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Vanguards of the Plains by Margaret Hill McCarter
page 63 of 367 (17%)
In that hour Rex Krane became our good angel.

"Keep the law, 'Hold fast'! You made a splendid race of it, and if
Providence made that fellow lose you gettin' out, and led him and his
gang sideways from you, I reckon she will keep on takin' care of you
till Clarenden resumes control, so don't you worry."

But for his brave presence the terror of that lonely watch would have
been harder than the peril of the street, for he seemed more like a
gentle mother than the careless, scoffing invalid of the trail.

Midnight came, and the chill of midnight. We huddled together in our
wagon and still we waited. Down in the village the lights still burned,
and angry voices with curses came to our ears at intervals.

Meantime the three men across the river moved cautiously, hoping that
we were safe on the bluff, and knowing that they dared not follow us too
rapidly. The wagons creaked and the harness rattled noisily in the night
stillness, as slowly, one by one, they lumbered through the darkness
across the river and up the bank to the village street. Here they halted
and grouped together.

"We must hide out and wait, Clarenden," Jondo counciled. "I hope
the ponies and the wagon ahead are safe, but they stirred things up. If
we go now we'll all be caught."

The three wagons fell apart and halted wide of the trail where the
oak-trees made the blackest shade. The minutes dragged out like hours,
and the anxiety for the unprotected group on the bluff made the three
men frantic to hurry on. But Jondo's patience equaled his courage, and
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