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I knew it I had eaten nearly half of what I had. I was sure sore at myself, because I needed that grub to last.
    Along towards dark I climbed up on Slim and rode out. The moon was still shining real bright, and I could see my surroundings just fine. 
    I had decided as long as the full moon lasted that I would ride during the night. I didn’t know if it was true or not, but I had heard that Injuns didn’t like fighting at night.
    The night before I had circled way out and had found the wagon tracks.
    I had figured on back tracking them all the way back to the settlement, but by now the tracks were just about gone. Sometime during the night I completely lost them, and by daylight I was lost as I could be.
    I holed up again for the day. 
    But I didn’t sleep. Instead, I sat around and tried to think. 
    Pa had taught me how to navigate at night by using the stars, so I wasn’t confused none on what direction I was going. But, even though I was still riding east I could miss that settlement by miles!
    And I needed to find that settlement quick, because by now all my grub was gone.
    I tried all day to come up with a solution, but by evening time I still hadn’t figured anything out. I’d just have to ride east and hope to get lucky.
    I got ready to leave, but just before I mounted up I saw Injuns. 
    They were miles away, and they were riding in the other direction. I stayed still and watched them until they were out of sight.
    Those Injuns made me nervous, and I stayed put until well after dark. The moon came out and the coyotes were howling before I finally climbed up on Slim and rode out.
    I rode east all through the night, and when it got daylight I kept ol’ Slim in a slow walk. 
    I didn’t see the point in stopping. I was sure getting hungry, and I figured before long I would have to try and hunt something with my six-shooter. I still didn’t know how to start a fire, so I figured I’d just have to eat it raw. 
    At least I wasn’t thirsty. There were small creeks scattered about all over the place, and several times during the day I stopped and watered out.
    Darkness hit, but I still kept ol’ Slim a-going on.
    Slim was getting tired. But, he seemed to sense the urgency of the situation, and he kept plodding forward.
    However, sometime near midnight Slim started limping. I pulled up and discovered that Slim had lost a shoe. 
    I climbed back up on Slim, and we took out in a slow walk. We went a mile or two further, but then he started limping even worse.
    I got really scared then. If I were to lose Slim I’d be a-foot, and I wouldn’t last long that a-way.
    I had just decided to stop when we suddenly rode up on a horse. He was picketed out for the night, and he had his head down and was grazing. 
    I jumped in the saddle while he snorted and looked wildly at us. 
    He was a good looking horse. From the looks of it he had just had a really long day’s ride, for he was covered all over in dried sweat.
    The first thing that crossed my mind was Injuns. 
    I grabbed my Colt pistol, and then I rode in a big circle as I searched for the Injun's camp.
    I didn’t find anything, and I was heading back to the horse when I suddenly heard a loud snore. 
    I got down on foot, and that’s when I found a well-hidden cowboy that was sleeping in some nearby bushes. 
    He had his bedroll rolled out, and he was sleeping hard. The remains of a small campfire was there beside him, and I also noticed several cans of canned food laying about. 
    My stomach growled, but I was careful. 
    “Hello the camp!” I called out. 
    He never moved, and I stood beside Slim not knowing what to do. 
    I gave the camp another going over and decided to try again. 
    “Hello the camp!”
    There was no move, no nothing. 
    I left Slim and carefully approached him. 
    “Say, are you dead?” I asked.
    This time I got a grunt, but then he fell back into a heavy snore. Whoever this cow-puncher was, he was dead tired, that was for sure. 
    I