‘You think we’ve crossed the Border—that this is a U.S. Transcontinental?’
‘The States is a large place, but I sure thought you’d know home when you got there, Doc.’
But Elbert could hardly believe. A little later they caught a glimpse of the crawling serpent of coaches, faint lights for scales. Finally in the first daylight the two horses crossed the tracks—‘Safety First,’ authoritative like an Eleventh Commandment on a big water tank in the dusk of morning.
XXIX
HIGH COUNTRY
They found the highway north of the railroad and turned their horses west.
Bart looked a bit white and shaky but made no sign to stop.
‘Don’t you think we’d better lay up for a day or two in one of these towns, so you can rest, Bart?’ Elbert asked.
‘I’m not sleepy,’ said the other. ‘I’m gettin’ what I need outdoors, and aboard old Mallet-head. I always did need the outside of a horse to pull myself together.’
As it began to get hot in the morning, they veered into the hills and found shade, resting several hours.
‘How far west of Nogales do you think we are right now?’ Elbert asked.