“Might as well.” He urged Flash forward. “Maybe—”
The sentence was never finished. So close to them that they started violently, as did their horses, came a cry:
“Don’t! For heaven’s sake, don’t shoot! I haven’t got it with me, I tell you! I—”
The roar of a gun cut the voice short. It died out in a groan. From the point of the triangle two men rushed into the open—two men, riding hard and leading a third horse.
CHAPTER IV
The Old Miner
A boxer who has trained his muscles to react automatically and to dodge a blow from an antagonist almost before it has started, does not consciously order his knees to bend or his body to shift. Those things happen without deliberate volition, simply because the habit has been formed. Thus, when Teddy and Roy heard that shot, they crouched low in their saddles and jumped their mounts forward without the loss of a second. It was Star’s bridle pulling him that caused Teddy to hesitate and to give thought to the best procedure.
Roy flashed ahead, intent on the pursuit of the men who, undoubtedly, had been engaged in the commission of something they wanted to keep hidden.
He was actually gaining on them when he heard his brother shout:
“Roy! Come back here! Here’s a man dying!”
Roy pulled up his pony. The two men gave a quick glance to the rear and swung to the right, mounting the hill. They evidently thought the chase had been abandoned.