“They shore will.”
“What leads you to believe that the robbers who took the animals did not go away with them?” interjected Miss Briggs.
“The tracks of the men, Miss. After they reached the Apache Trail the horses started on alone at a gallop, as you can see by the hoof-prints. The two-legged critters went over the edge of the trail an’ hit it up for the hills, thet’s how I know.”
“I see only one way out of our difficulty,” spoke up Grace, who had been pondering over the problem. “We have your wagon team, Mr. Fairweather. That much is saved to us, so I would suggest that you take one of the wagon horses and start at once for Globe to fetch our ponies back.”
Hippy said he would accompany Mr. Fairweather, but Grace negatived his proposal with an emphatic shake of the head.
“You may be needed here, Lieutenant,” she said. “Should Mr. Fairweather find that he needs assistance in leading the ponies back to camp he will hire a man to ride out with him. Will you do all this for us, Mr. Fairweather?”
“I reckon. But first I’d like to get the critter thet teased me out of camp while the others stole the ponies,” the old driver fumed under his breath. “I’m off.”
Ike saddled up in a hurry, Grace in the meantime filling a kit bag with food, which she handed to the driver.
“Now, Hippy, I believe you have something to say to me,” reminded Grace as Ike disappeared in the darkness.
“Brown Eyes, I was asleep when this thing started,” Lieutenant Wingate confessed.