If ever two men were taken aback they were Sag Ruff and Soapy Gannon. They had not expected to be followed so quickly and both were much disconcerted. "Don't shoot me!" yelled Soapy Gannon, who, as intimated before, was a coward at heart. "What do you want of me?" growled Sag Ruff, and his hand stole toward his pistol pocket. "Up with your hands!" cried Bob, as he too raised his shotgun. "If there is any shooting to be done here, we'll do it," he added, with grim determination. "Don't you shoot," answered Ruff, and his hand left the pocket and came up in the air, followed by the other. Soapy Gannon already had both hands elevated. "What do you mean by stealing our outfit in this fashion?" demanded Mark, after an awkward pause. "Who said we were stealing it?" asked Sag Ruff in return. "We have eyes." "We found this outfit on the trail and didn't know who it belonged to." "That's it," added Soapy Gannon, quickly. "Not a soul was in sight around it." "Do you expect us to believe that story?" burst out Bob, sarcastically. "If you do, you are mistaken." "I might believe it from an honest man, but not such a rascal as you," added Mark. "Sag Ruff, you are a scoundrel of the first water!" "What have you done to Si Williams and Maybe Dixon?" asked the former sailor lad. "Don't know anything about them," growled Sag Ruff. His eyes shifted uneasily from one boy to the other. "See here, how long do you want us to keep our hands raised?" he went on. "You'll keep them up for the present," answered Mark. "If you don't something is going to go off," added Bob. "You think you are a pretty smart boy, don't you?" sneered the gambler, turning to Mark. "I believe in standing up for myself." "What are you going to do with me?" "That remains to be seen. I want you to tell us where our two friends are." "If you don't, we'll make you prisoners and let the other emigrants know what you've been up to," put in Bob. "We didn't steal the outfit," insisted Sag Ruff. "We found it on the trail, just as I said before." "Where was Si Williams? We left him in charge." "Didn't see a soul around the wagon or mule," put in Soapy Gannon. There was another pause. To tell the truth, neither of the boys knew exactly what to do. To keep the gambler and his tool at bay was one thing; to make them close prisoners was quite another. In a tussle the rascals might get the better of the contest. Both Bob and Mark preferred to keep them at a distance. "Turn around there," said Mark, at last, after whispering to his chum. "What do you want of us now?" asked Ruff. "I want you to march back the way you came, and keep up your hands." "And if we won't do it?" "There will be trouble, and you'll get the worst of it," answered Bob, and aimed his shotgun squarely at the gambler's head.