No premonition did they have of the storm that was about to break around their heads, however, and, flushed with their success in the two encounters they had had with their enemies, the bandits prepared for a master stroke.
Springing to his feet as an idea flashed into his mind, the great outlaw seized the package and opened it.
Picking up one of the bottles, he turned it round and round in his hand, gazing intently at the cork.
"Ha! Look here," he exclaimed, all of a sudden.
As his pals examined the bottle, he went on, excitedly:
"I've got old Rozier where I want him! This cork has been drawn out and put back! You can see beside the wires, there, where it's been cut."
"You mean the stuff's been doped?" asked Clell and Cole, almost in the same breath as they inspected the spot their leader indicated on the stopper and realized its significance.
"You're on. A—ah! I thought so. Taste of it and then tell me what you think."
During the brief interval following the discovery that the bottle had been tampered with, the bandit-chieftain had hurriedly pulled off the wires, yanked out the cork and raised the snout to his lips.
"It's sure got a peculiar flavour," declared the eldest of the Younger brothers as he passed the bottle to his companion. "Tastes bitter."