“Are you a lawman?” Again, Hawk said no, so the odd little man started talking. “I’ve had my eye on that cabin up there for a long time. My name’s Davey Crabb, and I’ve been trappin’, huntin’, and prospectin’ in these mountains for a helluva long time. The feller that built that cabin was kilt by a bear, and I kilt the bear that et him. I figured he’d want me to have his cabin, so I decided to move in, but I had to go get all my possibles from my shack over near Signal Mountain. This place here is closer to a town and the tradin’ post I trade with. And don’t you know, by the time I got back, there was four fellers holed up in that cabin. Where they came from, I don’t know, but I knew they weren’t there permanent. Hell, they didn’t do no mining or trappin’, just laid around doin’ nothin’. So, I figured they was outlaws, hidin’ out. Feller that built the shack, name of Sam Davis, had a brother that was an outlaw. I know that for a fact. So I figured that one of ’em mighta been his brother. I kept my eye on ’em, even came back to the cabin a couple of times when they were gone. But they still had their stuff there, so I was afraid to move in. Good thing I didn’t, too, ’cause this time when they came back there was five of ’em.” He finally stopped to take a breath then. “I reckon I’ve been runnin’ off at the mouth,” he said. “What’s your name, young feller? Are you a lawman?” he asked again.

“My name’s Hawk,” he said. “No, I ain’t a lawman. I’m just tryin’ to catch up with the men you’ve been talkin’ about. And I can tell you that the cabin is empty, looks like they ain’t plannin’ to come back. Maybe you can help me out.” He figured Crabb must have seen Booth and the others ride out, or he would hardly be riding up the back trail to the cabin. “How’d you know they were gone for good this time?”

“’Cause this time they were leading all their packhorses behind ’em and they was loaded down,” Crabb declared. “I still weren’t sure, though, ’cause there weren’t but four of ’em. I thought the other’un musta stayed up there, but I thought I’d take a look—tell him I was bringin’ his mule back, if he was still there. You liked to scare the pee outta me when you stepped outta the bushes.”

“When did you see ’em leave?”

“Yesterday ’bout noon,” Crabb answered.

That would mean they had left soon after Tater got back. “You have any idea which way those four men were headin’?”