they'll be fooled all right!"

Jack experienced a sudden revulsion of feeling. He swayed and seemed about
to fall. Dr. Brown caught him.

"Hold on! This won't do!" the physician exclaimed. "We must get him home.
Why he's hurt!" he cried, as he saw the blood on Jack's hands.

"It's just some cuts--from the glass I sawed the rope on," the lad
murmured. Already his strength was coming back to him. He was so glad the
robbers had not obtained the real letters. It was a clever ruse on the part
of the miner.

There was a spring not far from the place where Jack had recovered the mail
bags, and he was given some water from this. His cuts were also washed and
attended to by Dr. Brown. Then on a spare horse that had been brought along
Jack rode back to Rainbow Ridge, one of the men carrying the mail and
express stuff.

There was considerable excitement in town when the cavalcade returned.
Already preparations were under way for the organization of a posse to hunt
the robbers, and if necessary, scour the country for Jack.

But he had been found, and the mail and express matter, except the decoy
letters, recovered. So the only thing left to do was to set out after the
unscrupulous men who had attacked Jack.

There was little chance that they would be apprehended, however. They had a
start of several hours, and probably had good horses.