k on the hill carried far through the clear, quiet
air, so that the outlaws, if they were anywhere near, would have had
warning that preparations were being made to receive them. At last
Juarez's vigilance was rewarded. He crouched, looking over the edge of
the gully in the direction of the mountain with its heavily-wooded
slope.

He was positive that he saw a line of horsemen moving along the edge
of the trees. Then he heard a horse's shoe strike a stone, and the
low voices of men. A thrill went through him at the nearness of the
encounter. Lucky that he and Jim had been on hand to hear the plans
laid at the pow-wow, for they would in all probability have been
captured or killed, since the outlaws could have rushed the camp
easily. With only one of the boys on guard, there would have been
no chance against the ten of them.

"What are those tenderfeet a-doin' this time of night?" growled Gus
Gols, bringing his column to a halt. "They seem to be mighty busy
about something."

"Maybe they have got wind of our doin's," said Eph. "I wouldn't be
surprised if they weren't such tenderfeet after all."

"I'm goin' to do a little lookin' ahead," remarked Gus. "We'll hitch
our cayuses in the woods, and you boys stay with 'em."

Then the leader of the gang left them and made his way to the edge of
the pines. He stood looking at the hill with the light of the campfire
shining on it like a big red star, and the sound of the axes came
faint and clear to him. "They sure are getting ready for somebody,"
growled the giant, "and I reckon it's us, but I'm going to find out
for sartain. Where's that gully?" He stalked along until he found it,
and then disappeared as though the earth had swallowed him.

Now Juarez had been debating whether to go back and warn the boys that
the enemy was approaching, or to find out more of what Gus Gols was
going to do before reporting to Jim, the commander of the faithful.
After a moment's hesitation, he decided to go ahead a ways further. At
the time he made this decision Gus Gols had just entered the deep
gully, and a head-on collision seemed imminent. It was a dangerous
situation for Juarez.

However, one thing was in his favor, he was on the alert, and the
giant, who was coming down the gully, did not expect to find any of
the boys abroad, supposing that they would stay close to camp and not
venture forth in the darkness. He was soon to learn that these same
boys were not to be trifled with. Jua