Anxious to see if it was his scout, Conner hurried to the edge of the clearing to see. Even at a distance, there was no mistaking the identity of the rider. The sight of the tall figure, riding in perfect rhythm with the buckskin’s gait, was enough to relieve the anxiety that had been building in his brain. He remained there and waited for Hawk to ride in. “I was about to give up on you,” he said when Hawk pulled up before him. “Did you have any luck?”

“Some,” Hawk answered, then gave him a complete report on what he had found. “I followed ’em as far as that little settlement I told you about, and I’ve got a trail to follow from there. But I figured I’d best come back and find you.”

“I’m glad you did,” Conner said. “We’re already gonna be out longer than we were scheduled to be, and I was getting ready to turn this patrol back toward home. I’d like to catch up with that gang of murderers, but we’re already running short of supplies.” He turned and pointed toward the Rocky Mountains. “And it looks like this bunch is heading for the mountains. There ain’t any way of telling how long we might search in those mountains without finding a trace of them.” He shrugged apologetically. “As far as my mission’s objective, I’ve found what I was sent to find out. Major Brisbin’s nephew is safe and that’s about all that matters as far as this patrol is concerned.” Before Hawk could comment, Conner hurried to continue. “I know this was a terrible thing, killing all those innocent people . . .”

“Plus the man and woman in the store between here and the town of Choteau,” Hawk interrupted.

“Right, right,” Conner was quick to agree. “But, damn it, Hawk, I can’t take a fifteen-man patrol and roam all over the Rocky Mountains with it. I’ve got to take these men back to the post.”