have dropped to
the dust of the dessert, riddled with lead. Suddenly, however, he gave
his horse's head a sharp turn to the right. In an instant he was riding
back, shooting no more, and Tom Reade had passed safely out of range.

With wild whoops the Paloma horsemen dashed on. Their mounts were not
spent as was that of the hotel man.

"Don't shoot the fellow, if you can help it!" Tom Reade had called, as
the horsemen swept by him. "Rope Ashby if you can."

Suddenly the hotel man's mount was seen to stagger slightly. It was
sufficient to pitch Ashby, who was not on his guard.

With wilder whoops the Arizona men spurred their ponies on. There was
a whirring of lariats and no less than three nooses had fallen over the
hotel man's head.

There came a brief interval in which the men, swooping down on the
captive, concealed him from the view of others.

Out of this crush soon came order. Then it was seen that Ashby had been
roped securely and was being led back to the railroad camp.

"We've got the scoundrel, with four ropes hitched to him," called one of
the captors.

"One rope will be enough as soon as we can find a tree."

The party was riding into the railroad camp now, and a dense crowd
pressed forward to see the face of the keeper of the Mansion House.

Ashby was chuckling gleefully. If any fear of the consequences of his
lawless behavior oppressed him, he was far from betraying the fact.

"Be gentle with him, friends," Tom urged, riding forward.

"Yes; we ought to be gentle with every rattlesnake," came an answer from
the crowd.

Ashby laughed harshly.

"You can't hurt me, neighbors," declared the hotel man. "I'm bullet
proof. Any man who fires at me will find that the bullet will rebound
and bit him. Tie me up to a tree, if you like. You'll find that I won't
choke. I'll just slide back to earth as often as you tie me up."

"Just what I thought," murmured Tom.

"What do you think?" demanded Mr. Ellsworth from the car.

"The man's as mad as a March hare," replied Reade.

"Humph! He's merely shamming," retorted the general manager.

"Stow the funny business, Ashby!" came the advice from the crowd. "You
can't fool us into believing that you're crazy."

"Crazy?" repeated the hotel man, a look of amazement creeping into his
face. "Of course I'm not crazy. I'm the only sane man in this crowd."

Men began to look wonderingly at the hotel man, though many still
believed that Ashby was cleverly shamming