went to the station, ordered the agent to open
the safe, took out the three letters, and handed them to Mr.
Camp, realizing how poor Madge must have felt on Hance's trail.
It was a pretty big take down to my pride I tell you, and made
all the worse by the way the three gloated over the letters and
over our defeat.

"We've taught you a lesson, young man," sneered Camp, as after
opening the envelopes, to assure himself that the proxies were
all right, he tucked them into his pocket. "And we'll teach you
another one after to-day's election."

Just as he concluded, we heard outside the first note of a bugle,
and as it sounded "By fours, column left," my heart gave a big
jump, and the blood came rushing to my face. Camp, Baldwin, and
Wilson broke for the door, but I got there first, and prevented
their escape. They tried to force their way through, but I hadn't
blocked and interfered at football for nothing, and they might as
well have tried to break through the Sierras. Discovering this,
Camp whipped out his gun, and told me to let them out. Being used
to the West, I recognized the goodness of the argument and
stepped out on the platform, giving them free passage. But the
twenty seconds I had delayed them had cooked their goose, for
outside was a squadron of cavalry swinging a circle round the
station; and we had barely reached the platform when the bugle
sounded "Halt," quickly followed by "Forward left." As the ranks
wheeled, and closed up as a solid line about us, I could have
cheered with delight. There was a moment's dramatic hush, in
which we could all hear the breathing of the winded horses, and
then came the clatter of sword and spurs, as an officer sprang
from his saddle.

"I want Richard Gordon," the officer called.

I responded, "At your service, and badly in need of yours,
Captain Singer."

"Hope the delay hasn't spoilt things," said the captain. "We had
a cursed fool of a guide, who took the wrong trail and ran us
into Limestone Canyon, where we had to camp for the night."

I explained the situation as quickly as I could, and the
captain's eyes gleamed. "I'd have given a bad quarter to have got
here ten minutes sooner and ridden my men over those scoundrels,"
he muttered. "I saw them scatter as we rode up, and if I'd known
what they'd been doing we'd have given them a volley." Then he
walked over to Mr. Camp and said, "Give me those letters."

"I hold those letters by virtue of an order--" Camp bega