have killed them. They've taken aboard terrible
doses, and I can tell you right now that not one of them will start for
Julia to-day. You may as well tell Jo to make other arrangements."

His prophecy proved correct. Heine Schultz had regained consciousness
when dawn came, but was unable to tell a coherent story of what had
occurred, and was deathly sick. The other three still remained
unresponsive to the doctor's treatment.

"Well," said Jo, when she answered Hiram's knock on her cabin door at
five-thirty, "what must be must. Huber has to have hay. I promised
it, and Jerkline Jo never, never breaks a promise. So hook up the
blacks and whites, Hiram, and lead six of Heine's team to be added to
yours and six of Jim's for me. Hook on two trailers. You and I will
make it to Julia and drive sixteen each back here with Huber's hay.
That's the very best we can do, but we'll do that the best we know how.
I'll be out by the time you get 'em hooked up. We'll nibble our
breakfast as we travel. Shoot the piece, Hiram boy, my knight from
Wild-cat Hill!"

That night in a pelting hail storm Jerkline Jo and Hiram went into camp
beside the mountain lake, and the stage was set for the second act in
the plot cooked up by the two who had lost all principle under
Ragtown's subtle influence--Al Drummond and Lucy Dalles.

CHAPTER XXVI

AT THE HAIRPIN CURVE

The storm in the mountains continued all night, the downpour shifting
from hail to sleet and from sleet to a cold, drenching rain. Jo in her
remote little tent kept dry and comfortable. Hiram kept the same,
rolled in his blankets under a wagon, the ground about it ditched to
run the water off. There was shelter for the mules and horses, too,
for at the approach of winter Jo had freighted to the mountain camping
site sufficient lumber for a roof, which was supported by poles cut
from the forest.

It was still dark and raining when the two beleaguered freighters
continued their journey next morning. Hiram, with eight of his own
black horses hitched to the wagon, and four span of mules and horses
leading, went ahead, as usual. They left the level mountain valley
that swaddled the lake and started down the steep grades toward the
Julia side of the desert.

"We'll have a pull coming back if this keeps up!" Jo shouted through
the rain, just as Hiram's teams began negotiating the system of hairpin
curves upon which Jo's skinners had rolled the boulder in retaliati