ed to receive her
caresses before it was possible to care for the broncho.

Then, as soon as might be, Dick entered the wagon, and the hand-clasp
from his father was sufficient reward for all his sufferings in the
desert.

It was midnight before he finished telling of his journey, and
reception by the men of Antelope Spring.

He would have kept secret the peril which came to him with the
sand-storm; but his father questioned him so closely that it became
necessary to go into all the details, and more than once before the
tale was concluded did his mother press him lovingly to her as she
wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You mustn't cry now it is all over," he said with a smile, as he
returned the warm pressure of her hand. "I'm none the worse for havin'
been half buried, an' we're rich. I'm countin' on pullin' out of here
as soon as the horses are in condition; an' we'll stay at the town
till spring--perhaps longer."

Although he claimed that he was not hungry, his mother insisted on
preparing supper from the seemingly ample store of provisions; and
when the meal had been eaten it was so nearly morning that Dick would
have dispensed with the formality of going to bed, but that his mother
declared it was necessary he should gain some rest.

His heart was filled with thankfulness when he lay down under the
wagon again, covered with a blanket; and perhaps for the first time in
his life Dick did more than repeat the prayer his mother taught him,
for he whispered very softly,--

"You've been mighty good to me, God, an' I hope you're goin' to let my
poor old man have another whack at livin'."

Dick had repeated to his mother all the instructions given him by the
physician, and before he was awake next morning Mrs. Stevens set about
dressing the wound in a more thorough manner than had ever been
possible before.

She was yet engaged in this task when the boy opened his eyes, and
learning to his surprise that the day was at least an hour old, sprang
to his feet like one who has been guilty of an indiscretion.

"What! up already?" he cried in surprise, as looking through the flap
of the wagon-covering, he saw what his mother was doing.

"Yes, Dick dear, and I have good news for you. Both your father and I
now think he was mistaken in believing the bone was shattered by the
bullet. Perhaps it is splintered some, but nothing more serious."

"Then you won't be obliged to have it cut off, daddy, an' should be
able to