"I am; but I reckon I can stay up during the night without falling asleep at my post," he said, smiling faintly.
"Do as you think best, Jack; you and Marion must be my mainstays now," and she kissed him affectionately.
Hour after hour of the night wore along and nothing of moment happened. Jack spent the most of the time around the house, but toward daybreak made the rounds of the stable and barns.
He found the guerrilla groaning dismally.
"Give me sum terbacker, will yer?" asked the man presently.
Not wishing to appear too unkind, Jack procured a twist of tobacco for him, which he began to chew savagely.
"I'm in a putty bad fix, I reckon," said the guerrilla, after chewing in silence for several minutes.
"If you are, you have only yourself to thank for it," returned Jack coldly.
"Oh, I aint complainin', sonny. It's the fortunes o' war—as them poets call it, I reckon."
"You might be in better business than stealing horses."