ver," announced Sergeant Hal.
"Well, you have it. Now on your way with it."

The dropped revolver had been picked up by another of the crowd, and now
two men raised their guns to shoot Hal Overton out of the tree.

But their leader struck down their guns.

"None of that, unless we have to," he commanded. "The sergeant's a game
one, and he's not to blame for trying to defend his camp. He can't do
any more harm now, and I won't have him hurt unless he forces us to do
it. Now, then, young man, are you coming down out of that tree?"

"Why?" challenged Hal. "You said that all you wanted was my revolver.
You have that now, and all the rifles in camp. What do you need of me?"

"We've got to slip away from here quick," retorted the leader with a
deceptive show of good-nature and fair-mindedness. "But do you think,
Sergeant, we're going to be fools enough to dust out of here and leave
you to come down out of the tree and trail us along, then come back here
for help and bag us all. No, no, young man! We know the regulars, and
we're not going to leave any cards in the hands of the fighting line of
the Army."

"But it's so comfortable up here," objected Hal.

"I'm going to give you, Sergeant, until I count three. Then, if you
haven't started, we'll simply have to bring you down like a cantankerous
grizzly. Or, if you start and then stop again, we'll shoot just the
same. We can't afford to waste any more time talking."

Where had Hal seen this man before? Where and when had he heard that
voice?

Face and voice both seemed strangely familiar, yet, to save him, Overton
could not place the fellow at that moment.

"One!" counted the leader, and Hal saw three rifle muzzles pointed at
him.

"Two!"

"All right! I'm the 'coon. Be with you in a minute, Davy Crockett,"
laughed Sergeant Hal Overton.

It was hard luck, but the soldier boy felt that he had made all the
fight that could be expected of any one. There seemed no sense in being
killed for sheer stubbornness, now that he had not a ghost of a chance
of fighting back.

Having once started groundward, Overton continued to descend rapidly.

As he reached the last limb on his descent he took a swift slide and
landed among his captors.

"Good boy," mimicked the leader of the invaders. "Now continue to be
sensible. Just lie down on your face and put your hands behind your back
the way your two men did. Nothing happened to them and nothing worse
will happen to you."

Th