ng the lead-rope of the pack-horse about the horn of his saddle,
the half-breed led off into the night.

Hour after hour they rode in silence, following a trail that wound in
easy curves about the bases of hillocks and small buttes, and dipped
and slanted down the precipitous sides of deep coulees where the
horses' feet splashed loudly in the shallow waters of fords. As the
moon dipped lower and lower, they rode past the darkened buildings of
ranches nestled beside the creeks, and once they passed a band of sheep
camped near the trail. The moonlight showed a sea of grey, woolly
backs, and on a near-by knoll stood a white-covered camp-wagon, with a
tiny lantern burning at the end of the tongue. A pair of hobbled
horses left off snipping grass beside the trail and gazed with mild
interest as the two passed, and beneath the wagon a dog barked. At
length, just as the moon sank from sight behind the long spur of Tiger
Butte, the trail slanted into a wide coulee from the bottom of which
sounded the tinkle of running water.

"Dis Snake Creek," remarked the Indian; "better you git off now an'
stretch you leg. Me, A'm mak' de blanket on de groun' an' you ketch-um
little sleep. Mebbe-so dem com' queek--mebbe-so long tam'."

Even as he talked the man spread a pair of new blankets beside the
trail and walking a short distance away seated himself upon a rock and
lighted a cigarette.

With muscles aching from the unaccustomed strain of hours in the
saddle, Alice threw herself upon the blankets and pillowed her head on
the slicker that the half-breed had folded for the purpose. Almost
immediately she fell asleep only to awake a few moments later with
every bone in her body registering an aching protest at the unbearable
hardness of her bed. In vain she turned from one side to the other, in
an effort to attain a comfortable position. With nerves shrieking at
each new attitude, all thought of sleep vanished and the girl's brain
raced madly over the events of the past few hours. Yesterday she had
sat upon the observation platform of the overland train and complained
to Endicott of the humdrum conventionality of her existence! Only
yesterday--and it seemed weeks ago. The dizzy whirl of events that had
snatched her from the beaten path and deposited her somewhere out upon
the rim of the world had come upon her so suddenly and with such
stupendous import that it beggared any attempt to forecast its outcome.
With a shudder sh