CHAPTER XXXI.
BARBARA'S WAITIN' BREAKFAST FOR YOU.
Alone on the desert, Abe Lee waited through the long, long hours of thenight for the morning and relief.
At times the wounded surveyor sank into half unconsciousness when hewould again be riding--riding--riding, toward San Felipe that seemedalmost so far away that he could never hope to reach the end of hisjourney. Again he would be at the hotel surrounded by a crowd ofpeople, who stared at him curiously as the clerk explained thatJefferson Worth had never been there--that there was no money--nomoney--no money. At other times he would be fighting desperately withJames Greenfield for the possession of a black leather bill-booksecured with rubber bands, or--with the Company engineer--would face acrowd of Mexicans in Devil's Canyon in such numbers that he could notcount them, but could only fight, and fight, and fight. Often Barbaracame to plead with him to save her from some terrible danger, and whenhe would struggle to go a great weight held him down and he couldnot--and the brown eyes looked at him full of pleading reproach. Thenhe would curse and cry aloud as Willard Holmes came to take her awayand he would watch the two riding into the distance through the greenfields and orchards of a beautiful land, in their happiness forgettinghim alone in the desert.
At other times, fully conscious, he lay with aching body and that sharppain in his leg, looking up at the stars, calculating the time and thedistance Holmes had ridden since he left him--how long it would beuntil the engineer would reach Republic--wondering if Tex and Pat couldhold the strikers or if already it was too late.
Then again, when his mind would be losing its grip and slipping awayinto the land of half-dreams, the sounds made by some animal at thewater hole or the fancied approach of the Mexicans would cause him tostart into keen readiness, to listen and watch with straining sense andready weapon. At last all knowledge of time left him. His exhaustednerves and muscles no longer responded to suggestions of danger, hisbrain refused to act. A soft, thick cloud of darkness that was not thedarkness of the night settled down upon him, enveloped him, wrapped himas in a sable blanket of many folds--thicker and thicker, blacker andblacker. Feebly he struggled against it for a little, then with a sighyielded and lay still.
He did not see the stars pale and the thin streak of light above theeastern rim of the Basin widen into the morning. He did not see thehills, all rose and purple, develop magically against the sky. He didnot see the sun burst into view from the world below the line of thedun plain and roll its flood of light over the wide desert. He knewnothing more until someone was forcing something between his lips and agrateful, stimulating warmth crept through his veins. A familiar voicedrawled: "He ain't a-goin' out this time, boys. Hit takes more than onegreaser bullet and a little ride to San Felipe an' back to send hiskind over the line."
And a rich Irish brogue responded: "Ut's thim black hathen that'll begoin' over the line in a bunch av I can git widin rache av thim wid metwo hands."
Abe opened his eyes with a smile. "Mornin' boys! Did Holmes make it intime?"
An articulate yell of delight from Pat greeted his speech. The grizzledplainsman, with a smile of understanding, answered his question.
"Sure he made it. Everything's as peaceful as the parson's blessin'after his discourse on the eternal fires of torment. Barbara's waitin'breakfast for you, son. Wake up, an' come along."
The surveyor did not need to ask why Texas Joe had brought so large aparty of mounted and armed friends. He gave Texas and his companionsall the information he could that would help them in their search forthe Mexicans.
When they had made him as comfortable as possible on a cot in thespring wagon, with Pat beside him and Pablo on the driver's seat, thehorsemen mounted and Texas riding alongside the wagon drawled: "Thereain't no tellin' when we'll get back, Abe; but I don't reckon we'll belong an' there ain't no use me tellin' you to take things easy. Soadios!"
"Adios," came the answer, "and good luck!"
Pablo spoke to his team and they moved ahead. For a moment the horsemenwatched, then Tex spoke.
"All set, boys?"
"All set," came the answer.
Wheeling about, the five men rode rapidly in the opposite directiontowards Devil's Canyon.