y everyone saw him. Pachuca whirled his horse
about. It reared and plunged. Its rider laughed loudly.

"Ah, there you are, friend Scott!" he called. "I told you----" He brought
his gun from his hip with a sudden twist. The two men fired
simultaneously. Scott thought--hoped--that he saw Pachuca waver, but the
air was full of smoke and he was dazed. He fired again.

Pachuca's horse began to pitch violently; it took all its rider's famous
horsemanship to keep in the saddle. At the same moment, two men stole up
behind Scott, who was rushing forward, seized him, threw him to the
ground, and disarmed him. One of them took his rope and bound the
American, while both of them grinned and muttered in Spanish.

By this time, Pachuca had defeated the evident intentions of the sorrel to
buck himself through the store window, and uttering a cry dashed off in
the direction of the automobile.

"Adios, Senor Scott!" he cried, as he went. "Next time you will take a
neighbor's good word, eh?"

"Next time I'll take a soft-nosed bullet and get you back of the ear, you
rotten little half-breed!" yelled Scott, maddened with helplessness and
rage, rolling in the dust.

"Marc Scott, ain't you got any sense? Keep your mouth shut!" screamed Mrs.
Van Zandt in terror as they gathered around the prostrate man and untied
him while the last of the raiders rode off.

"Did they get everything?" he demanded as he got to his feet.

"All except honor and they didn't leave enough of that to stick in your
eye," responded Mrs. Van, bitterly. "They got Adams in the leg and
Williams in the arm and took off the whole greaser population. Here, wipe
your face off with this handkerchief before you rub all that sand in your
eyes."

Scott obeyed meekly.

"Where's the girl?" demanded Williams.

"Down the arroyo with the horses," replied Scott. "We saw the outfit in
time or Pachuca'd have had her, too."

"He asked me where she was and I told him she'd gone home," said Mrs. Van.
"I was awful scared Dolores would give me away but I reckon she didn't
hear."

They stared malevolently at the vanishing auto. Pachuca had turned the
sorrel over to another man and was driving the car himself. Suddenly, they
saw him stop and give an order. Several of the men dismounted and were
laying something along the track. Then with a yell, they all bolted, the
auto in the lead, the horsemen following. A few seconds and they had
disappeared around a curve in the road.

"No