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Mex--was a great deal of money, and that it would carry both himself and Billy to

Rio and leave something for pleasure beside.

Then up spoke a tall, thin man with the skin of a coffee bean.

"I saw him, Senor Capitan," he cried. "He kept his horse in my corral, and at

night he came and took it out saying that he was riding to visit a senorita. He

fooled me, the scoundrel; but I will tell you--he rode south. I saw him ride south

with my own eyes."

Then we shall have him before morning," cried the captain, "for there is but one

place to the south where a robber would ride, and he has not had sufficient start

of us that he can reach safety before we overhaul him. Forward! March!" and the

detachment moved down the narrow street. "Trot! March!" And as they passed the

store: "Gallop! March!"

Bridge almost ran the length of the street to the corral. His pony must be rested

by now, and a few miles to the north the gringo whose capture meant a thousand

dollars to Bridge was on the road to liberty.

"I hate to do it," thought Bridge; "because, even if he is a bank robber, he's an

American; but I need the money and in all probability the fellow is a scoundrel

who should have been hanged long ago."

Over the trail to the north rode Captain Billy Byrne, secure in the belief that no

pursuit would develop until after the opening hour of the bank in the morning, by

which time he would be halfway on his return journey to Pesita's camp.

"Ol' man Pesita'll be some surprised when I show him what I got for him," mused

Billy. "Say!" he exclaimed suddenly and aloud, "Why the devil should I take all

this swag back to that yellow-faced yegg? Who pulled this thing off anyway? Why

me, of course, and does anybody think Billy Byrne's boob enough to split with a

guy that didn't have a hand in it at all. Split! Why the nut'll take it all!

"Nix! Me for the border. I couldn't do a thing with all this coin down in Rio, an'

Bridgie'll be along there most any time. We can hit it up some in lil' ol' Rio on this

bunch o' dough. Why, say kid, there must be a million here, from the weight of

it."

A frown suddenly clouded his face. "Why did I take it?" he asked himself. "Was I

crackin' a safe, or was I pullin' off something fine fer poor, bleedin' Mexico? If I

was a-doin' that they ain't nothin' criminal in what I done--except to the guy that

owned the coin. If I was just plain crackin' a safe on my own hook why then I'm a

crook again an' I can't be that--no, not with that face of yours standin' out there

231

The Mucker