ou may. I'm Mrs. Adams. I came up here with my husband, Professor
Adams."

"Where is he?"

"He has gone up the trail toward Fremont. He is a botanist."

"Is that his horse's tracks?"

Alice called sharply, "Peggy!"

Mrs. Adams turned abruptly and went in.

The stranger turned a slow gaze upon his companion. "Well, this beats
me. 'Pears like we're on the wrong trail, Bob. I reckon we've just
naturally overhauled a bunch of tourists."

"Better go in and see what's inside," suggested the other man, slipping
from his horse.

"All right. You stay where you are."

As he stepped to the door and rapped, Peggy opened it, but Alice took up
the inquiry.

"What do you want?" she asked, imperiously.

The man, after looking keenly about, quietly replied: "I'm wonderin' how
you women come to be here alone, but first of all I want to know who
made them tracks outside the door?"

Alice ignored the latter part of his question and set about satisfying
his wonder. "We came up here with a geological survey, but my horse fell
on my foot and I couldn't ride, so the men had to leave me behind--"

"Alone?" sharply interrogated the man.

"No; one man stayed."

"What was his name?"

"I don't know. We called him Smith."

"Was he the man that rode away this morning?"

"What does that matter to you?" asked the girl. "Why are you so
inquisitive?"

He maintained his calm tone of mild authority. "I'm the sheriff of Uinta
County, ma'am, and I'm looking for a man who's been hiding out in this
basin. I was trailin' him close when the snow came on yesterday, and I
didn't know but what these tracks was his."

Peggy turned toward Alice with an involuntary expression of
enlightenment, and the sheriff read it quickly. Slipping between the two
women, he said:

"Jest a minute, miss. What sort of a looking man was this Smith?"

Alice took up the story. "He was rather small and dark--wasn't he,
Peggy?"

Peggy considered. "I didn't notice him particularly. Yes, I think he
was."

The man outside called: "Hurry up, Cap. It's beginning to snow again."

The sheriff withdrew toward the door. "You're both lying," he remarked
without heat, "but it don't matter. We'll mighty soon overhaul this man
on the horse--whoever he is. If you've been harboring Hall McCord we'll
have to take you, too." With that threat as a farewell he mounted his
horse and rode away.

Peggy turned to Alice. "Did you know that young fellow was an outlaw?"

"Yes;