his
voice and called out to the other, who was evidently behind him:

"I tell you he's got it. If I don't get it back, I am ruined!"

"That means me," thought Tom.

For an instant Tom stood irresolute, and then the idea came upon him
that he wasn't going to be imposed upon in this way any longer. He moved
across the floor with long strides, took down his revolver and put it
into his pocket and moved out of the door, pulling it to after him. The
men were close upon him. He heard them coming along the path as he
slipped around the corner of the cabin and into the bushes.

CHAPTER XII.

TOM FINDS SOMETHING.

"Oh, Aleck, he is gone!" shouted the man who was the first to come
within sight of the cabin. "The lock-string is out, and he's cut stick
and gone, with that bag safe upon him; dog-gone the luck!"

"Push open the door," said Aleck. "Mebbe he is there."

The man placed the muzzle of his rifle against the door and thrust it so
far open that his companion, who stood with cocked piece close at his
side, would have had no difficulty in getting a shot at Tom if he had
been on the inside. It was plain that they were afraid of the
consequences, for as the door swung open they both drew back out of
sight. If he knew anything of the prairie at all, it wasn't so certain
that he was going to give up that bag after what he had seen of it.

"Hey, there!" shouted Aleck. "We know you have got it; you might as well
come out and give up that thing I dropped in here a while ago. By gum,
he haint in there!"

A little more peeping and looking (you will remember that the inside of
the cabin was as dark as a pocket) resulted in the astounding discovery
that there was nobody there. In fact, Tom lay about ten feet from
them,--the bushes were so thick that he did not think it safe to retreat
any farther,--and from his hiding-place he could distinctly hear
everything that passed. He would have been glad to retreat farther, but
the bushes made such a noise that he was afraid to try it.

[Illustration: TOM IN HIDING.]

"He's gone," said Aleck, hauling a stool out from the cabin and throwing
himself upon it. "Now, what am I to do?"

"Perhaps you didn't drop it in there," said his companion. "You
travelled a good ways----"

"Yes, I did," said Aleck, whose rage was fearful to behold. "I felt of
it when I was coming through the bushes, and I am as certain as I want
to be that I felt the bag, and nothing else."

"And do you