When he did so, he realized that the situation had greatly changed, and could not tell whether minutes or hours had passed.
But his mind quickly cleared, as a magic drop will clear a glass of clouded water, and he took in the situation and the new-comer upon the ground, and guessed the rest.
He remembered that he and his foe had not counted up to the number that was to have been the signal for them to fire, and hence some one else had taken a hand in the game. That Captain Joaquin had not fired the treacherous shot he was well aware.
The Red Rover stood motionless the last Dick remembered of him.
All this passed through Dick's mind in the few brief seconds before he spoke.
"So, you are alive, are you?" said Captain Joaquin. "It was a close call for you, Deadwood Dick."
"Who shot me?" asked Dick, feeling of his hurt.
"No matter who," was the reply. "It was not I, nor was it done by any order or consent of mine. I had no thought or intention of giving you anything but a fair fight."
"I am willing to believe that. It must have been some friend of yours, some one who feared for your life. Well, such is the fortune of war, and it appears that the tables have been turned. You now hold the joker, and I am in your power."
"There is no denying that."