Free the Riders Of High Rock (1993) by Louis - Hopalong 0 L'amour Page B

then is to get out of this country, and fast!"
    "Not me!" Vila's face was vicious. "I'll kill you for this."

    Chapter 8
    Dangerous Country .
    In some secret place among the canyons west of the desert the stolen herds would be held, and it was to that country now that Hopalong Cassidy turned the palouse. Hopalong allowed the horse to set its own gait, and despite the heat of the day, they moved swiftly.
    Now there was a definite trail, and studying the tracks of the various horses, Hopalong picked out, one by one, the hoof-prints of each. Soon some of them might turn off, and he wanted to know who he was following. Without doubt one of the leaders would be Pete Aragon--which he hoped to discover before long, for Aragon was one man of whom he wished to keep track. The horse on the left front was peculiarly gaited; the toes of the hoofs pointing out somewhat, the buttresses inward. Another of the group had bar shoes. Studying the tracks as they moved along proved other things to Hopalong. One of the horses kept fighting the bit. More often than any of the others it broke the formation in which they rode and had to be forced back alongside his mate.
    The trail now left the greasewood-covered sandhills and emerged upon the sand of the desert itself. Hopalong drew up
    and studied the situation carefully. Although the desert gave every appearance of openness, there was actually room to conceal an army if it was properly disposed. Yet he knew that to investigate every hummock, every hill, would take much too long. He would have to keep his eyes open and gamble.
    Several times he saw dust ahead of him, but at no time did he see the riders. They were heading for a canyon that seemed to cut deep into the range of mountains that lay ahead. From what Sourdough had said, in this direction might lie the Pahute Meadows, and if so, it offered a possible route through and over the mountains into the arm of the desert that lay beyond them, and at the base of Pahute Peak there was water. Somewhere in the vicinity would be Clapper Creek.
    Sweat coursed down his face and thick dust lifted and settled over him and over the black shining coat of the palouse. He pulled his hat brim lower and let his eyes seek out every bit of available cover as he came towards it, ever alert for movement, the glisten of sun on a rifle barrel, or any other indication that an enemy was near. Whether they would trust only to Vila he did not know. In any event, he must push on.
    The mountains were now a solid wall before him, and their blackness changed and showed streaks of brown and gray, and there was considerable growth on their rugged slopes. The green of Pahute Meadows showed, and Hopalong slowed the palouse despite the horse's anxious tuggings at the bit.
    The black knew there was water ahead, and grass. Of the men with rifles who rode before him he knew nothing. Yet Hopalong saw that the man with the slue-gaited horse had fallen back and another ridden ahead. The chances were that Pete was riding ahead and on the right, for he was the only one who held to his position. Hopalong studied the track in particular.
    When he came to the meadows they were deserted, yet here there was green grass, and Hopalong swung down. After watering the palouse he picketed the horse, and while it cropped at the rich green grass he walked about. His search was soon rewarded, for he stumbled upon the tracks of the cattle almost at once. Here the group led by Pete Aragon had fallen in with the trail of the cattle he had followed earlier, proving his gamble--that some of the riders would leave the herd for a drink in Agate--had paid off.
    After thirty minutes Hopalong tightened his girth and swung back into the saddle. Now the canyon narrowed and the rocky walls towered above him. There were trees here and there, and more brush. The cattle had been several hours ahead of the other riders at this point, but the riders would move faster and should soon overtake the herd.
    It was not enough