“What’s the game?” he whispered.
“You’ll see in a minute,” returned Joe. “When I start, you follow me.”
“Lemblow’s right,” cried McCarney, rising to his feet, his face inflamed with passion. “We’ve failed twice, but the third time we’ll get him. We’ll get him so hard——”
He never finished the sentence.
Something whizzed through the open window with terrific force and caught him right between the eyes. Taken by surprise, and partly stunned by the force of the blow, he went down heavily to the floor.
With startled shouts, the other three leaped to their feet and stood staring at the table on which the missile had fallen. Iredell leaned forward, took one look and jumped back with a terrified yell.
“It’s a rattlesnake’s head!” he screamed in horror.
His shriek was echoed by the other rascals as they fell back from the table, trembling as though with palsy.
The next instant, Joe and Jim, who had jumped through the window, were upon the rascals, dealing out blows with the force of trip-hammers. Iredell went down from a terrific right on the chin, and lay motionless. Hupft and Lemblow tried to fight back, but their nerves were so unstrung and they had been so overwhelmed with surprise at the sudden onslaught that their efforts were pitiful. Joe and Jim, all their pent up indignation putting double strength into their muscular arms, gave them the beating of their lives, until they cowered in a corner, covering their faces with their hands and whimpering for mercy.
“I guess that will do, Jim,” said Joe at last. “They’ll carry the marks of this for a long time, and they’ll remember this night as long as they live.