ts mark sped the bullet, a wild neigh of agony escaped the
animal, and it bounded high in the air and fell dead, the two riders
being thrown to the ground.

The bandit was stunned.

But the sheriff, although pounded and bruised, escaped fatal injury and
retained his senses.

"I've saved him!" said Jack.

"Bully fer you, my lad!"

"I vill catch dot oudlaw!"

While Jack was cutting Timberlake's bonds and ungagging him, Tim and
Fritz secured the bandit.

"Well," said the sheriff, when he was free, "this is luck."

"I see they got away from you at the hollow."

"Yes; I was too confident of beating them."

"What were they doing with you?"

"They already had my death sentence passed, and were going to put me out
of the way as soon as they finished that train job. But you have baffled
them nicely."

"Not only with you, but we stopped them getting into the express car. We
arrived just in time."

"Where's the Terror?"

"Up the road, crippled."

"That's a pity!"

"Come back to the train till I see the amount of damage they've done,"
said Jack. "Are you hurt any?"

"Scratched and bruised a trifle."

Tim and Fritz went ahead of them, carrying their prisoner, and when they
reached the cars they found two more of the bandits badly wounded in the
train crew's hands.

All had recovered from the panic by this time.

The conductor now rushed up to Jack, followed by the train crew and
passengers.

He gave the young inventor a hearty handshake, and cried:

"Let me thank you on behalf of all the people and myself for your
gallant conduct, sir. If you had not come to our rescue, God only knows
what would have become of us at the hands of the James Boys' gang."

"You exaggerate the case," quietly replied Jack.

"No, no, no! Gentlemen, three cheers for these noble fellows!"

"Hurrah, hurrah, hurrah!" shouted the passengers.

Some of them had been robbed.

But the majority escaped, owing to the timely arrival of Jack's party
upon the scene.

Moreover, the contents of the express car had been kept out of the
clutches of the bandits.

True, the explosion had slightly injured the two men who had been in the
car, but their condition might have been worse had Jack not interfered.

All the bandits had vanished except the three who had been captured, and
they were bound hand and foot, and put aboard the car.

The conductor took charge of them.

He intended to put them in the hands of the law.

As soon as t