m. Eve
had chills last night. ... But Dr. Claybourn thinks she's all right. ...
So I left her in care of your housekeeper."

"Mrs. Ray will look out for her. ... You haven't told Eve who I am, have
you?"

"No."

"I'll tell her myself to-night. I don't know how she'll take it when
she learns I'm the heir to the mortal enemy of Mike Clinch."

"I don't know either," said Stormont.

There was a silence; the State Trooper looked down at the dogs:

"What are they, Jim?"

"Otter-hounds," said Darragh, "-- a breed of my own. ... But that's
_all_ they are capable of hunting, I guess," he added grimly.

Stormont's gaze questioned him.

Darragh said: "After I telephoned you this morning that a guest of mine
at Harrod Place, and I, had been stuck up and robbed by Quintana's
outfit, what did you do, Jack?"

"I called up Bill Lannis first," said Stormont, "-- then the doctor.
After he came, Mrs. Ray arrived with a maid. Then I went in a spoke to
Eve. Then I did what you suggested -- I crossed the forest diagonally
toward The Scaur, zig-zagged north, turned by the rock hog-back south of
Drowned Valley, came southeast, circled west, and came out here as you
asked me to."

"Almost on the minute," nodded Darragh. ... "You saw no signs of
Quintana's gang?"

"None."

"Well," said Darragh, "I left my two guests at Harrod Place to amuse
each other, got out three couple of my otter-hounds and started them, --
as I hoped and supposed, -- on Quintana's trail."

"What happened?" inquired Stormont curiously.

"Well -- I don't know. I think they were following some of Quintana's
gang -- for a while, anyway. After that, God knows, -- deer, hare,
cotton-tail -- _I_ don't know. They yelled their bally heads off -- I
on the run -- they're slow dogs, you know -- and whatever they were
after either fooled them or there were too man trails. ... I made a
mistake, that's all. These poor beasts don't know anything except an
otter. I just _hoped_ they might take Quintana's trail if I put them on
it."

"Well," said Stormont, "it can't be helped now. ... I told Bill Lannis
that we'd rendezvous at Clinch's Dump."

"All right," nodded Darragh. "Let's keep to the open; my dogs are
leashed couples."

They had been walking for twenty minutes, possibly, exchanging scarcely
a word, and they were now nearing the hilly basin where star Pond lay,
when Darragh said abruptly:

"I'm going to tell you about things, Jack. You've taken my