d we started over. At that
the man stuck the letter in the box of a broken dump-cart, and then
they all rode away to the west.

When we came up to the cart I unfolded the letter and read:

TO PROP. BANK OF TRACK'S END AND OTHER CITIZENS AND FOLKS:

The Undersined being in need of a little Reddy Munny regrets that they
have to ask you for $5,000. Leave it behind the bord nailed to the
door of Bill Mountain's shack too mile northwest and there wunt be no
trubble. If we don't get munny to buy fuel with we shall have to burn
your town to keep warm. Maybe it will burn better now than it did last
fall. So being peecibel ourselves, and knowing _how very peecibel_ you
all are, it will be more plesent all around if you come down with the
cash. No objextions to small bills. We know _how few there are of you_
but we don't think we have asked for too much.

Yours Respecfully, D. PIKE,
and numrous Frends.

P.X. Thow somewhat short on reddy funs,
We still no how to use our guns.

This is poetry but we mean bizness.

CHAPTER IV

We prepare to fight the Robbers and I make a little Trip out to Bill
Mountain's House: after I come back I show what a great Fool I can be.

The next minute I was back in the depot reading this letter to the
others. When I had finished they all looked pretty blank. At last Jim
Stackhouse said:

"Well, I'd like to know what we're going to do about it?"

Tom Carr laughed. "If they come it will be the duty of the street
commissioner to remove 'em for obstructing the car lines," he said.

I don't think Andrew understood this joke, though the rest of us
laughed, partly, I guess, to keep up our courage.

"Well," went on Carr, "there's one thing sure--we can't send them five
thousand dollars even if we wanted to; and we don't want to very much.
I don't believe there is a hundred dollars in the whole town outside
of Clerkinwell's safe."

"What do you suppose there is in that?" asked Baker.

"There might be a good deal and there might not be so much," said
Carr. "I heard that he saved $20,000 out of the failure of his
business back east and brought it out here to start new with. He
certainly didn't take any of it away with him, nor use much of it
here. He might have sent it back some time ago, but it hasn't gone
through the express office if he did."

"Nor it hasn't gone through the post-office," said Frank