Shortly afterward Red called out, and
almost immediately the Bar-20 puncher crawled in through a window.
"Well?" anxiously cried the man on the floor. "Did he make it?"
"I reckon so. He got away from the first crowd, anyhow. I wasn't very
far behind him, an' by the time they woke up to what was going on he
was through an' riding like blazes. I heard him call 'em half-breeds a
moment later an' it sounded far off. They hit me,--fired at my flash,
like I drilled one of them. But it ain't much, anyhow. How are you
feeling now?"
"Fine!" lied the other. "That Cassidy is shore a wonder--he's all right,
an' so are you. I'll never see him again, but I shore hope he gets
through!"
"Don't be foolish. Here, you finish the water in yore canteen--I picked
it up outside by yore cayuse. Then go to sleep," ordered Red. "I'll do
all the watching that's necessary."
"I will if you'll call me when you get sleepy."
"Why, shore I will. But don't you want the rest of the water? I ain't a
bit thirsty--I had all I could hold just before you came," Red remarked
as his companion pushed the canteen against him in the dark. He was
choking with thirst. "Well, then; all right," and Red pretended to
drink. "Now, then, you go to sleep; a good snooze will do you a world of
good--it's just what you need."
CHAPTER X
BUCK TAKES A HAND
Cowan's saloon, club, and place of general assembly for the town of
Buckskin and the nearby ranches, held a merry crowd, for it was pay-day
on the range and laughter and liquor ran a close race.
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