lks' motives when their efforts suit you. What are the men doing?"

"Freezing, and grumbling!" said Allonby. "They've made up their minds to
get Larry this time or we wouldn't have kept them here. It's the horses
I'm anxious about. They seem to know what is coming, and they're going to
give us trouble."

"A fool's game!" repeated the Sheriff, with a shiver. "Got any of those
cigars with you, Clavering? If I'm to stay here, I have to smoke."

Clavering threw him the case and turned away with Allonby. They went down
through the bluff together and stood a few moments looking up the trail.
It led downwards towards them, a streak of faintly shining whiteness,
through the gloom of the trees, and the wind that set the branches
thrashing whirled powdery snow into their faces, though whether this came
down from the heavens or was uplifted from the frozen soil they did not
know. With eyes dimmed and tingling cheeks, they moved back again amidst
the birches; but even there it was bitterly cold, and Allonby was glad to
turn his face from the wind a moment as they stopped to glance at the
tethered horses. They were stamping impatiently, while the man on watch,
who would have patted one of them, sprang backwards when the beast lashed
out at him.

"If Larry doesn't come soon, I guess we're going to find it hard to keep
them here," he said. "They're 'most pulling the branches they're hitched
to off the trees."

Allonby nodded. "Larry would be flattered if he knew the trouble you and I
were taking over him, Clavering," he said. "It's also the first time I've
seen you worry much about this kind of thing."

"What kind of thing?"

"Citizen's duty! I think that's the way you put it?"

Clavering laughed. "If you want to be unpleasant, Chris, can't you try a
different line? That one's played out. It's too cold to quarrel."

"I don't feel pleasant," said Allonby. "In fact, I don't like this thing,
any way. Before Larry got stuck with his notions he was a friend of
mine."

"If the boys don't get too cold to shoot it's quite likely he will be
nobody's friend to-morrow," said Clavering cruelly. "We'll go round and
look at them."

They went back into the trail once more, and the icy gusts struck through
them as they plodded up it; but they found no man keeping watch beside it,
as there should have been. The cow-boys had drawn back for shelter among
the trees, and Clavering, who found them stamping and shivering, had some
difficulty in