“Before I went to the house I drove up to the barn and unhitched the horse and led him in, and then I run the wagon in, and took the potatoes out and put ‘em under a little bag of hay that I had in the corner, and threw the horse blanket over ‘em. Then I unharnessed the horse and bedded him down and gave him some hay and a little oats. I’d watered him at one of the last places I stopped—one of them troughs they have in front of saloons. Then after I got the horse tended to I went into the house.”
Hank got up and went to the door and spoke to the guard. He was still sitting on the stool and talking to the prisoner in the next cell. Once more he handed Hank a cigar.
“Give one to Jim,” he said. “I can’t do much more for him, poor devil; I’m awful sorry.”
Jim came up and took the cigar and looked down at the guard.
“I don’t s’pose nothin’ has come for me, has there?”
“No, not yet,” was the answer.
“Well, I presume it’s’ no use.”
Just then the noise of pounding and driving nails and low voices was heard over in the court yard.
“What’s that?” Hank asked.