Jimmy gasped suddenly and grinned until the safety of his ears was threatened. "Would you look at Carter?" he chuckled, pointing. Bill turned and saw the proprietor of Carter’s Emporium carrying water into his store, and with a speed that would lead one to infer that he was doing it on a wager. Emerging again he saw the punchers looking at him and, dropping the buckets, he wiped his face on his sleeve and shook his head. "I ’m fillin’ everything," he called. "I reckon we better stand ’em off from my store—th’ walls are thicker." Bill smiled at the excuse and looked down the street at the adobe buildings. "What about th’ ’dobes, Carter?" he asked. The walls of some of them were more than two feet thick. Carter scowled, scratched his head and made a gesture of impatience. "They ain’t big enough to hold us all," he replied, with triumph. "This here store is th’ best place. An’, besides, it’s all stocked with water an’ grub, an’ everything." Jimmy nodded. "Yo ’re right, Carter; it’s th’ best place." To Bill he said in an aside, "He ’s plumb anxious to protect that shack, now ain’t he?" Lefty Dawson came sauntering up. "Wonder if Carter ’ll let us hold out in his store?" "He ’ll pay you to," laughed Bill. "It’s loop-holed. Been so since th’ last raid," explained Lefty. "An’ it’s chock full of grub," he grinned. They heard Dad’s voice around the corner. "Just like last time," he was saying. "We oughta put four men in Dick’s ’dobe acrost th’ street. Then we’d have a strategy position. You see—oh, hullo," he said as he rounded the corner ahead of George Bruce. "Who ’s goin’ on picket duty?" he demanded. Under the blazing sun a yellow dog wandered aimlessly down the deserted street, his main interest in life centered on his skin, which he frequently sat down to chew. During the brief respites he lounged in the doors of deserted buildings, frequently exploring the quiet interiors for food. Emerging from the "hotel" he looked across the street at the Emporium and barked tentatively at the man sitting on its flat roof. Wriggling apologetically, he slowly gained the middle of the street and then sat down to investigate a sharp attack. A can sailed out of the open door and a flurry of yellow streaked around the corner of the "hotel" and vanished.