Naturally Rex was greatly excited and made all possible haste to get back to his father with the good news. The distance was not great, and in ten minutes he had reached the hidden entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch, and, hurriedly crawling through the narrow opening, he pushed the concealing branches aside—and found himself looking directly into the red face of Bill Ugger.
"God in heaven!" and Rex struck out with all the strength of his strong right arm.
The face was not three feet away and the blow landed squarely on the broken nose. There was a low cry, the crash of broken branches, and the huge body of Bill Ugger plunged downward from the limb.
For an instant Rex stared blankly after the body; and then, suddenly realizing the value of every moment, if they would not all be caught in a trap from which there would be no escape, he whirled about and raced back to the Cave of Gold, almost wild with the thought of what might happen, if the gang of robbers should capture their horses and supplies and hold them captive in Crooked Arm Gulch, as they could easily do, once they secured possession of the Big Tree. Then there was his father. What had happened to him? No wonder his face went white, and he risked limb and life a dozen times in his mad scramble down the rocks and up the gulch and into the opening of the Cave of Gold.
"Quick! Everybody, back to the Big Tree!" he shouted, as he plunged into the cave, where our excited friends were still busily picking up the nuggets. "The robbers! They have got dad! Quick!" and he whirled about and rushed back.
In an instant the gold was forgotten. Every man jumped for his rifle, which had been left near the entrance to the cave, and sprang after Rex, leaving the startled and frightened Mrs. Dickson to follow as best she could.
There was not one of them but understood on the instant the seriousness of their peril. If the robbers secured their horses and supplies and held the entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch, they would be absolutely at their mercy; for, so far as they knew, the only way out of the gulch was by way of the Big Tree, and half a dozen men, armed with rifles, could hold this narrow opening against their most desperate efforts to get out, and in a few days, could starve them into surrender, for they had no food with them. They must at all costs, if it was not already too late, keep the entrance to Crooked Arm Gulch from falling into the hands of the robbers.
Hammer Jones, by desperate efforts, reached the side of Rex, just as he was about to plunge into the passageway between Crooked Arm Gulch and Lot's Canyon; and one of his great hands closed down on the excited man's shoulder just in time to stop the reckless act.
"Cautious! Cautious!" warned Ham, as he jerked Rex back. "If them skunks have got th' camp, 'twill be death to sot foot on that big limb."
"But, dad—"