re a minute ago, got the gear
on his bronk in record time, an' was off and away afore I could git
close enough to find out what was up."

"Which way did he go?" demanded Frank. "Toward town?"

"Nary. I rushed around the corral jest in time to see him p'intin' for
Pete Loco's, which is right the other way from town."

"He's made a get-away, boys," said Pardo, "and you might as well give
him up."

"We're not going to give him up," Frank answered decidedly. "We've got
to keep after him, and run him down. It's--it's important."

"Well, now," protested the super, "you'd better think twice about that.
Porter has shown that he won't stop at anything. He don't want to talk
with you, does he? He's shown his teeth once; next time he does that
he'll probably bite, and bite hard."

"We'll look out for ourselves," put in the impatient Clancy. "He's the
fellow we want, Chip. Why did he turn on us as he did if he hasn't a
guilty mind?"

"You think," spoke up Pardo, "that he knows what has become of your
friend, the professor? Mr. Bradlaugh told me, over the phone," he
explained, "why you wanted to talk with Porter."

"It's a cinch, strikes me," answered Merry, "that Porter can tell us
something about the missing prof. Wouldn't you figure it out that way,
Mr. Pardo?"

"Well, yes," acknowledged the superintendent. "I don't know but I would.
What I'm trying to get at is this: Old Nick Porter has proved that he
isn't a safe proposition for you boys to tackle."

"You don't know us, Mr. Pardo," laughed Clancy. "That wasn't a fair
shake the prospector gave us on top of those cyanide tanks. We ought to
keep right after him. If we come close, we'll land on him by strategy."

"That's the talk, Red!" approved Ballard, through his chattering teeth.
"I'll furnish the strategy, if Chip should fall down on it. Let's get to
moving. Three horses, Mr. Pardo, if you can spare 'em."

"You haven't the slightest notion where Porter is going," said the
super, plainly disapproving the plan of the boys to follow Porter, and
marshaling every argument he could against it.

"Where can he go along that trail toward Pete Loco's?" returned Frank.
"There are only two places the trail leads to--one is Loco's and the
other is McGurvin's. The trail stops at McGurvin's."

"We haven't a horse for you. All that's left in the corral is the
prospector's pack burro."

"How about the two motor cycles?" Frank asked. "Mr. Bradlaugh said you
had a couple of th