Boom!
Over by the ridge where Gage and his fellow rascals lay it looked
as though a volcano had started in operation on a small scale.
Fragments of rock, clouds of dirt, splinters and bits of brush
shot up in the air.
Following the report came a volley of terrific yells from Dolph
and his fellows.
They had been on the instant of firing when the big explosion
came. Jim Ferrers, too, was taking careful aim at the moment.
It is a law of Nature that whatever goes up debris, mixed with
larger pieces of rock and clots of earth, descended on the scene
of the explosion. Yet little of this flying stuff reached Dolph
Gage and his companions, for they were up and running despite
the mark that they thus presented to Ferrers.
Nor did the rascals stop running until they had reached distant cover.
"Stop it, Jim---don't shoot!" gasped Tom Reade, choking with laughter,
as Ferrers leaped to his feet, taking aim after the fugitives.
"I want Dolph Gage, while I've got a good, legal excuse," growled
Ferrers, glancing along rifle barrel at the forward sight.
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