the strange race continued, the cowman, angry and
puzzled, on one side of the fence, Alex keeping close to the wires on the
other, in readiness to dodge under should his pursuer jump.

Finally the rider again swung off, and headed in at a gallop. Grimly Alex
halted. With a rush the horse came directly toward him. Waiting until it
was within a few yards of him, he dropped to his knees, and crawled half
way through the fence.

It was his undoing. Straight at him the horseman came, as though to jump.
Then suddenly the rider whirled broadside, leaned from the saddle, and
before Alex, wildly scrambling, could withdraw, had him firmly by the
hair. By main force the cowboy dragged his prisoner through the fence,
and upright beside him.

With a half-stifled sob Alex lurched limply against the pony's shoulders.
"Never mind, kid," said the cowman not unkindly. "You made a good fight
of it. You did your best. But I had to do my best too.

"If you'll give me your word to go quiet, I'll let you ride behind me,"
he added. "Promise?"

Alex cast a last look back toward the construction-train. A few figures
were moving about, slowly. Clearly his signals had not been heard.

"All right," he said wearily, and with some difficulty mounting behind
the cowboy, they were off the weary way he had come.

* * * * *

Jack, at the construction-train, rose late that morning. He had been up
nearly all night, awaiting news from the viaduct search-party, which
throughout the entire day had been scouring the nearby country for his
unaccountably missing chum. As he emerged from the telegraph-car door he
found the Indian, Little Hawk, on the adjoining steps of the store-car.

"Good morning, Mr. Little Hawk," he said. "Sunning yourself?"

"I wait for you. I hear noise--knock," the Indian said.

"Knock, like little tick-knock in car," he added as Jack regarded him,
mystified.

"Tick-knock? What do you mean?"

"On fence," said the Indian stolidly. "Hearum twice. Like dis:" And while
Jack's eyes opened wide, with a stone he held in his hand the Indian
tapped on the iron hand-rail of the car the telegraph words,
"Oh--Oh--Orr."

In a moment Jack was on the ground before him, all excitement. "Where?
Where did you hear it?" he cried.

"Fence. Sleep dar," said the Indian, pointing to the nearby fence. "No
t'ink much about. Den see horse run--way dar. Den t'ink tick-knock, an'
come you."

Uttering a