is wrong, or he would be back ere this," he said. "Let us go
after him."

But hardly had they mounted when they heard a shout ahead. Looking
beyond a belt of bushes they saw Ike Watson waving his hand to them.

"Found it!" he cried as they came up. "They took the creek road over ter
the forest trail. The marks are fresh, showin' they didn't move on until
dark last night."

"Then they can't be many miles ahead!" cried Allen. "Oh, if we can only
keep the trail till we catch up to them!"

"No time ter lose," said Ike Watson, and once more they continued the
pursuit, this time faster than before.

Yet at the end of two miles they came to a sudden halt. The trail led
down to the bank of a shallow stream and there disappeared from view.

CHAPTER XIX.

Along the Water Course

"Gone!" burst from Allen's lips.

"What's to do now?" asked Noel Urner.

Ike Watson halted in perplexity for fully a minute. Then he dismounted
and waded into the stream, which was scarcely a foot to a foot and a
half in depth.

"Ho! ho! ho!" he laughed, suddenly. "I thought so! No, ye can't play
thet game hyer.".

"What now, Ike?" questioned the young ranchman.

"They went up in the middle o' this yere stream, thinkin' they could
throw me off the trail. See, hyer are the marks ez plain ez the nose on
Cap'n Grady's face." And the old hunter pointed into the clear water.

Leaving Allen to bring his horse, Watson walked slowly along the bed of
the stream, taking good care not to step into any deep holes. In this
manner half a mile was covered, when, at a point where the brush along
the bank was thin, the trail led out once more on the dirt and rocks.

"An old trick, but it didn't work this trip," chuckled Ike Watson to
himself, as he once more resumed his seat in the saddle.

"What I am thinking of is, what made them suspicious, after they were so
far from Casey's Forks," said Allen.

"Perhaps their guilty consciences," laughed Noel.

"Thet, an' because they thought I might be follerin' 'em," added Ike
Watson. "Hullo! What does this mean?"

He had followed the trail around a belt of timber. Beyond was a wall of
rocks, and here were traces of a recent camp--a smoldering fire and some
odds and ends of crackers and meat.

"We ain't far behind 'em, boys!" he went on. "This fire wuz tended ter
less than a couple o' hours ago."

"Then let us push on, by all means," returned Allen. "If we can catch
those two men before they have