“Now if we ride in from the rear, as you said, Teddy, and dad’s gang starts to shoot from the other side, it’s going to be mighty uncomfortable for us. Nope, we’ll have to stick close to the edge of the gorge. Then, when we get nearer, we can decide on our plan of action. But, golly, maybe the rustlers aren’t there at all! We may be all wrong. At any rate, it’s the only clew we have, so we may as well go by it. Anybody got any other suggestions?”
“We might send a man ahead when we get there to sound things out,” Bug Eye said.
“I was counting on that. Teddy or I will reconnoiter and report back. If we only could make sure that we’re going right! All this time, while we’re in here, the thieves may be—” Roy stopped, and shook his head.
“But what can we do?” Teddy asked helplessly. “Natick said he saw the car head this way and Pop claims those caves are about the only place around here that the outlaws could use for a stronghold. If we’re wrong, we’ll have to start over again, that’s all. It may take time, but we’ve simply got to sit tight and work our way over every possible spot where they could have hidden the girls. And we’ll get ’em—we’ll get ’em, by jinks!”
“I’ll tell a maverick we will!” Roy burst out. “Come on, boys, let’s hit it up!”
“How far is that narrow place from here, Nick, where we were going to see dad?” asked Teddy.
“Oh, quite a piece yet.”
Once more they started, in single file now, for the trail was getting narrower. As they rounded a bend they caught sight of the stream below, which up to this time had been hidden by an overhanging ledge. They were riding downward now, and gradually they approached the bottom of the cut. But a little farther on they hit an up-grade where the path hugged the side of the rock so closely that the boys had to proceed with infinite caution. Their ponies were sure-footed, however, and they passed this dangerous spot without a mishap.
“Sun’s goin’ down,” Bug Eye remarked, after a while.
No one replied to this, each man contenting himself with a single glance toward the west. They had expected to spend at least one night in the gorge, but Roy hoped they would get in touch with his father before darkness overtook them. They might easily lose track of each other if they tried to travel after nightfall, as the woods on the other side of the canyon were heavy and deep.