Her friend’s legs appeared over the edge and in another minute Val had begun her descent of the pole. In a short time she was beside Gale and the two joined hands to run from the scene. But at the same moment, the cabin door was thrown open and slammed shut again behind the leader of the three men. He did not see the girls, but as they attempted to step back into the shadow of the trees, Gale stepped on a twig. It cracked as loudly as a pistol report in the silence.
“Run, Val, toward the pass,” Gale said, her hand on her friend’s arm, urging her along.
“But you----” Val protested.
“I’m coming,” Gale said. “Go on,” she urged. “I’ll stop him from following us.”
The leader was coming toward them now, to investigate that mysterious noise among the trees.
“Who’s there?” he called. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
But the girls sped off through the trees. A bullet whistled through the leaves above their heads and abruptly they zigzagged from their course. They could hear the bandit crashing after them. They stumbled on, covering the ground as rapidly as they could. Somewhere ahead was the pass that had been blocked that afternoon, but surely they could find some way past or over it. Beyond the pass lay their friends and safety. The thought lent new vigor to them. Another bullet sped past them.
Gale whirled and fired point blank at the shadow of their pursuer. A groan was her reward and the chase was effectively stopped. The shots had summoned the other two men who were thrashing about in a vain attempt to find the cause of the shooting. By the time they discovered their companion, the girls were farther away.
Val had reached the blocked pass and was already endeavoring to climb up and over the landslide when Gale caught up with her. Gale assisted her chum as much as she could, for she could see that Val was nearing the end of her endurance. They were forced to rest to catch their breath several times, and each time they feared that the three bandits would be on their heels. But silence seemed to have settled over the valley and the cabin they had left behind. They heard nothing as they reached the rise of ground and began their slippery slide down the other side.
Halfway down they met Tom and Jim, who were making an attempt to climb over the boulder and find the girls, and also to fathom the mystery of the shots they had heard.