But instead of stopping the heart beats of any of the James gang they simply put an end to the miseries of the maimed ponies.
As the report of the broadside rang out over the plains, the cavalrymen urged their mounts forward, eager to be in at the death.
In the stress of their emotions, they had not noticed that no shots had been fired at them.
Had they been more calm, this fact alone would have told them the outlaws were not by the ponies.
And it was not till they had reached the bodies of the beasts, dismounted and searched the nearby bushes that they found that Jesse and his band had again outwitted them.
But when the fact dawned on them, loud and forceful were their curses.
"Beat up and down the gorge!" shouted the lieutenant, believing that the mistake of his superior gave him a license to issue commands.
"Shut up, you dunderhead!" roared the captain, his face livid with rage. "I was chasing men when you were in swaddling clothes. I know how they act.
"The bandits have crossed the ravine and struck into the brush beyond! After them!"
In a wild scramble, the troopers mounted the farther side of the ravine, gained the edge and were soon lost to view.