Old Dock still discoursed whimperingly upon the subject of his ruined coat and the meanness of mankind, and there was no weaning his interest for a moment, try as Weary would.  And fifteen miles away in a picturesque creek-bottom a man lay dying in great pain for want of one little part of the wisdom stored uselessly away in the brain of this drunken, doddering old man.

Weary’s gloved hand dropped in despair from Old Dock’s bent shoulder.  “Damn a drunkard!” he said bitterly, and got into the saddle.  “Rusty, I’ll want to borrow that calico cayuse uh yours.  Have him saddled up right away, will yuh?  I’ll be back in a little bit.”

He jerked his hat down to his eyebrows and struck Glory with the quirt; but the trail he took was strange to Glory and he felt impelled to stop and argue—­as only Glory could argue—­with his master.  Minutes passed tumultuously, with nothing accomplished save some weird hoof-prints in the sod.  Eventually, however, Glory gave over trying to stand upon his head and his hind feet at one and the same instant, and permitted himself to be guided toward a certain tiny, low-eaved cabin in a meadow just over the hill from the town.

Weary was not by nature given to burglary, but he wrenched open the door of the cabin and went in with not a whisper of conscience to say him nay.  It was close and ill-smelling and very dirty inside, but after the first whiff Weary did not notice it.  He went over and stopped before a little, old-fashioned chest; it was padlocked, so he left that as a last resort and searched elsewhere for what he wanted—­medicine.  Under the bed he found a flat, black case, such as old-fashioned doctors carried.  He drew it out and examined if critically.  This, also, was locked, but he shook it tentatively and heard the faintest possible jingle inside.

“Bottles,” he said briefly, and grinned satisfaction.  Something brushed against his hat and he looked up into a very dusty bunch of herbs.  “You too,” he told them, breaking the string with one yank.  “For all I know, yuh might stand ace-high in this game.  Lord! if I could trade brains with the old devil, just for to-night!”

He took a last look around, decided that he had found all he wanted, and went out and pulled the door shut.  Then he tied the black medicine case to the saddle in a way that would give it the least jar, stuffed the bunch of dried herbs into his pocket and mounted for the homeward race.  As he did so the sun threw a red beam into his eyes as though reminding him of the passing hours, and ducked behind the ridge which bounds Lonesome Prairie on the east.

The afterglow filled sky and earth with a soft, departing radiance when he stopped again in front of the saloon.  Old Doc was still gesticulating wildly, and the sheet of fly-paper still clung to the back of his coat.  The crowd had thinned somewhat and displayed less interest; otherwise the situation had not changed, except that a pinto pony stood meekly, with head drooping, at the hitching-pole.