covered
that he was not pursued. He reared on his haunches, forefeet clear of
the ground, as he watched the coyote who had veered away from him and
was now questing aimlessly through the stunted sage. Peg turned toward
him again and the jack bounced away toward the ridge, stopping again as
Peg swung away. From his point of vantage Breed could see the cunning
Cripp keeping even with the jack, following closely its every move and
peering at it through the scattered sage that topped the ridge. Peg,
apparently unconscious that there was meat in sight, rambled in erratic
tacks that crowded the rabbit toward the ridge. Breed saw a crouching
shape slip behind a sage within ten feet of the jack, whose eyes were
occupied with Peg. There was a flash of yellow as Cripp struck him and
the dying squall of the big hare floated to Breed's ears. He rose from
his bed in excitement, then paused to sweep the country with his gaze
before resuming his nap.

Collins had seen! From the point of a commanding ridge five miles away
he had centered his binoculars on the yellow wolf. The wolfer's horse
grazed in the bottom of a gulch, his reins trailing loose, and Collins
moved swiftly down to him and swung to the saddle. He had covered less
than two hundred yards before Breed, five miles away, knew that a man
rode toward him!

The pronghorn antelope has a most peculiar signal system of his own. He
is furnished with a white patch on his rump, the hair long and stiff,
and when alarmed, instead of bristling his neck roach as do other
animals, the antelope bristles this white rump patch. The sun strikes
light from the glistening hair and every antelope within view follows
suit; the warning is flashed from band to band till every antelope
throughout an area of many miles knows that some man is abroad on the
plains.

Whenever a band of antelopes sported within view of Breed his eyes
flickered open for frequent glimpses of them. Ten minutes after the two
coyotes had killed the jack Breed opened his eyes for a view of a
pronghorn buck that had taken his stand on a low ridge half a mile away.
Breed caught the danger signal and was instantly alert. For as far as
his eye could reach he could see the glistening points of light which he
knew for antelope flashes. The whole antelope tribe was facing toward
the danger and so pointed out its direction for Breed. It is this sort
of signaling which men will not understand, preferring instead to credit
an anima