All the next day Sharon thought about that wagon trail out of the mountains.  Several times she started to speak to her father, but he was preoccupied, lost in plans for his new home, and thinking of nothing but it.  Later in the day she saw Dud Kitchen riding over.  He reined in and slid from the saddle.

"Howdy, Sharon!  Sure glad to see you!  We been talkin' home, Mary and I, about gettin' up a sort of party.  Seems like Satterfield plays a fiddle, and we thought we might have a dance, sort of.  Liven things up a mite."

"That's a good idea, Dud," Sharon agreed.  She looked up at him suddenly.  "Dud, did Mary tell you anything about that wagon trail we saw?"

His blue eyes sharpened and he ran his fingers back through his corn-colored hair.  "Yeah," he said, "she did."

"Dud, it looks to me as if those wagons were out here before we were, just waiting.  It begins to look as if somebody planned to have us stop here."

"You mean Mort?  But what would he do that for?  What could he gain?  And even if he did, you got to admit it's a good place."

"Yes, it is, but just the same I don't like it."

Her father was walking toward them with George Pagones and Cap Mulholland.

"What's this you young folks figurin' to do?" Cap said grinning.  "Hear we're havin'us a party?"

Her answer was drowned by a sudden rattle of horses' hoofs and she saw three men swing down the canyon trail.  When they saw the group before the house, they reined in.  One of the men was Red, the man who had called on them the first day.  Another was - her breath caught - Rock Bannon!

"Howdy!"  Red said.  He looked down at the men, then recognized Cap.  "Seen anything of a young fellow, 'bout twenty or so, ridin a bay pony?"

"Why, no," Cap said.  "Can't say as I have.  What's the trouble?"

"He's Wes Freeman, who rides for us.  He was huntin' strays over this way yesterday and he never came back.  We figured maybe he was hurt somehow."

"No, we haven't seen him," Crockett said.

Dud Kitchen was grinning at Rock.  "Shucks, man!  We figured you had left the country.  What you doin'?"

Bannon grinned.  "I'm ridin' for Hardy Bishop," he said.  "Went over there right after I left you folks."

"What made you think your man might have come over here?" Pagones asked.  "Was he ridin' this way?"

"As a matter of fact," Red said, "he was ridin' back northeast of here.  Pretty rough country, except for one canyon that's got some good grass in it."

The third man was short, thickset and tough.  "Hurry up, Red!" he said.  "Why beat around the bush?  Tell 'em!"

"All right," Red said.  "I'll do just that, Bat!"  He looked down at the little group before the house.  "Fact of the matter is, Wes's horse come in about sundown yesterday, come in with blood on the saddle.  We back-trailed the horse and we found Wes.  We found him in the open valley we spoke of.  He was dead.  He'd been shot through the back and knocked off his horse.  Then whoever shot him had followed him up and killed him with a hunting knife."