ook advantage of
it.

Once or twice Rathburn thought he glimpsed a light far down the
valley, but he couldn't be sure. Neither could he be sure he saw the
moving shadows on the opposite side of the wide valley again.

The night wore into early morning and the moon added its cold radiance
to the faint glow of the myriads of stars. Rathburn sensed the
nearness of enemies. Several times he stopped before Lamy, who sat
upon his saddle blanket with his back against a tree trunk and dozed.
Rathburn had to fight off continual drowsiness.

For long hours he walked along the edge of the pines. He dared not
trust himself to sleep. He dared not trust Lamy to stand guard while
he obtained some rest, and he knew that when the sun came up and the
day began, he would be thoroughly awake again; for more than once he
had gone two nights without sleep. Also, he assumed that the hunt
would be less spirited during the night. Members of the posse would
themselves be drowsy, but they could spell each other and in that way
maintain their vigil and secure a few hours of rest.

Rathburn's rage rose at frequent intervals as he thought of the
predicament he was in through no fault of his own. More than once he
glared malevolently at the sleeping Lamy; then the troubled look would
come again to his eyes and he would resume his pacing, muttering to
himself, staring into the blue veil of the night. Once he sat down and
removed his right boot and sock in the darkness; shortly afterward he
again began his pacing.

He felt the pangs of hunger and shook his head savagely as he thought
of the scanty supply of provisions he had been compelled to leave in
the mountain pocket.

His spirits revived as he thought of the horses. They would be fresh
in the morning; and he intended that his horse should have a grain
feed that day. Rathburn always thought of his horse first; and,
although it might seem that he taxed the animal's powers to their
utmost at times, he never went beyond a certain point. He had often
said he would surrender to his pursuers rather than kill his mount in
evading them.

The first faint glimmer of the dawn was lighting the skies above the
ridges to the eastward when he roused Lamy. He awoke with a start,
stared sleepily at Rathburn, then got speedily to his feet.

"You been awake all night?" he asked curiously.

Rathburn nodded, looking at him closely. "Saddle up," he ordered.

They rode southward at a canter in the shelter of