“Waugh,” whooped the old trapper. “Ef hyer ain’t the lot o’ ye. Wouldn’t give us a chance ter ride out an’ hunt ye up, would ye, Perry? Mrs. Dunbar was erbout worried ter death, an’ Cayuse an’ me was goin’ on er hike ter see ef we couldn’t locate ye. Whar’d ye go ter, last night? An’ Buffler, how’d you come out in Hackamore? Ye must hev made good, er Nate wouldn’t be hyar with ye.” “Hackamore?” echoed Mrs. Dunbar, withdrawing from her husband’s arms and turning to her father, “what happened in Hackamore, dad? This is the first time I’ve heard that anything was going wrong in town.” “Nate will tell you all about it, Hattie,” said Perry. “Get us something to eat, will you, while he’s doing it? We’re a lot of hungry men, girl, I can tell you that. I’ll take your horse, Nate.” Nomad and Cayuse dropped into line and led their horses back to the corral with the others. The baron was asleep in the hammock. When the meal was ready Nomad turned the hammock upside down and informed the sputtering baron that everybody had got back and that all hands were sitting in at the chuck table. “Vat a habbiness!” cried the baron bursting in on the scout and the rest just as they were taking their chairs for a late breakfast. “Vat a fine pitzness dot eferybody got oudt oof eferyt’ing und dot ve vas all corraled again mit ourselufs! Nodding much habbened to me dis trip, aber I don’d mind dot. Der bleasure oof finding you all togedder, iss more as I can oxbress.” “Choke off, pard,” cried old Nomad; “Buffler is erbout ter tell us what happened in Hackamore, while us fellers was gyardin’ Mrs. Dunbar an’ the Star-A cabin. Don’t keep him hangin’ fire.” The events that had transpired in Hackamore were recounted, and Hattie Dunbar flushed, and paled, and trembled at the peril her husband had so narrowly escaped. “We owe a lot to you, Mr. Hickok,” said the girl. “We’ll never forget what we owe Mr. Hickok, will we, Nate?” “No, Hattie,” answered Nate. “I reckon you, and I, and Dick can keep track of our obligations.” “The sky pilot gets all the credit,” asserted Wild Bill. And then, of course, he had to explain how it was Hawkins’ friendship for Jordan that had brought about the escape from the adobe house on the hill. To that escape, and to the knowledge Wild Bill had acquired in the adobe house, the rescue of Dunbar from the toils of the law was due. “I hope,” said Hattie tremulously, “that we have reached the end of Lige Benner’s persecutions. Couldn’t something be done to him for what he tried to do to Nate?”