ected to see in Stonebridge.

Withers was harder to follow, to keep up with, than an Indian. For one
thing he was a steady and tireless rider, and for another there were
times when he had no mercy on a horse. Then an Indian always found
easier steps in a trail and shorter cuts. Withers put his mount to some
bad slopes, and Shefford had no choice but to follow. But they crossed
the great broken bench of upland without mishap, and came out upon a
promontory of a plateau from which Shefford saw a wide valley and the
dark-green alfalfa fields of Stonebridge.

Stonebridge lay in the center of a fertile valley surrounded by pink
cliffs. It must have been a very old town, certainly far older than
Bluff or Monticello, though smaller, and evidently it had been built to
last. There was one main street, very wide, that divided the town and
was crossed at right angles by a stream spanned by a small natural stone
bridge. A line of poplar-trees shaded each foot-path. The little log
cabins and stone houses and cottages were half hidden in foliage now
tinted with autumn colors. Toward the center of the town the houses and
stores and shops fronted upon the street and along one side of a
green square, or plaza. Here were situated several edifices, the
most prominent of which was a church built of wood, whitewashed, and
remarkable, according to Withers, for the fact that not a nail had been
used in its construction. Beyond the church was a large, low structure
of stone, with a split-shingle roof, and evidently this was the town
hall.

Shefford saw, before he reached the square, that this day in Stonebridge
was one of singular action and excitement for a Mormon village. The town
was full of people and, judging from the horses hitched everywhere and
the big canvas-covered wagons, many of the people were visitors. A
crowd surrounded the hall--a dusty, booted, spurred, shirt-sleeved and
sombreroed assemblage that did not wear the hall-mark Shefford had come
to associate with Mormons. They were riders, cowboys, horse-wranglers,
and some of them Shefford had seen in Durango. Navajos and Piutes were
present, also, but they loitered in the background.

Withers drew Shefford off to the side where, under a tree, they hitched
their horses.

"Never saw Stonebridge full of a riffraff gang like this to-day," said
Withers. "I'll bet the Mormons are wild. There's a tough outfit
from Durango. If they can get anything to drink--or if they've got
it--