nd his eyebrows and cheeks nearly
eaten away.

A more hideous-looking wretch, as he stood by the blazing pile of brush,
I never saw; and it appeared to me that he gloried in his deformity, for
he rolled his glaring eyes at me, and chuckled immensely when he saw
that I regarded him rather closely.

"The stockman has given us the go-by," said one of the gang, returning
from his pursuit of the old convict.

"Have you examined every bush and tree between this and the prairie?"
asked the chief.

"As well as we can in the darkness," was the answer.

"Return to the woods, and don't allow a space as large as a man's body
to escape inspection. Away with you--our triumph is not complete without
the head of the old shepherd."

"I can find nothing of the gold," said a voice that I had heard before,
and looking up I saw our treacherous companion, Steel Spring.

The fellow regarded me with a sly grin, and winked his eye as he pointed
to the deep hole where he had labored when we discovered the treasure.

A frightful expression came over the robber's face as he heard the
report. His staring eyes seemed to become injected with blood, and the
scars on his countenance turned to a more livid hue.

"Where have you secreted the gold?" he asked, with a voice trembling
with passion.

"What gold?" I demanded, indifferently.

"The gold which Jim Gulpin buried here. You know what I mean; and let me
tell you that a civil and correct answer will stand your friend, just at
this time. You have no police to fall back upon, and if I but give the
word, your lives are not worth a farthing."

"It is true, we were after the gold, but what evidence have you that we
found it?" I demanded.

"The evidence of the man who has been on your track ever since you
entered the forest--saw you remove the sack, and then saw you attempt to
escape with your plunder. Come here, Steel Spring."

The long, lank, lying wretch came at the call of his commander, and with
a gracious nod towards us, stood ready to answer any questions.

"At what time did you give the signal, Steel Spring?"

"The hinstant that I sees they had got the money. I didn't know vether
you had returned from the trip vich you vas to make, but I vas
determined to try the signal agreed upon, and to my great joy, I heard
you hanswer the first time I calls."

"And you saw them remove the sack?" demanded the chief.

"Yes, hindeed I did; and 'cos I calls to you, these fellows fires at me,