THE NORTH RAID An hour before, Deal Sanderson had opened his eyes.

He had been comfortably wrapped in his blanket; his head had been resting on a saddle seat.

His sleep over, he had discovered that the saddle seat felt hard to his cheek.

In changing his position he had awakened.

His face toward the east, he had seen a gray streak widening on the horizon--a herald of the dawn.
Sanderson found what seemed to be a softer spot on the saddle, snuggled himself in the blanket, and went to sleep again.