The horsemen came on swiftly, and
would have passed only that the detectives closed in about them,
three in front and three in the rear.
"What is the meaning of this?" demanded the dark little man who had
shown himself at the telegraph office.
The two men with him whispered together but said nothing in the way
of protest.
"Dismount!" ordered the leader.
The men hesitated, and a bullet cut the air within a fraction of an
inch of the right ear of the leader. There was now no delay in
reaching the ground.
"You shall pay for this!" shouted the little dark man.
"Of course," laughed the leader.
Jimmie pulled at the sleeve of the chief.
"That is one of the men I saw in the mountains," he declared. "He is
the second one in command, as far as I could determine."
"What does the boy say?" demanded the other.
"What are you doing here?" asked the chief, impatiently.
"We are hunting in the hills."
"Hunting at this season?"
"Hunting and resting. Please now do we go on?"
The chief made a significant motion, and before the three men knew
what was going on they were securely handcuffed. They roared at their
captors and at each other in a foreign language for a moment and then
sat down stolidly at the side of the road.
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