"But when you put on the fourth one, hey?" "Um pale face he know." "Then the whole business went up?" Dew Drop puffed out her cheeks and said "Pouf! So." "Well I'll be damned!" exclaimed Frank. "What is it?" demanded Texas. "What was it?" urged Tony. "Dynamite!" snapped the desperado holding the girl with a wondering gaze. "And you near put us all out of business at the same time. "Yes, dynamite. I understand it all now. _Jess must have left those sticks here and the girl used one of them to build the fire with._ It's a wonder it didn't blow us all to kingdom come." A loud guffaw greeted Frank's explanation. All danger past they could afford to look on the humorous side of the disaster now. "Well, we got rid of old saw bones quicker'n we thought," chuckled Tony. "Good thing Jesse wasn't here. It might have got him too, for he'd a been right on top of it likely as not." "Jess. I had forgotten," cried Frank. "What has become of him? He's got into trouble, I'll bet my spurs on it. It must have been hours since he went away. "Say Dew Drop, did he go with you?" The girl shook her head. The men looked into each other's faces in dismay. "Come, we must find him," cried Frank, his face narrowing down until the lines of it laid up in projecting, stern wrinkles. "Mebbe Big Bear git um Jess Jame," vouchsafed the girl stoically. "What's that?" demanded Frank suddenly turning on her. "Mebbe sojers git um Jess Jame." "Soldiers. No, they're miles away to the north of us by now. We headed them toward the fort hours ago." "Sojers come back," averred the girl. "Came back? How do you know?" "Me see um, Me see injuns. Injuns he look for Jess Jame." "The girl is right," roared Frank. "Out of this devilish hole. They've got him. What can one man do against a company of infantry and a whole village of redskins. Come!" The bandit strode toward the opening whence they had first entered, then stopped short. "Trapped!" he cried hoarsely. "The explosion has blocked our entrance. We're caught like rats in a trap." The outlaws groaned. Hoarse curses and muttered imprecations were passed from lip to lip as the enraged desperadoes ran from point to point seeking in vain for some means of egress from their rocky tomb. "We're done for," snarled Tony, his hand slipping instinctively to his pistol holster. "Jess will get us out somehow," soothed Harry. "No. Jess is probably in a worse fix than we are at this very minute," exploded Frank, "and--" A timid pressure on his arm caused him to look suddenly down. "Well, what is it?" he demanded shortly. "Haven't you got us into enough trouble already? What do you want now? Say it and say it quick." "Pale face um want go way?" "Want to? Holy snakes, hear the girl," laughed Tony harshly. "I calkerlate it don't make a mighty sight of difference whether we want to or not. We don't." "Silence!" commanded Frank. "Well, what is it, girl?" "Pale face want go--Dew Drop want go. Um show pale face."