The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-09-15

many E@SSCsSCAE tHo st@EC uAu on board, and whether they would show fight or not. We had gone into this job to win, and were bound to stop that stage though we had to add murder to our other crime. This was no time to finch; yet I knew that it was an anxious moment to all of us. An instant later and Jim gave a sharp whistle, and then we knew that our work would soon begin. Too late to retreat now for we could hear the rumble of the heavy coach and see the horses pulling. hard on the bits. On they came, and I could make out the express messenger on the box with the driver, and knew that a rich treasure was on board, for a messen- ger was sent only when the stage had a large amount of gold. Jim said to the other boys: "Take it easy and don't get excited, for we will soon have big haul"
 The masks over the upper part Of our faces were now looked to to see if they were all right, and our guns once more examined with care.
 We kept we'll out of sight in the thick bushes till the stage came tear ing down into the little gulch, when the driver saw the trap, but it was too late, for he had to pull up sud- denly to keep his horses from all pill ing up in heap at the bottom of the hole.
 Just at that moment we sprang out of our concealment, and poked our guns right up in the faces of the driver and messenger.
 "Pull up," 1 cried, "or we will blow the top of your heads off,"
 Pull up they did, and in mighty short order, for it pitched the passen- gers almost out of the stage, and we could hear them cursing and growing before they knew what had stopped them.
 "Throw up your hands and be d--d quick about it p shouted Jim, and in reply the messenger dropped his gun and held up both hands, saying, "Boys, you have the drop on me-"
 The driver did not attempt to make any resistance, so Jim jumped up on the box and took away the messen- gers gun and the drivers pistols. Gray and our other men in the mean time had the passengers we'll under cover.
 "Now," said Jim, "we must have the key to that box," giving the treas ure- box kick. To this the messen- ger demurred little, but as the law yers say, Jim overruled his demurrer without giving him time to file an answer. After getting the key he pitched out the box so we could open it at our leisure. The driver was a bit shaky, looking right down into my gun and said:
 "I wish you would raise that thing a little; 1t might go off accidentally, anal somebody would get hurt"
 Certainly" I replied, "I like to oblige gentleman when can," and l raised the gun little, so as to point just over his head, but where 1 could make use of it in an instant if neces- sary.
 While Jim and I were interviewing those in front Gray and the other fel- low kept their guns trained on those in the stage, but now that our part was done they wanted to take what pocket money the passengers had. To this we objected, for we did not want them to get hold of any thing that could be identified.
 "Faith, and ye be gentlemen" cried an Irishman on board, "for leaving us our loose change, but if the rest are in the same fix as meself, then ye would be losing your time going through our pockets"
 Before we took the treasure box Jim had unhitched the tugs of the wheel horses, and these he now hooked up again and then started to unite the rope, when the driver said:
 "You are mighty kind, but haven't you forgotten something?"
 Il guess not" replied Jim, and kept on untying the knots.
 "Well," said the driver, with a laugh, "I thought you could stand a treat, as you have made pretty good haul"
 "I am - sorry," said Jim, "but one of our boys drank every drop we had while waiting for you"
 "Then we ought to have got along 6 little sooner" observed the driver.
 "Or a little later when you had gone," said the Irishman.
 But the farmer said he couldn't see how that would have made any dif- ference with the whisky.
 "Neither do I p said the frishman, after scratching his head for mo- ment.
 As soon as the rope was loose, the driver gave yell to his horses, cried goodbye to us and away the stage went with every horse on the keen run. We hurried off little distance from the road, broke open the box and 4-A aA- III