e.

Crawling on their stomachs, the pair moved in closer. As they arrived,
unseen, they were in time to see the late fighting men clamber into
their automobiles. Hawkins could be heard giving directions for the
further search for Reade and Hazelton.

Then the cars started away.

"What do you reckon?" demanded Jeff, looking at Bodson.

"I reckon some of Duff's crowd slipped out of the fight, got the two
youngsters, and slipped away with them," Bodson answered.

"Then it was Duff--he was one of 'em," returned Jeff, with a strong
conviction. "From what I've seen of Duff to-night he'd rather do a
running trick than a fighting one."

"It would take two to carry both youngsters away. Who was the other
one?" Rafe wondered aloud.

"Most likely the fellow who'd mind Duff best."

"That must mean poor George Ashby."

"Let's slip into the gully and see what we can find."

One fact learned in the gully astonished both investigators. Despite the
volleys that had been fired no dead or wounded men lay about. Of course
Hawkins could have taken any injured men away in the automobiles.
Plainly the raiders had been equally fortunate in getting their wounded
away on their horses. Mounted men familiar with the desert would know
many paths where horses could travel, but where automobiles could not
follow.

"Our hosses are gone," discovered Jeff a few moments.

"Of course," nodded Rafe. "The crowd we were out with wouldn't be slow
in a simple little piece of every-day honesty like stealing hosses!"

"I'm through with any such gang after this, Rafe. How about you?"

"I'm shore going to be careful about the kind of company I pick. But,
Jeff, we'll have to travel away from these parts. No good company around
here would welcome us. They wouldn't like the only references we could
give, Jeff."

"Oh, shore, we'll have to travel," agreed Moore. "That is, if the
sheriff doesn't take up our tickets before we get started."

"All this talk isn't showing us what became of Reade and Hazelton,"
remarked Rafe Bodson. "Let's go back under the trees and see if we
can find what has become of Reade and Hazelton. Before I change my
post-office box I'm going to try to do those two youngsters a good
turn."

So the pair had started off. Yet, like the automobile searchers, Jeff
and Rafe did not expect to run across Tom and Harry and their captors so
close to the gully.

For this reason the pair proceeded without very much caution at the
outset.