"That was a close shave," whispered the young captain. "And it proves that the paper is valuable and that he is worried about it."
Slowly the balance of the day wore along, and at nightfall one of the men brought them a scanty supply of food.
They ate sparingly, fearing the food might be drugged, but no evil effects followed the meal.
At the mouth of the cave sat two of the desperadoes on guard, each with his rifle across his knees.
"A dash into the darkness might save us," suggested Darry, but the captain shook his head.
"No, those fellows are too good shots," he said. "We will have to remain as we are until something turns up in our favor."
Our friends wondered if the desperadoes would remain about the cave all night. The other party which had gone off when Gilroy went for Joe and Darry had not yet returned, and the leader of the gang seemed to grow anxious concerning them.
"Something has happened to them," he said to Fetter. "Perhaps we had better send somebody off on the trail to find out what's up."
So it was agreed, and Fetter was the man chosen for the mission.
As may have been surmised by some of my readers, the other party had gone off to watch for old Benson and make him a prisoner. The crowd numbered three, and were desperadoes well acquainted with that territory.