He was beginning to think that the Badlands held the secret of the Kid disappearance, even though they had seen nothing of him when they came out four days ago.

Had he seen Chip he would have urged him to send all the searchers--and there were two or three hundred by now--into the Badlands and keep them there until the Kid was found.

But he did not see Chip and had no time to hunt him up.
And having managed to evade the supervision of any captain, and to keep clear of all parties, he meant to go alone and see if he could find a clue, at least.
It was down in the long canyon which Miss Allen had followed, that Andy found hoof-prints which he recognized.

The horse Miss Allen had ridden whenever he saw her--one which she had bought somewhere north of town--had one front foot which turned in toward the other.
"Pigeon-toed," he would have called it.

The track it left in soft soil was unmistakable.