ng masters of the
situation, came consciousness of hunger and great bodily weariness. It
was almost twenty-four hours since we had eaten, and we were simply
ravenous. As a start toward an orderly method of procedure, we began by
re-dressing Piegan's punctured arm, which had begun to bleed again;
though it was by no means as serious a hurt as it might have been.
Piegan himself seemed to consider it a good deal of a joke on him, and
when I remarked that I failed to see how a bullet-hole through any part
of one's person could be regarded in a humorous light, Piegan snorted,
and told me that I would know more when I grew up. A little ventilation,
he declared, was something a man's system needed every year or two.

Then we unsaddled and unpacked the horses, and moved them up on the
grassy flat. Piegan elected himself guard over the prisoners, while the
rest of us cooked a belated breakfast, and he assured them repeatedly
that he would be delighted to have them make a break, so that he could
have the pleasure of perforating their individual and collective hides.
I really believe the old rascal meant it, too; he succeeded, at least,
in giving that impression, and his crippled arm was no handicap to
him--he could juggle a six-shooter right or left-handed with amazing
dexterity.

Lyn substantiated Goodell's story in every detail, so far as it had
dealt with her, and she told me, while we pottered about the fire, how
she waited her chance when they made camp in Sage Creek, and, snatching
Lessard's gun, ran for it in the dark.

"I didn't really know where I was," she told me naively. "So I thought
I'd better hide till daylight and watch them go before I started. Then I
could try and make my way back to the freight outfit--I felt sure they
would either wait for me or send a man back to Walsh when I didn't come
back. I was hiding in those cottonwoods when you came stealing in there
this morning. You were so quiet, I couldn't tell who it was--I thought
perhaps they were still hunting for me; they did, you know--they were
rummaging around after me for a long time. But I never dreamed it could
be you and Gordon. So I sneaked down to the river and crossed; I was
deadly afraid they'd find me, and I thought once I was on the other side
I could hear them coming, and scuttle away in the brush. Then about
daylight I heard some shooting, and wondered if they had been followed.
I didn't dare cross the river and start over the hills with that