Thefollowingday，towardevening，hehappeneduponaroadwhichhebelievedmightleadtothevillage。Therewereagoodmanyfreshhorse—tracksinthesand，andthesemadehimthoughtful。Nevertheless，hefollowedtheroad，proceedingcautiously。Hehadnotgoneveryfarwhenthesoundofrapidhoof—beatscaughthisears。Theycamefromhisrear。Inthedarkeningtwilighthecouldnotseeanygreatdistancebackalongtheroad。Voices，however，warnedhimthattheseriders，whoevertheywere，hadapproachedcloserthanheliked。Togofartherdowntheroadwasnottobethoughtof，soheturnedalittlewayinamongthemesquitesandhalted，hopingtoescapebeingseenorheard。Ashewasnowafugitive，itseemedeverymanwashisenemyandpursuer。
Thehorsemenwerefastapproaching。PresentlytheywereabreastofDuane’sposition，sonearthathecouldhearthecreakofsaddles，theclinkofspurs。
\"Shorehecrossedtheriverbelow，\"saidoneman。
\"Ireckonyou’reright，Bill。He’sslippedus，\"repliedanother。
Rangersoraposseofranchersinpursuitofafugitive！TheknowledgegaveDuaneastrangethrill。Certainlytheycouldnothavebeenhuntinghim。Butthefeelingtheirproximitygavehimwasidenticaltowhatitwouldhavebeenhadhebeenthisparticularhuntedman。Heheldhisbreath;heclenchedhisteeth;hepressedaquietinghanduponhishorse。Suddenlyhebecameawarethatthesehorsemenhadhalted。Theywerewhispering。Hecouldjustmakeoutadarkgroupcloselymassed。