a slight elevation. On this he stood, gazing
off into the distance.

"I wonder what he's looking for?" queried Joe.

"I--I hardly know," replied Blake.

And yet, in his heart, each lad was aware of something that he hesitated
to put into words. Presently Hank came back, and as the firelight shone
on his face his expression betrayed no anxiety--in fact, no emotion of
any kind.

"Did--did you see anything, Hank?" asked Blake.

"No--nothing. Snooze away. I think--I'll have a pipe before I go to
bed," and he sat down on a small box and looked into the glowing
embers.

Soon afterward, Joe, looking from his small shelter tent, saw Hank
fingering his big revolver, spinning the cylinder, and testing the
mechanism.

"Something's up!" whispered Joe to himself. "I wonder if it can be that
he saw----"

He did not finish the sentence, for just then Hank put away the weapon
and soon the aromatic odor of burning tobacco filled the night air.

"Oh, pshaw!" exclaimed the lad. "I'm foolish to worry about nothing; I'm
going to sleep!" and he turned over, and closed his eyes. But, somehow,
sleep would not come at once. Even with his eyes closed he could fancy
the figure of the cowboy guide sitting by the fire.

Blake seemed to be less uneasy than did his chum. If he saw Hank by the
fire he made no mention of it, and from his tent came no movement that
showed he was awake.

Presently Joe began to speculate on the new experience he felt would
come to him, if he succeeded in locating his father.

"It really doesn't seem possible--that I'm going to have folks at last,"
murmured Joe. "And maybe not only a father, but brothers and
sisters--Uncle Bill Duncan said he didn't know. I may have more than
Blake, if I keep on," and then, with more pleasurable thoughts than
worrying about an indefinable something, the lad finally lost himself in
slumber.

The camp was still. Even Hank had crawled into his little tent, after a
final pipe. He did not get to sleep soon, and had either of the boys
been awake they would have seen him come out several times before
midnight, and stalk about, peering off into the darkness.

Then, after looking to the tether ropes of the animals, he would go back
to the small shelters, throw some embers on the fire, and drop off into
a doze. For the cowboy was a light sleeper, and the least sound awakened
him.

"I guess there'll be nothing doing," he whispered to himself after one
of these little observation