He staggered, but, with a fierce effort, rallied all his strength, and turned around. In the darkness he saw the yellow duster pressing upon him. It was Smith, and Smith was about to land another treacherous blow.
Wild Bill’s head was reeling, but he had sense enough left to understand that he had made some sort of a mistake, and that Smith was other than he had seemed.
Evading the blow aimed at him, the Laramie man gripped Smith by the throat. Ultimately, in spite of his unsteady condition, Wild Bill might have got the best of his antagonist had not Clancy taken a part in the struggle.
The latter plunged through the bushes and assaulted Wild Bill from behind.
At Clancy’s second blow, Wild Bill’s reason fled, and he dropped helplessly on the rocks.
CHAPTER III.
CAPTAIN LAWLESS.
How long Wild Bill remained unconscious he never knew, but it must have been a considerable time. He had been struck down at the foot of the rocky slope, and when he opened his eyes he was lying in the level of the Forty Thieves.
Wild Bill had no difficulty in recognizing the level, for three or four candles were burning in niches of the rock, and lighted the place sufficiently for him to make observations.
The Laramie man’s unconsciousness had lasted long enough for his captors to remove him from the slope four or five miles down the cañon and lower him into the mine.
His hands and feet were bound, and a savage pain from his left arm, cramped around behind him, in no wise mitigated the discomforts of his situation. His head, too, was aching, and his brain was still dizzy.