had to," said I, "old Whiskers yonder is the widow's husband, and
father to this boy. He's clear grit, Iron."

"Where's the widow?"

"Resting." I heard horses come thundering out of the dusk. "Robbers
broke south?"

"Yep."

"Hev they grow'd wings?"

"Nope."

"Can't swim the Fraser?"

"Bottled?" said he, cheering up.

"Some," says I. "Not corked yet. You want to make a line here quick,
from the foot of the upper cliff to the edge of the river, and each man
make three big fires. Then post half your men to tend fires, and the
best shots to hold that line with rifles. Them robbers has got to break
through when they knows they're cornered. Here's your boys, Iron. Git a
move on!"

"That's so," says Dale, and in two shakes of a duck's tail he was
throwing his men into line. Seems that some of the boys rode the
robbers' horses, and the rest were bareback on my pack-ponies, so Kate
had a fine gallop home with the mob. But when she saw what I'd
prescribed for Billy's symptoms, she wasn't pleased, and by the time
she'd made herself content, I had to be off on duty. Meanwhile the
widow, wild and lone, had flew; so that left Kate without help, her job
being coffee to keep the boys awake till we'd daylight to corner the
robbers.

Men watching on a strain like that get scary as cats, so by moonset some
of our warriors would loose off guns at stumps, trees, rocks, or just
because they felt lonesome. After the moon went down, dry fuel got
scant, so that the fires waned, and some of our young men must have seen
millions of outlaws. When at last something actually happened, it was
natural that Ransome should have adventures. He wasn't built for
solitude, and when he seen a flag wave from behind a bush, he called the
boys from left and right to bunch in and corroborate. The flag kep'
waving, and presently two more of our men had to join the bunch because
they couldn't shout their good advice, lest the robbers hear every word.
I was away to Apex Rock, Iron down in the canyon, and these blasted
idiots talked.

Of course old Whiskers knew that antelope will always creep up to
inspect any waving rag. Before the excitement was properly begun he and
his robbers slipped through our broken line.

If Ransome has time to aim he's dangerous to the neighbors, but since
the odds were a thousand to one the gun would kick him as far as next
Thursday, I'd have bet my debts he wouldn't hit the party with that
flag. Yet that's what happen