Laramie shook his oilskins in a heap on the floor, cautiously lighted a candle and set it on the board that served as a table. In spite of his slickers he was wet through. He hung his hat on the end of a broken timber and laid his revolver beside the candle. Bethinking himself, however, of his rifle, he picked up the six-shooter again, stepped outside the entrance, brought in his rifle, wiped it, stood it in a convenient corner and turned toward Hawk. The candle, burning at moments steadily and at moments flickering, threw its uncertain rays into the recess where the wounded rustler lay. They lighted the sallow pallor of the sleeping man's face, fell across his sunken eyes and drew the black of his long beard out of the gloom below it. Laramie seated himself on a projecting ledge and looked thoughtfully at his charge. He was failing; of that there could be no doubt. Steel-willed and hard-sinewed though he was, the wounds that would long ago have put an ordinary man out of action, were undermining his great vitality and Laramie, in a study, felt it. Yet such was the younger man's natural stubbornness that left to his own devices he would have fought out the battle against death right where the failing man lay; only the judgment of Lefever and Carpy swayed him in the circumstances. Believing sleep was the best preparative for the ordeal of the ride to town, Laramie hesitated about waking Hawk--yet the hours were precious, for the trip would be long and slow. Fortunately he had not long to wait before Hawk woke. Laramie was sitting a few feet away and silently looking at him when Hawk opened his eyes. They wandered from one object to another in the dim candle gloom, until they rested on Laramie's face; there they stopped. Laramie's features relaxed into as near a smile as he permitted himself on duty: "How you coming, Abe?" Hawk eyed him steadily: "What are you doing here tonight?" Laramie answered with a question: "How about trying the gauntlet?" "That what you want?" "It's what Lefever and Carpy want." "They running things?" "They think you'd get well full as quick at a hospital." "What do you think?" "I guess you would." "Tired taking care of me?" "Not yet, Abe." "Raining?" "Hell bent." "What's the other noise?" "Thunder; and the river's up." The roar of the waters was not new to the ears of the two men who listened, however much it might have disturbed others unused to their tearing fury. Hawk listened thoughtfully: "Why didn't you pick a wet night?" he asked. "We had to pick a dark one, Abe." "Where's the horses?" "Over at my place--what's that?"