Page:The trail of the golden horn.djvu/80



UGO, the trapper, was late, and he was speeding along with great swinging strides. He was alone, for he had left his dog fastened in his little cabin up on the mountain side. He had a reason for this, as his mission that day had been of extreme importance, and complete silence had to be maintained. He was in no enviable frame of mind as he strode through the night, and any enemy, whether man or beast, attempting to interfere with him would have found in him a desperate opponent. He had been watching another trail that day and what he had seen filled his heart with a burning rage, mingled with a nameless fear. He felt as he did that night when he had bounded from the cabin into the storm. Notwithstanding his strength and astuteness, he always shrank from the Police, considering them his bitterest enemies. So that day as he had watched forms speeding along behind their dogs, he knew who they were, and surmised the mission upon which they were bent.

He had swung up from the valley and was about to cross the trail, known as the “Cut-Off,” between Big Chance and The Gap, when a shot arrested his attention, causing him to stop abruptly. The report came from the left, and keenly he peered in that direction. Seeing and hearing nothing more, he moved cautiously forward. Not a sound did he make as he glided among