“It’ll be your last if you try it,” threatened Jones.  “This is the only safe retreat we’ve got.  We don’t propose to give it away by any, such fool play as shooting at a Ranger from it, much as we’d like to get rid of some of those fellows.  They’re crowding us pretty close.  And right here, I’ve got a proposition to make.  By the way, Gregg, what are they doing?”

“Looking for trails.”

The outlaw captain smiled grimly.

“Let ’em look.  Precious little trail they’ll find, and precious little good it’ll do them if they do find it.”

“Joe said those stones weren’t where he’d left them.”

“That’s all right.  Probably some of those boys have been fooling around here.  They’re a nosey crowd.  But there’s no chance that they have discovered anything yet.  Give them time and they may.  Once we break up the Ranger camp the boys will take French leave mighty quick.  It will be too warm for them here.  As I was about to say, I have a proposition to make to you.  Until things quiet down a little it is my suggestion that we get across the Rio Grande and go into retreat there in our old joint.  We’ve got a lot of valuable stuff here that we can’t get out at present and we’ll have to leave it here.  The Rangers are watching this locality altogether too closely for comfort so far as we are concerned.  Withem is nosing around El Paso as you know, lying low for some folks that we know of there.  No use to take chances when we don’t have to.  If you’re all agreed we’ll just slope to the other side of the river and lie low for a month.  What’s your idea?”

“I’m agreed, if you’ll give me a chance to get even with that gang of boys first,” spoke up Tucker.

“You mean that you want to stay here after we’ve gone?” smiled Captain Willie.

“I reckoned I’d like to until I’d done what I told you.”

“Well, I reckon you won’t do anything of the sort.  When we go out of here, none of us comes back till the whole crowd returns.  Is that clear, Dunk?”

The outlaw growled an unintelligible reply.

“The Rangers have drawn off, Captain,” called the lookout.

“Which way?”

“Toward the camp.”

“They’re going to stay there all night,” decided the leader.  “Well, we’ll watch our chance and perhaps we’ll be able to get away some time late in the night.  Are you all agreed on getting across the river if we can make it?”

The men said they were.

“Then that’s settled.  Get out the grub.  We’ll feed up while we’ve got the chance.”

No fire was built.  The men munched their food cold.  Little was said among them.

And now Tad began to ponder over certain other phases of his situation.  How were these outlaws going to get out?  There surely must be some way of opening the way to the outside.  Still, the boy did not see how they could move the tree from the inside.  If they could do it he could.  He decided, however, that it would not be safe to trust to his finding the secret of the opening.  Far better would it be to bolt at the first opportunity.