“And Foy?”

“We rode my horse double to the edge of the hills, to where he could walk on a ledge and leave no tracks,” said the Major.  “Then I went on.  I rounded up this bunch of saddle horses and brought them back.  He went up on Little Thumb Butte.  It’s all bluffs and bowlders there.  Up on the highest big cliff, at the very top, is a deep crack that winds up in a cave like a tunnel.  You know the place, Stella?”

“Yes.  But, dad, they’ll hunt out the hills the first thing.”

“They will not!” said the Major triumphantly.  “They’ll read our sign; they’ll see where four shod horses came up the road.  I’ll claim one of them was a horse I was leading—­that’ll be that bald-faced roan out in the corral.  We all want to stick to that.”

“But he’s bigger than any of our horses,” objected Pringle.  “They’ll know better by the tracks.”

“Exactly!  So they’ll find a fresh-shod track going east—­a track matching the fourth track we left on the road.  They’ll reason that we’re trying to keep them from following that track.  So they’ll follow it up; they’ll find Kit’s give-out horse and then they’ll know they’re right.”

“It seems to me,” said Pringle reflectively, “that friend Cowan may have an interesting time if they get him.”

The Major permitted himself a grin.

“He yanked the shoes off his horse before he left.  Once he mixes his tracks up with a bunch of wild mares he’ll be all right.  They may think, but they can’t prove anything.  And Foy’ll be all right—­if only the posse follows the plain trail.”

“It’s too much to hope,” said Stella.  “They’ll split up.  Some of them will hunt out the hills anyway—­to-morrow, if not to-day.”

“That’s my idea of it,” said Pringle.

“They won’t find the cave if they do,” said Vorhis hopefully.  “If he can get to the Bar Cross they’ll see him through, once they hear his story.  Not telling about that clean-up you and Kit made last night is a dead give-away.”

“Any chance of Foy slipping out afoot?”

“Too far.  But he could stand a siege till we could get word to his friends if, by any chance, the posse should find his cave.  He took my rifle.  He can see them coming; he’ll have every advantage against attack; and there’s another way out of the cave, up on top of the hill.  There’s just one thing against him.  There wasn’t even a canteen here.  He took some jerky and canned stuff—­but only one measly beer bottle of water.  When that’s used up it’s going to be a dull time for him.  We can’t get water to him very handy without leaving some sign.  We mustn’t get hostile with the posse.  Take it easy—­you especially, Pringle.  Stella and me, they know where we stand.  But you’re a stranger.  Maybe they’ll let you go on.  If you once get away—­bring the Bar Cross boys and they’ll take Foy out of here in broad day.”

“Very pretty—­but there’s four men in Las Uvas that know me—­and three of them are police.  Maybe they’ll stay in the city though—­being police?”