Then, for a little while he was silent, while they,
guessing his thoughts, did not interrupt. Finally, he said, "Jack is due
at Granite Peak, sometime about noon. He'll have his horse, and with Sibyl
riding, we'll make it back down to the head of Clear Creek by dark. You
young folks just wait for me here a little. I want to look around below
there, a bit."
As he started toward the gulch, Sibyl sprang to her feet and threw herself
into his arms. "No, no, Brian Oakley, you shall not--you shall not do it!"
Holding her close, the Ranger looked down into her pleading eyes,
smilingly. "And what do you think I am going to do, girlie?"
"You are going down there to pick up the trail of the man who saved
Aaron--who saved me. But you shall not do it. I don't care if you are an
officer, and he is an escaped convict! I will not let you do anything that
might lead to his capture."
"God bless you, child," answered Brian Oakley, "the only escaped convict I
know anything about, this last year, according to my belief, died
somewhere in the mountains. If you don't believe it, look up my official
reports on the matter."
"And you're not going to find which way he went?"
"Listen, Sibyl," said the Ranger gravely.
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