me three
villains, who had posed as cowboys at Big Bonanza, came to a halt.

They looked cautiously in both directions, and, not seeing a sign of a
human being, Chuck Snivel nodded his head and exclaimed:

"I reckon everything's all right, boys. Come ahead!"

Then he turned and rode sharply to the left, to what seemed to be a
solid wall of rock.

Reaching out his hand, he grasped a rope that was hidden beneath some
hanging vines.

A sharp pull on this and up rolled a curtain, leaving an opening that
was large enough for a horse and rider to pass through.

The curtain was made of some flexible material and was painted to
imitate the rock that was on either side and above it.

Snivel rode in the opening and his companions followed him.

Once inside they all dismounted, and then Snivel walked over to the edge
of the entrance and lifted a log that was lying there to an almost
upright position, leaning it against a rock.

As he did this the curtain rolled down.

It was a rather simple affair, since the rope that was attached to the
top of the curtain was tied to the log, and when the log was made to
drop the curtain went up.

It would drop just as quickly when released, as there was a weight at
the bottom.

The part of the cave the three men were now in was hardly any wider than
the entrance itself, but it extended back a short distance and then took
a sharp turn to the left.

As they led their horses to this point they came upon a natural
underground apartment that was fully fifty feet long and thirty in
width.

Though irregular in shape, it was surely an ideal place for a band of
robbers to hold forth.

The natural ceiling was high, and through the face of the cliff light
was admitted through several zig-zag cracks.

Fully a dozen men were sitting in the cave on boxes and stools or lying
in bunks that were built along two sides of it, and none of them
appeared to be much disturbed by the entrance of the trio.

"Where's Cap?" asked Chuck Snivel, when he had led his horse to a dark
part of the cave and tied it to the long strip of wood that was there
for the purpose.

"He's over to ther store, I reckon," answered one of them. "How did yer
make out in Big Bonanza, Chuck?"

"Putty good, I reckon," was the retort. "Everything would have been all
right if we hadn't met Young Wild West an' his pards there."

"Young Wild West an' his pards!" exclaimed one of the robbers, jumping
to his feet, excitedly.