ick! Halt!_ FIRE!" . . . It was speedily
over. Left on the car with the men, the old sergeant had said:

"Boys, you hear. It's that ------ Perry gang. Now, don't forget Larry
and Charley that they murdered last year," and there had come from the
soldiers a sort of fierce, subdued _growl_. The volley was followed by
a bayonet charge, and it required all the officer's authority to save
the lives even of those who "threw up their hands." Large as the gang
was (outnumbering the troops), well armed and desperate as they were,
every one was dead, wounded, or a prisoner when the men who guarded the
train platforms ran up. The surgeon, with professional coolness, walked
up to the robbers, his instrument case under his arm.

"Not much for me to do here, Lieutenant," said he. "That practice for
Creedmoor is telling on the shooting. Good thing for the gang, too.
Bullets are better than rope, and a Colorado jury will give them plenty
of that."

Sinclair had sent a man to tell his wife that all was over. Then he
ordered a fire lighted, and the rails relaid. The flames lit a strange
scene as the passengers flocked up. The lieutenant posted men to keep
them back.

"Is there a telegraph station not far ahead, Sinclair?" asked he. "Yes?
All right." He drew a small pad from his pocket, and wrote a despatch
to the post commander.

"Be good enough to send that for me," said he, "and leave orders at
Barker's for the night express eastward to stop for us, and bring a
posse to take care of the wounded and prisoners. And now, my dear
Sinclair, I suggest that you get the passengers into the cars, and go
on as soon as those rails are spiked. When they realize the situation,
some of them will feel precious ugly, and you know we can't have any
lynching."

Sinclair glanced at the rails and gave the word at once to the
conductor and brakemen, who began vociferating, "All aboard!"' Just
then Foster appeared, an expression of intense satisfaction showing
clearly on his face, in the firelight.

"Major," said he, "I didn't use to take much stock in special
Providence, or things being ordered; but I'm darned if I don't believe
in them from this day. I was bound to stay where you put me, but I was
uneasy, and wild to be in the scrimmage; and, if I had been there, I
wouldn't have taken notice of a little red light that wasn't much
behind the rear platform when we stopped. When I saw there was no
danger there I ran back, and what do you think I fou