Then he turned and rode sharply to the left, to what seemed to be a solid wall of rock.

Reaching out his hand, he grasped a rope that was hidden beneath some hanging vines.

A sharp pull on this and up rolled a curtain, leaving an opening that was large enough for a horse and rider to pa.s.s through.

The curtain was made of some flexible material and was painted to imitate the rock that was on either side and above it.

Snivel rode in the opening and his companions followed him.

Once inside they all dismounted, and then Snivel walked over to the edge of the entrance and lifted a log that was lying there to an almost upright position, leaning it against a rock.

As he did this the curtain rolled down.

It was a rather simple affair, since the rope that was attached to the top of the curtain was tied to the log, and when the log was made to drop the curtain went up.

It would drop just as quickly when released, as there was a weight at the bottom.

The part of the cave the three men were now in was hardly any wider than the entrance itself, but it extended back a short distance and then took a sharp turn to the left.

As they led their horses to this point they came upon a natural underground apartment that was fully fifty feet long and thirty in width.

Though irregular in shape, it was surely an ideal place for a band of robbers to hold forth.

The natural ceiling was high, and through the face of the cliff light was admitted through several zig-zag cracks.

Fully a dozen men were sitting in the cave on boxes and stools or lying in bunks that were built along two sides of it, and none of them appeared to be much disturbed by the entrance of the trio.

"Where's Cap?" asked Chuck Snivel, when he had led his horse to a dark part of the cave and tied it to the long strip of wood that was there for the purpose.

"He's over to ther store, I reckon," answered one of them. "How did yer make out in Big Bonanza, Chuck?"

"Putty good, I reckon," was the retort. "Everything would have been all right if we hadn't met Young Wild West an' his pards there."

"Young Wild West an' his pards!" exclaimed one of the robbers, jumping to his feet, excitedly.

"Yes, that's what I said. Why, do you know anything about them galoots, Bob?"

"Do I? Well, I reckon I do! I had ther chance ter see 'em a couple of times down in Prescott, Arizona. I belonged ter a gang near there, which got cleaned out by them same three galoots yer jest spoke of. I got away jest by ther skin of my teeth, an' I was mighty thankful fur it, yer kin bet! Young Wild West ain't nothin' but a boy, an' neither is one of his pards. But ther three of 'em makes ther toughest proposition I ever seen. So they're here, are they? Well, I wish they wasn't, fur it means bad fur us. I'll bet they'll be lookin' fur us afore many hours!"

"Oh, yes. There ain't no mistake about that part of it. They'll be lookin' fur us. What do yer s'pose Young Wild West told me as we left Big Bonanza?"

"I don't know. What was it?"

"He said if we seen any outlaws in Furbidden Pa.s.s ter tell 'em that he was lookin' fur 'em."

Bob shook his head and showed that he felt very uneasy.

"I know how it'll be," he said, half to himself, "We're in fur it now.

That boy has got more lives than a cat, an' when he shoots he kills every time. He's ther luckiest galoot what ever tried ter do a thing, an' if he has made up his mind ter clean us out yer kin bet he'll do it!"

"Pshaw!" spoke up one of the others. "That's all foolishness. Jest because these galoots you're talkin' about happened ter clean out ther gang you belonged to in Arizony, don't say that they're goin' ter do anything like that with us. What did I hear yer say--that Young Wild West is only a boy?"

"That's all he is," Bob answered. "But he kin do more than any man I ever seen."

"An' there's only three of 'em?"

"Yes."

"An' there's another boy?"

"That's right."

"Well, what is ther third galoot?"

"He's a man--a big, powerful one, with no mercy when he gits after a crook."

"Oh, he's man, eh?' I thought maybe he might be a woman," and the outlaw chuckled.

Nearly all of them laughed at this.

But it was plain that the villain called Bob was very uneasy over what he had heard.

And Chuck Snivel and the two who had accompanied him to Big Bonanza were not in a jolly mood, either.

Their experience with the Champion Deadshot and his partners had been quite enough to make them understand that they had struck a proposition that was a little different from what they were in the habit of facing.

While they were talking over it a horseman rode into the cave.

It was Cap Roche, the leader of the outlaw band.

"Now, then, we'll see what Cap says about it," said Bob, his face brightening a little.

"He'll soon fix it so Young Wild West won't amount ter much, I reckon,"

spoke up one of the men, confidently.

The villainous leader was soon among them and listening to the news Chuck Snivel had brought from Big Bonanza.

CHAPTER IV.

OUR FRIENDS GO TO THE MOUTH OF THE Pa.s.s AND READ THE SIGN.

When Wild and his partners entered the barroom of the shanty saloon they saw that quite a crowd had gathered there.

Nearly all the miners working the claims that had been staked out in the camp made the saloon their headquarters evenings.

There were but two or three of the thirty miners who did not drink and gamble, and they usually spent their idle time with the storekeeper, smoking and talking until it was time to retire for the night.

Our hero cast a swift glance around the room and saw Hop standing almost in the centre of the room, the miners gathered around him, and their faces wearing grins.