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 he had been duly warned as to the character of the country through which they were passing.

These stages travelled very fast, stopping only at lonely stations for meals and change of horses.

It was a little past midnight; the moon had gone down, and the only sounds audible were the rumble of the coach and the distant howling of wolves. "Thirteen miles from a human habitation!" thought Jack, and a feeling akin to fear crept over him. He could not close his eyes although his companion snored loudly.

Suddenly the stage came to a dead stop and crack! crack! went one shot after another. In the darkness and mélee that followed, Jack crawled out unperceived into a mesquit tangle a few yards distant. The driver and