m, swept the two children sprawling into their father's lap,
while he charged across the clearing. Just for a fraction of a second
he paused as he closed on the bush he had so long contemplated, and
his friends heard his voice in a furious oath.

"You son of a--!" he roared; and simultaneously there was a flash and
a sharp report from his gun--another, and yet another. Then he
vanished into the bush, his smoking revolver still in his hand ready
for use, followed, with no less speed, by Toby and Sandy Joyce.

For a moment Scipio stared; but Sunny Oak seemed to grasp something of
the situation. He flung himself before the two children, his right
hand gripping a revolver which he always carried concealed amongst his
rags. And at the same moment the gambler's voice came back to him.

"Huyk them kids right back to the store, an' kep 'em there!" it cried.
And instantly the indolent loafer, with a movement almost electrical
in its swiftness, seized Vada in his arms and dashed off up the hill,
followed by the little father, bearing the screaming Jamie in his.

Inside the bush the three men searched, with eyes and ears alert in
the fashion of furious terriers. The branches and inner leaves were
spattered with blood, showing that the gambler's shots had taken some
effect. The ground, too, was covered with footprints.

With a rush Bill set off trailing the latter, and so soft was the
ground that he had little or no difficulty in the matter. The trail
took them along the creek bank, and here and there a splash of blood
warned them that their quarry was severely wounded.

But, even so, they were doomed to disappointment. Thirty yards from
the clearing they came to a spot where the moist soil was well beaten
with horse's hoofs, and here the human footprints ended. All three men
stared out down the creek. And then it was that another furious oath
escaped the gambler's lips, as he beheld a racing horseman making good
his escape, more than a hundred yards below them.

For some moments Wild Bill stood raging impotently. Then he turned on
his companions, with a perfect devil glaring out of his ferocious
eyes.

"God's curse light on 'em!" he roared. "It's James' gang. May his soul
rot. I'll get 'em! I'll get 'em! They're after those kids. But, by the
wall-eyed Mackinaw, they shan't touch a hair o' their heads as long as
I'm a livin' man. It's war, boys! D'ye hear? It's him an' me. Me--an'
James! An' I swar to God he'll go down an'