"I figger it this way," said the Panther. "People don't go travelin'
through this country except on horses, an' this fellow, whoever he is,
didn't have any horse, as we all can see as plain as day."
"An' in such times as these," said "Deaf" Smith, "fellers don't go
swimmin' rivers just for fun. The one that made these tracks was in a
hurry. Ain't that so, Hank?"
"'Course he was," replied Karnes. "He was gettin' away from somewhere
an' from somebody. That's why he swam the river; he wanted the San
Antonio to separate him from them somebodies."
"And putting two and two and then two more together," said Obed White,
"we draw the conclusion that it is a fugitive, probably one of our own
Texans, who has escaped in some manner from his prison at Goliad."
"It's what we all think," said the Panther, "an' now we'll beat up these
thickets till we find him. He's sure to keep movin' away from Goliad,
an' he's got sense to stay in the cover of the timber."
The forest here ran back from the river three or four hundred yards, and
the five, separating and moving up the stream, searched thoroughly. The
hunt presently brought the Panther and Obed White together again, and
they expressed their disappointment at finding nothing.
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