| Show 230 STUDENT LIFE creased Although he was kept busy preparing for the season s work lie would often become lonesome and wish he was back in the city Later on when the haying began he was joined by a companion Jim Dalton from home Then his melancholy hours tied and he was himself again They worked on the same part of the ranch during the entire season Jerry superintending and Jim as hav hand Four years they remained together and at last they decided to take a vacation and spend the winter in Phoenix They had each hoarded a neat little sum of money during this time and it was now a question how they would get it to the bank Robberies had been committed quite frequently along the road to Phoenix and it was a dangerous thing to carrv money in those parts while Xo arrests had been traveling made for the robberies but suspicions were quite general that Nat Trenton and his bunch of outlaws were the guiltv parties The boys were in a peculiar situation as they entertained no little fear about making tbe trip They were not the kind however to show their fears and shrink from doing what they had made up their mind to do So one morning when it was thought “Xat” and his associates were farthest from the ranch they made readv for their trip They procured horses at the ranch and after tving their few belongings to the saddle and securing their money in a small bag set out Toward noon they were ap proaching the most dangerous part of the road A trail with which they were familiar led off through low hills so thinking it would be safer to follow this they turned from the road They jogged along all day over some of the most picConturesque country in Arizona trary to expectations night closed over them long before they reached their destination As the trail was extremely rough in places and the darkness became so intense traveling was almost impossible Arriving at a small stream where they could water their horses and build a fire they decided to stop and wait for day before going farther They did not unsaddle their horses but merely tied them with a strap to a tree near the bank of the stream Although they did not anticipate danger they took these precautions that they might make some effort to escape should they be attacked They sat around the camp-fir- e that night conversing about home and the enjoyable time they would have with their old friends when About ten they reached there o'clock they were startled by the cracking of brush on the hillside They looked in the direction of the noise and listened attentively for several minutes but hearing no sound concluded that it was made by a bird or squirrel that had been awakened by the light from their fire Jerry rose and walked down to where their horses were tied to see that they were all right At the same time he took the money from the saddle and placed it at the base |
