All this happened so swiftly as to be bewildering.  He was too astounded to be frightened.  As he hung head downward he saw the legs of a horse and a dim trail.  A stirrup swung to and fro, hitting him in the face.  He began to feel exceedingly uncomfortable, with a rush of blood to his head, and cramps in his arms and legs.  This kept on and grew worse for what seemed a long time.  Then the horse was stopped and a rude hand tumbled him to the ground.  Again he was rolled over on his face.  Strong fingers plucked at his clothes, and he believed he was being searched.  His captors were as silent as if they had been dumb.  He felt when they took his pocketbook and his knife and all that he had.  Then they cut, tore, and stripped off all his clothing.  He was lifted, carried a few steps, and dropped upon what seemed a soft, low mound, and left lying there, still tied and naked.  Shefford heard the rustle of sage and the dull thud of hoofs as his assailants went away.

His first sensation was one of immeasurable relief.  He had not been murdered.  Robbery was nothing.  And though roughly handled, he had not been hurt.  He associated the assault with the three strange visitors of the preceding day.  Still, he had no proof of that.  Not the slightest clue remained to help him ascertain who had attacked him.

It might have been a short while or a long one, his mind was so filled with growing conjectures, but a time came when he felt cold.  As he lay face down, only his back felt cold at first.  He was grateful that he had not been thrown upon the rocks.  The ground under him appeared soft, spongy, and gave somewhat as he breathed.  He had really sunk down a little in this pile of soft earth.  The day was not far off, as he could tell by the brightening of the gray.  He began to suffer with the cold, and then slowly he seemed to freeze and grow numb.  In an effort to roll over upon his back he discovered that his position, or his being bound, or the numbness of his muscles was responsible for the fact that he could not move.  Here was a predicament.  It began to look serious.  What would a few hours of the powerful sun do to his uncovered skin?  Somebody would trail and find him:  still, he might not be found soon.

He saw the sky lighten, turn rosy and then gold.  The sun shone upon him, but some time elapsed before he felt its warmth.  All of a sudden a pain, like a sting, shot through his shoulder.  He could not see what caused it; probably a bee.  Then he felt another upon his leg, and about simultaneously with it a tiny, fiery stab in his side.  A sickening sensation pervaded his body, slowly moving, as if poison had entered the blood of his veins.  Then a puncture, as from a hot wire, entered the skin of his breast.  Unmistakably it was a bite.  By dint of great effort he twisted his head to see a big red ant on his breast.  Then he heard a faint sound, so exceedingly faint that he could not tell what it was like.  But presently his strained ears detected a low, swift, rustling, creeping sound, like the slipping rattle of an infinite number of tiny bits of moving gravel.  Then it was a sound like the seeping of wind-blown sand.  Several hot bites occurred at once.  And then with his head twisted he saw a red stream of ants pour out of the mound and spill over his quivering flesh.