Her father approached her and tried to draw her
away, but all to no use, until at length her strength gave out, and she
fainted dead away.
"You see," continued the driver, "that dead man was her lover. He had
been engaged in the business of robbin' stage coaches for a long time,
and only hired with the old man as a cover to hide his real business,
and to try and win the girl, whom he had frequently seen before.
"The old man was all broke up about the girl, but he was glad that
things had happened as they did, and he felt sure that after her grief
was over, she would not fail to see the danger she had escaped, and to
thank her father for savin' her from a life of shame and disgrace.
"We lifted the girl into the coach, and put the dead man along with the
others on the top. He had been the terror of the neighborhood, although
no one knew, until this time, who had been the leader of this murderous
gang. We buried him at Bozeman, and since that time we have had no
trouble with anything like bandits or robbers along the route."
"What became of the other two?" asked the detective.
"They were put under arrest, but somehow they managed to escape before
they were brought to trial, and that was the last we ever heard of
them.
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