nto the camp.
"You-all don't know whether that critter Spurgeon has been heyeh, does
ye?"

"Just cast your eagle eyes about and see if you don't think it looks as
if somebody had been here, old top," answered Hippy Wingate, taking in
the camp and the tethering ground with a wave of the hand.

"Our ponies are gone. Now we've got to walk all the way home," wailed
Emma.

"'Con-centrate,' little one," advised Hippy.

"Never mind 'bout the hosses. We-uns'll fix ye up. Spurgeon and Lum
Bates got er-way. They come this-a-way an' Ah reckon they're hidin' in a
cave. Shore they ain't in that place where you was?" demanded Jed.

"If ye ain't sartin, better look an' see. We'll be goin' through t'other
holes right smart. Mah men is doin' it now!"

"Bates?" wondered Hippy.

"The houn' went back on we-uns. It was this-a-way. Lum opined as we
ought ter follow ye and clean yer outfit up, but Ah said as after
you-uns had done what you-all had done fer Liz an' Sue, there wan't
nothin' doin'. That was the last Ah seen of the houn' dawg. Ah know he
was with Spurgeon 'cause Ah put er bullet through his shoulder ter-day."

"Sorry I couldn't have had a crack at him myself," muttered Hippy.

"It was Lum that pestered ye so. Ah set him on ye an' put up that bear
story, but you-all didn't swaller it," he added, nodding to Hippy. "Say,
Loot'nant, are ye sartin you-all ain't Jim Townsend?"

"Well," reflected Hippy, "I may say I am reasonably certain that I'm
not."

"You folks wait here till we-uns come back. Mebby 'twon't be till
mornin', fer we've got t' git that houn', Lum, an' Bat Spurgeon, else
they won't be no livin' round heyeh. This yer property?" with a sweeping
wave of the hand.

Hippy nodded.

"Good thing we-uns cleaned out the Spurgeons then. Won't be none o' 'em
'round when you moves up heyeh. Bye." And Jed left them at a trot.

"I am going to investigate our cave. You can come along if you want to,
but if that fellow with the explosive name--_Bangs_--should chance to be
there I'll tell you in advance you better make tracks lively, for there
surely will be some shooting," warned Hippy.

Torches were prepared and Washington reluctantly led the way into the
cave with one, Hippy walking behind him with drawn revolver, the
Overland girls bringing up the rear a few yards from Lieutenant Wingate.

Not having explored the cave very far, they were amazed at its depth; in
fact they had gone on, it seemed, a good mile and were