Apathetically they obeyed, with the hopeless resignation of men for whom life could hold no more surprises, and which, in Fisk’s case, was all the more remarkable, considering his previous belligerent attitude. It had been on the tip of the policeman’s tongue to question him as to what had become of the money thus fraudulently obtained but, on second thought, he desisted. Some lie or another would be the only result of such an inquiry, he reflected; and besides, he had warned them. Gambling, he knew, was notoriously rife at the Wharnock ranch, which was probably the true cause of its disappearance. (A correct guess, as was subsequently proved at their trial.)
Ellis looked at his watch. It was just going on midnight.
“Seems too bad—a-commandeering yu’ for all this work, Barney,” he said apologetically, to Gallagher.
“Oh, I ain’t worryin’ none, Sargint,” the other answered. “I got that meat in all right, this mornin’; but there’s my team I’d like to turn out inter th’ pasture, a cow as should be milked, an’ some chickens I wanta leave some feed out for. I guess yu’ll be wantin’ me inter Sabbano with yu’ th’ next couple o’ days, eh?”
Benton nodded. “P’r’aps it’s more’n likely somebody’ll be around in th’ mornin’,” he said hopefully. “An’ then yu’ll be able to run on down an’ do yore chores. Say, will yu’ off-saddle an’ fix up th’ hawsses? Turn them two belonging to these fellers out in th’ pasture—there won’t be room for no more when yores an’ Shorty’s is in—an’ say, Barney; bring in all th’ blankets yu’ can lay yore hands on in there.”
In about half an hour the rancher returned, laden with a heavy bundle of the aforesaid articles, which Ellis shook down on the floor in the corner farthest from the door, subtracting two, however, for old Bryan in the kitchen.
“Yu’ll have to bunk down here for th’ night,” he remarked curtly to the prisoners. “Yu’ might as well get down to it right away, an’ get all th’ sleep yu’ can, because it’ll be a long trip tomorrow.”
Wearily they rolled their coats for pillows, and curled themselves down, dormant murder gleaming in Fisk’s somber, brooding eyes as he glanced now and again at the cell door whence issued the untroubled snores of Shorty.
Benton drew Gallagher on one side. “We’ll have to do a ‘night guard’ on these fellers,” he whispered. “Guess we’ll do two hours apiece. I’ll do th’ first trick an’ hand over th’ watch to yu’ when I’m through. Yu’ go on inta my room there, an’ lie on th’ bed.”
Slowly the night dragged through for the tired, haggard, unkempt watchers. After waking the Sergeant up at eight o’clock, the rancher went out and did the stable chores, and when he returned Ellis cooked breakfast for all hands—taking good care to keep Shorty and old Bryan aloof from their former acquaintances.