The outlaws listened in awed silence as the yells grew louder, increasing steadily in volume.
"More of 'em joined in the chase," nodded Bill. "Guess the whole village is out on the warpath."
"And they're coming this way," asserted Frank.
"Mebby we'd a better git back in the cave," urged Texas. "We can watch out from there."
"No, we'll stay right here," returned Frank, savagely. "We may have to take a hand in this. Perhaps they are after Jess."
"After Jess?" replied Comanche Tony laughing sardonically. "You haven't heard any shooting going on, have you? You don't suppose Jesse James would let a lot of dirty Indians chase him out of their village without potting a few of them in the meantime, do you?" he demanded.
"I guess you are right," agreed Frank. "But squeeze up closer to the rocks. They may take it into their heads to roll a few more boulders down on us. Bowling with hard-heads seems to be a favorite occupation with these copper-colored curs."
"Yes, it's a heap o' fun for the chap on top, but it's hell for the feller down below," agreed Homely Harry humorously. "Excuse me from the job of settin' up the pins in this alley."
"Silence," commanded their leader. "We may have to do some shooting pretty soon."
Not a word was spoken and for several minutes they waited with bated breaths.
Every man sensed danger and every man felt instinctively that they were on the verge of a sudden and unexpected explosion.
And, indeed, it did come, but in a manner totally unexpected by them.
There occurred a sudden rattle of fine stone from above that pelted down on the rocks like a volley from a gatling gun.
A heavy body landed in a broad-topped tree that grew out of a deep fissure in the rocks some twenty paces to the south of them. Then sudden silence in the tree.
Up above them they could hear the Indians chattering volubly, but so far away were they that the outlaws could make nothing of what they were saying, nor could any of the men have understood them if they had heard them.
Frank pushed his elbow viciously into the outlaw's ribs, to silence him.
"What do you make of that?" whispered Tony.
"Somebody's gone over the cliff. Or something has--I don't know."
For several minutes the savages continued their talking, then their receding voices told the anxious outlaws on the ledge far below, that they were retracing their steps.