Frowning, Emmett replied, "Well, Stewart ought to know. He's a psychologist, after all. But I must remind you that my services are guaranteed only if you follow my directions. If you do like I tell you, I promise that both of you boys will come back with at least one trophy. Why, I even signed a contract to that effect with you." "We know all that," Karsten told him. "But if you insist on striking off on your own, the guarantee doesn't hold." Emmett paused a moment, as if for effect, then continued. "Now, look, boys," he said. "Doesn't it make sense, really, that since hunting is my job, I'd know where the big ones are? I don't mean to knock anyone else, but this _is_ my business, you know, and I've been at it for a good many years now. So you boys just stick with me, and you won't come back empty-handed." The two hunters made no reply, but Emmett could see that they weren't entirely satisfied. They rode along in silence for several moments. Then Emmett said to them in a confidential tone of voice, "Frankly, boys, I didn't want to tell you this, because we guides like to keep our trade secrets to ourselves. But last year, the man I was guiding and I went to this little pass I'm taking you to, see, and we came up with a whopper." "Really?" said Thurman, showing some interest. "He must have weighed two hundred and fifty pounds--at least. One of the biggest criminals I've ever seen. A magnificent creature," Emmett told them. "You don't say," said Karsten. "Who got him?" Emmett smiled. "A Mr. Thompson, down from the northern part of the district. The body was so big that Thompson had it skinned and tanned, and made a really nice-looking rug out of it. He sent me a picture to show me." Thurman's eyes were wide with delight. "Amazing," he said. "As for myself," commented Karsten. "I don't hold with this rug business. They're all right, I guess, for those who like them. But they get torn up so easily. Human beings just aren't thick skinned enough, I suppose." "Two hundred and fifty pounds," mused Thurman out loud. "If he weighed, an ounce," Emmett said. "You don't get many that size, you know." He looked at the two hunters, then smiled securely. "So shall we just follow my lead and head for the pass first thing?" "All right with me," Thurman said. "Me, too," said Karsten. He belched loudly, then rubbed his stomach gently. "I think I ate too much for breakfast," he said. * * * * * The way to the little pass led up over the crest of one of the smaller mountains. The three men jogged along at an even pace over the level ground, but traveled more slowly up the steep facing of the mountainside. The two hunters often complained about the heat and the terrain as they rode. Emmett said little except when he urged them to hurry along. The sun was high in the sky, just past the zenith, when the trio came down the side of a small cliff and out through a little pass onto an open space of ground.