three o'clock
But a moment 's reflection furnished the answer to this query . These men were cattle-rustlers and horse-thieves , than which no more hazardous existence ever was since the gentle days of West Indian piracy , and to them merely a single pistol shot might mean betrayal of their whereabouts , capture and death . The character of the country through which they rode gave sufficient evidence of their care in all details , for it was a rough , wild , uninhabitable section that boasted , on its craggy heights and rough coulees , barely enough vegetation to support a wild mustang . It was three o'clock of the afternoon and behind them the party could still see the place where they had camped . Joe Parker , fearful of stirring about much until the thoughts of range-riders were turning homeward like their ponies ' steps , had delayed the departure beyond the hour first intended . The rustlers really did not want to dispose of Larkin . Being plainsmen , their acute sense of justice told them that this man was absolutely guiltless of any crime deserving of death .