"I suppose they must have taken to the woods north of the railway line; eh?"
"That is a wild country up through there, Mr. Cobalt."
"You bet it is. I used to go through there every fall on a hunting expedition, when I was younger. The country hasn't changed much since that time. It is as wild as if it were in an uncivilized country, instead of being surrounded by----"
"I understand. Then you do know something about that country up through there, eh?"
"Yes; I used to boast that I knew every inch of it; but, of course, that wasn't quite so, you know."
"Tell me something about it, for that is, I think, where I have got to search for the woman we are after."
"There isn't much to tell about it, save that it is wild and uneven; that the formation is limestone, and the timber is largely red oak. The mountains--or hills, rather--are not high, but they are precipitous, rocky, impassable, full of ravines, and gulches, and unexpected depressions, and scattered around through that region there are innumerable caves, too."
"That is bad," said the detective. "It will make it so much the harder to dislodge the hoboes."
"So you have got your work cut out for you this time, and no mistake."
"Could you suggest a competent guide for that region, Mr. Cobalt?"
"An old hunter, who used to take me out with him, and who afterward served as guide for me. But he is an old man now."
"In Calamont. You will have no difficulty in finding him. Ask the first man you meet in the street to direct you to old Bill Turner, and he will do it."
"That part of it is all right--if he is not too old to go."
"Oh, I think he can be induced to do it. Old Bill likes the looks of a dollar as well as any man you ever knew. You have only to offer him enough, and his rheumatism will disappear like magic."
"Then that part of it is all right, too. I am to understand that I have the same free hand in the matter that I did before?"
"Of course. Your directions are: Catch Black Madge and break up her gang."
"And that, I suppose, is about all that you have to say to me at present."
"Yes; unless you have some questions to ask."
"Not one, thank you. I will ask them of Black Madge--when I catch her."
"Good! I hope it won't be long before you can ask them."