It seemed to the anxious boy as if the night would never end. Now and then he rose to his feet, scanning the eastern sky in the hope of seeing some signs of coming dawn; but the light of the stars had not faded, and he knew the morning was yet far away.
Finally, when it seemed to him as if he could no longer remain idle listening to a strong man's childish prattle, the eastern heavens were lighted by a dull glow, which increased steadily until he could see the horse feeding on the dry bunch-grass an hundred yards away, and his long vigil was nearly at an end.
His father called for water from time to time, and Dick had given him to drink from the canteen till no more than a cupful remained.
Now he asked again, but in a voice which sounded more familiar; and a great hope sprang up in the boy's heart as he said,—
"There's only a little left, you poor old man, and we can't get more this side the camp. Shall I give it to you now?"
"Let me moisten my lips, Dick dear. They are parched, and my tongue is swollen until it seems ready to burst."
Dick handed him the canteen; and his father drank sparingly, in marked contrast to his greedy swallowing of a few moments previous.
"It tastes sweet, my boy; and when we are at the camp I'll need only to look at the brook in order to get relief. Are you soon going for the horse?"
"I went, an' have got back, daddy dear. You've been talking mighty queer—on account of the wound, I suppose."
"How long have you been with me, child?"