ed back.

"Adam?" said Charlie. "Something wrong up Redgate way. Adam's there,
and no one else that we know of."

"I'm afraid so. Horse fell on him maybe--dynamite or something. Here
they come. Big Ed and Jody Weir. I don't know the third man."

The horsemen were upon them. "Murder!" cried Caney. "Adam Forbes has
been murdered! Up in Redgate. The murderer came this way. We trailed
him to the bridge. His horse had lost a shoe."

"Adam Forbes!"

"Who is to tell Edith?" said Charlie See, under his breath.

"Someone's going to hang for this. When we found him--I never had such
a shock in my life!" said Jody Weir. "Shot from behind--three times.
The powder burned his shirt. Adam never had a chance. Cold-blooded
murder. Adam was holding fast to his rifle, wrong side up, just as he
pulled it from the scabbard. That man came through here."

"Or stopped here," amended Caney. "Might have been a Garfield man, of
course. I've heard that Forbes was tol'able arbitrary."

"We met a stranger coming down from Redgate, something like an hour
and a half ago," said Hobby. "But if he had just killed a man, I'll
eat my hat. That man was feeling fine. Only a boy, too. Someone else
did it, I guess."

"And he'd been riding slow. No sweat on his horse," added Charlie.

"Couldn't have been anyone else. There wasn't any other tracks, except
the tracks of Adam's horse. They turned off south as soon as he got
out of the mouth of the canyon."

"How'd you know it was Adam's horse?" This was Pete Harkey, at the
open door.

"Saw where the bridle reins dragged. Say! Any you fellows comin' with
us? That man killed Forbes, I tell you--and we're goin' after him.
Only about two hours till dark--two and a half at most--and a rain
coming up. This is no time for talking. We can talk on the road."

"Anybody stay with Adam?" asked Pete.

"No. There was just the three of us. We came full chisel after the
murderer, hard as we could ride. Come on--get some of your men
together--let's ride," said Caney impatiently. "Get a wiggle on, can't
you? Let's find out which way he went and what he looked like. He came
here. No chance for mistake. The body was still warm."

"I saw him! I saw him!" cackled the storekeeper. "Little man, smaller
than Charlie--and young. About twenty. Came in after you all left," he
said, addressing Lull. "Mailed a letter. Ridin' a blue horse, he
was--a _grullo_. That the man you met?"

"Yes. But riding a blue horse doesn't prov