some of those men
pick me up and carry me into the cave."

"The darned hijackers!" cried Yellin' Kid.

"Can't we do something to 'em?" demanded Snake angrily.

"Wait," cautioned Bud. "I haven't finished. The men picked me up. I
was so weak and knocked out by that peculiar smell, whatever it was,
that I couldn't do anything. It was, as I said, just like being in a
dream. They laid me down on a pile of bags, or something. It was
dark, but they had some lanterns. My eyes were half open so I could
see a little. Then they tied me up and after that I don't remember
much. I have a hazy recollection, just as you'd have from trying to
remember a half-forgotten dream, a recollection of seeing the men
moving about the cave, digging out rocks, hammering and crushing them.
For a time I thought they might be going to wall up the entrance and
bury me there alive.

"Then I must have gone to sleep, or lost consciousness, for everything
faded away and the next thing I knew I woke up. It was dark and quiet
around me and I began to move my arms and legs. I had been tied up
pretty tight, but the knots seemed to be looser now and I managed to
work some of them off so I could free myself.

"Then I got up, found a flashlight in my pocket--luckily the men hadn't
searched me--and I managed to make my way out of the cave. So here I
am--that's all there is to it."

"Well, that's good and plenty!" cried Nort.

"Didn't you stop to see if those men were still there, and what they
were doing?" asked Dick.

"No, I didn't feel able," Bud answered wearily. "All I wanted to do
was get out, find my horse and ride back to the ranch. But where is
Star?" the young rancher suddenly asked, looking around.

"He's safe in the corral," Dick answered. "We found him wandering
around without his bridle on when we went to look for you late
yesterday afternoon."

"He must have pulled away from the tree where I had him tied and yanked
the bridle off that way," Bud said.

"Horses an' bridles ain't much account now!" declared Billee. "The
main thing is about these darn varmints that treated Bud so. Who do
you think they were--I mean what sort of scamps?" asked the old ranch
hand, and he fingered his gun, which several other cowboys were doing.

"I think they were cattle rustlers," answered Bud, who seemed to be
feeling better each moment. "They must have been hiding in the cave
waiting for a chance to drive off some of our stock, when the