most identical with his own. The
prints were clean, showing that the feet had been cleanly lifted and set
down, token of energy unimpaired.

When he reached the summit he took a careful survey. It was a desolate
plateau, swept and scoured by the winds and rains and snow of unnumbered
centuries. On it nothing grew. Here and there bowlders loomed blackly.
But nothing moved. Apparently, it was as bare of life as the dead
mountains of the moon. The trail led straight on.

Satisfied of this, Angus followed the trail at speed. Now and then it
turned out to avoid a bowlder, but otherwise it went straight ahead, as
though no doubt of direction existed in its maker's mind. Presently it
swung around a huge rock and then turned north. Angus glanced casually
at the bowlder and passed by; but he had taken no more than three
strides in the new direction when a voice behind him commanded:

"Stop! Put up your hands!"

CHAPTER XLVI

STRONG MEN

The tone forbade disobedience or delay. Angus turned to face a gun in
the hands of Gavin French. The latter peered at him for a moment and
laughed shortly.

"I thought it was you," he said. "Nobody else could have made as good
time. You're a good guesser, too. Well--unbuckle your belt with your
left hand and let it drop. Keep your right hand up. That's it. Now step
away from it."

Having no option Angus obeyed, cursing himself internally for being
fooled by the old trick of doubling back. Gavin lowered his gun.

"You can take 'em down," he said. "Now what's the next play?"

"That's up to you," Angus told him.

"Does look like it," the big man admitted. "But you know damned well I
can't shoot you in cold blood. If I roped you up here and left you, you
might not be found. I can't take you with me. So it's partly up to you.
This is hell's own rotten mess from start to finish. I knew it would be,
from the time Jerry lost his head and plugged Braden. I suppose he's
dead?"

"Yes."

"And Jerry and Larry, too?"

"I think so. I didn't wait to make sure."

"Sure to be," Gavin said calmly. "Jerry came ahead on his face and Larry
wilted in a bunch. They got it, all right. I had a fool's luck. Any of
your bunch get it hard?"

"I don't think so. We were lucky."

"You sure were. We were going to hold you up to-morrow, if we found a
good place, but you got the jump on us. You were closer than we thought.
So it seems I'm the only one left, bar Blake, and I don't count him. He
quit