hin twelve
hours of us I want you to let Brayley know. That is, of course, in
case I am not back here. Brayley will then double his men's pay and
keep them at work all night. Then I'll send half of the new men--half
of five hundred, I hope--to Brayley, and he'll put on a day shift and
a night shift--with all the work they can stand up under. And I'll
have a day shift and a night shift slinging that dam across Deep
Creek. It's up there, Tommy, that I expect you'll have to help me
out."

"Anything I can do, Conniston. And I'll get busy first thing in the
morning along the line you suggest. And," he hesitated a moment, and
then finished, gravely, "I'm glad to see the way you're tying into
this. And, do you know, I'd bet a man every cent I've got that we put
the thing across!"

Conniston stood up, thrusting his papers into his pocket.

"If Truxton--" he began.

"Forget Truxton. He was all right and a mighty good man. One of the
best men I ever worked with. But," and his rare smile worked about the
corners of his sensitive mouth and lighted up his eyes warmly--"but I
have an idea that the man who made that end run for Yale back in the
old days is going to score a touchdown such as Bat Truxton would
never have thought of. Go to it, Conniston--only let me get into the
interference!"

Conniston's plans for the next day had been founded upon his assurance
that Brayley would arrive before morning. But Brayley did not come.
And even had he arrived on time Conniston would not have dared leave.
At first he had thought to remain overnight with Tommy Garton. Then,
remembering that he alone was responsible for the camp, he told Garton
good night and rode out into the desert. It was late when at last he
came to the tent and found his roll of blankets behind it. And ten
minutes later cares and responsibilities alike succumbed to bodily
fatigue, and he slept soundly.

It was long after midnight, perhaps three o'clock, and still very
dark, when he awoke. Two men off in the distance were talking. He paid
little attention to them, but rolled over and went to sleep again. And
even as consciousness slipped away from him he was vaguely aware that
more voices had joined the two which had awakened him. But he thought
only that some of the men were calling to one another from their
sleeping-places, and attached no further importance to the matter.

It was an hour or two later when he again awoke. There were already
faint streaks of dawn