Late as the hour was, the saloon and the gambling rooms above were all crowded.  Hamlin plunged into the mass of men, pressing passage back and forth, his eyes searching the faces, while he eagerly questioned those with whom he had any acquaintance.  Few among these could recall to mind either “Reb” or his boon companion, and even those who did retained no recollection of having seen the two lately.  The bartenders asserted that neither man had been there that night, and the dealers above were equally positive.  The city marshal, encountered outside, remembered Dupont, and had seen him at the hotel three hours before, but was positive the fellow had not been on the streets since.  Connors he did not know, but if the man was Major McDonald’s driver, then he was missing all right, for Captain Barrett had had to employ a livery-man to drive Mrs. Dupont back to the fort.  No, there was no other lady with her; he was sure, for he had watched them get into the carriage.

The two troopers were no more fortunate in their results, but had succeeded in stirring up greater excitement during their exploration, several irate individuals, roughly aroused from sleep, exhibiting fighting propensities, which had cost one a blackened eye, and the other the loss of a tooth.  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.  With the two troopers he pushed on toward the river, choosing the upper ford as being the most likely choice of the fugitives.  The trampled mud of the north bank exhibited fresh tracks, but none he could positively identify.  However, a party on horseback had crossed within a few hours, and, without hesitation, he waded out into the stream.

The gray of dawn was in the sky as the three troopers, soaked to the waist, crept up the south bank and studied the trail.  Behind them the yellow lanterns still bobbed about between the river and town, but there was already sufficient light to make visible the signs underfoot.  Horsemen had climbed the bank, the hoof marks yet damp where water had drained from dripping fetlocks, and had instantly broken into a lope.  A moment’s glance proved this to Hamlin as he crept back and forth, scrutinizing each hoof mark intently.

“Five in the party,” he said soberly.  “Three mustangs and two American horses, cavalry shod.  About three hours ahead of us.”  He straightened up, his glance peering into the gray mists.  “I reckon it’s likely our outfit, but we ’ll never catch them on foot.  They ’ll be behind the sand-dunes before this.  Before we go back, boys, we ’ll see if they left the trail where it turns west.”