nventor did not hear a word they uttered.

But he saw by their actions that they were scheming some mischief
against them, and the result was soon manifested.

Jesse left the crowd and approached the prisoners.

"We've settled your fate!" he announced abruptly.

"Indeed," replied Jack. "What new villainy is brewing?"

"That you will find out in a few minutes. You wounded me and I know you
are authorized to hunt me down, break up the gang and put us in jail.
Consequently I am going to have revenge. In quarter of an hour you will
be dead and buried."

"I doubt it," quietly answered Jack. "And as for your debt of vengeance,
let me recall to your mind that it was you who aroused the enmity
between us. You began it by robbing or rather swindling the Wrightstown
Bank out of $5,000."

"Oh, yes," grinned the bandit, pulling a big roll of bills out of his
pocket. "This is the money only a couple of hundred of it gone. That was
quite a clever game."

"It did not hit me as hard as it might," said Jack. "The bank loses the
money of course, but as I am the president of it, and a large
stockholder, fully half the amount comes out of my pocket. I'll get that
money away from you now."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"This way."

And up jumped Jack.

He had got Fritz to loosen his bonds with his teeth.

Once free from the wrist lashings, he liberated his ankles.

The bandit recoiled with a startled yell, and the rest arose.

Jack sprung forward, snatched the roll of bills from Jesse's hand,
shoved it in his pocket and seized the outlaw.

The young inventor was a veritable Hercules in strength.

As the gang made a rush for him, he suddenly lifted Jesse James up in
the air and hurled him at the crowd.

The bandit's body struck Bob Ford and Cole Younger, knocked them back
against the crowd, and ere they all recovered from their astonishment,
Jack sprang out the door and rushed to the stage.

Several pistol shots were fired after him, but as the outlaws were
excited, they aimed poorly and missed their mark.

Reaching the Terror, Jack jumped aboard, and she sped away.

As soon as the outlaws recovered, and saw him escaping, Jesse yelled:

"Grab the rest, and hustle them out before they escape too!"

The gang pounced on Tim, Fritz and Timberlake.

Carrying them out of the hut by a back door, they passed through the
woods until they came to a glen.

In the middle of it was a small, shallow lake, covering a bed of
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