A moment, the outlaw pondered.
"Quick, Rosie! Take this knife and cut the thongs binding the scouts to the horses. Pedro, grab the smaller one. Choke him so he'll be quiet. When I give the word, dash with him for the Cave. I'll tote the other.
"Rosie, when I say now, turn the horses and send them down the trail on the run!"
These directions were uttered with as little noise as possible. Yet they were overheard.
"Here they are! Here they are! Close in on 'em!" yelled four or five voices from the direction Pedro had said he heard suspicious sounds.
Under the crackling of the bushes and the crunching of stones as the manhunters advanced, Rogers whispered:
"Now!"
Frantically Rose jabbed the horses with the knife the outlaw had given her.
Snorting with pain and fright, the animals dashed down the trail, the beat of their iron shoes upon the rocks ringing out loud and clear.
"Watch out!"