“Waked up your grandmother,” interrupted Bert. “Why, I’ve been awake over an hour. I was awake when you got here, but I was afraid to move for fear of having one of those things bite me—ugh!” and a great shudder of disgust passed over him, “that was a waking nightmare in earnest. I feel as weak as a rag. Look at that!” and he held out his hand. It was trembling like a leaf.
“Waal, I’ll be jiggered,” exclaimed the Westerner, in an admiring voice, “you’ve sure got nerve, young feller, and no mistake. It ain’t everybody as could hold hisself the way you did with them blamed critters crawlin’ all over him. It took nerve, it shore did.”
“Probably you’d have done the same thing if you’d been in my place,” observed Bert, with a friendly smile.
“Waal, mebbe I would an’ mebbe I wouldn’t,” replied the old man, evidently much gratified by this little compliment, “although I don’t say as how I haven’t had one or two close shaves in my time, mind ye.”
“Well, at any rate, I guess I owe my life to you, and, of course, to my pals here,” said Bert, “and all I can say is, that I’m more than grateful.”
“That’s all right, young feller,” replied the plainsman, with a deprecatory wave of his hand, “you can thank me best by not sayin’ a word about it. You’d have done the same fer me ef you’d had the chance.”
Bert said no more, but shook hands all around, and then prepared to start on. “You fellows lead the way,” he said, “and I’ll follow. My appetite is beginning to come back with a rush.”
“Ye’d better follow the road we come by back a piece,” advised their guide, “ye’ll soon come to the main road leadin’ into Boyd, and you oughtn’t to have any further trouble.”
“That listens all right,” observed Bert, and Dick and Tom were of the same mind. Accordingly, they lost no time in packing up Bert’s luggage, and soon had it stored neatly on the carrier. Then Dick pointed the nose of the automobile in the direction their guide had advised, Bert following at a little distance to give the dust raised by the passage of the automobile time to settle. In a short time they reached the road of which the guide had spoken, and they spun along merrily.
They made a slight detour to set down the old frontiersman, who had rendered them such invaluable assistance. They parted from him with great regret and many expressions of gratitude. He stood in the sandy road waving his hat after them until his figure became indistinct in the distance.