him go that long?"

"I'll see to that. One of my men will start for Amarillo right away and
keep him in sight till we come back. By the way, we've got Jose Maria, and
that guy you fired through the window. Caught the old fox sneaking back of
those shacks along the north road."

"Going to warn Lynch, I reckon," suggested Buck crisply.

"That's what I thought, so I strung some men along at likely points to
pick up any more that may try the same trick. I haven't got anything out
of Jose yet, but a little thumbscrewing may produce results. I'll tell you
about it to-night."

It was late when he finally appeared at the hotel lobby, and he had no
very favorable news to impart. Jose Maria, it appeared, had stuck to the
story of being engaged by an alleged Federal official to apprehend two
outlaws, whose descriptions fitted Buck and his companion perfectly. He
admitted having engaged the other Mexicans to help him, but swore that he
had never intended any harm to the two men. Their instructions were merely
to capture and hold them until the arrival of the supposed official.

"All rot, of course," Hardenberg stated in conclusion. "But it hangs
together a bit too well for any greaser to have thought out by himself. I
reckon that cow-man who got you into the joint was responsible for the
yarn and told Jose to give it out in case things should go wrong. Well, I
won't waste any more time on the bunch. You two be around about seven
to-morrow. I'd like to start sooner, but some of the boys have to come in
from a distance."

Buck and Jessup were there ahead of time, but it was more than an hour
later when the posse left Perilla. There were about twenty men in all, for
Hardenberg planned to send a portion of them across country to guard the
outlet of that secret trail through the mountains of which Buck had told
him. If Lynch and his men had any warning of their coming, or happened to
be out on the range, the chances were all in favor of their making for the
mountains and trying to escape by the cattle rustlers' route.

During the ride the thought of Mary Thorne was often in Buck's mind. He
did not fear for her personal safety. Alf Manning was there, and though
Stratton did not like him he had never doubted the fellow's courage or his
ability to act as a protector to the three women, should the need arise.
But that such a need would arise seemed most unlikely, for Lynch had
nothing to gain by treating the girl save with respect an