and dream with his ineffectual hands of stopping that
resistless flight. Yet he pulled himself back to his problem.

Considering his problem in general, the thing was perfectly simple:
Barry was sure to head west, and to the west there were only two
gates--fording the creek and the river above the junction in the first
place, or in the second place cutting across the Asper far north at
Caswell City.

If he could be turned from the direction of Tucker Creek he would head
for the second possible crossing, and when he drew near Caswell City if
he were turned by force of numbers again he would unquestionably skirt
the Asper, hoping against hope that he might find a fordable place as he
galloped south. But, going south, he might be fenced again from Tucker
Creek, and then his case would be hopeless and his horse worn down.

It was a very clever plan, quite simple after it was once conceived,
but in order to execute it properly it was necessary that the outlaw be
pressed hard every inch of the way and never once allowed to get out
of sight. He must be chased with relays. In ordinary stretches of the
mountain-desert that would have been impossible, but the country around
Rickett was not ordinary.

Between the Morgan Hills and Wago there were considerable stretches of
excellent farm land in the center of which little towns had grown up.
Running north from the country seat, they were St. Vincent, Wago, and
Caswell City. Coming south again along the Asper River there were Ganton
and Wilsonville, and just above the junction of the river with Tucker
Creek lay the village of Bly Falls. There was no other spot in the
mountain-desert, perhaps, which could show so many communities. Also it
was possible to get in touch with the towns from Rickett, for in a wild
spirit of enterprise telephones had been strung to connect each village
of the group.

His hand went out mechanically and pushed in an open drawer of his
filing cabinet as if he were closing up the affair, putting away the
details of the plan. Each point was now clear, orderly assembled. It
meant simply chasing Barry along a course which covered close to a
hundred miles and which lay in a loosely shaped U. St. Vincent's was the
tip of the eastern side of that U. The men of St. Vincent's were to be
called out to turn the outlaw out of his course towards Tucker Creek,
and then, as he struck northeast towards Caswell City, they were to
furnish the posse with fifteen fresh horse