Page:The Cross Pull.pdf/254

 horses into a steady trail trot down the Thoroughfare bottoms. Harmon’s horse snorted and shied away from the timber edge as Flash joined them a hundred yards from camp. Betty had known that no one could slip up behind Moran during the fight if Flash was with him; that Flash would fight like a fiend for him if occasion arose and she had sent the dog in spite of Kinney’s instructions to the contrary.

They left their horses in a wooded basin and Started up the slope of the divide on foot. The country was a veritable maze of bald ridges and intersecting canyons. It was noon when they stood at the head of the gorge they sought. A faint trail led from it.

“That’s all we need to know,” said Vermont. “Let’s get back before they spot us prowling around up here.”

The canyon widened rapidly, then narrowed down again. As the men started back they kept well away from the edge to avoid skylining themselves on the rims. At the widest part of the canyon Flash slipped toward the edge. Moran was watching him. Flash crouched flat a few feet from the brink and looked across at the opposite cliff five hundred yards away. During the