Deland, from his post of observation, saw the arrival of these reënforcements.
“Great fish hooks!” he gasped. “This is ticklish bizness, and I reckon it’s down in the bills for some one to git hurt. Hope it ain’t goin’ to be me!”
Then he had an inspiration. He glanced at the sky, gray and cloudy, as if threatening rain.
“Guess it’s time!” he said; “I reckon that this here dry country is bad needin’ rain. I might try some more rain-makin’ experiments, only I hate to waste the material here that I intended to experiment with down in the town. But——”
He opened the “grip” he had brought, and, as he did so, heard a step behind him.
He turned, with one of the “bombs” in his hand, intending to hurl it at any foe he saw there, and was astonished to behold Denton.
“I couldn’t stay back there,” Denton whispered. “So I tied that villain, and came in, following you. Something’s doing down there.” He glanced up the trail. “Yes, and more men coming.”
“Buffalo Bill’s down there,” said Deland, “and they’ve been trainin’ their batteries on him. I think I seen the flutter of a woman’s dress down there, too, and——”
“Ellen!” gasped Denton, immensely excited.
“I dunno. Seems as though it may be. And there comes more reënforcements; so they’s goin’ to be a lively time round here mighty quick, and in the end the folks down there will be killed, I reckon.”