Casting a swift glance over the scene, he saw Jack standing nearly where he had left him. He also saw Mrs. Raggles and her three girls picking up the rude utensils they had used in getting their lunch, and tossing them into the wagon. But what surprised him the most was the sight of old man Raggles and his two boys, in the act of hitching the oxen to the vehicle! He barely took this all in at a glance, without having time to give it a second thought. He was now about fifteen feet from the foot of the ledge, and seeing that the way was clear beyond, he unhesitatingly dropped from his precarious perch into the bushes growing near to the mouth of the cave. As he did so, the reports of the outlaws' firearms rang out sharply on the silence of the wild woods. Quickly regaining his equilibrium, Little Snap bounded toward the side of the surprised Jack, who looked up with wonder at his sudden approach. CHAPTER VI. LITTLE SNAP'S TROUBLES INCREASE. Though Little Snap was aware that he was running the gantlet of the rifles of the bushbinders, he kept on undaunted, until he had reached the side of his horse. The next moment he sprang lightly into the saddle, and gathering up the reins, shouted: "Away, Jack! show them a light pair of heels!" The faithful steed needed no urging to do this, and with the reports of the baffled men's firearms and the cries of the startled Raggles family ringing in his ears, the postboy of the Kanawha dashed furiously down the path leading to the main road from Greenbrier to Six Roads. Not a word escaped his tightly compressed lips, until the highway was reached, when he patted his horse on the neck, saying, gently: "Easy, now, Jack, old boy; the danger is over for the present. It was a close call, but a miss is as good as a mile, though I don't care to go through that experience again." Slackening his gait to an easy canter, Jack bore his rider on without further urging. The truth was, the postboy's mind was busy trying to solve the subject of the meeting in the cave of the four unknown men. He was also puzzled to understand the actions of the Raggles family. While he could not believe that their story to get him into the cave had been a hoax, he was unable to understand their reappearance upon the scene. The postboy was still trying to solve these problems, when he reached a small town called by the singular name of Daring's Diamond. He found the postmaster, Mr. Anderson, impatiently awaiting his appearance. "Late again," greeted the official, in a disagreeable tone. "I could not very well help it," replied Little Snap, handing him the mail pouch.