"I don" sleep good. I been t"ink mebbe I lose my saddle on this footrace."
Cloudy, whose toilet was much less intricate, grunted from the shadows:
"I thought I heard that phonograph all night."
"It was the Natif Son singin" to his gal," explained one of the hands. "He"s gettin" on my nerves, too. If he wasn"t a friend of the boss, I"d sure take a surcingle and abate him considerable."
"Vat you t"ank? I dream" Mr. Speed is ron avay an" broke his leg," volunteered Murphy, the Swede, whose name New Mexico had shortened from Bjorth Kjelliser.
"Run away?"
"Ya-as! I dream" he"s out for little ron ven piece of noosepaper blow up in his face an" mak" him ron avay, yust same as horse. He snort an" yump, an" ron till he step in prairie-dog hole and broke his leg."
"Strange!" said Willie.
"What?"
"My rest was fitful and disturbed and peopled by strange fancies a whole lot. I dreamp" he _throwed_ the race!"
A chorus of oaths from the bunks.
"What did you do?" inquired Stover.
"I woke up, all of a tremble, with a gun in each hand."
"I don"t take no stock in dreams whatever," said some one.
"Well, I"m the last person in the world to be superst.i.tious,"
Still Bill observed, "but I"ve had sim"lar visions lately."
"Maybe it"s a om-en."
"What is a om-en?" Carara inquired.
"A om-en," explained Willie, "is a kind of a nut. Salted om-ens is served at swell restaurants with the soup."
In the midst of it Joy, the cook, appeared in the doorway, and spoke in his gentle, ingratiating tones:
"Morning, gel"mum! I see "im again."
"Who?"
"No savvy who; stlange man! I go down to spling-house for bucket water; see "im lide "way. Velly stlange!"
"I bet it"s Gallagher."
"Vat you tank he vants?" queried Murphy.
"He"s layin" to get a shot at our runner," declared Stover, while Mr. Cloudy, forgetting his Indian reserve, explained in cla.s.sic English his own theory of the nocturnal visits. "Do you remember Humpy Joe? Well, they didn"t cripple him, but he lost. I don"t think Gallagher would injure Mr. Speed, but--he might--bribe him."
"_Caramba_!" exclaimed the Mexican.
"G.o.d "lmighty!" Willie cried, in shocked accents.
"I believe you"re right, but"--Stover meditated briefly before announcing with determination--"we"ll do a little night-ridin"
ourselves. Willie, you watch this young feller daytimes, and the rest of us"ll take turns at night. An" don"t lose sight of the fat man, neither--he might carry notes. If you don"t like the looks of things--you know what cards to draw."
"Sixes," murmured the near-sighted cow-man. "Don"t worry."
"If you see anything suspicious, burn it up. And we"ll take a shot at anything we see movin" after 9 P.M."
Then Berkeley Fresno came hurriedly into the bunk-house with a very cheery "Good-morning! I"m glad I found you up and doing," he said blithely. "I thought of something in my sleep." It was evident that the speaker had been in more than ordinary haste to make his discovery known, for underneath his coat he still wore his pajama shirt, and his hair was unbrushed.
"What is it?"
"Your man Speed isn"t taking care of himself."
"What did I tell you?" said Willie to his companions.
"It seems to me that in justice to you boys he shouldn"t act this way," Fresno ran on. "Now, for instance, the water in his shower- bath is tepid."
There was an instant"s silence before Stover inquired, with ominous restraint:
"Who"s been monkeying with it?"
"It"s warm!"
"Oh!" It was a sigh of relief.
"A man can"t get in shape taking warm shower-baths. Warm water weakens a person."
"Mebbe you-all will listen to me next time!" again cried Willie, triumphantly. "I said at the start that a bath never helped n.o.body. When they"re hot they saps a man"s courage, and when they"re cold they--"
"No, no! You don"t understand! For an athlete the bath ought to be cold--the colder the better. It"s the shock that hardens a fellow."
"Has he weakened himself much?" inquired the foreman.
"Undoubtedly, but--"
"What?"
"If we only had some ice--"
"We got ice; plenty of it. We got a load from the railroad yesterday."
"Then our only chance to save him is to fill the barrel quickly.
We must freeze him, and freeze him well, before it is too late!
By Jove! I"m glad I thought of it!"