"They's comin' down the hall!"
But far, far away he heard the whistling of Dan Barry dying among the
hills.
"You let the lamp go out," said Joe Cumberland, "and now I can't see
nothing. Are they in the room?"
"They're here," said Buck Daniels, "comin' towards you now."
"Dan!" cried the old man, shading his eyes and peering anxiously--"no, I
can't see a thing. Can you find me, lad?"
And Buck Daniels, softening his voice as much as he could, answered. "I
can find you."
"Then gimme your hand."
Buck Daniels slipped his own large hand into the cold fingers of the
dying cattleman. An expression of surpassing joy lay on the face of Joe
Cumberland.
"Whistlin' Dan, my Dan," he murmured faintly, "I'm kind of sleepy, but
before I go to sleep, to-night, I got to tell you that I forgive you for
your joke--pretendin' to take Kate away."
"They's nothin' but sleep worth while--and goin' to sleep, holdin' your
hand, lad--"
Buck Daniels dropped upon his knees and stared into the wide, dead eyes.
Through the open window a sound of whistling blew to him. It was a
sweet, faint music, and being so light it seemed like a chorus of
singing voices among the mountains, for it was as pure and as sharp as
the starlight.
Buck Daniels lifted his head to listen, but the sound faded, and the
murmur of the night-wind came between.
THE END
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Night Horseman, by Max Brand
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NIGHT HORSEMAN ***
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