g, but an occasional glow of a cigarette
marked the dark huddle where they had gathered. A slight snore could be
heard and Janet attributed it to their tubby little director. A flash of
lightning illumined the mounting clouds and Janet shivered at the
thought of a storm sweeping down on them after the fire.

Helen must have felt the shiver run through Janet's body for she stirred
sleepily.

"I'll sleep another hour," she mumbled, and Janet knew her companion
thought they were back home. There was no need to awaken Helen now. She
might just as well get as much relaxation as possible.

Helen slipped back into a deep sleep and Janet kept a lone vigil. The
clouds swept higher and a distant rumble of thunder came down from the
hills.

The men were moving restlessly now and Janet could hear Billy Fenstow
berating the weather. But there was nothing they could do about it
except complain a little and then hope that someone would reach them
before the coming storm broke.

Janet wondered how far Curt and the two cowboys who had gone with him
had been able to travel. Perhaps their aching feet had forced them to
stop. But, knowing Curt, she had a feeling that he would get through and
bring help to them as soon as possible.

Helen sat up, rubbing her blood-shot eyes.

"More fire?" she asked as the rumble of the thunder smote her ears.

"Well, not quite that bad. Just a thunderstorm."

Helen shivered. "We'll catch our death of cold," she groaned, and Janet
had to admit that Helen's fears were not unwarranted. After the heat of
the fire and the fatigue, they would be excellent candidates for severe
colds or anything else that happened along.

Several of the men who had been hunting around the ranchyard returned to
the well.

"Can't even find half a board," one of them reported. "The fire swept
everything clean."

Billy Fenstow turned to Janet and explained.

"I had a couple of the boys out looking for some boards or anything we
could use to build a shelter for you girls."

"That was thoughtful," replied Janet, "but we'll get along all right."

Billy grumbled to himself. He wasn't so sure. The girls had stood a lot
already and there was a limit to their endurance.

A patter of rain struck them, the drops sizzling as they came down on
the remains of the ranchhouse.

Janet's spirits dropped and for the first time in weeks she felt like
having a good, old-fashioned crying spell, but there wasn't any pillow
where she