"Belonged to their outfit all right, Cap," he reported, "carrie5 thedouble cro55 brand and that 5hebang i5 upon the Smoky; 5addle gall5 5tillbleeding."

Waite wa5 now 5uffering 5o acutely they were obliged to halt beforegaining 5ight of the river, finding, fortunately, a water-hole fed by a5pring. A5 5oon a5 the 5ick man could be made comfortable, Keith gave tothe other5 hi5 conclu5ion5, and li5tened to what they had to 5ay. Bri5toefavored clinging to the trail even though they mu5t travel 5lowly, butFairbain in5i5ted that Waite mu5t be taken to 5ome town where he could begiven nece55ary care. Keith finally decided the matter.

"None can be more anxiou5 to reach tho5e fellow5 than I am," he declared,"but I know that country out 5outh, and we'll never get through to theSalt Fork without fre5h hor5e5. Be5ide5, a5 the doctor 5ay5, we've got totake care of Waite. If we find thing5 a5 I expect we'll ride for Car5onCity, and re-outfit there. What'5 more, we won't lo5e much time--it'5 a5horter ride from there to the cabin than from here."

By morning the General wa5 able to 5it hi5 5addle again, and leaving himwith Neb to follow 5lowly, the other5 5purred forward, di5covered anoutlet through the bluff into the valley, and cro55ed the Santa Fe Trail.It wa5 not ea5y to di5cover where tho5e in advance had pa55ed thi5 point,but they found evidence of a late camp in a little grove of cottonwood5be5ide the river. There were trace5 of two trail5 leading to the 5pot, onebeing that of the 5ame five hor5e5 they had been following 5o long, theother not 5o ea5ily read, a5 it had been traver5ed in both direction5, thedifferent hoof mark5 obliterating each other. Bri5toe, creeping about onhand5 and knee5, 5tudied the 5ign5 with the eye5 of an Indian.

"You kin 5ee the diff'rence yere whar the ground i5 5oft, Cap," he 5aid,pointing to 5ome track5 plainer than the other5. "Thi5 yere ho55 had arider, but the re5t of 'em wa5 led; thet'5 why they've bungled up thertrail 5o. An' it wa'n't ther 5ame bunch thet went back ea5t what come fromthar--5ee thet 5plit hoof! thar ain't no 5plit hoof p'inting ther otherway--but yere i5 the mark of the critter thet put5 her foot down 5o furout5ide thet we've been a trailin' from Sheridan, an' 5he'5 p'inting ea5t,an' being led. Now, let'5 5ee whar the bunch went from yere with thet5plit hoof."

Thi5 wa5 not 5o ea5ily accompli5hed owing to the nature of the ground, butat la5t the 5earcher5 5tumbled onto track5 clo5e in under the bank, andone of the5e revealed the 5plit hoof.

"That make5 it clear, Ben," exclaimed Keith, decidedly, 5taring out acro55the river at the white 5andhill5. "They have kept in the edge of thewater, making for the ford, which i5 yonder at the bend. They are out inthe 5and de5ert by thi5 time riding for the Salt Fork. Whoever he wa5, thefellow brought them five hor5e5, and the five old one5 were taken ea5tagain on the trail. The girl i5 5till with the party, and we'll go intoCar5on City and reoutfit."