“If I had my wish right now, Buddy, I’d be aboard the ‘Elenore,’ steamin’ down along the coast,” he declared presently.
“You should have remained behind when the outlaws broke out of the warehouse,” Dick reminded him.
“What! Stay there, an’ later on get throwed into jail? I should say not. Even if I do have to suffer now, I can mebbe make my way back to the States somehow.”
“They’ll get you sooner or later,” Dick argued.
The room became more quiet. The old Indian and his wife and daughter retired to the loft, leaving the outlaws in full charge. The man, whom Dick had hurt in his leap from the top of the ladder, had recovered consciousness, but was as yet too dazed and shaken to do more than lie groaning in the corner, where he had been carried. His friend—he who had bound Dick—paid little attention either to this manifestation of suffering or to the conversation between Dick and the sailor. In a short time he had begun to drowse, chin on his chest, eyes half open. With a friendly nod to Dick, the sailor rose from his place by the fire, and, using his coat as a pillow, lay down upon the hard floor.
Two candles furnished light for the room. One had been placed on a shelf on the wall, the other on a small table by the door, leading to the kitchen. Except for the ruddy glare from the fireplace, there was no other light. When the other occupants of the room had fallen asleep, Dick rolled restlessly from side to side. Occasionally, his gaze fell upon the candles. Both had burned low, now flickering and fluttering eerily. The shadows deepened. When he awoke, following a fitful nap, one of the candles had gone out. The fire also had burned low. Its feeble red glow cast a weird and ghastly shaft of light across the floor. As Dick turned his face to the wall, the remaining taper sputtered and burned down.
Again sleep claimed him—this time deep and unbroken for several hours. He was startled into wakefulness by a loud banging at the door. A match flared through the darkness, footsteps sounded across the floor, the bolt was slid back to admit two muffled forms. The two newcomers, accompanied by the man who had bound Dick, strode over to the fireplace and piled on more fuel. In the ruddy glow that sprang up shortly afterward, Dick recognized them both—two more of the packers who had escaped from the warehouse.