“So you’d better keep cool and remain quiet, without trying to escape, and then you and them gals will be safe. Remember, I’m not foolin’ in this business. A sign or word that looks to me like getting away—and it means a bullet through your heart!”
Mainwaring knew that every word the man said was meant, and that any attempt to escape would not only bring death upon himself, but upon the helpless girls, whom he longed to protect with his own life, if necessary.
The horses were kept to their full speed now for several miles, and they seemed to have left pursuit far behind, when they suddenly rode into a gorge so deep and dark that it seemed as if twilight had descended when they entered.
The leader of the bandits here checked the speed a little, and Mainwaring looked up, almost awe-stricken by the sight which met his eyes.
Great rocks, red as if burned by volcanic fire, hung from either side, almost over their heads, showing only a narrow strip of sky as he looked far up the dark chasm.
And narrower yet seemed the pass as they kept on, until suddenly they came to a place where it was only possible to ride in single file. Here the leader halted and made the rest pass on.
Mainwaring saw the girls go just before him, and then he followed, just as the crack of a rifle shot and a loud, ringing shout reached his ears.
Only too well did he recognize the ring of the long-range rifle of the border king and the sound of Buffalo Bill’s voice.