‘How do we know you will not fire on us? We shall be unarmed,’ said Edgar.
‘We want the plunder, not your lives,’ said the man. ‘Come, be quick. We have no time to waste.’
The man was evidently impatient, and Edgar thought: ‘Perhaps they are afraid of someone following them from the Springs.’ Aloud he said:
‘We agree. Take the bag and our guns and go.’
The man who had attacked Edgar picked up the bag and the two guns. It was an anxious moment for Edgar. The revolvers were lying near the tree, and the man might kick them as he went along. With a sigh of relief, Edgar saw the man had not discovered them. Yacka was on the alert, but saw no chance of making a move without injuring Will, and Edgar was in the same fix. The tall man ‘bailed’ them up until his companion returned with their horses.
Having fixed the bag firmly in front of the saddle the man mounted, placing the guns also in front of him. He then led the other horse up to the man covering Will, and levelled his revolver at him while his mate mounted.
Yacka stood at the other side of the horses, and for a brief moment the man covering Will could not see him, and the taller man was mounting with his back to Yacka. In an instant Yacka bounded between the man with the revolver and Will, and jerked the horse’s bridle, which caused the animal to suddenly back. The man fired, but the movement of the horse spoilt his aim and the shot did no harm.
Seeing how matters stood, Edgar ran for the revolvers, and reached them before the thieves could realize what had happened.
A desperate fight now took place. The mounted men, whose horses plunged at the sound of firing, aimed at Will and Edgar, and the former felt a sharp pain in his left arm.
Yacka still hung on to the horse’s bridle, and the man on it fired point-blank at him, the bullet grazing his head.