He left the office as he ceased speaking, and George lay down on the lounge to rest for a few minutes. He was used to hard work, but he had never before been so nearly exhausted. It did not seem to him that he could possibly spend the rest of the night in the saddle, and yet he knew he must do it in order to save his cousin.
Mr. Gilbert was gone but a few minutes, and when he came back, he locked the door behind him.
“Another piece of good news I have for you, George,” said he, as he resumed his seat, “is that all your cattle have been recovered, and one of my men is now pasturing them on my ranche, about three miles from here.”
“Good again!” exclaimed George, brightening a little. “That is encouraging news indeed.”
“That Zeke is worth two or three ordinary men,” continued Mr. Gilbert. “Not being able to find any signs of you or your horse after the Greasers jumped down on you, he struck out for the settlements on foot. On the way he fell in with a party of rangers, and with their assistance, he succeeded in cutting the thieves off from the river and recapturing every hoof you had lost. He came down here with the cattle, chuckling over his good luck, and was frightened almost out of his senses when he found that your horse and mule had come here without you. He begged me to take care of the herd while he went back to look for you, and I have done so. Where were you all the while, George? You haven’t walked all the way from Catfish Falls?”
“I was hidden in a buffalo wallow while the robbers were in our camp, and I _have_ walked every step of the way from there. But I don’t mind that. What troubles me is the bad news I heard on the way. I have come here to talk to you about it, for you are the only friend I have in the settlement.”
“O no, George; don’t say that,” exclaimed Mr. Gilbert, quickly. “If you knew what a commotion your disappearance has created among the neighbors, you wouldn’t talk so. Everybody likes you and everybody is a friend to you.”
“I am very glad to hear it,” said George, drawing a long breath of relief and looking a little more cheerful. “I want them to show their friendship now, and not be too hard on Ned. You know what I mean.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Gilbert, heaving a deep sigh and fastening his eyes on the floor, “I know all about it. The settlers are going to meet at Cook’s to-morrow and talk it over. They are very angry, and I don’t know what they will make up their minds to do.”