ry.

"Halt!"

Two masked men emerged from behind a stump by the roadside, and Charley
Chu drew his revolver. The passengers in a panic took it away from him.
Mat Bailey pulled up his horses.

While one robber covered Mat, the other covered the passengers, who at
his command lined themselves up by the roadside with hands raised.
Cummins got out on the side of the stage opposite the robber; and but
for the duster, buttoned from chin to ankles, he would have had the dead
wood on that robber. It was not to be; and Cummins, hands in air, joined
his helpless companions. The robber then proceeded to rifle the baggage.
Charley Chu lost his five hundred dollars. Mat Bailey gave up the
leather bag from Moore's Flat.

"Whose is this?" demanded the robber, laying his hand on Cummins' old
valise. As if hypnotized, Mamie Slocum answered,

"That is Mr. Cummins'."

The robber seized it. Cummins exclaimed: "It is all I have in the world,
and I will defend it with my life." With that he seized the robber,
overpowered him, and went down with him into the dust. If only there had
been one brave man among those cowards!

"Is there no one to help me?" shouted Cummins; but no one stirred.

In the gold regions of California each man is for himself. To prevent
trouble his fellow-passengers had disarmed the Chinaman. The other
robber, seeing his partner overpowered, passed quickly along in front of
the line of passengers, placed his gun at Cummins' head, and fired. The
struggle had not lasted fifteen seconds when Will Cummins lay murdered
by the roadside.

CHAPTER III

The Girl or the Gold

Cummins was killed about one o'clock. Two hours later two prospectors,
in conventional blue shirts and trousers, each with a pack over his
back, were seen in the neighborhood of Scott's Flat. They excited no
suspicion, as no one at Scott's Flat had heard anything about the
hold-up; and even if news had come, there was nothing suspicious in the
appearance of these men. They had looked out for that. As a matter of
precaution they had provided themselves a change of clothing and their
prospectors' outfit. By common consent they had very little to say to
each other; for they knew that a careless word might betray them. They
were in a desperate hurry to reach Gold Run or Dutch Flat to catch the
evening train East; but from their motions you would not have suspected
this. They followed the trails across country at the usual swinging gait
of ho