, at his
leg. It was the Airedale puppy which he had left curled up all night
at the foot of his bed. The scent of the meat now had awakened him,
and he was begging his new master for attention.

Sim leaned down stiffly to pat him on the head, gave him a bit of food.
Then he bethought him of the sack of fowls which he had entirely
forgotten--found them luckily still alive in the wagon bed, cut off the
sacking around them, and drove them out into the open to shift for
themselves as best they might. But the little dog would not be cast
off. He followed Sim wherever he went, licked his hand. That made him
think how She would have petted the puppy had She been there. He had
got the dog for Her.

By the time he had the meal ready Wid Gardner was back leading a horse.
There was no saddle at either ranch now, but Wid searched around and
found a bit of discarded sack, a piece of rope near the burned barn.

"I'll ride down the valley," said he after the two had eaten in
silence. "Wait till I ride down to Jensen's. He'll come along."

"Well, hurry back," said the new Sim, with a resolution and decision in
his voice which surprised his neighbor. "I can't very well go off
alone. Send word down to the dam. We got to clean out this gang."

"Yes," replied Wid, "they'd better look out who's working on the dam.
It ain't all soldiers. You can't tell a thing about where this is
going to run to--they might blow out the dam, for all you can tell.
They ain't up in there for no good,--after the timber, likely. I
wonder how many there is of them."

"I don't care how many there is," said Sim Gage simply.

Early as Gardner was, he was not the only traveler on the road. As he
approached Nels Jensen's gate he saw below that place on the road the
light of a car traveling at speed.

He slid off his horse, tied the animal, and stood, rifle in hand,
directly in front of the approaching vehicle.

"Halt!" he cried, and flung up his left hand high, the rifle held in
his right, under his arm pit.

It was no enemy who now slowed down the car and cut out the lights. A
voice not unfamiliar called out, "What's wrong with you, man? What do
you want? You trying to hold me up?"

"Is that you, Doc? No one passes here. What are you doing up here?"
Wid walked up to the edge of the car.

"I'm on a call, that's what I'm doing up here," replied Doctor Barnes.
"Have you heard anything about an accident up on the Reserve?"

"Accidents