ook where they had last seen them.

If they had only looked the other way they might have saved themselves a
lot of trouble.

Or if Hop had kept a watch, as Arietta told him to, things would surely
have turned out differently.

It so happened that Cap Roche had changed his mind about waiting until
after the hour of noon before paying a visit to the cave, and he was
riding up the pass in company with one of his men at that very moment.

In watching the climbers the two girls had exposed themselves to the
view of any one approaching, and when Cap Roche and his man suddenly
came in sight of the two so near the hidden cave they were astonished.

One of the cowboys who had seen our friends when they came to Big
Bonanza was his companion, and he was not long in recognizing Anna and
Eloise.

"Cap," he whispered, "they belong to Young Wild West's crowd. I wonder
what they kin he doin' here?"

"Is that so?" queried the leader. "Well, I'll soon find out what they
are doing here. I reckon we had better catch them and take them in the
cave. That will be a bold stroke, I think. The chances are that Young
Wild West is around here somewhere."

They dismounted and moved cautiously toward the girls.

When they got directly in front of the cave they were astonished to see
the bodies of two of their men lying there.

The eyes of the leader flashed dangerously.

"Young Wild West has been at work, I reckon!" he exclaimed, in a low
voice. "Come on! We had better go in first and see if everything is all
right there."

It was at that moment that the curtain rolled up, for the man on watch
had seen them.

They hurried to him and learned the situation, as far as the man knew
it.

But the fact that Young Wild West was a prisoner so elated the
villainous leader of the outlaw gang that he felt like giving a shout of
joy.

He restrained himself, however, and then quickly made up his mind to
capture the two girls outside.

Another man who was inside the cave was called, and then the four set
out to carry out their foul purpose.

As they crept nearer to the unsuspecting girls, who were now talking in
whispers and waiting patiently for the return of their companions, they
found that there was a Chinaman with them.

"Catch all three of them, and don't let them have a chance to utter a
cry," was the order from Cap Roche.

Stealthily the four villains crept upon the unsuspecting ones, and two
minutes later all three of them were