Page:Boys of the Fort.djvu/155

Rh "Come with me," he said to the second fellow. "And no monkey shines, if you know when you are well off."

"Wot yer goin to do wid me?" growled the desperado.

"You'll see. Your blood is so hot it needs cooling off," answered the old scout.

He forced the man along, and soon the big hole was reached. Much against his will, the rascal was forced to drop to the bottom.

"Now, if you try to climb up I'll shoot you," said Benson, and ran back swiftly to where the second rascal was just getting out of his unconscious state.

Before the other desperado could realize what was coming he, too, was down in the big hole. Old Benson made certain that each of the men was relieved of all his weapons.

"Now, I'm going to keep watch on you," he said, as a warning. "Be careful of what you try to do."

"Don't leave us here!" pleaded Riley. "A buffalo or a bear might fall in on us."

"You've got to take your chances on that," answered Benson.

The next movement of the old scout was to go back to where the third man was sleeping. It was an easy matter to secure all the weapons