sleeper as though the crack of doom had come. They all sprang up in
amazement and confusion, and just at this moment the leader called out,
"Surrender!" The attacking party, close to their commander's heels,
rushed into the cave, and before the outlaws could offer resistance
sprang upon them and overpowered most of them.

But Wiles, Turner, and a few others were not to be caught so easily.
They were sleeping farther in the cave, and, though awakened so
suddenly, did not lose their wits and nerve. They jumped to their feet,
and the answer they gave to the summons to surrender was a blaze of
rifles, with an instant retreat into the darkness of the cave. The
noise of the rifles' discharge reverberated in the cavern like repeated
rolls of thunder.

The leader's hat was pierced by a ball, one of his deputies fell shot
through the lungs, and honest Hester's second son, Edward, shot through
the brain, sank at his father's feet a corpse.

Before the echoes of these shots died away another volley rang out,
fired into the darkness at the retreating outlaws. It wounded two or
three of them, but most escaped, having turned a corner of the cave
before the bullets struck.

Those unhurt, led by Wiles and Turner, made their way as fast as
possible through the darkness to the second opening, for they had no
idea that this too had been made known to their pursuers. It was their
intention to rush into the forest and then, scattering in several
directions, to elude pursuit, and thus escape. Their very precipitency
saved some of them in this way. The second company was in its place
near the second opening when the men heard the shots of the first
attack. Rightly surmising that the moonshiners would try to escape
through the second aperture, the men on guard were ready to fire; but
they were not prepared to see the renegades rush through the underbrush
so swiftly, and, not wishing to shoot them down in cold blood, the
leader called: "Halt! Halt! Surrender!"

The outlaws were startled by the cry; but, being desperate, most of
them gave no heed to the words. Bending low, they ran with great
rapidity to the shelter of the great tree trunks which rose everywhere
around. However, some were too late, and the volley which was fired
slew several and wounded others.

Wiles, Turner, and three others succeeded in getting behind trees
without being injured. The monster dwarf was terrible to behold. He had
the quickness of a cat and the fury of