XIII. Trailing the Outlaws

XIV. The Race for Life




BERT WILSON IN THE ROCKIES




CHAPTER I

A Desperate Encounter


A shower of glass from the shattered windowpane fell over the floor and
seats, and a bullet embedded itself in the woodwork of an upper berth.
There was a shriek from the women passengers in the crowded Pullman, and
the men looked at each other in consternation. From the platform came the
sound of a scuffle, interspersed with oaths. Then, through the narrow
corridor that bordered the smoking-room, hurried two men, pushing the
terrified negro porter ahead of them. Each of the intruders wore a black
cloth tied over the lower part of his face, and before the bewildered
passengers knew what had happened they found themselves looking along the
blue-black barrels of two ugly revolvers.

It was a startling break in an uneventful day. For several hours the
Overland Limited had hummed along over the boundless prairies that