SWAN TRAILS A COYOTE At daybreak Swan was striding toward the place where Frank Johnson had been found.

Lone, his face moody, his eyes clouded with thought, rode beside him, while Jack trotted loose-jointedly at Swan's heels.

Swan had his rifle, and Lone's six-shooter showed now and then under his coat when the wind flipped back a corner.

Neither had spoken since they left the ranch, where Jim was wandering dismally here and there, trying to do the chores when his heart was heavy with a sense of personal loss and grim foreboding.

None save Brit had slept during the night--and Brit had slept only because Lorraine had prudently given him a full dose of the sedative left by the doctor for that very purpose.