Could he be mistaken? He knew he was not mistaken. It was Cato the Creeper, and beside him walked Captain Downing.
To see was to act with Walter. It was a life and death struggle now.
A stream of fire blazed from the barricade, a puff of smoke arose, and Cato the Creeper, with a wild cry, tossed his arms aloft and fell to the ground, a bullet driven into his brain. Cato the Creeper had followed his last trail.
Completely surprised and astounded at the sudden discharge and its fatal effect, the bandits flew to cover, where they remained quiet and talked in whispers. How many men were behind that screen? Downing, Fink, and another man were close together in a dense thicket.
After canvasing matters, it was decided to make a rush—Downing feeling certain that only the young settler was there with the girl. The signal for a rush was to be the discharge of the captain’s revolver, when every man was to press forward on a run.
Soon a sharp report rung out, and simultaneously every sturdy ruffian sprung from his cover, and rushed, gun and knife in hand, toward the vines, yelling and swearing as they did so.
Foremost came Captain Downing, ahead of his men; next came Parks and Fink, all three being somewhat in advance.
Walter saw his arch-enemy, and full of rage and desire for revenge, raised his gun and took a steady aim at him. But, just as his hand was hard-pressing the trigger, Downing slipped, and stumbling, fell headlong.
It was too late to hold his fire; Downing had scarcely dropped when the bullet, speeding through the air where Downing’s head had been, went on its way and lodged in the brain of Parks, killing him instantly. The robber dropped without a groan, and Fink, pressing on close behind, stumbled over him.
The remaining robbers, seeing three men prostrate, imagined there had been a simultaneous volley from the vines, which had felled their leaders. They stopped and hesitated.