rah, for
the alcalde!" shouted a hundred voices; and stern-faced men pushed
themselves through the crowd from every direction and formed a cordon
around the prisoners and the court.

"Go on with the trial. We will see that the court is sustained," and a
man stepped out from the surrounding cordon and bowed to the alcalde.

The mutterings and growlings suddenly ceased. The huge brutal-looking
man slunk back into the crowd, his motion unput.

In the midst of these exciting moments, when the attention of all was
concentrated on the alcalde, Bud suddenly felt a hand thrust something
into his hand from behind. He turned quickly. Bill Ugger stood not four
feet behind him.

"Read," and Ugger moved a couple of steps back and to one side.

Bud glanced down at his hand and saw that he held a bit of folded paper.
Hastily, yet cautiously, he unfolded it and read these words scrawled on
it with a lead pencil:

Me and Spike kan yit save you. Give up the miners map and promis to
tell nobudy of the kave of gold and we wil git you free. Refuse and
we wil let you hang and then git the map off yur ded bodies we wil
git the map anyway so whats the use of given up yur lives. Weve got
things fixed so that you kant eskape the rope unles we save you so
you've got to give us the map or hang. Make yur own choice taint
our funrel.

If you agrees nod yur hed 2 times to Spike and you wil be free in
less than 10 minits.

Bud read these words through slowly; and then, moving up close to Thure,
he passed the paper to him.

"Read it," he said, fixing his eyes anxiously on his comrade's face.

By this time both boys saw plainly how strong was the web of evidence
that the two villains had so cunningly succeeded in throwing around
them; and how completely they appeared to have them in their power. And
what could they do or say to disprove their testimony? Their own tale,
looked at in the light of the evidence of the two men, would seem
improbable, would sound like a tale made up to fit the occasion. And
they could not bring forward a single witness to prove its truthfulness!
No wonder the unfortunate boys were tempted to give up the skin map; for
what is gold, when weighed in the balance against life?

Thure read the note; and then turned to Bud, his face white and his
heart throbbing with anxiety.

"What shall our answer be?" he asked in a whisper. "I hate like sin to
give up the skin map to t