will return to your troop."

Hamlin passed out the door into the sunshine, dimly conscious that his
guarded answers had not been entirely satisfactory to those left
behind. Yet he had said all he could say, all he dared say. More and
more firmly there had been implanted in his mind a belief that Molly
McDonald was somehow involved in this unfortunate affair, and that her
name must be protected at all hazard. This theory alone would seem to
account for Gaskins' efforts to turn suspicion, and when this was
connected with the already known presence of a woman on the scene, and
the smallness of the weapon used, the evidence seemed conclusive.

As far as his own duty was concerned, the Sergeant felt no doubt.
Whatever might be the cause, there was no question in his mind but that
she was fully justified in her action. Disliking the Lieutenant from
the first, and as strongly attracted by the girl, his sympathies were
now entirely with her. If she had shot him, then it was for some
insult, some outrage, and he was ready to protect her with his life.
He stopped, glancing back at the closed door, tempted to return and ask
permission to interview Gaskins personally. Then the uselessness of
such procedure recurred to him; the fact that nothing could result from
their meeting but disappointment and recrimination. The man evidently
disliked him, and would resent any interference; he had something to
conceal, something at stake for which he would battle strenuously. It
would be better to let him alone at present, and try to uncover a clue
elsewhere. Later, with more facts in his possession, he could face the
Lieutenant and compel his acknowledgment. These considerations caused
him to turn sharply and walk straight toward the ravine. Yet his
investigations there brought few results. On the upper bank were the
marks of a woman's shoe, a slender footprint clearly defined, but the
lower portion of the ravine was rocky, and the trail soon lost. He
passed down beyond the stables, realizing how easily the fugitives,
under cover of darkness, could have escaped. The stable guard could
have seen nothing from his station, and just below was the hard-packed
road leading to the river and the straggling town. There was nothing
to trace, and Hamlin climbed back up the bluff completely baffled but
desperately resolved to unlock the mystery. The harder the solution
appeared, the more determined he became to solve it. As he came out,