“That must be rather inconvenient to the passengers.” said Melville. “Can't the laws reach these outlaws?”
“They don't seem to. Why, there are men who have been in the business for years, and have never been caught.”
“Very true,” said a fellow traveler. “There's Jerry Lane, for instance. He has succeeded thus far in eluding the vigilance of the authorities.”
“Yes,” said the colonel, “I once saw Lane myself. Indeed he did me the honor of relieving me of five hundred dollars.”
“Couldn't you help it?” asked Herbert.
“No; he covered me with his revolver, and if I had drawn mine I shouldn't have lived to take aim at him.”
“Were you in a stage at the time?”
“No, I was riding on horseback.”
“Is this Lane a large man?” asked George Melville.
“Not larger than myself,” continued the colonel.