th the deep, hoarse triumph in the
Mormon's voice, till they passed on, growing weaker, to die away in the
roar of the river below. Then Joe bent to a long oar that appeared to
be fastened to the stern of the boat, and the craft drifted out of the
swifter current toward the shore. It reached a point opposite to where
Shefford and the Indian waited, and, though Joe made prodigious efforts,
it slid on. Still, it also drifted shoreward, and half-way down to the
mouth of Nonnezoshe Boco Joe threw the end of a rope to the Indian.

"Ho! Ho!" yelled the Mormon, again setting into motion the fiendish
echoes. He was naked to the waist; he had lost flesh; he was haggard,
worn, dirty, wet. While he pulled on a shirt Nas Ta Bega made the rope
fast to a snag of a log of driftwood embedded in the sand, and the boat
swung to shore. It was perhaps thirty feet long by half as many wide,
crudely built of rough-hewn boards. The steering-gear was a long pole
with a plank nailed to the end. The craft was empty save for another
pole and plank, Joe's coat, and a broken-handled shovel. There were
water and sand on the flooring. Joe stepped ashore and he was gripped
first by Shefford and then by the Indian. He was an unkempt and gaunt
giant, yet how steadfast and reliable, how grimly strong to inspire
hope!

"Reckon most of me's here," he said in reply to greetings. "I've had
water aplenty. My God! I've had WATER!" He rolled out a grim laugh. "But
no grub for three days.... Forgot to fetch some!"

How practical he was! He told Fay she looked good for sore eyes, but
he needed a biscuit most of all. There was just a second of singular
hesitation when he faced Lassiter, and then the big, strong hand of the
young Mormon went out to meet the old gunman's. While they fed him and
he ate like a starved man Shefford told of the flight from the village,
the rescuing of Jane and Lassiter from Surprise Valley, the descent from
the plateau, the catastrophe to Shadd's gang--and, concluding, Shefford,
without any explanation, told that Nas Ta Bega had killed the Mormon
Waggoner.

"Reckon I had that figured," replied Joe. "First off. I didn't think
so.... So Shadd went over the cliff. That's good riddance. It beats me,
though. Never knew that Piute's like with a horse. And he had some grand
horses in his outfit. Pity about them."

Later when Joe had a moment alone with Shefford he explained that during
his ride to Kayenta he had realized Fay's innocence a