The old officer and the others were staring up the road. She went to
another window in order to get a proper view of the road, and saw that
they were gazing at a small body of horsemen approaching at a trot and
raising much dust. Presently she recognised them as the squad that had
passed the house earlier, for the young man with the dim yellow chevron
still rode at their head. An unarmed horseman in grey was receiving
their close attention.

As they came very near to the house she darted to the first window
again. The grey-bearded officer was smiling a fine broad smile of
satisfaction. "So you got him?" he called out. The young sergeant sprang
from his horse and his brown hand moved in a salute. The girl could not
hear his reply. She saw the unarmed horseman in grey stroking a very
black moustache and looking about him coolly and with an interested air.
He appeared so indifferent that she did not understand he was a prisoner
until she heard the grey-beard call out: "Well, put him in the barn.
He'll be safe there, I guess." A party of troopers moved with the
prisoner toward the barn.

The girl made a sudden gesture of horror, remembering the three men in
the feed-box.




III


The busy troopers in blue scurried about the long lines of stamping
horses. Men crooked their backs and perspired in order to rub with