"Oh, what of it?" impatiently asked the man on the horse. "Of course this
thing is bound to be found out sooner or later. I expect that. But we can
gain a little time by trussing him up with ropes. Now come on--be lively.
Get off or I'll yank you off, and I won't be easy about it, either!"

Jack felt it best to obey. He leaped from the Saddle, and then, with a
sharp slap on the flank of Sunger, he cried to his pony: "Go on, boy!
Home!"

The intelligent animal sprang forward, and before any of the men could
catch him had darted off down the dark trail in the direction of Rainbow
Ridge.

"Look out--get him!" one of the men cried, sharply.

"What's the use--he's gone, and he's one of the fastest horses in the
mountains; we'd never catch him," said the mounted man. "It was a sharp
trick, lad, but it won't do you any good. Tie him up!"

Jack was handled roughly by the outlaws, and was soon so tightly bound that
he felt he never could get loose without help. He once more tried to look
behind one of the masks, but it was so dark that he could see nothing. He
tried to get a mental picture of the shapes of the men and the tones of
their voices, so he might know them again if he ever saw or heard them.

"Lay him over here, on one side of the road," ordered the man who seemed to
be the leader. "Some one may be along before noon to-morrow and take care
of you," he said to Jack, who did not answer. "If they don't we'll send an
anonymous message, telling where you can be found. We don't want to hurt
you, but we had to have this stuff from you, and this was the only way to