When half a mile from the town he could see the boys on the
bridge of the Cibola. When a quarter of a mile away he decided that
he could beat the horses by going afoot, and, throwing himself to
the ground, he ran onward, knowing that the tired animals would
follow. Out of breath he reached the edge of the town and stumbled
on toward the corral.
With head down he plunged forward. Almost at his goal he threw his
head up for breath just in time to notice a kneeling man with a
rifle at his shoulder.
"Hey!" yelled Bob with what breath he had.
Then he saw that the man was aiming directly at the balloon swaying
above the nearby corral fence. He also recognized the man instantly
as one of the sullen court spectators, and Jellup's crony. The
rifleman dropped the muzzle of his gun and turned.
"I guess I am something of a gun man," explained Bob later to the
boys, "for I had that new revolver of mine on the 'greaser' before I
knew what I was doing myself. I didn't even then realize what he
was about to do. But I had the drop on him and when I figured out
that he meant to put a hole in the balloon, why, I just had him
right.
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