d Blacksnake softly.
"If they suspect anything befo' I'm ready fo' 'em to know, you'll be
sorry."

With the cold end of the six-gun pressing his ribs inside his shirt,
the outlaw dared not disobey.

The sun had set, and twilight was deepening. The faint dust haze on
the far horizon had disappeared. That meant that the stolen Diamond D
herd had been driven on. Blacksnake had been staying some distance in
the rear to keep off any possible pursuit. Kid Wolf had five other
outlaws to contend with--no, four. For Blacksnake had sent one of them
ahead with the herd.

Odds meant nothing, however, to the Texan. He knew that surprise and
quick action always counted more than numbers. Everything now depended
on boldness. As they neared the two adobes, he pretended to reel and
stagger close against Blacksnake for support, as if he had been beaten
until he could hardly stand. This, too, allowed him to keep the gun
against the outlaw's side without arousing suspicion.

At tile edge of the little cleared space surrounding the two adobes,
one of the bandits was saddling a horse. The others seemed to be
inside with the prisoners.

"Hello, Black!" the outlaw yelled. "Did yuh tear the hide offn him?
From his looks, I reckon yuh did."

"Tell him to go inside," murmured Kid Wolf softly, "and be careful how
yo' tell him."

Blacksnake opened his lips to shout a warning, but felt the touch of
steel against his ribs and quickly changed his mind.

"Go into the dobe with the others," he commanded gruffly.

The walls of one of the mud huts had crumbled utterly. Only one of
them was habitable, and it was to this one that the outlaw went, with
Blacksnake and Kid Wolf following close behind. A yell greeted
Blacksnake's arrival with his supposed prisoner.

"I thought yuh'd have to carry him back, Black, or drag him by the
heels," one voice shouted. "Yuh must've got tired."

The time for action was at hand! The Kid and the outlaw stood framed
for a brief second in the doorway. The Texan's eyes swept the room.
The four outlaws were lazing comfortably about the ruined interior.
Two were playing cards, and two were engaged in taking a drink from a
whisky flask, one of these being the man Blacksnake had sent inside.
The two prisoners--Lefty Warren and young Morton--were securely bound
in lariat rope, sitting against one wall. The Kid saw their eyes light
up as they recognized him. Evidently they had not expected to see him