d was
being carried off. They had no plans beyond the robbing of the store,
and now, as it was necessary to divide the spoil, they made for the
broken country so as to be able to carry the division through without
fear of interruption. The man who was on his own horse had the gold
strapped in front of him; the others were one on each side, watchful
lest he should slip away with the prize. The man on the left watched his
companion so carefully that he failed to see a sudden break-away of the
ground. His horse stumbled, and its rider was jerked forward out of the
saddle on to its neck. The noise startled the horse in the middle, and
it swung on one side just at the edge of the break-away. Before it could
check itself, it slipped, and the effort made to recover carried it over
the edge, causing it to fall heavily on its side and on its rider. The
scream of the horse and the yell of the rider echoed through the bush.
The man's companions reined in their horses, and one of them dismounted.

"Make a blaze of twigs if you can't see," the one who remained in the
saddle called out, and, to help, he also alighted.

The gleam of yellow light when it sprang up revealed the horse lying
with a jagged stump through it, and beyond it the rider, with one leg
twisted and bent up under him. One of the two went over and stooped
down, taking the man by his shoulders and pulling him along the ground
till his leg was straight, when he let him fall again. The man groaned
as his back came heavily against the ground.

"Listen!" the other exclaimed, as he stood up. "They're after us. Collar
the gold and clear."

He sprang to where the injured horse was impaled, and tugged at the
straps that held the bags. His companion came to his assistance.

"Hold the horses, you fool! Be ready to ride for it."

The straps were loose by the time the other man was in his saddle, with
the reins of the second horse on his arm.

"Here!" the first exclaimed as he rushed up with the bags in his arm.
"Take them quick."

The second man took them, and let go the reins, which the other seized.

"Tap! My God, Tap, you're not----"

The man addressed turned savagely with an ugly oath.

"It's the mare. Kill the mare before you go. She's hurt, bad," the
injured man groaned.

Tap scrambled into the saddle.

"Here, where's my share?" he cried to his companion.

The other spurred his horse.

"Ride for it," he called back, as he dashed into the shadow ahead; and