Eagerly the eyes of the cavalrymen searched the bottom of the gorge, bent on discovering the forms of the horses, as their captain had commanded.
So thick was the tangle of brushwood, however, that it was several minutes after the desperadoes had heard them crashing into the ravine ere their hearts were set a flutter by excited cries, breaking from several mouths at the same time:
The announcement of the discovery was received with wild cheers.
"Where? Which direction?" yelled those of the troopers whose sight was unable to discern the dark forms of the ponies writhing in their suffering.
"To the East! To the East!" answered the ones who saw them. "Come on! Come on! We've got 'em."
Wild with the excitement of the soldiers at the prospect of capturing the desperate cutthroats who had defied all efforts of an army of man-hunters either to kill or to take them into custody, so successfully.
Yet scarce had the cries of the exuberant troopers rung out than their commander bellowed:
"Give 'em a volley before you ride at 'em. They're tricky devils!"
In the exigencies of the moment all thought of military discipline was forgotten.
The captain knew his men and the men knew their captain. Many a punitive expedition had they ridden on before, against outlaws and renegade redskins alike and no need was there to waste time in giving book-rule commands.
No sooner had the words of caution left the officer's lips than the troopers threw their carbines to their shoulders, sighted them on the dark, struggling forms in the brushwood and pulled the triggers.
But instead of stopping the heart beats of any of the James gang they simply put an end to the miseries of the maimed ponies.
As the report of the broadside rang out over the plains, the cavalrymen urged their mounts forward, eager to be in at the death.
In the stress of their emotions, they had not noticed that no shots had been fired at them.
Had they been more calm, this fact alone would have told them the outlaws were not by the ponies.
And it was not till they had reached the bodies of the beasts, dismounted and searched the nearby bushes that they found that Jesse and his band had again outwitted them.
But when the fact dawned on them, loud and forceful were their curses.