Buck. "I think I've seen this feller. God knows if he's
livin' or dead."

He dropped to his knees and pressed his ear over Dan's heart.

"I can't feel no motion. Ma, get that hand mirror--"

She had it already and now held it close to the lips of the wounded
man. When she drew it away their three heads drew close together.

"They's a mist on it! He's livin'!" cried Buck.

"It ain't nothing," said Sam. "The glass ain't quite clear, that's
all."

Mrs. Daniels removed the last doubt by running her finger across the
surface of the glass. It left an unmistakable mark.

They wasted no moment then. They brought hot and cold water, washed
out his wound, cleansed away the blood; and while Mrs. Daniels and her
husband fixed the bandage, Buck pounded and rubbed the limp body to
restore the circulation. In a few minutes his efforts were rewarded by
a great sigh from Dan.

He shouted in triumph, and then: "By God, it's Whistlin' Dan Barry."

"It is!" said Sam. "Buck, they's been devils workin' tonight. It sure
took more'n one man to nail him this way."

They fell to work frantically. There was a perceptible pulse, the
breathing was faint but steady, and a touch of colour came in the
face.

"His arm will be all right in a few days," said Mrs. Daniels, "but he
may fall into a fever. He's turnin' his head from side to side and
talkin'. What's he sayin', Buck?"

"He's sayin': 'Faster, Satan.'"

"That's the hoss," interpreted Sam.

"'Hold us straight, Bart!' That's what he's sayin' now."

"That's the wolf."

"'An' it's all for Delilah!' Who's Delilah, Dad?"

"Maybe it's some feller Dan knows."

"Some feller?" repeated Mrs. Daniels with scorn. "It's some worthless
girl who got Whistlin' Dan into this trouble."

Dan's eyes opened but there was no understanding in them.

"Haines, I hate you worse'n hell!"

"It's Lee Haines who done this!" cried Sam.

"If it is, I'll cut out his heart!"

"It can't be Haines," broke in Mrs. Daniels. "Old man Perkins, didn't
he tell us that Haines was the man that Whistlin' Dan Barry had
brought down into Elkhead? How could Haines do this shootin' while he
was in jail?"

"Ma," said Sam, "you watch Whistlin' Dan. Buck an' me'll take care of
the hoss--that black stallion. He's pretty near all gone, but he's
worth savin'. What I don't see is how he found his way to us. It's
certain Dan didn't guide him all the way."

"How does the wind find its way?" said Buck. "It was the wolf th