operations, so he concluded to resort to his weapon. There were two or
three chambers of the revolver undischarged and he did not believe that it
would be necessary to use them. The simple presentation of the muzzle had
accomplished his purpose some hours before, and there was little doubt
that it would do the same thing again.

The sky was absolutely free from clouds, and the moon, near her full, shed
such a light over the scene that the lad almost dreaded the result.

While all remained profoundly dark in the cave, at the moment the man
reached the surface and was brought into relief against the sky beyond, he
would be distinctly visible to any one who might be looking upward, and
half a dozen rifles pointed and fired at that juncture could scarcely fail
of fatal results. The lad's misgivings increased as the man neared the
top. When he again applied his ear to the lariat, he could understand that
the fellow was working hard, and could only be a few feet below him.

"There's nothing like being ready," he concluded, as he straightened up,
and, rising to his feet, stood, pistol in hand, ready for the issue.

He stepped back several feet, where his vision was entirely unobstructed.

"If it's an Indian, he won't have a chance of showing anything more than
his head, and if he don't take that out of the way in a hurry, I'll let a
ray of moonlight through it."

He stood thus, as rigid as a statue, fully appreciating the difficulties
of his position and the fatal consequences of allowing himself to be
outwitted.