le hill the figure
of a man stole suddenly from the thicket by the roadside, stood directly
in front of the leading horses, and commanded a halt. The movement was
so sudden as to terrify the horses, and the consequence was that, in
shying, the brutes came near tipping the coach completely over. Barclay
was powerless to act, for the assailant covered him with two murderous
revolvers and bade him throw up his hands.

Then the men in the coach were ordered out and compelled to disgorge
their valuables, the robber seeming to identify and to pay particular
attention to Mr. Mills, the superintendent, who had brought with him from
Denver a large sum of money. When the miners made a slight show of
resistance the assailant called to his comrades in the bush to fire upon
the first man who showed fight; this threat induced a wise resignation to
the inevitable. Having possessed himself in an incredibly short time of
his booty, the highwayman backed into the thicket and quickly made off.
The procedure from first to last occupied hardly more than five minutes.

The victims of this outrage agreed that the narrative as I have given it
was in the main correct. Barclay testified that he saw the barrels of
rifles gleaming from the thicket when the outlaw called to his
confederates. On the other hand, Mr. Mills, who was the principal loser
by the affair, insisted that the outlaw did his work alone, and that his
command to his alleged accomplices was merely a bluff. There was, too, a
difference in the description given of the highwayman, some of the party
describing him as a short, thick-set man, others asserting that he was
tall and slender. Of his face no sight had been obtained, for he wore a
half-mask and a large slouch hat pulled well down over his ears. But
whatever dispute there may have been as to details, one thing was
sure--robbery had been done, and the robber had fled with four gold
watches and cash to the amount of, say, two thousand five hundred dollars.

Recovering betimes from their alarm and bethinking themselves of pursuit
of the outlaws, the helpless victims proceeded to push into camp to
arouse the miners. It was then that Barclay discovered that the tire of
one of the front wheels had come off in the jolt and wrench caused by the
frightened horses. As no time was to be lost, Barclay suggested that
somebody run down the road to Woppit's cabin and telephone to camp. Mr.
Mills and the Chicago drummer undertook