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It was a long gaze Wilson rested upon Riggs--as strange and secretive as the forest wind aze ithdrawn Wilson stalked away to make his bed with the stride of one ill whom spirit had liberated force

He laid his saddle in front of the spruce shelter where the girl had entered, and his tarpaulin and blankets likewise and then wearily stretched his long length to rest

The careen and brown-flecked festooning of the spruce branches, syular, and then it burned out and died down, leaving all in the di around; the rown fainter; the low hu away; even the tinkle of the brook had dirowth toward absolute silence continued, yet absolute silence was never attained Life abided in the forest; only it had changed its for did not bestir themselves at the usual early sunrise hour common to all woodsmen, hunters, or outlaws, to whom the break of day elcoht have hated to see the dawn co and the long, long ride to nowhere in particular, and another er meal--all toiled for without even the necessities of satisfactory living, and assuredly without the thrilling hopes thatsense of approaching calarained He had to boot Burt to drive his followed hiruh bread, and he was slow about it thisAnson and Moze did the rest of the work, without alacrity The girl did not appear

"Is she dead?" growled Anson

"No, she ain't," replied Wilson, looking up "She's sleepin' Let her sleep She'd shore be a sight better off if she was daid"

"A-huh! So would all of this hyar outfit," was Anson's response

"Wal, Sna-ake, I shore reckon we'll all be thet there soon," drawled Wilson, in his fa tone that said so much more than the content of the words

Anson did not address the Texas ain

Burt rode bareback into cas followed shortly with severalAnson's favorite He would not have budged without that horse During breakfast he growled about his lazy s went unwillingly Burt refused to go at all