veyed the whole situation to
him.

"We are too few horsemen to overcome them," he said, "but we can scare
them from their booty and maybe from their captives. We'll ride our
fastest and we have time to reach them before they are thinking of flight.
The complete surprise will save the jewels, coin and gold and most likely
the lady and the officials.

"But you fellows must double-quick after us to support us in case they
recover from their amazement, rally and round on us from some near
vantage-ground. You can retrace your steps in a tenth of the time it took
us to reach here. Race!

"And you, Felix, give me that racer of yours. Fall in with the men. Here
Caius, give Felix your saddle and bridle. Your mare is giving out. Felix,
saddle and bridle your horse for me. Caius, take my horse."

In a moment I was afoot among the infantry constables, the officer was in
the saddle on Selinus, the reins in his hands, and the horsemen were off
at a tearing gallop, with us footmen after them at a run which carried us
almost by leaps down the steep slope.

When we reached the highway neither the mounted police nor any outlaws
were anywhere in sight. But it was plain that more time than I had
realized had elapsed since I vaulted on Selinus. Not only was the sun near
the horizon, but the bandits had evidently been further up the road than
this. For an instant I marvelled that they had come this far at all when
both their ambushes were south of the crag. Then I realized that they had
been searching the wagons for the bullion. Every wagon was stalled, half
were overset, the tongue-yoke of each was hamstrung, every cage was empty,
not a lion, tiger or leopard, panther or hyena to be seen; all,
apparently, let out that their cages might be ransacked. I conjectured
that letting them out had taken less time than it would have taken to kill
them.

Panting, sweating, nearing exhaustion, we hastened along the highway at a
jolting run not much faster than the quick walk of untired men, but our
best speed. We passed scores of stalled wagons, every cage empty, two
hamstrung oxen or mules or even horses lying in agony before each wagon,
the rest of the cattle either loosed and gone or held fast by the stalled
wagons behind them. We saw not one teamster, not one beast. The long
series of stalled wagons, with their hamstrung or stalled cattle and empty
cages extended to the foot of the crag and beyond it. Beyond it we came on
the procurator's ca