ome out? He'll be burned to death in there!"

The fire had eaten its way through to the front of the house and now
the whole upper story was ablaze. It seemed impossible that any living
creature could withstand those flames.

"Where's Delton, Mex?" the Kid persisted.

The cook pointed to the house then to the ground.

"The cellar!" Bud cried. "He means they're hiding in the cellar!
That's the reason they can stay in there so long. We should have
thought of that before."

"They'll soon be out," spoke Hawkins a trifle grimly. "The fire is
reaching the lower story. We may expect a rush any minute now."

The men were standing in a group at the edge of the trees. With the
house directly in front of them, and the country about perfectly flat,
there was no chance of anyone escaping unseen. The flames mounted
higher. There was a certain amount of awe in the faces of all as they
thought of the tortures a person would endure if he were trapped in
that furnace. And for all they knew, men might be burning to death in
front of them! It was a harrowing situation. Even though they had
shot Billee Dobb, it was an inhuman thing to wish, or even think, of
them being caught in a burning building.

If they would only come out, even though they came shooting! Bud saw a
huge tongue of flame shoot out of the roof.

"I can't stand this any longer!" he shouted. "Those men must be
burning to death! I can't stay here and watch that. I'm going to----"

"But what can you do?" Nort asked. "They want to stay there until
they're good and ready to leave. I don't see how we can help them.
Certainly I don't want to see anyone burned to death, but I don't think
we can do anything, except go in and get them, which we can't do; and
if they won't come out, they won't."

"Perhaps they're trapped!"

"You'd know it if they were. They'd yell or something. No matter how
much they want to escape, they won't risk getting burned. No man
would."

"Then why don't they come out?" Bud persisted.

"Ask me something easier! Maybe the Mex can tell us something about
it. Hey, Mex! Why they no come out?"

But this time the cook shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands wide
in a gesture expressing ignorance. They could get no information there.

"I'm going to ride over and see!" Bud exclaimed, a ring of
determination in his voice.

"Well, if you want to--then I'll go with you. Kind of wonder where
they are myself." This from N