Wholly unaware of the keen eyes that regarded them from the mouth of the ravine, the border worthies came on and to the boy’s surprise drew rein almost directly beneath him.
At the same time the rapid gallop of steeds came from the west.
“The scarlet Thugs! They are going to give me the drama!” said Hal, as he waited.
Sure enough, he soon counted six horses that came toward Tom Terror and his friend, and the scarlet Thugs of Cut-throat, well made but ferocious-looking Indians, sat before him like statues carved from blocks of granite.
“These are the boys with the strings,” said Tom, waving his dark hand at his band as he turned to Deadly Dan. “I never saw ’em miss a throw in all my life. They call ’em Thugs down at Deadwood and Custer, and it’s the handle that suits ’em.”
The next moment Deadly Dan put out his hand which Tom Terror took, and the boy looked down and saw the lightning flash of revenge that passed between his foes.
But before that grasp was broken there came a stunning report which drove the boy back from his rock, and he heard a wild cry as Tom Terror, springing erect in his stirrups, pitched forward and completely over his horse’s head.
Then, quick as a flash of powder, he turned toward the spot from whence the startling shot had come.
It was directly across the canyon, for the white smoke curling upward marked the precise spot.
“Ah! you have cheated me out of a neck,” flashed Judge Lynch, Jr., catching sight of the figure on the bank. “By Jove! you shall not boast of that in Custer. Hold! my hearty; one moment and I’ll pay you back.”