pped him or his temper was up, but Johnny had never heard of his
pitching. Jake was not a range-bred horse, and if there was a buck-jump
in his system, it had never betrayed itself. After all, Mary V's chance
of lying hurt was minimized by the very fact that she rode Jake.

Red hill came sliding rapidly toward them. Now it was beneath, and the
plane had risen sharply to the air current that flowed steadily over the
hill. It swooped down again--they were over the flat where he had seen
the riders. The line of fence showed like knotted thread drawn across the
land. And within it was no Mary V.

Johnny tapped Bland's shoulder for a circle to the north, hoping that
she might be riding back that way. He strained his eyes, and saw tiny
dots of horses feeding quietly, but no rider moving anywhere. He sent
Bland swinging southward, while he leaned a little and watched the
swift-sliding panorama of arid land beneath. It was a rough country, as
Tex had said. To look for one little moving speck in all that veined
network of little ridges and draws was enough to tax quicker, keener eyes
than Johnny Jewel's.

But Johnny would not think of failure. Somewhere he would see her; he
would circle and seek until he did find her--if she were there.

Twice they sailed round, keeping within the boundaries of the east and
south fences. Then, flying as low as was safe, Johnny turned south, along
the course which he believed the horse thieves to have followed. It did
not seem possible--rather, he did not want to think it possible--that
they should have met Mary V. But Mexico is always Mexico, and sinister
things do happen along its border. The boys were coming on horseback, and
they would scatter and comb the draws which Johnny had looked down into
as he passed over. He would leave that closer search to the boys, while
he himself went farther--as far as Jake could travel in half a day.

They reached the south fence, left it dwindling behind them. Minutes
brought them over the invisible line which divides lawful country from
lawless. They went on, until Johnny spied again the group of stolen
horses being herded loosely in a shallow arroyo where there was a little
sparse grass. The men he did not at first see, save the one on herd.
Then he thought he could detect them sprawled in the shade of a few
stunted trees.

Apparently they felt safe, close though they were to the line. Indeed,
they were safe enough--from horsemen riding down from the R