But this sanguine young fellow was not the only one who was destined to have his trouble for his pains; and what made his disappointment and his brother’s harder to bear was the reflection that if they had left Tom’s cabin half an hour earlier than they did, they might have succeeded in earning a portion of the money of which they stood so much in need.
They were not more than a quarter of a mile away when Brierly’s signal guns announced that one of the robbers had been captured. They ran forward at the top of their speed, hoping to reach the scene of action before the arrest was fairly consummated, but in this they were also disappointed.
When they came within sight of the successful party, they found the robber securely bound, and Brierly wearing the belt that contained his weapons.
“Too late, boys!” exclaimed the guide, who was highly elated over his good fortune. “You can’t lay claim to any of our money, if that’s what brung you up here in such haste.”
“We don’t care for the money,” panted Tom. “Where’s Bob?”
“That’s so,” said Brierly, who had not bestowed a single thought upon the prisoner during the whole forenoon. “Where is he? Say, feller, what have you done with him?”
“I have not seen him for two hours,” replied the prisoner. “As soon as we found out that the hills were full of men, we set him at liberty, and I suppose he made the best of his way home. We didn’t want to keep him with us for fear that he would set up a yelp to show where we were hiding.”
Just then, the deputy, who had been sitting on a log to recover his breath, managed to inquire:
“What have you done with your partners?”
“There were only two of us, and the other man has gone off that way,” answered the captive, nodding his head toward an indefinite point of the compass.