"Gerardo was considered the worst desperado in that lawless country, and
knowing we had a lot of the yellow ore on board, I knew the outlaw was
after it.

"The conductor cut our stop short, but before I could get under way the
outlaws were upon us. From their sounds one would have thought all the
fiends from the lower world had been let loose.

"The boys fought like tigers, and it was a wild scene for a few minutes.
My fireman--a plucky little fellow he was, too--was snatched from my
very side, and with a volley of shot whistling about my head, I was
pulled from the cab.

"The wheels had begun to revolve and the train was moving on. Struggling
desperately with my captors, I succeeded in breaking from them and
sprang back upon the engine. Three or four of the outlaws followed me,
and among them was Gerardo himself, whom I knew by sight.

"He was a tall, stalwart fellow, with burning black eyes, and a
countenance that would have been handsome, had it not been for a long
scar under his right jaw. It looked like a sabre-wound, and quite
spoiled the beauty of that side of the face.

"Well, knowing it was life or death with me, I pitched one after another
of those fellows off the cab, until only Gerardo was left. It surprises
me now that I could have done it; but a man never knows his strength
until put to the test. Then, you see, being on my own footing gave me an
advantage, while some of them, losing their hold on the moving engine,
fell off without any assistance of mine.