at this for thirty
minutes unceasingly, then, looking around on every side of the
building, he satisfied himself that he was alone and, dropping down at
his table, leaned upon it with his elbows, and, tired, wet, and
begrimed, fell fast asleep.

He was roused by the distant whistle of a locomotive. Opening his
eyes, he saw the sun streaming through the east side of the building
where the window casement had burned away. Shaking off the heaviness
of his slumber he hastened out to see an engine and box-car coming
from the east. From the open door of the car men were waving their
hats. Bucks answered by swinging his arm.

The engine stopped before the station and Bob Scott, followed by
Dancing, Dave Hawk, and the train crew sprang from the caboose steps
and surrounded him. They had brought two horses and Bucks saw that all
the men were armed. It took only a minute to tell the story, and the
party scattered to view the destruction and look for clues to the
perpetrators.

Scott and Dancing were especially keen in their search, but they found
nothing to suggest who the vandals were. They listened again to Bucks,
as he repeated his story with more detail, and held a hurried
conference in which Dave Hawk took charge. Meantime the men were
tearing up planks from the platform to make a chute for unloading the
horses.

Bucks's excitement increased as he saw the businesslike preparations
for the chase. "Have you any idea you can catch them, Bob?" he asked
feverishly.

Bob Scott's smile was not a complete answer. "How can you catch
anybody in _this_ country?" continued Bucks, regarding the scout
sceptically. But Scott looked across the interminable waste of
sage-brush and rock as if he felt at home with it.

"If they stick to the wagon," he explained leisurely, "we will have
them in an hour or two, Bucks. A man might as well travel around here
with a brass band as to try to get away with a wagon track behind him.
If they stick to the wagon, we are bound to have them in two or three
hours at most. You are sure they didn't have a led horse?"

"They had nothing but the team," said Bucks.

"In that case if they give up the wagon, three of them will have to
ride two horses. They can't go fast in that way. We will get some of
them, Bucks, sure--somehow, sometime, somewhere. We have got to get
them. How could I hold my job if I didn't get them?"

That which had seemed impossible to Bucks looked more hopeful after
Bob had smil