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Rh back to the reservation. I figgered he might be, in the first place but, come to think of it, they would be in a hurry to get to the reservation an' they might not have bothered with him. They ain't got much o' the milk of human kindness about 'em concernin' a wounded man, 'cept to save his scalp, mebbe. The bunch up on the reservation 'll shet theur mouths, 'cordin' to my experience. The so'jers 'll figger out thet the cloud-burst wiped out the whole outfit, includin' whoever owned the burros, if we don't make a roar about it, an' I don't see no sense in our doin' thet. The Agent 'll send in a long report an' thet'll end it, 'cept thet the tribe 'll be closer herded after this.

"Main p'int is, thet the coast is cl'ar for you to go on with yore gold-seekin' expedition after you git outfitted up ag'in. From the looks of things the cloud busted jest this side of the canon head an' the trail to the mesa's likely cl'ar. I'd say make for the crick marked on the map an' git down to the Verde Valley to refit. We may come across that T. B. camp. It's the shortest way out an' the easiest goin'. But we got to start now. Our grub 'll only last jest so long as fuel ter keep us in action. We got to git medical 'tention fer thet arm an', if we kin locate thet camp, we'll reach a doctor quicker."

Healy's arm had swollen badly over night. The heat was bound to induce blood-poisoning if any symptoms appeared, which seemed likely. It pained him considerably and he was not chary of expressing his feelings. He viewed Larkin with especial