Pagina 261 di 439

Briscoe did not return at once to the scene of the round-up. He

followed the trail toward Jackson's Pocket, but diverged after he

had gone a few miles and turned into one of the hundred blind

gulches that ran out from the valley to the impassable mountain

wall behind. It was known as Jack Rabbit Run, because its

labyrinthine trails offered a retreat into which hunted men might

always dive for safety. Nobody knew its recesses better than Jed

Briscoe, who was acknowledged to be the leader of that faction in

the valley which had brought it the bad name it held.