"I reckon you see thet," said Creech
"Horses," replied Lucy.
He nodded his head gloomily, and seemed pondering a serious question.
"Is some one trailing us?" asked Lucy, and she could not keep the tremor out of her voice.
"Wal, I should smile! Fer two days—an' it sure beats me. They've never had a sight of us. But they keep comin'."
"They! Who?" she asked, swiftly.
"I hate to tell you, but I reckon I ought. Thet's Cordts an' two of his gang."
"Oh—don't tell me so!" cried Lucy, suddenly terrified. Mention of Cordts had not always had power to frighten her, but this time she had a return of that shaking fear which had overcome her in the grove the night she was captured.
"Cordts all right," replied Creech. "I knowed thet before I seen him. Fer two mornin's back I seen his hoss grazin in thet wide canyon. But I thought I'd slipped by. Some one seen us. Or they seen our trail. Anyway, he's after us. What beats me is how he sticks to thet trail. Cordts never was no tracker. An' since Dick Sears is dead there ain't a tracker in Cordts's outfit. An' I always could hide my tracks.... Beats me!"
"Creech, I've been leaving a trail," confessed Lucy.