“What are you going to do with us?” Gale demanded, summoning as much courage to her voice as she could.

In the untidy, sparsely furnished room on the first floor of the cabin the girls faced their abductors, three of the most dangerous, most crafty looking individuals they had ever seen. It was with a pang of fear that both Gale and Valerie recognized the leader as one of the bandits who had robbed the bank in Coxton.

The leader leered at them with a wide grin. “You, my fine young ladies, are to be our safe ticket across the border.”

“You mean--to hold us as hostages?” Gale asked.

“Call it anything you like,” he retorted. “We’re goin’ to put the proposition up to your friends. If they don’t agree, you don’t go back to ’em--that’s all.” “You wouldn’t dare to harm us!” Gale said staunchly.

He laughed and exchanged glances with the other two men.

“Take ’em upstairs, Mike,” he ordered, and stamped from the cabin.

None too gently one of the other outlaws pushed the girls before him to where a makeshift ladder led to a loft above the first floor. They entered through a trap door and it was slammed shut after them. A rusty bar slithered into place and they were prisoners.

Gale endeavored to stand upright and sat down again abruptly as her head bumped against a beam in the ceiling.

“Well, we’ve landed ourselves in a fine mess, haven’t we?” she grumbled.

“What are we going to do, Gale?” Valerie asked.

Gale heard the tremble in Val’s voice and frowned gloomily. It was all her fault that they were in this predicament. If she hadn’t suggested the walk they wouldn’t be here now, they would be back with their friends eating a good supper.

“The first thing seems to be to get loose,” Gale said, keeping her voice perfectly normal. “Can you get your hands out?” “No,” Val said after a few moments of futile struggling. “They made a good job of it.”

“Back up against me,” Gale directed, “and let me see if I can get the rope off your hands first.”

Valerie did as directed, but it was impossible. Not able to see the knot and working under such a handicap was too hard. Gale had to give it up. Below them everything was silent. Had the men really gone to the camp of the girls’ friends as they said they intended to do? If so, there must be a way out of the valley other than climbing over all that newly fallen rock and dirt. The landslide hadn’t blocked them in then at any rate! If once they got out of this cabin, Gale knew they would be all right. She had the means in her possession to guarantee safe conduct of their abductors--or so she thought.

In the wall just above their heads was a window, large enough for them to squeeze through Gale reflected when she saw it. Large enough to squeeze through if once they got their hands free and could open it.

“Gale--even if we get free what will we do?” Valerie asked. “The window will be too high from the ground to jump. Then, too, those men will be back soon----” “If we get free,” Gale gritted through clenched teeth, tugging at the rope, “things will be simple. I’ve got my revolver in my boot.”

“You haven’t!” Val gasped.

Gale laughed. “Sure I have. I haven’t been without it since my uncle gave it to me. I intended to save it for rattlesnakes--but now we’ve got something else to use it on.”

“You wouldn’t actually shoot one of them, would you?” Val asked.

“What would you do?” Gale retorted. “With enough provocation, I s’pect I would. After all, they’re bandits--and we’re not exactly safe in their hands.”

“You’re right!” Val said with sudden spirit. “Shoot the whole three--they need it. I wonder when they will be back?” she added tremulously.

Gale had gained her feet, keeping her head low this time so as not to bump it, and standing with her back to the window, her exploring fingers had encountered the window catch.

“Ouch!” she said suddenly.

“What’s the matter?” Valerie demanded.

“This window catch--it’s as sharp as a knife.” Endeavoring to turn the catch, her finger had been cut by the edge of the lock. “Sharp as a knife,” she murmured again under her breath. “Hold everything, Val!” she cried excitedly.

It was an awkward, uncomfortable position Gale had to assume in order to be able to work the edge of the rope that bound her hands together over the catch. It was tiring and so slow, but it was accomplishing the task. The threads of the rope were being cut through and in a few moments she would be free. When finally the rope fell away, her arms were stiff and her wrists sore from where the rope had cut into the flesh. Then it was only a matter of minutes until she had Val free, too.

“Listen!” Val said, rubbing her wrists to restore circulation.

The sound of heavy footsteps and the murmur of voices drifted up to them. The three men reentered the room below and the girls held their breath. Almost subconsciously Gale secured her tiny revolver from the top of her boot and grasped it ready in her hand. But the trap door did not lift. No one came up to see if they were safe.

“What are we going to do now?” Valerie whispered frantically.

Gale went to the window and looked out. A porch had been added to the cabin and the roof sloped away from the window where she stood. With a protesting squeak the window swung inward when she opened it. The girls waited lest the faint noise attract the attention of their abductors. But the voices continued in their indistinguishable hum and in a minute Gale was through the window on the roof. She helped Valerie and the two of them clung to the window sill. Inch by inch they eased themselves over the short roof to the edge. There, Gale lay face downward and hung over.

“You’ll fall!” Valerie hissed, holding firmly to her friend’s belt.

“Shshsh,” Gale cautioned. “Are you good at sliding down a pole? Well, whether you are or not, you’re going to. I’ll go first and catch you,” she added humorously. “But don’t you fall on top of me!”

Gale restored her revolver to her boot and swung her legs over the edge. For once in her life, Gale was thoroughly glad for her athletic training and gymnastic ability. Cautiously she transferred her hold from the edge of the porch roof to the pole around which her legs were locked. She lowered herself inch by inch, with some little damage by splinters, to the ground.

“All right!” she called up to Valerie.

Her friend’s legs appeared over the edge and in another minute Val had begun her descent of the pole. In a short time she was beside Gale and the two joined hands to run from the scene. But at the same moment, the cabin door was thrown open and slammed shut again behind the leader of the three men. He did not see the girls, but as they attempted to step back into the shadow of the trees, Gale stepped on a twig. It cracked as loudly as a pistol report in the silence.

“Run, Val, toward the pass,” Gale said, her hand on her friend’s arm, urging her along.

“But you----” Val protested.

“I’m coming,” Gale said. “Go on,” she urged. “I’ll stop him from following us.”

The leader was coming toward them now, to investigate that mysterious noise among the trees.

“Who’s there?” he called. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

But the girls sped off through the trees. A bullet whistled through the leaves above their heads and abruptly they zigzagged from their course. They could hear the bandit crashing after them. They stumbled on, covering the ground as rapidly as they could. Somewhere ahead was the pass that had been blocked that afternoon, but surely they could find some way past or over it. Beyond the pass lay their friends and safety. The thought lent new vigor to them. Another bullet sped past them.

Gale whirled and fired point blank at the shadow of their pursuer. A groan was her reward and the chase was effectively stopped. The shots had summoned the other two men who were thrashing about in a vain attempt to find the cause of the shooting. By the time they discovered their companion, the girls were farther away.

Val had reached the blocked pass and was already endeavoring to climb up and over the landslide when Gale caught up with her. Gale assisted her chum as much as she could, for she could see that Val was nearing the end of her endurance. They were forced to rest to catch their breath several times, and each time they feared that the three bandits would be on their heels. But silence seemed to have settled over the valley and the cabin they had left behind. They heard nothing as they reached the rise of ground and began their slippery slide down the other side. Halfway down they met Tom and Jim, who were making an attempt to climb over the boulder and find the girls, and also to fathom the mystery of the shots they had heard.

By the time the four arrived at the camp, Tom and Jim were supporting Valerie. The excitement had buoyed her up, but now that the suspense was past, Val was utterly worn out.