"Hey," hailed a voice from below. "Going to leave me down here all night? This tree's liable to give way and send me to kingdom come." "Pull him up," directed Frank, redoubling his efforts to bring his brother back to consciousness. In this he was aided by the wonderful recuperative power of his outlaw brother. And in a few moments Jesse sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinking in the light of the fire they had started in the cave. "Hello, boys," he greeted. "What's happened?" "That is what we want to know," responded Frank without the suspicion of a smile, though the others were grinning broadly. "You fell off the mountain, that's all we know about it. We heard the redskins hitting the trail of some one, and the next thing you did a high dive and landed in the tree." At the mention of the word "redskin" Jesse's face suddenly was filled with an expression of terrible, malignant rage. He swore a fearful oath, and rising, rather unsteadily paced back and forth in the narrow cave while he related all that had befallen him. Black were the faces of the hardy band and many were the curses that the men uttered under their breaths as they listened in strained silence. "And I'm going back there and wipe the curs off the face of the mountain," concluded Jesse. Frank objected emphatically, to any such proceeding. He argued that they all were worn out with the hardships they had been subjected to, and to such good purpose that Jesse began to lean toward the point of view of his men. "Well," he began when a sudden thud outside the entrance caused him to wheel sharply, whipping out both his "Colts" as he turned. "What in--" The desperado chieftain sprang out and was down on his knees in a flash. And the others followed just in time to hear him swear a blood-thirsty oath of revenge. Without another word he picked up the object that had fallen in front of their hiding place and carried it into the cave. There he laid it down, kneeling beside it with his head bent low. "Who--," began Texas drawing near. "Why it's--" interrupted Harry. "By the great pizen snakes, it is." "It's a girl," marveled Frank, bending over the inanimate body. "Dew Drop," answered Jesse, in a strange voice of constraint. He opened the child's mouth gently and peered within. "The little Indian maiden's tongue has been cut out. She was then thrown over the precipice after me," announced Jesse in a voice that brought a chill to every human being within hearing of it. All the great outlaw's bodily ills were forgotten now, and in the stress of the moment his strength had come back. He was the man of iron once more and vengeance was written in the stern lines of his face. "What are you going to do?" demanded Frank. Jesse pointed to the body of the child. "There is your answer," he retorted. "But," began his elder brother. "Am I the master here or are you?" he demanded, an ugly glitter flashing into his eyes. "I'll take it back; you are right, Jess," apologized Frank.