"How's that?" he cried in triumph. "Found her just now while I
was rustling nigger-heads for a fire."

We unpacked our beds with chuckles of joy, and spread them
carefully within the shelter of the cave. Except for the very
edges, which did not much matter, our blankets and "so-guns,"
protected by the canvas "tarp," were reasonably dry. Every once
in a while a spasm of conscience would seize one or the other of
us.

"It seems sort of mean on the other fellows," ruminated Jed
Parker.

"They had their first choice," cried we all.

"Uncle Jim's an old man," the Cattleman pointed out.

But Windy Bill had thought of that. "I told him of this yere
cave first. But he allowed he was plumb satisfied."

We finished laying out our blankets. The result looked good to
us. We all burst out laughing.

"Well, I'm sorry for those fellows," cried the Cattleman. We
hobbled our horses and descended to the gleam of the fire, like
guilty conspirators. There we ate hastily of meat, bread and
coffee, merely for the sake of sustenance. It certainly amounted
to little in the way of pleasure. The water from the direct
rain, the shivering trees, and our hat brims accumulated in our