Ike stroked his whiskers.
“Between you and thet there little woman over there, I shore reckon you could clean up ’bout three times your weight in mountain lions. Never did see anythin’ like the way she lit into ’em. Bah!” growled Ike, giving the man whom Grace had shot in the leg a prod with the toe of his boot.
“Lucky for you, you sneak, thet the woman banged you in the leg. She could just as easy put thet lead through your head. She’s the little lady thet can put ’em where she wants ’em to go, any old time,” finished the driver.
“How soon will you be ready?” questioned Lieutenant Wingate. “We’ll be on our way right smart, I reckon. Where do you figger on putting ’em?”
“Two on the floor on blankets, so it will not be so hard on them. The other two bandits can sit up and I will do the watching. There will be room for myself and three women inside. The other two passengers can squeeze in on top of the coach with you. That all right, Ike?” “Shore. Have it any way you like. Mebby they won’t be surprised back in Globe when we come crackin’ in with these birds. I’ll bet a stockin’ full of marbles thet the sheriff’ll be glad to get his hands on ’em. Mebby these are the fellows that have been stealin’ things at both ends of the trail.”
“There!” exclaimed Hippy, straightening up. “I think you two will now stay tied until I get ready to untie you. Nora, will you watch them? If one of them so much as speaks to you, you yell for me.”
Ike, having staked down his horses at the edge of the trail, now began turning the coach around. Lieutenant Wingate, in the meantime, had rejoined Grace.
“Are they behaving themselves?” he asked.
“Perfectly, Lieutenant. I can’t help feeling that it was unsportsmanlike in me to shoot that fellow through the leg without even giving him a chance to defend himself.”
“Ho, ho, ho!” roared Hippy. “I shall have to repeat that to Nora. Listen to these words of wisdom from a man of wisdom. When you set out to finish a poisonous snake, wallop him! Do not wait for him to coil, nor strike from a letter S position. Get him! That is the method I followed in fighting Boches in the air. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here, but some other fellows would be there still. Hulloa! What is going on back yonder? Run, Grace! I believe the prisoners are trying to get away.”