"To the East! To the East!" answered the ones who saw them. "Come on! Come on! We've got 'em."
Wild with the excitement of the soldiers at the prospect of capturing the desperate cutthroats who had defied all efforts of an army of man-hunters either to kill or to take them into custody, so successfully.
Yet scarce had the cries of the exuberant troopers rung out than their commander bellowed:
"Give 'em a volley before you ride at 'em. They're tricky devils!"
In the exigencies of the moment all thought of military discipline was forgotten.
The captain knew his men and the men knew their captain. Many a punitive expedition had they ridden on before, against outlaws and renegade redskins alike and no need was there to waste time in giving book-rule commands.
No sooner had the words of caution left the officer's lips than the troopers threw their carbines to their shoulders, sighted them on the dark, struggling forms in the brushwood and pulled the triggers.
With deafening roar the guns spoke.
Straight and true sped the bullets.