ight in beaver-plew. Wagh!
that 'ee ur, ole beeswax! Kum hyur this away--thur now!"

And the speaker proceeded, after some more apostrophising, to draw the
animal closer up to the cliff, placing her body as an additional
barricade in front of his own.

Our involuntary mirth was of short duration; it was interrupted by an
object that filled our hearts with new apprehension.

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE.

EL ZORRO.

The new object of dread was a large gun, which had been brought upon the
ground by one of those lately arrived. In all probability, it belonged
to El Zorro, as it was in his hands we first observed it. It appeared
to be a long musket, or elephant-gun, such as the "roers" in use among
South African hunters.

Whatever sort of weapon it was, we soon found to our annoyance that it
pitched an ounce of lead nearly twice as far as any of our rifles, and
with sufficient precision to make it probable that, before the sun had
set, El Zorro would be able to pick off our horses, and perhaps
ourselves, in detail.

It would be half-an-hour before darkness should screen us with its
friendly shelter, and he had already commenced practice. His first shot
had been fired. The bullet struck the cliff close to my own head,
scattering the fragments of gypsum rock about my ears, and then fell,
flattened like a Spanish dollar, at my feet.

The report was far louder than that of either carbine or escopette; and
an ejaculation from Rube, as he saw the effect of the shot, followed by
his usual ominous whistle, told that the old trapper was not disposed to
make light of this new piece of ordnance. Neither was Garey. His look
testified to what all three of us were thinking--which was, that this
mode of attack was likely to put us in a more awkward dilemma than we
had yet been placed in. El Zorro might shoot us down at his leisure.
With our rifles, we could neither answer his fire, nor silence it. Our
peril was obvious.

The salteador had delivered his first shot "off hand," for we had seen
him level the piece. Perhaps it was fortunate for us he had not taken
aim over a "lean;" but fortune from that source was not going to favour
us any farther; for we now observed Ijurra stick two lances obliquely in
the ground, so that they crossed each other at a proper height, thus
forming as perfect a rest as marksman could have desired.

As soon as the gun was reloaded, El Zorro knelt behind the lances,
placed his barrel in the fo