o that, Bill," said the young man, smiling in spite of
himself. "But you've given me an idea, and I'll work it out."

Bill glanced at the young fellow's kindling eyes and flushing cheek, and
nodded. "Well, rastle with that idea later on, sonny. I'll fix you all
right in my report to the kempany, but the rest you must work alone.
I've started out the usual posse, circus-ridin' down the road after
Harry. He'd be a rough customer to meet just now," continued Bill, with
a chuckle, "ef thar was the ghost of a chance o' them comin' up with
him, for him and his gang is scattered miles away by this." He paused,
tossed off another glass of whiskey, wiped his mouth, and saying
to Brice, with a wink, "It's about time to go and comfort them thar
passengers," led the way through the crowded barroom into the stage
office.

The spectacle of Bill's humorously satisfied face and Brice's bright
eyes and heightened color was singularly effective. The "inside"
passengers, who had experienced neither the excitement nor the danger of
the robbery, yet had been obliged to listen to the hairbreadth escapes
of the others, pooh-poohed the whole affair, and even the "outsides"
themselves were at last convinced that the robbery was a slight one,
with little or no loss to the company. The clamor subsided almost as
suddenly as it had arisen; the wiser passengers fashioned their attitude
on the sang-froid of Yuba Bill, and the whole coach load presently
rolled away as complacently as if nothing had happened.

II

The robbery furnished the usual amount of copy for the local press.
There was the inevitable compliment to Yuba Bill for his well-known
coolness; the conduct of the young expressman, "who, though new to the
service, displayed an intrepidity that only succumbed to numbers," was
highly commended, and even the passengers received their meed of
praise, not forgetting the lady, "who accepted the incident with the
light-hearted pleasantry characteristic of the Californian woman." There
was the usual allusion to the necessity of a Vigilance Committee to
cope with this "organized lawlessness" but it is to be feared that the
readers of "The Red Dog Clarion," however ready to lynch a horse thief,
were of the opinion that rich stage express companies were quite able to
take care of their own property.

It was with full cognizance of these facts and their uselessness to him
that the next morning Mr. Ned Brice turned from the road where the
coach