d in with a look of supreme
disgust upon his face.

The moment the rest glanced up at him and saw it, they knew something
out of the ordinary had happened.

"What's the matter, Jesse?" demanded Jim Cummins.

"You look as if you'd seen a ghost!" laughed Frank, jocularly.

"What sent you out on the rear platform!" asked Wood Hite.

"Timberlake is after us," said Jesse, with a steely glitter in his eyes.

"Thunder!" roared Clell Miller.

With one accord the quartet pulled revolvers from their pockets, bounded
to their feet and sprang into the aisle.

A grim smile passed over the face of Jesse James for a moment, and as it
faded sway, he made as impatient gesture and said:

"He is on a locomotive that is chasing us."

"Sure!" asked Cummins, with a dubious look.

"I saw him in the caboose."

"Can he overtake us?" asked Frank.

"Eventually; but we mustn't let him."

"How can we prevent it?" queried Miller.

"By jumping off at the next curve and hiding."

"Good!" exclaimed Wood Hite, "Where's the curve?"

"Just before we reach Wrightstown."

"Let's get ready for it then," suggested Frank.

"All right," assented the bandit king; "but be careful that no one
detects us. To avoid being seen we must leave by the rear platform."

As he said this he thrust his head out the open window, and peering
ahead, he studied the roadbed.

Satisfied with his scrutiny; he said to his companions:

"There's the curve about a mile ahead."

"Well?" demanded Cummins.

"The train is bound to slacken speed when it goes around. A mass of
timber, bushes and rocks abutt into the curve. It will hide our
movements from the sheriff's view. We can easily hide there."

Stationing themselves near the rear door, they waited.

In a few minutes the cars reached the curve and went around.

As the last car turned they dashed out upon the rear platform, and one
after another they sprang to the ground.

Then they plunged late the bushes.

Gathering speed again, the express train ran away without them, and a
few minutes afterward a locomotive came flying along in pursuit of it
with an engineer, a stoker and the sheriff in the cab.

The bandits glared from their coverts at Timberlake like so many wild
beasts as he sped by, ignorant of the trick they played upon him, and
nearly all of them gripped their pistols with a burning desire to fire
at him.

It would have been too rash to do that.

In fact Jesse observed their anxiety, and