m, and the man's face betrayed him,
though his words were bold enough. "You don't take me with a hand like
that!"

Seaforth trembled a little as his anger shook him, for he had seen
enough. "I think you are the man we want," he said.

He had desired to make quite certain and succeeded, but he afterwards
regretted it, for the effect of that speech upon the prisoner, who did
not answer him, was considerably more than he had anticipated. The
man, who appeared, as Seaforth decided later, suspiciously cowed and
dejected, said nothing to any of his captors all next day, and lay down
at night in apathetic sullenness, but when the rancher who slept beside
him awoke in the morning he had gone, and by way of ironical farewell
somebody had hung a pair of rusty handcuffs whose snap-spring was
evidently defective upon a neighbouring tree. One man had kept watch
beside the fire, which he had left for a few minutes to bring in more
wood, and another by the horses; but while neither of them had seen or
heard anything, the fact that their captive was no longer with them
remained, and half-an-hour spent in very pointed and personal
recriminations did nothing to solve the mystery. It was Horton who
terminated the discussion.

"We've no use for more talking, boys," he said. "The man was here last
night, and he isn't now, and it don't count for very much how he got
away. Head right away for the railroad, two of you. Another two will
strike for the pass in the main divide, and if you get through quick
enough you'll turn him off into the back country. The rest of you will
stop right here and help Okanagan to pick up his trail."

There was a hurried saddling of horses, four mounted men went crashing
through the undergrowth downhill at the risk of neck and limbs, and an
hour later Seaforth and Okanagan stopped a few moments breathless
beside a frothing stream.

"He'll have gone this way for the river, sure," said the latter. "You
can tell Horton to send Thomson and Andersen across to watch the canon."

Seaforth looked at the bushman, and his face was curiously grim. "You
know who he is, Tom? We must have him at any cost, and I think it is
my fault he got away."

Okanagan laughed a little almost silent laugh that had no mirth in it.
"If the boys can head him off from the railroad I'll find him sure," he
said. "Oh, yes, I think I know him. When we get him I'm figuring
we'll find the marks of Harry's knife on him."

Okanaga