San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-21
CHAPTER "

telegraph. And he left us, for which l
wasn't sorry. I told her of the good
news had to send, and she wanted to
know if now we would try to catch the
road agents / set her mind at rest on
that score.
81 think they'll give us very little
trouble to bag" added, "for they are
SO green that it's almost pitiful"
Sin not cutting the wires?" she asked.
"In everything" replied. "But the
worst botch is their waiting till we had
Just passed the Arizona line. If they had
held us up an hour earlier, it would only
have been states prison"
"And what will it be now?"
Hanging.
"What?' cried Miss Cullen.
"In New Mexico train robbing is not
capital, but in Arizona it is, )" I told her.
"And if you catch them they'll be
hung?' she asked
| yes"
"That seems very hard"
The first signs of dawn were begin
ming to show by this time, and as the
sky frightened l told Miss Cullen that I
was going to look for the trail of the
fugitives. She said she would walk with
me, if not in the way, and my assurance
was very positive on that point. And
here want to remark that it's saying a
good deal if girl can be up all night
in such excitement and still look fresh
and pretty, and that she did
ordered the crew to look about, and
then began big circle around the train.
Finding nothing, I swung bigger one.
That being equally unavailing, I did a
larger third. Not trace of foot or hoof
within half mile of the cars! had
heard of blankets laid down to conceal a
trail of swathed feet, even of leathern
horse boots with cattle hoofs on the bot
tom, but none of these could have been
used for such distance, let alone the
entire absence of any signs of a place
where the horses had been hobbled. Re-
turning to the train, the report of the
men was the same.
We've ghost road agents to deal
with, Miss Cullen" laughed. "They
come from nowhere, bullets touch them
not, their lead hurts nobody, they take
nothing, and they disappear without
touching the ground. "
"How curious it isl" she exclaimed.
lone would almost suppose it a dream. 1"
"Hold on, said. 1--WE do have some
thing tangible, for if they disappeared
they left their shells behind them. 1"
And I pointed to some cartridge shells
that lay on the ground beside the mail
car. MY theory of aerial bullets won't
do"
1.-THE shells are as hollow as I feel, :"
laughed Miss Cullen.
Your suggestion reminds me that I
am desperately hungry" I said Sup
pose we go back and end the famine"
Most of the passengers had long since
returned to their seats or berths, and
Mr.. Cullen's party had apparently done
the same, for 218 showed no signs Of
life One Of my darkies was awake, and
he broiled a steak and made us some
coffee in no time, and just as they were
ready Albert Cullen appeared So we
made very jolly little breakfast. BE
told me at length the part he and the
Britishers had borne and only made me
marvel the more that any one Of them
was alive, for apparently they had jump
ed off the car without the slightest pre-
caution and had stood grouped together
even after they had called attention to
themselves by Lord Rallies shots. Gull
len had to confess that he heard the
whistle Of the fouS bullets unpleasantly
close.
"You have a right to be proud, Mr..
Cullen" I said You fellows did q
tremendously plucky thing, and, thanks
to you, we didn't lose anything"
but you went to help, too, Mr.. Cor
don, said Miss Cullen.
That made me color up, and after 9
moments hesitation l said:
I'm not. going to sail under false
eolors, Miss Cullen. When went for
ward, I didn't think could do any
thing. I supposed whoever had pitched
into the robbers was dead, and expect
ed to be the same inside of ten minutes.
"Then why did you risk your life,
; she asked, eff you thought it was use
, less?"
I laughed, and, though ashamed +
tell it, said, "I didn't want you to thinl
? that the Britishers had more pluck thai
3 I had"
She took my confession better than
hoped she would, laughing with me
8 and then said, well, that was coura
: geous, after all"
8 YES" said. Twas frightened int
g bravery"
't Perhaps if they had known the dan
ger as well as you, they would hav
/ been less courageous, she continued
And 1 could have blessed her for tn
1 speech.
;, While we were still eating, the ma.
g clerk came to my car and reported thf
d. the most careful search had failed
T discover the three registered letters, an
he they had evidently been taken. TIL
IL g. g1s l,n