d you guarantee me three days to get away from Silver Bend if I
agreed to let you go by paying the toll?"

"Yes, I could do that, I suppose."

"Well, I'll think it over."

"You had better think quickly then."

Cap Roche scowled.

"See here!" he exclaimed, turning to Hop and quickly severing his bonds.
"You go and tell Young Wild West's partners that I want all the money
they can rake up, and as soon as you bring it to me you can all go free.
They are to fetch no one here, though. If they do I will kill Young Wild
West, and then take the chances of a siege in the cave."

CHAPTER XIII.

THE CLEVER CHINAMAN AT WORK.

Hop no sooner had his hands free than he said:

"You wantee me tellee lat ley mustee git tee velly muchee money, and len
you lettee Young Wild West go?"

"Yes, that's it. You seem to understand pretty well for a Chinee. You
understood enough to clean me out of a couple of hundred dollars last
night, too. I reckon you had better give me that money and all the rest
you have, before you go on your errand."

"Me velly solly," declared Hop, acting as though he really felt bad over
it, "but me leavee allee my money in um camp."

This was a fact, too, as all he had with him was about five dollars in
silver.

"I reckon I had better go through you," said the leader of the outlaws.

Hop quickly produced what money he had, and then held up his arms to let
the man make a search of his clothing.

Roche went through him and brought out as many as half a dozen packs of
cards, a flask of whisky, several little vials containing liquids and
powders, two or three oblong objects that looked like a lot of paper
pressed together, some black-looking cigars, a dead mouse, some colored
string, and a lot of other small things, too numerous to mention.

But there was no money to be found.

"That's a nice lot of trash fur a galoot ter have in his pockets," he
declared, looking at the pile in disgust. "What are you doing with a
dead mouse in your pockets?"

"Me feel lat me might git tee hungly some time, and len me have lillee
bite to eatee," replied Hop, looking very innocent.

The outlaws grinned at this.

They had all heard that Chinamen liked to eat rats, so they were not
surprised to hear that one ate mice.

Even Wild smiled at the way Hop was working it.

He now believed that the chances of getting free from the outlaws were
improving, for Hop would be apt to manage it in some way.

"I'll tell you wha