"We'll lose him after all!" cried Mark, in disappointment.
"Not much," said Bob, and ran along the bank, throwing off some of his clothing as he did so. Then the deer caught on a snag, and after some trouble the former sailor boy brought the carcass ashore.
"There's prime meat for all hands!" said he, surveying the game with much pride. "Mark, we shan't go back so empty-handed after all!"
"I am glad of it," was the reply.
They had just pulled the deer up on the bank and were wondering how they could best carry the game, when they heard a noise beyond the river, as of a horse and wagon crashing through some bushes. They looked in the direction and to their amazement saw their own wagon and Darling moving along, driven by Sag Ruff and a man who was a stranger.
"Bob! is it possible?" gasped Mark.
"It looks as if Sag Ruff had stolen our outfit!" ejaculated Bob. "Who is that with him?"
"I don't know—perhaps that fellow I heard spoken of, Soapy Gannon."
"I wonder how they got hold of the outfit?"
"I am sure I don't know, but I do know one thing——"