"
"He was haltered in the corral."
"Send Yaqui to find the hoss's trail, an' let's figger," said
Ladd. "Shore this 's no raider job."
In the swift search that ensued Gale did not have anything to
say; but his mind was forming a conclusion. When he found his old
saddle and bridle missing from the peg in the barn his conclusion
became a positive conviction, and it made him, for the moment,
cold and sick and speechless.
"Hey, Dick, don't take it so much to heart," said Belding. "We'll
likely find Sol, and if we don't, there's other good horses."
"I'm not thinking of Sol," replied Gale.
Ladd cast a sharp glance at Gale, snapped his fingers, and said:
"Damn me if I ain't guessed it, too!"
"What's wrong with you locoed gents?" bluntly demanded Belding.
"Nell has slipped away on Sol," answered Dick.
There was a blank pause, which presently Belding broke.
"Well, that's all right, if Nell's on him. I was afraid we'd lost
the horse."
"Belding, you're trackin' bad," said Ladd, wagging his head.
"Nell has started for Casita," burst out Gale. "She has gone
to fetch Mercedes some word about Thorne. Oh, Belding, you
needn't shake your head. I know she's gone. She tried to persuade
me to go, and was furious when I wouldn't."
"I don't believe it," replied Belding, hoarsely. "Nell may have her
temper. She's a little devil at times, but she always had good
sense."
"Tom, you can gamble she's gone," said Ladd.
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