he monstrous imaginings of his heart. That the outlaw, unarmed and
unasked, should venture--Pshaw! Such effrontery was inconceivable. He
allowed Steele to tell the story, himself contributing only an
occasional crafty question designed to enable his host to betray
himself.

"Bransford?" interrupted Mr. Long. "Not Jeff Bransford--up South Rainbow
way?"

"That's the man," said Steele.

"I don't believe it," said Long flatly. He was sipping coffee with his
guests; he put his cup down. "I know him, a little. He don't----"

"Oh, there's no doubt of it!" interrupted Steele in his turn. He
detailed the circumstances with skilful care. "Besides, why did he run
away? Gee! You ought to have seen that escape! It was splendid!"

"Well, now, who'd 'a' thought that?" demanded Long, still only half
convinced. "He didn't strike me like that kind of a man. Well, you never
can tell! How come you fellows to be chasin' him?"

"You see," said Steele, "every one was sure he had gone up to Rainbow.
The sheriff and posse is up there now, looking for him; but we
four--Stone and Harlow, the chaps at the other end, were with us, you
know--we were up in the foothills on a deerhunt. We were out
early--sun-up is the best time for deer, they tell me--and we had a
spyglass. Well, we just happened to see a man ride out from between two
hills, quite a way off. Stone noticed right away that he was riding a
sorrel horse. It was a sorrel horse that Bransford stole, you know. We
didn't suspect, though, who it was till a bit later. Then Rex tried to
pick him up again and saw that he was going out of his way to avoid the
ridges--keeping cover, you know. Then we caught on and took after him
pell-mell. He had a big start; but he was riding slowly so as not to
make a dust--that is, till he saw our dust. Then he lit out."

"You're not deputies, then?" said Long.

"Oh, no, not at all!" said Steele, secretly flattered. "So Harlow and
Stone galloped off to town. The program was that they'd wire down to
Escondido to have horses ready for them, come down on Number Six and
head him off. They were not to tell any one in Arcadia. There's five
thousand dollars' reward out for him--but it isn't that exactly. It was
a cowardly, beastly murder, don't you know; and we thought it would be
rather a big thing if we could take him alone."

"You got him penned all right," said Tobe. "He can't get out, so far as
I know, unless he runs over us or the men at the other end.