The girls escape had happened so unexpectedly that they could hardly realize 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 here now, is she?"

"Well, I wouldn't care two cents about her, if it wasn't that it was through 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 been left.

The horses of the outlaws had been led out there, and they were cropping at some spa.r.s.e gra.s.s that grew there.

As the sun did not get much of a chance at the bottom of the hole, as it was 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 so soon, 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 anxious to 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 all meant.

"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 any hurt ter tell yer. Ther gal got away from us--that's what was ther matter."

"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 only makin' it all ther worse fur you, Young Wild West. You don't stand no livin' 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 his chances of being rescued by his partners.

"How do you know that Cap Roche is ther one that's goin' ter settle about 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 Wild West! Cap Roche will soon say that."

"Maybe he will, and maybe he won't," retorted our hero, as calmly as though he was simply talking business with a friend. "Cap Roche might take a notion to let me go. His business at the store in Silver Bend might 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 he thought that he might get the men in the humor to make terms for his release.

Not that he meant to pay the "toll," as they called it; but if he could make them believe that he had a large sum of money at his command it might 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 a hidden pocket in his saddlebags.

Hop was the one who had taught him that this was the safest way, for road agents seldom took a notion to make a thorough search of a horseman'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 you went 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't think 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'll wait till the captain comes, I reckon."