rringly back to it.

"If they ever give you a chance, Bob, you will make a great
thief-catcher," exclaimed Hawk with his naturally prodigal generosity
of appreciation.

"I certainly never expected to catch Rebstock and this fellow Seagrue
as easily as that," smiled Scott, as the troopers took charge of his
men.

"If you hadn't caught them there you would have trailed them there. It
would only have meant a longer chase."

"A whole lot longer."

"When you come to think of it, Bob, the railroad was their only hope,
anyway. They did right in striking for it. Without horses, the big
camp and the trains for Medicine Bend every day were their one chance
to get away."

Scott assented. "The trouble with us," he smiled, "was that we didn't
think until after it was all over. Sometime a man will come to these
mountains who thinks things out before they happen instead of after.
Then we will have a man fit to run the secret service on this
railroad. But we are losing time," he added, tightening up his saddle
girths.

"What are you going to do now? And why," demanded Hawk without waiting
for an answer, "did you drag these men away down here instead of
leaving them for Casement to lock up until we were ready to take them
to Medicine Bend?"

"I am going to drag them farther yet," announced Scott. "I am going to
ride after the French trader and fit these two fellows out in their
own clothes again to make it easier for Bucks to indentify them."

"Don't say 'indentify,' Bob, say 'identify,'" returned Hawk testily.

Bob Scott usually turned away a sharp word with silence, and although
he felt confident Hawk was wrong, he argued no further with him, but
stuck just the same to his own construction of the troublesome word.

"You've got the right idea, Bob, if you have got the wrong word,"
muttered Hawk. "Why didn't you think of that sooner?"

They broke camp and started promptly. About noon they overtook the
trading outfit and after some threatening forced the tricky teamster
to rig the two gamblers out in their own apparel. Having done this,
they started on a long ride for Casement's camp, reaching it again
with their prisoners, and all very dusty and fatigued, long after
dark.

The hard work voluntarily undertaken by the scout to aid the boy, as
he termed Bucks, in identifying his graceless assailants was
vindicated when, the next morning, the party with their prisoners
arrived on a special train at Point of Rocks, and Buck