Two of
the men are to take the express wagon out as far as it can go, with
everything to make him comfortable, if--if he's hurt. Then they can ride
the horses on to help us search." Jim forced a sorry smile. "Won't he
grin at us if he turns up all right? We'll never hear the end of it!"
Then he got up abruptly and walked to the window, looking out across
the moonlit flats; and they were all silent.
"I keep thinking all the time I hear him coming," Jim said, turning
back into the room. "If you keep still, you can almost swear you can
hear old Monarch's hoofs coming up the track--and half a dozen times
I've been certain I caught the crack of his stockwhip. Of course,
it's--it's all imagination. My word! it's hard to loaf about here and go
to bed comfortably when you want to be hunting out there."
"You couldn't do any good, though?" asked Wally.
"No--it would be madness to go straying round those gullies in the
moonlight; it's not even full moon, and there the timber's so thick
that very little light can get through. There's nothing for it but to
wait until daylight."
"It's hard waiting," Norah said.
"Yes, it is. But you ought to go to bed, old woman; you had precious
little sleep last night, and the big bell is to ring at daylight."
"Then won't you boys go, too?"
"Yes, I guess we'd better," Jim said.
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