to approaching
midnight, there came a faint regular breathing, then a full long snore.
Without loss of time Alex got to his feet at the foot of the cot, and
leaning against the wall, reached toward the window.

He could just touch the broken corner of pane with the tips of his
fingers. Moving his supporting hand farther along the wall, he drew back,
and reached forward with a lunge. This time he got his wrist on the
window-ledge. Thus leaning, he finally secured a hold on the fragment of
glass with his fingers, and pulled on it. A crackle caused him to falter.
Munson's breathing continued undisturbed. At the next pull the piece came
free. The next moment Alex was sitting on the cot-end, sawing at the rope
with the sharp edge of the broken glass.

To his disappointment, the edge, though sharp to the feel, did not cut
into the closely-woven and seasoned twine as he had expected. Vigorously
he sawed away, however, and at last found that the extemporized knife was
taking hold.

And finally, as the last gleam of moonlight died from the window-panes,
the remaining strand was severed, and there was a faint slap as the rope
fell to the floor. A restless move by the sleeper and a momentary
cessation of the snoring gave Alex a thrill of fear. Then the heavy
breathing resumed, and getting to his feet, he slipped to the door, found
the catch, lifted it, and passed out.

As he closed the door, Alex paused a moment to assure himself that the
cowman was still breathing regularly, and turned away jubilantly.

Exultation over his escape was considerably tempered when Alex discovered
that the moon was almost down in the west, and that in addition the sky
overhead was clouding. He set off immediately, however, heading straight
north, and when a safe distance had been put between him and the cabin,
broke into a run.

At a steady jog Alex kept on for several miles over the dimly-lit plain.
Then the moon finally disappeared, and he fell into a rapid walk. Some
time later he halted in alarm. Was he going in the right direction? On
every hand was a wall of darkness, and overhead not a star was to be
seen.

He moved on, and again halted to debate the situation. Certainly, for the
time being, he was lost. What should he do? Remain where he was till
daylight? or go ahead, and take the chance of circuiting back? He decided
to continue.

Perhaps an hour later, still pushing ahead, Alex strode full tilt into a
barb-wire fence. As he stagg