“I see we’ve got to fight the demons,” said Kit South, dropping the traitor, whom he had carried from the scene of his final defeat. “I hear my boys outside, and I will cry them to us.”
Then he sprung to the opening, just large enough to admit of the egress of a single body, and a peculiar cry pealed from his throat.
The call was answered, and as he turned to battle with the Modocs, he saw his companions pour a volley into their ranks.
The shots staggered the red-men, and they quickly sprung to shelter.
“Now,” said McKay, in a low tone, as he extinguished his torch, “now for freedom. Quick!”
Evan Harris was the first to crawl into the bright starlight, and ’Reesa was pushed up to him, and Lava-Bed Kit brought up the rear, dragging his old enemy after him.
“Leave the carcass in the hole,” said the half-breed. “What do you want with a dead man?”
“D’ye s’pose I’d take a corpse about?” returned the scout, with an air of injured innocence. “This fellow isn’t dead, and I’ve got several old scores to settle with ’im. But—Jehu!”
The scout staggered back as a flame darted from the darkness of the corridor, and a score of bullets cut the air about his face.
But fortunately no one was injured, and the next moment the fugitives returned the fire, and started forward.