on the anxious face of the little woman before
him, dropped to the red, hard-working hands that played nervously with
the corner of her apron then travelled to Nulty's alarm clock that
ticked raucously upon the table--it was 8.17. P. Walton smiled.

"Now, don't you worry, Mrs. Nulty," he said reassuringly. "A touch of
mountain fever isn't anything one way or the other--don't you worry,
it'll be all right. I didn't know he was out, and I was going to sit
with him for a little while, but what I really came for was to get him
to lend me a revolver--there's a coyote haunting my end of the town
that's kept me awake for the last two nights, and I'd like to even up
the score. If Nulty hasn't taken the whole of his armament with him,
perhaps you'll let me have one.

"Why, yes, of course," said Mrs. Nulty readily. "There's two there in
the top bureau drawer. Take whichever one you want."

"Thanks," said P. Walton--and stepped to the bureau. He took out a
revolver, slipped it into his pocket, and turned toward the door.
"Now, don't you worry, Mrs. Nulty," he said encouragingly, "because
there's nothing to worry about. Tell him I dropped in, will you?--and
thank you again for the revolver. Good-night, Mrs. Nulty."'

P. Walton's eyes strayed to the clock as he left the room--it was 8.19.
On the sidewalk he broke into a run, dashed around the corner and sped,
with instantly protesting lungs, down Main Street, making for the
railroad yards. And as he ran P. Walton did a sum in mental
arithmetic, while his breath came in gasps.

If you remember Flannagan, you will remember that the distance from
Spider Cut to Big Cloud was twenty-one decimal seven miles. P. Walton
figured it roughly twenty-two. No. 34, on time, had already left
Spider Cut at 8.17--and the wires were cut. Her running time for the
twenty-two miles was twenty-nine minutes--she made Big Cloud at 8.46.
Counting Larry's estimate of seven miles to be accurate, No. 34 had
fifteen miles to go from Spider Cut before they piled her in the ditch,
and it would take her a little over nineteen minutes to do it. With
two minutes already elapsed--_three_ now--and allowing, by shaving it
close, another five before he started, P. Walton found that he was left
with eleven minutes in which to cover seven miles.

It took P. Walton four of his five-minute allowance to reach the
station platform; and here, for just an instant, he paused while his
eyes swept the twinkling