nearly
four o'clock
And at ten dollars a day for a man and horse , they 'll soon get sick and Reed will get his pay . If I have to hold the sack in the end , I do n't want any company . '' The location of the beeves was about twelve miles from town and but a short distance above the herds of The Rebel and Bob Quirk . It was nearly four o'clock when we left the hamlet , and by striking a free gait , we covered the intervening distance in less than an hour and a half . The mesa between the two rivers was covered with through cattle , and as we neared the herd in question , we were met by the larger one of the two chief deputies . The undersheriff was on his way to town , but on sighting his superior among us , he halted and a conference ensued . Sponsilier and Priest made a great ado over the big deputy on meeting , and after a few inquiries were exchanged , the latter turned to Sheriff Phillips and said : `` Well , we served the papers and I left the other two boys in temporary possession of the cattle .