“By all means,” replied Dick, “but now we must be on the move. I shall never rest until I have found Clara Eglinton and I only hope Doctor Dan’s theory proves correct.”
“About the horse?” replied Doctor Dan. “You will find it entirely correct. If I am not up on science I am on horses. Give that mare her head and she will take us to the place where they turned off with the lady sure; that is, if there is any such place. As I understand the situation, you are not actually sure that Mudd captured her at all.”
“Well, I have only his word for it,” said Dick, “and that don’t amount to much, I own.”
They now moved on. The mare led the way into the pass through which Dick had come, continuing along about half the distance to the trail up the mountain, when she suddenly turned and stopped short up against the solid ledge.
“Well!” exclaimed Doctor Dan, “this is queer!”
The place into which the mare had turned was a sort of niche in the rocky wall, crescent shaped and perhaps forty feet deep.
There was no break anywhere and the rocks towered to a height of several hundred feet above their heads.
“What’s the matter with the beast? What does she stop here for?” demanded Dick.
But Doctor Dan could give no satisfactory answer to this question.
He dismounted and made a long and careful examination of the place without discovering anything to explain the conduct of the mare.