oaring fire at which all
might dry their clothing, leaving Gilroy, the leader of the crowd, to do
as he pleased.

Joe had listened to the talk with mingled interest and horror. It did
not take him long to realize the truth--that these men were thoroughly
bad, and that they had been mixed up in road robberies of the past and
were contemplating another robbery some time in the future.

"They mean to rob the quartermaster of the fort, when he is bringing in
the soldiers' wages from Rockspur," he thought. "And that leader is
going to shoot down the colonel if he can. Who would imagine men could
be so bad! And that leader seems to be educated, too!"

Joe would have been very much surprised had he known the truth, which
was that Matt Gilroy, often called The Shadow, was a college-bred man,
having passed through one of the leading institutes of learning of the
Pacific coast. But, following this college career, Gilroy had forged
checks and committed a burglary, in company with an old chum named
Hickey, and then the two had left Sacramento "between two days." Hickey
had immediately joined the "knights of the road" and been shot down, as
previously mentioned. Gilroy had drifted first to the Mississippi and
then to Denver, and had not gone into the mountains until later. Now he
was at the head of a desperate gang, numbering ten or a dozen, who had
already committed several "hold-ups" of importance.

Soon the fire was burning brightly, and the three men took off part of
their wearing apparel, that the articles might dry. They had brought
some food with them, and as they sat eating and drinking they continued
to discuss their plans. Nat Potts, who was not over nineteen or twenty,
was evidently something of a new member, and asked many questions
regarding the organization, and as he took in what was told him, so did
Joe, listening with "all ears," as the saying goes.

"They must be as bad a crowd as can be found anywhere," thought the
youth. "I wonder what they would do with me, if they found out I had
been listening to their talk? Perhaps they'd kill me on the spot." And
he gave a shiver.

The thunder and lightning had gradually abated, but with the coming of
night the rain continued as steadily as ever. Fortunately for the
desperadoes, however, the rocks sloped away from the entrance to the
cave, so that no water came inside, while the fire made everybody quite
comfortable.

Hardly knowing what to do, Joe continued behind t