od thing to do
provided he can get out of the window and out of the little circle of
light before the Englishman can get out his gun and shoot."

"I'll give him a little advice on the subject," Frank observed, and the
next moment the low whine of a bear sounded through the storm. It
whined, then lifted into a deep growl, then died away into a whine
again.

"What does that mean?" asked Jimmie.

"That is one Black Bear telling another to take to his heels!" was the
reply. "You will see Fremont making for that opening in a second.
Here he comes!"

Fremont was indeed springing through the opening where the sash had
been. The boys saw the renegade clutch at his clothing, saw the cloth
hold for an instant, then tear away under the impetus of the boy's
movement, and heard Fremont's answer to the call as he struck the
ground under the window.

Instead of going through the outer room and leaving the hut by means of
the door, for some reason Big Bob concluded to follow the boy through
the window. The opening was large enough for the passage of his burly
frame, but he was clumsy in getting through, with the result that
Fremont was nearly beyond the circle of light when at last he came to
the surface outside.

Then the renegade made another mistake, a fatal one. He lifted up his
great voice in warning the boy to return, and fired his revolver into
the air as a means of intimidation. As he did so, the door of the hut,
situated on the east, flew open and the outlaws rushed out, doubtless
under the impression that they had been attacked. They left the door
wide open, and a red square of light lay on the rain-soaked ground
before it.

The only members of the party who did not exit by way of the doorway
was the messenger who had identified Fremont. He dashed into the inner
room when the cry and the shot came and looked from the window opening,
there being no one in the room.

For hours this man, known to his companions as Ren Downs, had been
observing the actions of Big Bob with suspicion. When the renegade
talked with the prisoner, as he had many times on the way down, Ren
sauntered close to the two in a vain attempt to hear what was being
said. He doubted the honesty of the big fellow, believing that it was
his purpose to break away from the others, himself included, and so
escape the necessity of dividing the reward.

Doubting the loyalty of the renegade as he did, it was natural that he
should decide that the