after theot packs, too An' hell 'ain't nothin' on this place fer bein' dark"

"No erly "I got sharp eyes You fellars can ride an' carry a pack We'll git out of here an' coht fer the rest of the outfit"

"Anson, I'm keen fer thet myself," declared Shady Jones

"Jim, what d'ye say to thet?" queried Anson "Rustlin' out of this black hole?"

"Shore it's a grand idee," agreed Wilson

"Thet was a cougar," avowed Anson, gathering courage as the silence reh on me as if it hed been a woizzards"

"Snake, shore you seen a woman heah lately?" deliberately asked Wilson

"Reckon I did Thet kid," replied Anson, dubiously

"Wal, you seen her go crazy, didn't you?"

"Yes"

"'An' she wasn't heah when you went huntin' fer her?"

"Correct"

"Wal, if thet's so, what do you want to blab about cougars for?"

Wilson's arguloomily and shifted restlessly from foot to foot Anson dropped his head

"No row ht upon theht, rose a screa yet heard, sie horse reared, and with a snort of terror lunged in tre i him over the rocks into the depression back of the ca leap just in tio down There caroan, and then the strike and pound of hoofs as the horse struggled up Apparently he had rolled over his master