t relieved down in the
gullies, where he could not see far. He climbed out of one, presently,
from which there extended a narrow ledge with a slant too perilous for
any horse. He stepped out upon that with far less confidence than
Nagger. To the right was a bulge of low wall, and a few feet to the left
a dark precipice. The trail here was faintly outlined, and it was six
inches wide and slanting as well. It seemed endless to Slone, that
ledge. He looked only down at his feet and listened to Nagger's steps.
The big horse trod carefully, but naturally, and he did not slip. That
ledge extended in a long curve, turning slowly away from the precipice,
and ascending a little at the further end. Slone drew a deep breath of
relief when he led Nagger up on level rock.

Suddenly a strange yet familiar sound halted Slone, as if he had been
struck. The wild, shrill, high-pitched, piercing whistle of a stallion!
Nagger neighed a blast in reply and pounded the rock with his iron-shod
hoofs. With a thrill Slone looked ahead.

There, some few hundred yards distant, on a promontory, stood a red
horse.

"It's Wildfire!" breathed Slone, tensely.

He could not believe his sight. He imagined he was dreaming. But as
Nagger stamped and snorted defiance Slone looked with fixed and keen
gaze, and knew that beautiful picture was no lie.

Wildfire was as red as fire. His long mane, wild in the wind, was like a
whipping, black-streaked flame. Silhouetted there against that canyon
background he seemed gigantic, a demon horse, ready to plunge into fiery
depths. He was looking back over his shoulder, his head very high, and
every line of him was instinct with wildness. Again he sent out that
shrill, air-splitting whistle. Slone understood it to be a clarion call
to Nagger. If Nagger had been alone Wildfire would have killed him. The
red stallion was a killer of horses. All over the Utah ranges he had
left the trail of a murderer. Nagger understood this, too, for he
whistled back in rage and terror. It took an iron arm to hold him. Then
Wildfire plunged, apparently down, and vanished from Slone's sight.

Slone hurried onward, to be blocked by a huge crack in the rocky
plateau. This he had to head. And then another and like obstacle checked
his haste to reach that promontory. He was forced to go more slowly.
Wildfire had been close only as to sight. And this was the great canyon
that dwarfed distance and magnified proximity. Climbing down and up,