A fire was started, though fuel seemed scarce. But then, only a cooking blaze was required, and after supper was served they would have no further need for any fire.
Bob admitted frankly that he felt tired out, though he did not fully realize just how weary he was until he had sat down a little while, and then attempted to rise suddenly.
“Why, I just can’t do it, Frank!” he exclaimed with a long face. “Seems as if my legs needed oiling about the hinges, they’re that rusty. Gee! I hope I’ll be feeling better than this in the morning.”
“Oh! don’t worry about that,” laughed his chum, who, of course, being somewhat tougher, had not suffered quite as much as Bob; “after a sleep you’ll be as fresh as a daisy again.”
“But I want to stand my watch to-night, all the same,” ventured Bob, positively.
“What’s come over you, to say that?” he demanded.
“Because, when there’s danger around I think every fellow ought to share the duties of standing guard,” Bob replied, sturdily.
At that Frank whistled, and then chuckled.
“I see you’ve been talking with Bart, and he’s given you the idea the rustlers may be silly enough to follow after us, just to get revenge,” he remarked.
“Well, Bart did say something like that,” Bob admitted; “and he also told me he meant to keep a close watch all night, to prevent a surprise and a stampede.”
“Oh! rats! don’t you believe there’s anything like that going to happen,” Frank hastened to remark, seeing that his chum was really concerned and worried over the grim predictions of the boss cowboy.
“Then you don’t take any stock in it, yourself, Frank?”
“No I don’t,” replied the other, quickly adding: “though of course Bart is quite right in saying he doesn’t mean to take any chances of a stampede in the night. We’ve done so well that it would be a shame to have any accident happen now.”
“But how about the rustlers?” asked the other.
“Well, by this time they’re out of that bunk-house, perhaps; or will be as soon as it’s really dark. My opinion is, if you want to hear it, Bob, that they’ll get out of that valley on foot as fast as they can, leaving their ponies behind them, because they won’t know about this other gateway, you understand.”
“They’ll be in a panic, believing that, since they’re known now, the country’ll soon be too hot to hold ’em. And so there’ll be a chase for the Mexican border; and a ‘good riddance to bad rubbish’ for Arizona,” Frank concluded.