In the morning he's leaving the ranch and
we know that he intends to ride for Rafferty's place;
he'll probably be there before noon. The moment
you get this, saddle your horse and ride. Oh, Buck,
why did you stay so close to us?
Relay your horses. Don't stop until you're over
the mountains. Black Bart is well enough to take
the trail and Dan will use him to follow you. You
know what that means.
Ride, ride, ride!
Kate."
He crumpled up the paper and sank back upon the bed.
"Why did you stay so close?"
He had wondered at that, himself, many times in the past few days. Like
the hunted rabbit, he expected to find safety under the very nose of
danger. Now that he was discovered it seemed incredible that he could
have followed so patently foolish a course. In a sort of daze he
uncrumpled the note again and read the wrinkled writing word by word. He
had leaned close to read by the uncertain light, and now he caught the
faintest breath of perfume from the paper. It was a small thing, smaller
among scents than a whisper is among voices, but it made Buck Daniels
drop his head and crush the paper against his face. It was a moment
before he could uncrumple the paper sufficiently to study the contents
of the note thoroughly. At first his dazed brain caught only part of the
significance. Then it dawned on him that the girl thought he had fled
from the Cumberland Ranch through fear of Dan Barry.
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