own on the river nobody seemed to
know where the wagon was. I'm Johnny Dines, Phillipsburg way.
T-Tumble-T brand."

"I've heard of you--no bad report either. You live on one county line
and I'm on the other. Well, here's hoping you get safe out of the
mess. It isn't pretty. We'll take you on to Hillsboro, I guess, now
we're this close. There's a lot more of us behind, waiting. Let's go
back and get them. Then we'll go on."

"Look now--if you're going on to Hillsboro, my horse has come a right
smart step to-day, and every little bit helps. Why don't you shoot a
few lines? They'll come a-snuffin' then, and we won't have to go
back."

Hobby nodded. He fired two shots.

"You ride a Bar Cross horse, I see."

"Yes. I'm the last hand." Johnny grinned. "Hark! I hear them coming.
Sounds creepy, don't it? They're fussed. Them two shots have got 'em
guessing--they're sure burning the breeze! Say, I'm going to slip
into my slicker. Storm is right on top of us. Getting mighty black
overhead. Twilight lasts pretty quick in this country."

Rain spattered in big drops. Wind-blown flare of stars and the last
smoky dusk and flickers of lightning made a thin greenish light.
Shadowy horsemen shaped furiously through the murk, became clear, and
reined beside them. Dines took one look at them and directed a
reproachful glance at his captor.

"I might not have handed over my gun so nice and easy if I had known
who was with you," he remarked pleasantly. A high spot of color flamed
to his cheek. "Just for that, you are going to lose the beauties of my
conversation from now on--by advice of counsel. While you are putting
on your slickers I merely wish to make a plain brief statement and
also to call attention to one of the many mercies which crowd about
us, and for which we are so ungrateful. Mercies first: Did you ever
notice how splendidly it has been arranged that one day follows
directly after another, instead of in between? And that maybe we're
sometimes often quite sorry some day for what we did or didn't do some
other day, or the reverse, as the case may be, or perhaps the
contrary? Now the statement: I know two of you men, and I don't like
those two; and for the others, I don't like the company they keep. So
now you can all go to hell, home or Hillsboro, and take me with you,
but I'll not entertain you, not if you was bored to death. I'm done
and dumb--till I tell it to the judge."

X

"When the high heart we magn