"Confound it!" exclaimed Neal. "The horse must have been somewhere aroun' close. He sure didn't walk down the valley." "That's probably right," said the other. "I left a couple of your men out there to keep up searching when daylight comes. That feller Lamy showed us about where they left the hosses--his hoss an' The Coyote's--but they wasn't there. He said there was a bunch of wild hosses in the valley an' that they'd probably got away an' gone with 'em. We saw the wild hosses, but we couldn't get anywhere near 'em--couldn't get near enough to see if any of 'em was wearin' saddles or not. We had some chase while it lasted, I'll recite." "Did Lamy say how they came to leave their horses?" asked the sheriff in an annoyed tone. "It was The Coyote's orders. Thought they'd be safer in the middle of the posse or something like that. Made Lamy leave the hosses an' run for the house an' made him get down in the cellar with him. Don't know if he knew Lamy lived there or not, but reckon it wouldn't have made any difference." The sheriff was pacing the floor of the office as his footfalls attested. "I've ordered that Lamy in to-morrow. I've a lot more questions to ask him. Well, you might as well get a few winks, constable; Brown and the rest of 'em have hit the hay. Even the prisoner is tired out, and that's sayin' something for as tough a bird as he is. But I wish I had his horse. I've got to have his horse!" Rathburn was smiling at the wall. He heard Neal walk to the door and look in. Receding footsteps told him that the constable was leaving. For a time there was silence in the outer office. Rathburn sat up quietly and began easing off his right boot. The boot came slowly, very slowly, as Rathburn worked at it, careful not to make any noise. Then, just as it came free, the sheriff again strode to the door and looked in. He saw Rathburn yawning, as the boot dropped on the floor. Rathburn looked at the sheriff sleepily as the official strode into the aisle and peered in between the bars. He tipped the bootless foot back on its toes as he lifted his other foot and tugged at the boot. "That you, sheriff?" he asked with another yawn. "The lights are so bad I can't see good. Guess I'm a little groggy anyway. I was too danged tired when I went to sleep to take off my boots." "You've got another ten hours to sleep," said Neal with a scowl. "An' you'll have plenty of time to get rid of your saddle soreness. You'll ride in automobiles and trains for a while an' keep in out of the hot sun an' the wet." The sheriff laughed harshly at his own words. Rathburn let the other boot drop. "I expect I'll get something to eat now an' then, too?" "Feel hungry?" asked Neal. "Might chaw on a biscuit before I take another nap," yawned the prisoner. "I'll see if I can scare you up a bite," said the sheriff, leaving.