“It’s a —— good thing he did, too,” growled Silent. “I’ll betcha he turned my bronc loose. That ornery little pup! When I catch him he’ll wish——” “Go and catch him,” advised Jimmy sleepily. “Either do that or hire a hall. Good-night.” Silent turned on his heel and went outside. He did not want to go to the hotel and he couldn’t walk to the Nine-Bar-Nine. There was only one thing for him to do—wake up Brick and occupy one of their cots for the night. A cold wind was blowing and Silent shivered. He knew that Brick and Harp would swear at him for waking them up, but he did not care. He crossed the street and went up to the door, where he knocked several times. There was no response. Silent deliberated. They were probably sleeping in the rear half of the office, with the door shut in between. He walked through the narrow alley between the sheriff’s office and the old feedstore and went up to the back door. There was someone going away from the rear of the office, going past the little stable, and Silent wondered who this might be. It looked suspicious to Silent, who started after this mysteriously-acting person, but turned and came back to the door. He felt that there was no use in chasing around in the dark after someone. “Anyway, I dunno who he is,” said Silent to himself. “Mebbe it’s all right. Hey, Brick!” He hammered on the back door until the lock threatened to rattle loose, but no one answered him. He grasped the knob and gave it a twist, finding the door locked. “That’s funny,” he mused, and as he started to turn away from the door, the world seemed to come to an abrupt end. Came a deafening crash, a glaring flash of light. Silent was dimly conscious of these things, and felt that he was being hurled away by a great force. Then he seemed to hear men shouting and the world was lighted with the glow of a fire. He managed to get to his feet and take stock of himself. His body felt numb, but his mind was clearing swiftly now. Just beyond him the flames were eating swiftly into the flimsy old frame buildings, while men and women darted in and out of the glow, fighting it with buckets of water and axes. There were more people arriving at each moment, until every man, woman and child in Marlin City fought to save the town. Silent went slowly to them. He was unable to walk fast, but he knew that none of his bones had been broken in the explosion. Swiftly the flames were eating toward Wesson’s store, and a gang of men began removing the stock. “Watch the other side of the street, boys!” yelled Cale Wesson. “The —— himself couldn’t stop it from takin’ this side.” Silent took hold of Cale Wesson’s arm and pointed to the spot where the sheriff’s office had been. “Where’s Brick and Harp?” he croaked. “Did they get out?” Wesson stared at him. “Were they in the office? My ——, look at your face, Silent! What happened to you?” “Where are they?” insisted Silent.