d him to saw off and get busy quick or I'd have him
pinched for playin' favorites. Guess he seen I meant business, for he
come acrost. She toots for Antelope six-forty tomorrow mornin'. This
is where I make the grand play as a homesteader, seein' pore Sundown's
eatin' on the county. Kind o' had a hunch that way."

"We'll have to nail it quick. If you file you'll have to quit on the
Concho."

"Well, then, I quit. Sinker is right in line for my bunk. Me for the
big hammer and the little ole sign what says: 'Private property! Keep
off! All trespassers will be executed!' And underneath, kind o'
sassy-like, 'Bud Shoop, proprietor.'"

CHAPTER XIX

THE ESCAPE

About midnight Corliss and his foreman were awakened by a cry of
"Fire!" They scrambled from bed and pawed around in the dark for their
clothes.

"Spontinuous conibustication," said Shoop, with a yawn. "A Jew
clothin'-store and a insurance-policy. Wonder who's ablaze?"

"I can see from here," said Corliss at the window. "Keep on dressing,
Bud, it's the sheriff's office!"

"Sundown!" Shoop exclaimed, dancing about inelegantly with one foot
halfway down his pants-leg.

They tramped down the stairs and ran across to the blazing building. A
group of half-dressed citizens were passing buckets and dashing their
final and ineffectual contents against the spouting flames.

"He's sure done on both sides if he's in there," remarked Shoop. He
ran around to the back of the jail and called loudly on Sundown.
Jumping, he caught the high wooden bars of the window and peered into
the rear room. A rivulet of flame crept along the door that led from
the jail to the office. The room seemed to be empty. Shoop dropped to
the ground and strolled around to the front. "Tryin' to save the
buildin' or the prisoner?" he asked of a sweating bucket-passer.

The man paused for a second, slopping water on his boots and gazing
about excitedly. "Hey, boys!" he shouted. "Get an axe and chop open
the back! The long gent is roastin' to death in there!"

"And I reckon that'll keep 'em busy while Sun fans it," soliloquized
Shoop. "Hello, Jack!" And he beckoned to Corliss. "He ain't in
there," he whispered, "But how he got out, gets me!"

"We might as well go back to bed," said Corliss. "They'll get him,
anyway. There's one of Jim's deputies on a cayuse now."

"Where do you reckon he'll head for?"

"Don't know, Bud. If he heads for the water-hole, they'll