“God A’mighty,” groaned Haw-Haw Langley, “can he get the hoss out?”

“It ain’t possible,” answered Mac Strann.  “All hosses goes mad when they gets in a fire—­even when they sees a fire.  Look at them fools over yonder in the corral.”

Indeed, in the horse-corral a score of frantic animals were attempting to leap the high rails in the direction of the burning barn.  Their stamping and snorting came volleying up the hill to the watchers.

“All hosses goes mad,” concluded Mac Strann, “an’ Barry’ll get tramped under the feet of his own hoss even if he gets to the stall—­which he won’t.  Look there!”

Out of the rush of fire and smoke at the door of the barn Dan Barry stumbled, blindly, and fell back upon the ground.  Haw-Haw Langley began to twist his cold hands together in an ecstasy.

“The hoss is gone and the wolf is gone, and Barry is beat!” he chuckled to himself.  “Mac, I wouldn’t of missed this for a ten days’ ride.  It’s worth it.  But see the gal and that new gent, Mac!”

* * * * *

For when the clamour arose outside the house, Buck Daniels had run to the window.  For many reasons he had not taken off his clothes this night, but had lain down on the bed and folded his hands behind his head to wait.  With the first outcry he was at the window and there he saw the flames curling above the roof of the barn, and next, by that wild light, how Dan Barry raced through the dangerous corral, and then he heard the shrill neighing of Satan, and saw Dan disappear in the smoking door of the barn.

Fear drew Buck Daniels one way but a fine impulse drew him another.  He turned away from the window with a curse; he turned back to it with a curse, and then, muttering:  “He went through hell for me; and him and me together, we’ll go through hell again!” he ran from the room and thundered down the crazy stairs.

As he left the house he found Kate Cumberland, and they went on together, running without a word to each other.  Only, when he came beside her, she stopped short and flashed one glance at him.  By that glance he knew that she understood why he was there, and that she accepted his sacrifice.

They hurried around the outer edge of the corrals, and as they approached the flaming barn from one side the men from the bunk-house rushed up from the other.  It was Buck Daniels who reached Dan as the latter stumbled back from the door of the barn, surrounded by a following cloud of smoke, and fell stumbling to the ground.  And Buck raised him.

The girl was instantly beside them.

She had thrown on a white dressing gown when she rose from bed.  It was girded high across her breast, and over it showered her bright hair, flashing like liquid gold in growing light.  She, now, received the semi-conscious burden of Dan Barry, and Buck Daniels stepped forward, close to the smoke.  He began to shout directions which the two watchers behind the hill could not hear, though they saw his long arms point and gesticulate and they could see his speaking lips.  But wild confusion was on the crowd of cowpunchers.  They ran here and there.  One or two brought buckets of water and tossed the contents uselessly into the swirling, red-stained hell of smoke.  But most of them ran here and there, accomplishing nothing.