fear that they are raising sheep in their old style," grinned Jo. The
pun glanced off the Spaniard harmlessly.

"The theory that they may be hung, sounds plausible, Senor," admitted
Jim. "But before we advance into the Pass, I will scout a little."

"If the Senor pleases," responded the Spaniard courteously.

"Do you chance to know of a small, hunchbacked Mexican who is more or
less in this section of the country, Senor?" Jim suddenly inquired.

The Spaniard flushed with red anger and spit emphatically on the ground.

"You give him into my hands and I will reward you well," cried the
Spaniard.

Jim made no immediate reply but gazed thoughtfully at the ground. He was
considering the case. This was not the time to turn aside in a chase for
even so desperate a criminal as the hunchbacked greaser. So he made no
definite reply to the Spaniard.

After the horses were fed, and watered, and while Jo was looking after
the coffee, Jim started off, to do a little scouting up the Pass. The
first thing that he did was to slip off his heavy riding boots, which
the stylish Jo had forced him to buy, and to put on his noiseless footed
moccasins.

Then with his revolver loaded and ready to his hand, he went swiftly and
silently up the trail that followed through thick brush, gradually
working up the side of the mountain. It was no difficult task to follow
the tracks of the horses. In a half hour's swift climbing he came to the
top of a stony ridge, over which the trail curved, and dipped down the
other side.

Jim now saw that the Pass was an irregular one with recurrent spurs,
thrusting out from the mountains on either side, at quite frequent
intervals. There were innumerable chances for ambuscades. Jim did not
stand in the trail but to one side partially hidden in a thicket.

All the time his keen eyes were taking in the canyon below, not however
admiring the scenery. In fact there was nothing particularly beautiful,
or interesting in the view. In the Rockies and further South too he had
seen canyons incomparable to the rather ordinary ones that he had seen
in California.

Jim was watching for some slight movement of a living creature in the
canyon. Finally he gave it up, and was about to turn away, then he gave
a start, he saw one, two, three, men crouch across the trail, a quarter
of a mile below, and disappear into the thick brush. He was almost
certain that the first one was the hunchback.

That was all that Jim wanted