It was a rather simple affair, since the rope that was attached to the top of the curtain was tied to the log, and when the log was made to drop the curtain went up. It would drop just as quickly when released, as there was a weight at the bottom. The part of the cave the three men were now in was hardly any wider than the entrance itself, but it extended back a short distance and then took a sharp turn to the left. As they led their horses to this point they came upon a natural underground apartment that was fully fifty feet long and thirty in width. Though irregular in shape, it was surely an ideal place for a band of robbers to hold forth. The natural ceiling was high, and through the face of the cliff light was admitted through several zig-zag cracks. Fully a dozen men were sitting in the cave on boxes and stools or lying in bunks that were built along two sides of it, and none of them appeared to be much disturbed by the entrance of the trio. "Where's Cap?" asked Chuck Snivel, when he had led his horse to a dark part of the cave and tied it to the long strip of wood that was there for the purpose. "He's over to ther store, I reckon," answered one of them. "How did yer make out in Big Bonanza, Chuck?" "Putty good, I reckon," was the retort. "Everything would have been all right if we hadn't met Young Wild West an' his pards there." "Young Wild West an' his pards!" exclaimed one of the robbers, jumping to his feet, excitedly. "Yes, that's what I said. Why, do you know anything about them galoots, Bob?" "Do I? Well, I reckon I do! I had ther chance ter see 'em a couple of times down in Prescott, Arizona. I belonged ter a gang near there, which got cleaned out by them same three galoots yer jest spoke of. I got away jest by ther skin of my teeth, an' I was mighty thankful fur it, yer kin bet! Young Wild West ain't nothin' but a boy, an' neither is one of his pards. But ther three of 'em makes ther toughest proposition I ever seen. So they're here, are they? Well, I wish they wasn't, fur it means bad fur us. I'll bet they'll be lookin' fur us afore many hours!" "Oh, yes. There ain't no mistake about that part of it. They'll be lookin' fur us. What do yer s'pose Young Wild West told me as we left Big Bonanza?" "I don't know. What was it?" "He said if we seen any outlaws in Furbidden Pass ter tell 'em that he was lookin' fur 'em." Bob shook his head and showed that he felt very uneasy. "I know how it'll be," he said, half to himself, "We're in fur it now. That boy has got more lives than a cat, an' when he shoots he kills every time. He's ther luckiest galoot what ever tried ter do a thing, an' if he has made up his mind ter clean us out yer kin bet he'll do it!"