Both, however, had enjoyed the occasion, and appeared anxious for more.

Having exhausted the possibilities of the town, the soldiers procured lanterns, and, leaving the horses behind, began exploring the prairie.

In this labor they were assisted by the marshal, and a few aroused citizens hastily impressed into a posse.

The search was a thorough one, but the ground nearby was so cut up by hoofs and wheels as to yield no definite results.

Hamlin, obsessed with the belief that whatever had occurred had been engineered by Dupont, and recalling the fact that the man was once a ranchman somewhere to the southward, jumped to the conclusion that the fellow would naturally head in that direction, seeking familiar country in which to hide.