e, taking the road to
Arrey. They pushed on furiously. See and Lull fell behind a little.

"Say, this is a rotten deal!" said Charlie. "That man ain't running
away. Not on your life. He no more killed Adam Forbes than I did. You
know how long ago we met him. If he was the man that built that
branding fire, how does it happen the ashes were still hot when these
fellows found it? By their tell and our timing that was near three
hours later. We met him about three; if he made that fire it couldn't
have been later than two o'clock, by the looks of his horse. And he's
keeping the same steady gait, and going straight for Hillsboro, just
as he told us. We're gaining on him right along. He's not trying to
get away. Either he's innocent or he's got the devil's own nerve."

"Innocent. Pete thinks so, too. This crowd tells a fishy story. Did
you notice how prompt Caney was to explain why they was there, and why
they went down Redgate, and why the stranger shot Adam, and how Adam
gave him a chance to shoot him in the back? Always Caney! Say, Hob,
that man was too willing by half!"

"And that excitement. I wasn't surprised at Jody, and I don't know
this man Hales--but wouldn't you think Ed Caney had seen enough men
killed not to fight his head like that? He didn't have much use for
Adam, either. Adam backed him down once. It was kept quiet, but
Anastacio told me, on the dead. It tickled Anastacio. No, sir--those
three fellows acted like they might be wishin' to start a stampede.
I'm not satisfied a little bit."

"A grudge? But if one of these ducks is in, they're all in. This is
something else. Or of course it may have been some other person
altogether, and these people may have merely lost their heads. Do you
reckon that placer hunt of Adam's might have had anything to do with
it? Poor old Adam! We'll find time to grieve for him after we get the
man that rubbed him out."

"I can't hardly realize it. It won't come home to us till we've seen
him, I expect. I keep saying it over to myself--'Adam's dead'--but I
don't believe it. And only last night Edith sang that nightingale song
after him--poor kid! Say--look at that, will you? You'd think Caney
didn't dare trust us to talk together."

Caney dropped back to them.

"Can't you two get any action out of them horses of yourn?" he
snarled. "It'll soon be dark on us. Your horses are enough sight
fresher than ours."

Charlie See jumped his horse up and reined him to his haunches b