noon
It was late in the afternoon , after a careful circuit of the southern end of the Shoe-Bar , that Buck reached the foothills . Bud had told him of a spring to the northwest of Las Vegas camp , but the rough traveling decided him to camp that night on the further side of the creek . In the morning he went on through a wilderness of arroyos , cañons , and gullies that twisted endlessly between the barren hills , and made him realize how simple it would be for any number of men and cattle to evade pursuit in this wild country . Fortunately Jessup 's directions had been explicit , and toward noon Buck found the spring at the bottom of a small cañon and proceeded to unpack and settle down . Bud himself had discovered the place by accident , and as far as Stratton could judge it was not a likely spot to be visited either by the Shoe-Bar hands or their Mexican confederates . A wide , overhanging ledge provided shelter for himself , and there was plenty of forage in sight for the two horses . Taken all in all , it was as snug a retreat as any one could wish , and Buck congratulated himself on having such safe and secluded headquarters from which to carry on his investigations .