ny Stoney, on
gen'ral principles. But it's funny the places you can go if you know
how. Think these French boys would know enough to make a trip like
that?"

"Gavin knows a lot about these hills," Rennie replied. "He's hunted in
'em a lot by himself. He can pack near as much as a pony, and it's darn
hard to say where he went and didn't go."

"Well," said Bush, "I only hope we don't lose their trail."

So far the trail had been plain, the hoof marks on it visible. But on
bad ground this would not be the case. There would be no trail, in the
sense of a path, and the trail in the sense of hoof-marks might
disappear entirely. Therefore it was important to ascertain if they
could the line of flight, so that if signs temporarily ceased there
might be a possibility of finding them again further on.

But in the morning the trail of the fugitives led straight to the ford,
crossed it and held up the farther side. They came to the mouth of
Copper Creek, a delta with much gravel wash, but the trail of the
fugitives, in place of turning the Copper, led straight on up the valley
trail. A couple of miles on, just after crossing a patch of rocky
ground, Turkey who was in the lead pulled up and dismounted.

"What's the matter, kid?" Bush asked.

"Matter!" Turkey exclaimed. "Why there isn't a shod horse in this bunch
of tracks we're following."

Investigation showed that Turkey was right. They had been riding on the
tracks of unshod horses, presumably of an Indian hunting party. And as
they had trampled on these with their own shod horses it was going to be
hard to ascertain just how far they had gone on this false trail. But
Rennie had his own idea of a short cut.

"They made the side jump somewheres on these here rocks," he said. "They
figgered we'd go hellin' along on the tracks of them barefoots. Now this
bad ground is the end of that there shoulder you see, and she runs back
and dips down on the other side to the Copper."

"Sounds reas'nable," Bush admitted, "Then we go back to the Copper."

The two were standing together apart from the others.

"Look over there," said Rennie, "and line up this rock with that lone
cottonwood. What do you see?"

Bush looked along the line indicated. "By gosh," he ejaculated, "that
cottonwood's _blazed_!"

"Blazed both sides," Rennie informed him. "I been there. And further on
there's another tree blazed. Fresh."

"Lord--ee!" said Bush. "Them French boys wouldn't do that. You think
i