“Luck!” he was muttering. “I’m swimmin’, I’m wallerin’, in luck. Was there ever sech luck in the world before? I don’t believe it. Hope to Harry I won’t wake up and find that I’m jes’ dreamin’; that I ain’t here, and there ain’t been no holdup; and that there ain’t any emeralds at all! Oh, gosh all fiddlesticks, wouldn’t that make me sweat! Surely I can’t be dreamin’! Lemme take another look at ’em, to be certain.” He took another look, and was sure that he was wide awake, and that the emeralds were really in his possession. “Luck!” he cried. “Hoop-la! I’m rollin’ in the biggest luck I ever heard of.” Then he rode on, jubilant and excited beyond words to express. CHAPTER XXXVI. DISAPPOINTED ROAD AGENTS. Black John had not come in time to lead the gang in the attack on the stage. In his absence, Toby Sam was the leader; and the fact that Toby Sam was the leader accounted in large measure for the precipitate haste of the men engaged in the holdup. They were in such a hurry that they did no very thorough job. When they could not find the emeralds on Clayton, they simply bundled him on a horse and rode off with him, sure he had them concealed in his clothing, and that they could search him at their leisure, where there was no danger of rifle bullets. Toby Sam was a coward. That was the explanation of this singular action. Like leader, like man; all were cowards when he led them. When they had ridden at a sharp gallop for a couple of miles, they stopped their headlong pace and crowded around the prisoner, whose feet were tied under his horse’s belly, and whose hands were tied behind his back. Toby Sam flashed a glittering revolver and pointed it at him. “Cough up, now!” he commanded. “We ain’t got no time to fool with you. We want them emeralds you’re carryin’, and we’re goin’ to have ’em. If you don’t fork ’em out, er tell us where to find ’em quick, we’ll tear the clothes off of ye, and cut you into ribbons. Understand, we’re goin’ to have ’em!” Bruce Clayton smiled disdainfully. “I haven’t got them,” he said. “I s’pose you’ll say you don’t know anything about ’em?” “No, I won’t say that, since you seem to know better; but I haven’t got them.” “You did have them!” “Not on this stage trip.” “No? Do you mean it?” Toby Sam howled the words, and his comrades crowded angrily round the young man. “Who had ’em, then?” “When I get ready, I’ll tell you that,” Bruce said coolly. “You know so much, I shouldn’t think you’d need to ask me anything.” “Search him!” yelled Toby Sam. Some of the road agents threw themselves on their helpless prisoner and searched him thoroughly, doing it in the roughest fashion. However, they failed to find the emeralds. “He ain’t got ’em!” they yelled. Toby Sam threw up his revolver again. He was brave enough when his enemy was tied, and could not possibly harm him.