Their fusilade suddenly ceased.
With a wild, blood-curdling yell, the desperadoes dug their spurs deep into the sleek sides of the sensitive thoroughbreds and sped off like the wind headed for the protection of the mountain fastness.
CONCLUSION.
Not until the shadows of night were falling did the desperate band halt to make camp.
So far as they had been able to observe there had been no organized pursuit of them attempted. But they knew full well that they would not be permitted to escape without some effort being made to apprehend them.
But instead of following on south as they had started, Jesse after an hour or so changed his course and turned due east, thus carrying them away at right angles to the scene of their late operations. This, he reasoned shrewdly would send any posse that might follow them, off on a blind trail for a long distance before they discovered their mistake. To accomplish this the men had to dismount and lead their horses up a steep mountain side where the least misstep would have precipitated them to certain death on the rocks below.
But the hard rocky sides of the mountain left no trail for the mountaineers to follow.