order: 'Frow water gate open!'

"'Stop! Wait a minute!' shouted a frightened voice from the flume.

"Another voice cursed in the most dreadful way, but soon after Mike's
order to turn in the water, four men managed to emerge from the tube and
sit astride it.

"Seeing but four opponents there to fight, the leader of the gang gave a
sign, and the daring raiders tried to over-power Mike and his three men.
But they had not seen the wolf-hound in the shadows. As they dropped upon
the men to fight them, the dog sprang out and drove his fangs deep into
one rascal's throat. He will carry those marks to his last day. It was a
wonder he was not killed outright.

"That released Mike and he turned his attention to help his companions
free themselves. The dog fought mightily, and after a short but fierce
battle, the trespassers were bound and laid on the ground for the night.

"'What'cha goin' to do wid'dem, Mike?' asked one of his men.

"'Ship 'em down th' flume, Mike, th' way they come up,' laughed another
of his men.

"'So me say, but Mike go jail fer kill man,' replied the Indian.

"The other men strongly approved of that course of justice, however, and
Mike had all he could do to keep them from following their inclination to
wash the guilty men down the flume and out into Bear Forks River at the
foot of the mountain.

"The next day Mike and his men drove the raiders down the steep trail and
left them in the hands of the constable of Oak Creek, to await trial in
the County Court. But the captured rascals had boon companions in Oak
Creek, and when they learned that four of their group were in prison they
started a regular riot.

"They tarred and feathered poor little Jeb the next time he drove in to
Oak Creek for mail and supplies, and a few days before we got back home,
they made a well-planned raid on the lava mines at Rainbow Cliffs. Not a
piece of machinery was left intact, and the great bags of jewels we had
waiting for shipment were scattered far and wide by the vandals.

"But the sheriff heard of the proposed visit to Pebbly Pit, and took a
posse of men to follow the drunken miners to the Cliffs. Such a battle
as ensued, beggars my weak description. The sheriff told us about it when
we got home, but his language is not very graphic, nor is it thrilling,
so we only heard the bare facts of the fight.

"But, Polly, you must supply with your own vivid imagination, the details
that may be missing from my account.