“You an’ Roy stick close to Bug Eye. I’m going to come in from the left, and see if I can spot the rustlers.�
Teddy nodded and spurred his mount onward. Shouting to Nick and Pop to follow him, Mr. Manley wheeled about in a semicircle. The rest followed Bug Eye.
“Almost there!� Bug Eye yelled to Roy. “Where’s yore dad goin’?�
“He’s circling around to the left, so he can cut in! There’s a trail that leads to Hawley—guess you know the one I mean—and dad’s figuring on cutting the thieves off, if they went that way!â€�
“Good idee!�
With a final dash, Bug Eye’s party reached Sanborn’s Point. Bug Eye held up his hand, and all pulled the horses back.
“Right here is where she happened,� the puncher said. “I was coming up the hill, and when I got here they jumped me. Then they went over this rise in the flivver, an’ I lost sight of ’em. See! There’s the tracks of the wheels! Boy, I’m sure thankful there’s a moon! Now we can foller them tracks, an’ we may run into the galoots after all!�
As Bug Eye had said, the imprints of the tires led over the hill. Slowly the punchers followed them, and when the rise was topped Teddy gave a yell.
“The tracks go left from here! Just the way dad went! Come on—let’s go!â€�
Leaving the road, the men followed the tire trail off to the left. In the soft soil this was not a hard thing to do, and they could ride faster now and still keep the tracks in sight.