t to bring 'em around. They didn't get much of a dose of the
poison gas. If they had, not even my Elixer could save 'em. But it
can now. Come on, there's another bottle in my coat pocket. Reach it
out and get busy, boys!"

Bud made a jump to do as directed. And as he was taking the second
bottle from the old man's coat, while Tosh was still administering the
medicine to Sam, Bud could not help wondering whether the queer hermit
had anything to do with loosing the flood of gas against the mine
guards. It was no time, now, however, to make such an inquiry.

Bud and his cousins gave Ned Frosh and Bill Dungan each some of the
Elixer, raising the men's heads and forcing the liquid between their
lips as they had seen Tosh do. As for the hermit, he went from Sam to
a puncher who rejoiced in the name of Slippery Mike, giving him a good
dose.

And then, strange as it may see, each of the four guards revived,
opened his eyes and sat up. They had dazed looks on their faces, but
were unharmed.

"What happened?" asked Bud of Sam, who was the leader in charge of the
force guarding the gold mine. "Did those fellows come back and shoot
gas at you?"

"I don't rightly know what did happen," Sam answered. "If those
fellows came back we didn't see 'em. But there was sure some gas, for
it hit us all of a sudden and keeled us over before we knew it. How
did you get here, and what's he doing here?" Sam pointed at the old
man.

"He got here soon after we did," Nort explained. "And I guess it's
lucky he did. That stuff he gave you brought you fellows back to life."

"It's strong enough to make a mud turtle race with a jack rabbit!"
chuckled Slippery Mike. "But it isn't bad, at that. If I could have
another swig of it----"

Old Tosh hospitably held out the bottle.

"'Twon't hurt you," he said. "It's Life's Elixer."

"But how'd you know we was knocked out?" asked Sam when each of the
guards had taken some more of the medicine. "It only happened a little
while ago."

"And we only came a little while ago," said Dick. "We were out on the
range and we saw some dead cattle. Right away we jumped to the
conclusion that you had been poisoned with gas same as the steers. So
we came here and found you stretched out. Then along came Mr. Tosh and
he did the right thing, it seems."

"Did you know this had happened?" asked Bud of the old man.

"What, that these men had been gassed? No, I wasn't aware of it,"
answered