"Gone where?" crisply demanded the Sheriff.
"Don't stand there starin'; do something," scolded Mrs. Allen.
"He gave me his word to stay and face this thing out," shouted the bewildered Slim.
"It's all my fault. I sent him away." Echo seized Slim's hand as she spoke.
"You sent him away?"
She fell on her knees before him. Lifting her hands as in prayer, she implored: "I never thought of his promise to you. He never thought of it. Go find him—bring him back to me!"
"Bring him back?" howled the excited Sheriff, his eyes bulging, his cheeks swelling, his red hair bristling, and his voice ringing in its highest key. "Bring him back? You just bet I will. That's why I'm sheriff of Pinal County."
Slim whirled out of the door as if propelled by a gigantic blast. Echo fell fainting at her mother's feet.