After a while he heard two hors.e.m.e.n following him. He did not pull up; time was precious, and if the others wished to overtake him, he had no doubt that they could do so. During the next few minutes it became evident that they were gaining, and he heard a cry which he answered without stopping. Then, as the moon came through, another shout reached him, sharp and commanding:

"Stop, before we drop you!"

This was not to be disregarded. Pulling up, he turned his horse. Two mounted men rode furiously down on him, loose snow flying about their horses, and one poised a carbine across his saddle. Struggling to check his horse, he swept past, shouting to his comrade:

"Hold on! It's Prescott!"

They were a little distance ahead when they stopped and trotted back, and Prescott waited until Curtis pulled up at his side.

"Where were you going?" cried the corporal.

"After Wandle."

"I might have guessed!" said Curtis savagely, and turned to Stanton.

"This explains the thing."

"How far is he ahead of you?" Stanton asked.

"He got off half an hour before I did, as near as I can guess."

They sat silent for a moment or two, breathless and crestfallen, their horses distressed.

"Let's get into the lee of the bluff yonder; this wind's keen," Curtis said.

"You're losing time," Prescott objected.

"We've lost it," Curtis told him grimly. "My mount has been out since noon, and it's near midnight now. Stanton's isn't much fresher."

Prescott rode with them to the bluff, where they got down.

"That's a relief; it's quite a while since I could feel the bridle," said Curtis, turning to Prescott. "How did you scare Wandle off? Be as quick as you can!"

Prescott briefly related what led to his call at the farm and the corporal's face was filled with scornful anger.

"This is what comes of you blamed amateurs b.u.t.ting in!" he remarked.

"Jernyngham was bad enough, but he can't come near you at mussing up our plans. Guess you don't know that we've been watching Wandle for some weeks, ready to corral him, and you start him off like this, without warning."

"I'd reason to believe you were watching me," Prescott dryly rejoined.

"Oh, well," said Curtis, "that's another matter. Anyhow, I had trailed Wandle to Kelly's place since dark, and I'd trotted round to see if he'd got back to his homestead when I found that he had gone. Stanton and I were prospecting out this way when we struck your trail."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"We'll make the next farm and try to borrow horses. Then I'll ride to the railroad and get the wires to work. Stanton will keep the trail by Long Lake."

"Then I'll push right on by the Traverse. There's a ranch I should make by daylight where I might get a mount. I'm going to see the thing through."

Curtis considered this.

"Well," he said, "I guess you can't do much harm, and Wandle may not have gone by the lake after all. You can pick up Stanton if you find out anything, and I'll try to join you from one of the stations along the line."

They mounted, and on reaching the trail forks where they must separate, Prescott turned to Curtis.

"Aren't you afraid of letting me out of your sight?" he asked.

"No, sir," Curtis answered with a smile. "You're not quite so important to us now; and I'm not running much risk, anyway, considering the horse you've got."

CHAPTER XXVII

STARTLING NEWS

It was noon on the day after Wandle's flight, and Jernyngham was sitting with his friends in a room of the Leslie homestead when Muriel, looking out of the window, saw Prescott's hired man ride up at a gallop. His haste and his anxious expression when he dismounted alarmed her, but her companions had not noticed him, and she waited, listening to the murmur of voices that presently reached her from an adjoining room. They ceased in a few minutes, she saw the man ride away as fast as he had come, and soon afterward Leslie opened the door. He was a talkative person and looked as if he had something of importance to relate.

"Svendsen has been over to ask if I saw Prescott when I was in at the settlement yesterday," he said. "When I told him that I hadn't, he seemed mighty disturbed."

Muriel's heart throbbed painfully, but she waited for one of the others to speak, and Jernyngham, laying down his paper, glanced up sharply.

"Why?" he asked.

This was all the encouragement Leslie needed.

"I'll tell you, so far as I've got the hang of the thing; I thought you'd like to know. It seems Prescott has been away somewhere for a few days and should have got home last night. He came in on the train in the evening, and Harper drove him out and dropped him at Wandle's trail; Prescott said he wanted to see the man. Well, he didn't get home, and Svendsen, who'd been to Harper's this morning, found Wandle gone and three of his horses missing. Then he found out from Watson, who stayed at the hotel last night, that Curtis rode in on a played-out horse before it was light, and kept the night operator busy for a while with the wires.

Seems to me the thing has a curious look."

For a moment or two n.o.body spoke. Muriel felt dismayed by the news, and she glanced at the others, trying to read their thoughts. Colston looked troubled, Gertrude's face was hard and stamped with a kind of cruel satisfaction, Jernyngham was very grim.

"Is that all you know about the matter?" Jernyngham asked.

"I guess so," Leslie answered. "Still, Svendsen did allow he thought he'd seen Stanton hanging about the homestead yesterday evening."

"Thank you," said Jernyngham with cold politeness. "I'll want the team after dinner."

Seeing no excuse for remaining, the rancher went out, and Jernyngham turned to the others. His brows were knitted and his eyes gleamed ominously.

"There's no mystery about the matter; the man has gone for good," he said. "In spite of the a.s.surances they gave me, these fools of police have let him slip through their fingers. That he saw Wandle before he bolted proves collusion between them. It was a thing I half suspected, but Curtis, of course, did not agree with me."

Muriel was recovering from the shock. Though things looked very bad, she could not believe that Prescott had run away. He had promised to call on Curtis and her confidence in him was unshaken.

"He went away by train a day or two ago, and if he had had anything to fear, he would have made his escape then," she said.

Mrs. Colston cast a warning glance at her, as if begging her to say nothing more, but Jernyngham curtly answered her remark.

"The man probably wanted to sell his property where it would excite less notice than at Sebastian. Then I suppose he found it needful to see his confederate."