“He hasn’t.”
“But they are not in camp,” said Herbert.
“No; he has taken them to some point not far off, probably on the other side of the hills, where they will be left for Brindage and Jim-John to take care of. You understand the object of this,” the Texan hastened to add; “they want to give the impression that they are going slow, as they would have to do if they kept the pack animals with them. That is to throw dust in the eyes of Nick’s friends; but you can depend upon it that it is not far from camp that they have left them, and they are now devoting themselves to speed. You know that pony of your friend is as fleet as any in this crowd.”
“There is no doubt of that; Nick is a good judge of horses, and he studied him closely in San Antonio before buying him.”
“Well, Bell has had so many dealings in the same line that you can make up your mind, when he trusts his worthless life on the back of an animal, that creature must know something about grabbing ground.”
“That being so, tell me what your plan is, Strubell.”
“Now it happens that Baker and I know a little more about this part of the country than Bell and his folks, though this isn’t the first time they have traveled through it; they think this ravine is the only pass through the hills, for a long distance, but there’s where they make a mistake.”
“But what of that?”
“We’ll take a ticket over the new route.”
This odd remark caused a laugh from Lattin, who, unlike Herbert, caught its whole significance.