``Yes sir.'' His face pale, Summers headed for the street.

Curt's visit to the livery stable had been merely a precaution in case anyone should be watching. He paused only long enough to ascertain that Jess's buckskin was still missing and that his own gray was all right, then climbed through a back window and dropped to the ground outside.

The fact that Jess's horse had not been returned to its stall could indicate that Diane's information had been wrong, but Curt didn't interpret it this way. A man like Jess would want to have a ready means of escape in case it was needed. Probably his horse would be close to where he was hiding.

From the back of the barn it was a simple matter to reach Black's house without using the street. Curt approached the place cautiously, and watched it several minutes from the protection of a grove of trees.

There was a light in Black's front room, but drawn curtains prevented any view of the interior. Curt circled the house and located a barn out back. He could hear horses moving around inside, and nothing else. There was no lock on the door, only an iron hook which he unfastened. He opened the door and went in, pulling it shut behind him.

Again he stood in the darkness listening, but there was only the scrape of a shod hoof on a plank floor. He moved ahead carefully, his left hand in front of him, and came to a wooden partition. Horse smell was very strong, and he could hear the crunch of grain being ground between strong jaws. He found a match in his pocket and lit it.