“Poor girl!” he muttered, as he did so. “It’s a beastly shame! She’ll get her death in this blooming hole!”
“Death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to her,” said the Texan, in a whisper. “But we’ll hope for better luck. Cavendish, I’m sure afraid something has happened to my pard. I’m afraid to wait longer for him to move. Are you in for taking a chance?”
“What sort of a chance?”
“A desperate one. The band is asleep, though they’re all sleeping with weapons in their hands. The guard seems to be the only one awake, and I judge he’s half asleep.”
“Go on.”
“We’ll creep close to the mouth of the cave. The fire is down so it no longer shines in at the opening, and we can get right close without being seen. When the guard passes, we’ll jump him. I’ll try to get him by the woozle and shut off his wind so he can’t peep. We’ll have to move a whole lot hasty, and if he raises any sort of a racket to awaken the others, it will be a run for our lives, with bullets chasing us. But remember that the gang shoot mighty bad. What do you say?”
“Flavia?”
“Of course we’ll take her. You’ll have to explain it to her.”
“She may be killed when they begin to shoot?”
“Better that than for her to be carried off by these cutthroats.”