THE TEXAN

A Story of the Cattle Country

by

JAMES B. HENDRYX

Author of

"The Gun Brand, " "The Promise, " etc. 

A. L. Burt CompanyPublishers New YorkPublished by arrangement with G. P. Putnam's SonsMade in the United States of America

Copyright, 1918ByJames B. Hendryx

Fourth Printing

This edition is issued under arrangement with the publishersG. P. Putnam's Sons, New York And London

CONTENTS. 

Chapter

 A PROLOGUE I. THE TRAIN STOPS II. WOLF RIVER III. PURDY IV. CINNABAR JOE V. ON THE FLAT VI. THE RIM OF THE BENCH VII. THE ARREST VIII. ONE WAY OUT IX. THE PILGRIM X. THE FLIGHT XI. A RESCUE XII. TEX DOES SOME SCOUTING XIII. A BOTTLE OF "HOOCH" XIV. ON ANTELOPE BUTTE XV. THE TEXAN HEARS SOME NEWS XVI. BACK IN CAMP XVII. IN THE BAD LANDS XVIII. "WIN" XIX. THE END OF THE TRAIL

THE TEXAN

A PROLOGUE

Exactly twenty minutes after young Benton dismounted from his big rangyblack before the door of a low adobe saloon that fronted upon one of thenarrow crooked streets of old Las Vegas, he glanced into the eyes of thethin-lipped croupier and laughed. "You've got 'em. Seventy-four goodold Texas dollars. " He held up a coin between his thumb and forefinger. "I've got another one left, an' your boss is goin' to get that, too--buthe's goin' to get it in legitimate barter an' trade. "

As the cowpuncher stepped to the bar that occupied one side of the room, a group of Mexicans who had lounged back at his entrance crowded oncemore about the wheel and began noisily to place their bets. He watchedthem for a moment before turning his attention to the heavy-lidded, flabby-jowled person who leaned ponderously against the sober side of thebar. 

"Who owns this joint?" he asked truculently, as he eyed with disfavourthe filthy shirt-sleeves rolled back from thick forearms, the saggingvest, and the collarless shirt-band that buried itself in a fold of thefat neck. 

"I do, " was the surly rejoinder. "Got any kick comin'?"

"Nary kick. " The cowpuncher tossed his dollar onto the bar. "Give me alittle red licker, " he ordered, and grinned at the sullen proprietor ashe filled his glass to the brim. 

"An outfit, " he confided, with slow insolence, "that'll run an eagle-birdwheel ain't got no more conscience than a _hombre's_ got brains that'llbuck one. In Texas we'd shoot a man full of little holes that 'ud tryit. "

"Why'n you stay in Texas, then?" growled the other. 

The cowman drank his liquor and refilled the glass. "Most fat men, " heimparted irrelevantly, "are plumb mindful that they're easy hit, an'consequent they're cheerful-hearted an' friendly. Likewise, they mindtheir own business, which is also why they've be'n let grow to onhumanproportions. But, not to seem oncivil to a stranger, an' by way ofgettin' acquainted, I'll leak it out that it ain't no fault of Texas thatI come away from there--but owin' only to a honin' of mine to see more ofthe world than what Texas affords. 

"The way to see a world, " I debates, "is like anythin' else--begin at thebottom an' work up. So I selects seventy-five dollars an' hits fer LasVegas. "

The fat man pocketed the dollar and replaced it with a greasy fifty-centpiece, an operation which the Texan watched with interest as he swallowedhis liquor. 

"They ain't nothin' like eagle-bird wheels an' snake-liniment at two bitsa throw to help a man start at the bottom, " he opined, and reaching forthe half-dollar, tossed it to a forlorn-looking individual who loungednear the door. "Here, Greaser, lend a hand in helpin' me downward!Here's four bits. Go lay it on the wheel--an' say: I got a hunch! Iplayed every number on that wheel except the thirteen--judgin' it to beonlucky. " The forlorn one grinned his understanding, and clutching thepiece of silver, elbowed into the group that crowded the roulette wheel. The cowpuncher turned once more to the surly proprietor:

"So now you see me, broke an' among evil companions, in this hereGod-forsaken, lizard-ridden, Greaser-loving sheep-herdin' land of sorrow. But, give me another jolt of that there pizen-fermentus an' I'll raise toheights unknown. A few more shots of that an' they ain't no tellin' whatform of amusement a man's soul might incline to. "

"Y'got the price?"

"I ain't got even the makin's--only an ingrowin' cravin' fer spirituallicker an' a hankerin' to see America first----"

"That hoss, " the proprietor jerked a thumb toward the open door beyondwhich the big rangy black pawed fretfully at the street. "Mebbe we mightmake a trade. I got one good as him 'er better. It's that sor'lstandin' t'other side of yourn. "

The Texan rested an arm upon the bar and leaned forward confidentially. "Fatty, " he drawled, "you're a liar. " The other noted the hand thatrested lightly upon the cowman's hip near the ivory butt of the six-gunthat protruded from its holster, and took no offence. His customercontinued: "They ain't no such horse--an' if they was, _you_ couldn't ownhim. They ain't no man ever throw'd a kak on Ace of Spades but me, an'as fer sellin' him, or tradin' him--I'll shoot him first!"

A sudden commotion at the back of the room caused both men to turn towardthe wheel where a fierce altercation had arisen between the croupier andthe vagabond to whom the Texan had tossed his last coin. 

"You'll take that er nothin'! It's more money'n y'ever see beforean'----"

"_Non_! _Non_! De _treize_! De, w'at you call t'irten--she repe't!A'm git mor' as seex hondre dollaire--" The proprietor lumbered heavilyfrom behind the bar and Benton noted that the thick fingers closedtightly about the handle of a bung-starter. The crowd of Mexicansthinned against the wall as the man with ponderous stealth approached toa point directly behind the excited vagabond who continued hisprotestations with increasing vigour. The next instant the Texan'ssix-gun flashed from its holster and as he crossed the room his eyecaught the swift nod of the croupier. 

When the proprietor drew back his arm to strike, the thick wrist wasseized from behind and he was spun violently about to glare into thesmiling eyes of the cowpuncher--eyes in which a steely glint flickeredbehind the smile, a glint more ominous even than the feel of the muzzleof the blue-black six-gun that pressed deeply into his flabby paunch justabove the waistband of his trousers. 

"Drop that mallet!" The words came softly, but with an ungentle softnessthat was accompanied by a boring, twisting motion of the gun muzzle as itpressed deeper into his midriff. The bung-starter thudded upon the floor. 

"Now let's get the straight of this, " continued the Texan. "Hey, youGreaser, if you c'n quit talkin' long enough to say somethin', we'll findout what's what here. You ort to look both ways when you're in a dumplike this or the coyotes'll find out what you taste like. Come on, now--give me the facts in the case an' I'll a'joodicate it to suit allparties that's my way of thinkin'. "

"_Oui_! A'm play de four bit on de _treize_, an' _voila_! She ween!Da's wan gran' honch! A'm play heem wan tam' mor'. De w'eel she spin'roun', de leetle ball she sing lak de bee an', _Nom de Dieu_! Sherepe't! De t'irten ween ag'in. A'm reech--But _non_!" The man pointedexcitedly to the croupier who sneered across the painted board upon whicha couple of gold pieces lay beside a little pile of silver. "A-ha, _canaille_! Wat you call--son of a dog! T'ief! She say, 'feeftydollaire'! Dat more as seex hondre dollaire----"

"It's a lie!" cried the croupier fiercely, "the thirteen don't repeat. The sixteen win--you kin see fer yourself. An' what's more, they can'tno damn Injun come in here an' call me no----"

"Hold on!" The Texan shifted his glance to the croupier without easingthe pressure on the gun. "If the sixteen win, what's the fifty bucksfor? His stake's on the thirteen, ain't it?"

"What business you got, hornin' in on this? It hain't your funeral. YouTexas tin-horns comes over here an' lose----"

"That'll be about all out of you. An' if I was in your boots I wouldn'tgo speakin' none frivolous about funerals, neither. "

The smile was gone from the steel-grey eyes and the croupier experienceda sudden chilling in the pit of his stomach. 

"Let's get down to cases, " the cowpuncher continued. "I kind of got theGreaser into this here jack-pot an' it's up to me to get him out. Helays four bits on the thirteen--she pays thirty-five--that'sseventeen-fifty. Eighteen, as she lays. The blame fool leaves it layan' she win again--that's thirty-five times eighteen. Good Lord! An'without no pencil an' paper! We'll cut her up in chunks an' tackle her:let's see, ten times eighteen is one-eighty, an' three times thatis--three times the hundred is three hundred, and three times the eightyis two-forty. That's five-forty, an' a half of one-eighty is ninety, an'five-forty is six-thirty. We'd ort to double it fer interest an'goodwill, but we'll leave it go at the reglar price. So, just you skinoff six hundred an' thirty bucks, an' eighteen more, an' pass 'em acrost. An' do it _pronto_ or somethin' might happen to Fatty right where he'sthickest. " The cowpuncher emphasized his remarks by boring the muzzleeven deeper into the unctuous periphery of the proprietor. The croupiershot a questioning glance toward his employer. 

"Shell it out! You fool!" grunted that worthy. "Fore this gun comes outmy back. An', besides, it's cocked!" Without a word the croupiercounted out the money, arranging it in little piles of gold and silver. 

As the vagabond swept the coins into his battered Stetson the Texan gavea final twist to the six-gun. "If I was you, Fatty, I'd rub that therethirteen number off that wheel an' paint me a tripple-ought or mebbe, another eagle-bird onto it. "

He turned to the man who stood grinning over his hatful of money:

"Come on, Pedro, me an' you're goin' away from here. The licker this_hombre_ purveys will shore lead to bloodshed an' riotin', besides whichit's onrespectable to gamble anyhow. "

Pausing to throw the bridle reins over the horn of his saddle, the Texanlinked his arm through that of his companion and proceeded down thestreet with the big black horse following like a dog. After severalminutes of silence he stopped and regarded the other thoughtfully. 

"Pedro, " he said, "me an' you, fallin' heir to an onexpected legacy thisway, it's fit an' proper we should celebrate accordin' to our lights. The common an' onchristian way would be to spliflicate around from onesaloon to another 'till we'd took in the whole town an' acquired a coupleof jags an' more or less onfavourable notoriety. Then, in a couple ofdays or two, we'd wake up with fur on our tongue an inch long an' ourwealth divided amongst thieves. But, Pedro, such carryin's-on isondecent an' improvident. Take them great captains of industry you readabout! D'you reckon every pay-day old Andy Rockyfellow goes a rampin'down Main Street back there in Noo York, proclaimin' he's a wolf an' it'shis night to howl? Not on your tintype, he don't! If he did he'd neverof rose out of the rank an' file of the labourin' class, an' chances is, would of got fired out of that fer not showin' up at the corral Mondaymornin'! Y'see I be'n a-readin' up on the lives of these here saints tokind of get a line on how they done it. Take that whole bunch an' theywasn't hardly a railroad nor a oil mill nor a steel factory between 'emwhen they was born. I got all their numbers. I know jest how they doneit, an' when I get time I'm a-goin' out an' make the Guggenhimers coughup my share of Mexico an' the Rocky Mountains an' Alaska. 

"But to get down to cases, as the preachers says: Old Andy he don'tcantankerate none noticeable. When he feels needful of a jamboree hegoes down to the bank an' fills his pockets an' a couple of valises withchange, an' gum-shoes down to John D. Swab's, an' they hunt up CharleyCarnage an' a couple of senators an' a rack of chips an' they finds 'em aback room, pulls off their collars an' coats an' goes to it. They ain'tno kitty only to cover the needful expenses of drinks, eats, an'smokes--an' everything goes, from cold-decks to second-dealin'. Thenwhen they've derove recreation enough, on goes their collars an' coats, an' they eat a handful of cloves an' get to work on the public again. They's a lot of money changes hands in these here sessions but it nevergets out of the gang, an' after you get their brands you c'n generallyalways tell who got gouged by noticin' what goes up. If coal oil hists acouple of cents on the gallon you know Andy carried his valises homeempty an' if railroad rates jumps--the senators got nicked a little, an'vicy versy. Now you an' me ain't captains of industry, nor nothin' elsebut our own soul, as the piece goes, but 'tain't no harm we should try alaw-abidin' recreation, same as these others, an' mebbe after somepractice we'll get to where the Guggenhimers will be figgerin' how to getthe western hemisphere of North America back from us. 

"It's like this. Me an' you'll stop in an' get us a couple of drinks. Then we'll hunt us up a hash-house an' put a big bate of ham an' aigs outof circulation, an' go get us a couple more drinks, an' heel ourselveswith a deck of cards an' a couple bottles of cactus juice, an' hunt us upa place where we'll be ondisturbed by the riotorious carryin's-on of thefrivolous-minded, an' we'll have us a two-handed poker game which nomatter who wins we can't lose, like I was tellin' you, 'cause they can'tno outside parties horn in on the profits. But first-off we'll hunt up afeed barn so Ace of Spades can load up on oats an' hay while we're havin'our party. "

An hour later the Texan deposited a quart bottle, a rack of chips, and adeck of cards on a little deal table in the dingy back room of a saloon. 

"I tell you, Pedro, they's a whole lot of fancy trimmin's this room ain'tgot, but it's quiet an' peaceable an' it'll suit our purpose to a gnat'shind leg. " He dropped into a chair and reached for the rack of chips. 

"It's a habit of mine to set facin' the door, " he continued, as heproceeded to remove the disks and arrange them into stacks. "So if yougot any choist just set down acrost the table there an' we'll start thefestivities. I'll bank the game an' we'll take out a fifty-dollar stackan' play table stakes. " He shoved three stacks of chips across thetable. "Just come acrost with fifty bucks so's we c'n keep the bankstraight an' go ahead an' deal. An' while you're a-doin' it, bein' asyou're a pretty good Greaser, I'll just take a drink to you----"

"Greasaire, _non_! Me, A'm hate de damn Greasaire!"

The cowpuncher paused with the bottle half way to his lips andscrutinized the other: "I thought you was a little off colour an' talkedkind of funny. What be you?"

"Me, A'm Blood breed. Ma fader she French. Ma moder she Blood Injun. A'm leeve een Montan' som'tam'--som'tam' een Canada. A'm no lak deescontrie! Too mooch hot. Too mooch Greasaire! Too mooch sheep. A'm lakI go back hom'. A'm ride for T. U. Las' fall an' A'm talk to round-upcook, Walt Keeng, hees nam', an' he com' from Areezoon'. She no likeMontan'. She say Areezoon' she bettaire--no fence--beeg range--plent'cattle. You goin' down dere an' git job you see de good contrie. You nocom' back Nort' no more. So A'm goin' down w'en de col' wedder com' an'A'm git de job wit' ol' man Fisher on, w'at you call Yumabench--_Sacré_!" The half-breed paused and wiped his face. 

"Didn't you like it down Yuma Way?" Benton smiled. 

"Lak it! _Voila_! No wataire! No snow! Too mooch, w'at you call, deleezard! Een de wintaire, A'm so Godamn hot A'm lak for die. _Non_!A'm com' way from dere. A'm goin' Nort' an' git me nodder job w'ere A'mgit som' wataire som'tam'. Mebbe so git too mooch col' in wintaire, but, _voila_! Better A'm lak I freeze l'il bit as burn oop!"

The Texan laughed. "I don't blame you none. I never be'n down to Yumabut they tell me it's hell on wheels. Go ahead an' deal, Pedro. "

"Pedro, _non_! Ma moder she nam' Moon Eye, an' ma fader she Cross-CutLajune. Derefor', A'm Batiste Xavier Jean Jacques de Beaumont Lajune. "

The bottle thumped upon the table top. 

"What the hell is that, a name or a song?"

"Me, das ma nam'--A'm call Batiste Xavier Jean----"

"Hold on there! If your ma or pa, or whichever one done the namin'didn't have no expurgated dictionary handy mebbe they ain't to blame--butfrom now on, between you an' me, you're Bat. That's name enough, an' theJohn Jack Judas Iscariot an' General Jackson part goes in the discards. An' bein' as this here is only a two-handed game, the discards isdead---- See?"

At the end of an hour the half-breed watched with a grin as the Texanraked in a huge pile of chips. 

"Dat de las', " he said, "Me, A'm broke. "

"Broke!" exclaimed the cowpuncher, "you don't mean you've done lost allthat there six hundred an' forty-eight bucks?" He counted the littlepiles of silver and gold, which the half-breed had shoved across theboard in return for stack after stack of chips. 

"Six-forty-two, " he totalled. "Let's see, supper was a dollar an' fourbits, drinks two dollars, an' two dollars for this bottle of prune-juicethat's about gone already, an'--Hey, Bat, you're four bits shy! Friskyourself an' I'll play you a showdown for them four bits. " The othergrinned and held a silver half dollar between his finger and thumb. 

"_Non_! A'm ke'p dat four bit! Dat lucky four bit. A'm ponch hole inheem an' car' heem roun' ma neck lak' de medicine bag. A'm gon' backNort'--me! A'm got no frien's. You de only friend A'm got. You give mede las' four bit. You, give me de honch to play de t'irteen. A'm gitreech, an' den you mak' de bank, w'at you call, com' 'crost. Now A'mgoin' back to Montan' an' git me de job. Wat de hell!"

"Where's your outfit?" asked the Texan as he carefully stowed the moneyin his pockets. 

"Ha! Ma outfeet--A'm sell dat outfeet to git de money to com' back hom'. A'm play wan leetle gam' coon can an' _voila_! A'm got no money. Dedamn Greasaire she ween dat money an' A'm broke. A'm com' som'tam' on defreight train--som'tam' walk, an' A'm git dees far. Tomor' A'm git defreight train goin' Nort' an' som'tam' A'm git to Montan'. Eet ees ver'far, but mebbe-so A'm git dere for fall round-up. An' Ba Goss, A'mnevaire com' sout' no mor'. Too mooch hot! Too mooch no wataire! Toomooch, w'at you call, de pizen boog--mebbe-so in de bed--in de pants--inde boot--you git bite an' den you got to die! Voila! Wat de hell!"

The Texan laughed and reaching into his pocket drew out two twenty dollargold pieces and a ten which thudded upon the table before the astonishedeyes of the half-breed. 

"Here, Bat, you're a damn good Injun! You're plumb squanderous with yourmoney, but you're a good sport. Take that an' buy you a ticket to as farNorth as it'll get you. Fifty bucks ort to buy a whole lot of carridin'. An' don't you stop to do no gamblin', neither---- Ain't I toldyou it's onrespectable an' divertin' to morals? If you don't _sabe_ cooncan no better'n what you do poker, you stand about as much show amongstthese here Greasers as a rabbit in a coyote patch. It was a shame totake your money this way, but bein' as you're half-white it was up to meto save you the humiliatin' agony of losin' it to Greasers. "

The half-breed pocketed the coins as the other buttoned his shirt andtook another long pull at the bottle. 

"Wer' you goin' now?" he asked as the cowpuncher started for the door. The man paused and regarded him critically. "First off, I'm goin' to getmy horse. An' then me an' you is goin' down to the depot an' you'rea-goin' to buy that there ticket. I'm a-goin' to see that you get itironclad an' onredeemable, I ain't got no confidence in no gambler an'bein' as I've took a sort of likin' to you, I hate to think of youa-walkin' clean to Montana in them high-heeled boots. After that I'ma-goin' to start out an' examine this here town of Las Vegas lengthways, crossways, down through the middle, an' both sides of the crick. An'when that's off my mind, I'm a-goin' to begin on the rest of the world. "He moved his arm comprehensively and reached for the bottle. 

"You wait right here till I get old Ace of Spades, " he continued solemnlywhen he had rasped the raw liquor from his throat. "If you ain't herewhen I come back I'll swallow-fork your ears with this here gat just tosee if my shootin' eye is in practice. The last time I done any fancyshootin' I was kind of wild--kep' a-hittin' a little to one side an' theother--not much, only about an inch or so--but it wasn't right goodshootin'. "

The half-breed grinned: "A'm stay here till you com' back. A'm fin' datyou ma frien'. A'm lak' you, _bien_!"

When the Texan returned, fifteen minutes later, the man of many names wasgone. "It's just like I said, you can't trust no gambler, " he muttered, with a doleful nod of the head. "He's pulled out on me, but he betternot infest the usual marts of midnight. 'Cause I'm a-goin' to start outan' take in everything that's open in this man's town, an' if I find himI'll just nachelly show him the onprincipledness of lyin' to a friend. "

Stepping to the bar he bought a drink and a moment later swung onto thebig rangy black and clattered down the street. At the edge of the townhe turned and started slowly back, dismounting wherever the lights of asaloon illumined the dingy street, but never once catching a glimpse ofthe figure that followed in the thick blackness of the shadows. Beforethe saloon of the surly proprietor the cowpuncher brought his big blackto a stand and sat contemplating the sorrel that stood dejectedly withears adroop and one hind foot resting lightly upon the toe. 

"So that's the cayuse Fatty wanted to trade me for Ace of Spades!" hesnorted. "That dog-legged, pot-gutted, lop-eared patch of red he offersto trade to _me_ fer _Ace of Spades_! It's a doggone insult! I didn'tknow it at the time, havin' only a couple of drinks, an' too sober tojudge a insult when I seen one. But it's different now, I can see it inthe dark. I'm a-goin' in there an'--an' twist his nose off an' feed itto him. But first I got to find old Bat. He's an Injun, but he's a goodold scout, an' I hate to think of him walkin' all the way to Montanawhile some damn Greaser is spendin' my hard earned samolians that I givehim for carfare. It's a long walk to Montana. Plumb through Coloradoan' Wyomin' an'--an' New Jersey, or somewheres. Mebbe he's in there now. As they say in the Bible, or somewheres, you got to hunt for a thingwhere you find it, or something. Hold still, there you black devil you!What you want to stand there spinnin' 'round like a top for? You be'ndrinkin', you doggone old ringtail! What was I goin' to do, now. Oh, yes, twist Patty's nose, an' find Bat an' shoot at his ears a while, an'make him get his ticket to New Jersey an'----

"This is a blame slow old town, she needs wakin' up, anyhow. If I ridein that door I'll get scraped off like mud off a boot. "

He spurred the black and brought him up with a jerk beside the sorrelwhich snorted and reared back, snapping the reins with which he had beentied, and stood with distended nostrils sniffing inquiringly at Ace ofSpades as the cowpuncher swung to the ground. 

"Woke up, didn't you, you old stager? Y'ain't so bad lookin' when you'realive. Patty'll have to get him a new pair of bridle reins. Mebbe thewhole town'll look better if it's woke up some. 

"Y-e-e-e-e-o-w! Cowboys a-comin'!"

A citizen or two paused on the street corner, a few Mexicans grinned asthey drew back to allow the Gringo free access to the saloon, and aswarthy figure slipped unobserved across the street and blended into theshadow of the adobe wall. 

"O-o-o-o-o-h, the yaller r-o-s-e of Texas!" sang the cowpuncher, withjoyous vehemence. As he stepped into the room, his eyes swept the facesof the gamblers and again he burst into vociferous song:

"O-o-o-o-o-h, w-h-e-r-e is my wanderin' b-o-y tonight?"

"Hey, you! Whad'ye think this is, a camp meetin'?"

The Texan faced the speaker. "Well, if it ain't my old college chum!Fatty, I stopped in a purpose to see you. An' besides which, by theunalien rights of the Constitution an' By-laws of this here United Statesof Texas, a man's got a right to sing whatever song suits himirregardless of sex or opportunity. " The other glared malevolently asthe cowpuncher approached the bar with a grin. "Don't bite yourself an'die of hydrophobia before your eggication is complete, which it ain'ttill you've learnt never to insult no Texas man by offerin' to trade norat-tailed, ewe-necked old buzzard fodder fer a top Texas horse. 

"Drop that mallet! An' don't go reachin-' around in under that bar, 'cause if you find what you're huntin' fer you're a-goin' to see feryourself if every cloud's got a silver linin'. 'Tend to business now, an' set out a bottle of your famous ol' Las Vegas stummick shellac an'while I'm imbibin' of its umbilical ambrosier, I'll jest onscrew yournose an' feed it to the cat. "

Sweat stood out upon the forehead of the heavy-paunched proprietor aswith a flabby-faced grin he set out the bottle. But the Texan caught thesnake-like flash of the eyes with which the man signalled to the croupieracross the room. Gun in hand, he whirled:

"No, you don't, Toney!" An ugly blue-black automatic dropped to thefloor and the croupier's hands flew ceilingward. 

"I never seen such an outfit to be always a-reachin', " grinned thecowpuncher. "Well, if there ain't the ol' eagle-bird wheel! Give her aspin, Toney! They say you can't hit an eagle on the fly with a six-gun, but I'm willin' to try! Spin her good, 'cause I don't want no onfairadvantage of that there noble bird. Stand back, Greasers, so you don'tget nicked!"

As the croupier spun the wheel, three shots rang in an almost continuousexplosion and the gamblers fell over each other in an effort to dodge theflying splinters that filled the powder-fogged air. 

 "Little black bull slid down the mountain, L-o-n-g t-i-m-e ago!"

roared the Texan as he threw open the cylinder of his gun. 

 "H-e-e-e-e scraped his horn on a hickory saplin', L-o-n-g t-i-m-e ago----"

There was a sudden commotion behind him, a swift rush of feet, a muffledthud, and a gasping, agonized grunt. The next instant the huge acetelynelamp that lighted the room fell to the floor with a crash and the placewas plunged in darkness. 

"Queek, m's'u, dees way!" a hand grasped his wrist and the cowpuncherfelt himself drawn swiftly toward the door. From all sides sounded thescuffling of straining men who breathed heavily as they fought in theblackness. 

A thin red flame cut the air and a shot rang sharp. Someone screamed anda string of Spanish curses blended into the hubbub of turmoil. 

"De hosses, queek, m's'u!"

The cool air of the street fanned the Texan's face as he leaped acrossthe sidewalk, and vaulted into the saddle. The next moment the big blackwas pounding the roadway neck and neck with another, smaller horse uponwhich the half-breed swayed in the saddle with the ease and grace of theloose-rein rider born. 

It was broad daylight when the cowpuncher opened his eyes in an arroyodeep among the hills far, far from Las Vegas. He rubbed his foreheadtenderly, and crawling to a spring a few feet distant, buried his face inthe tiny pool and drank deeply of the refreshing liquid. Verydeliberately he dried his face on a blue handkerchief, and fumbled in hispockets for papers and tobacco. As he blew the grey smoke from hisnostrils he watched the half-breed who sat nearby industriously splicinga pair of broken bridle reins. 

"Did you get that ticket, Bat?" he asked, with a hand pressed tightlyagainst his aching forehead. 

The other grinned. "Me, A'm no wan' no ticket. A'm lak A'm stay wit'you, an' mebbe-so we git de job togedder. "

The cowpuncher smoked for a time in silence. 

"What was the rookus last night?" he asked, indifferently. Then, suddenly, his eye fell upon the sorrel that snipped grass at the end of alariat rope near the picketed black, and he leaped to his feet. "Where'dyou get that horse?" he exclaimed sharply. "It's Fatty's! There's thereins he busted when he snorted loose!"

Again the half-breed grinned. "A'm bor' dat hoss for com' 'long wit'you. Dat Fatty, she damn bad man. She try for keel you w'en you tak' deshot at de wheel. A'm com' 'long dat time an' A'm keek heem in de gutsan' he roll 'roun' on de floor, an' A'm t'row de bottle of wheesky an'smash de beeg lamp an' we com' 'long out of dere. " The cowpuncher tossedhis cigarette away and spat upon the ground. 

"How'd you happen to come in there so handy just at the right time?" heasked with a sidewise glance at the half-breed. 

"Oh, A'm fol' you long tam'. A'm t'ink mebbe-so you git l'il too moochhooch an' som'one try for do you oop. A'm p'ek in de door an' seen Fattygon' shoot you. Dat mak' me mad lak hell, an' A'm run oop an' keek heemso hard I kin on hees belly. You ma frien'. A'm no lak I seen you gitkeel. "

The Texan nodded. "I see. You're a damn good Injun, Bat, an' I ain'tgot no kick comin' onto the way you took charge of proceedin's. But yousure raised hell when you stole that horse. They's prob'ly aboutthirty-seven men an' a sheriff a-combin' these here hills fer us at thispartic'lar minute an' when they catch us----"

The half-breed laughed. "Dem no ketch. We com' feefty mile. Dat leetlehoss she damn good hoss. We got de two bes' hoss. We ke'p goin' dey noketch. 'Spose dey do ketch. Me, A'm tell 'em A'm steal dat hoss an' younot know nuthin' 'bout dat. "

There was a twinkle in the Texan's eye as he yawned and stretchedprodigiously. "An' I'll tell 'em you're the damnedest liar in the stateof Texas an' North America throw'd in. Come on, now, you throw theshells on them horses an' we'll be scratchin' gravel. Fifty miles ain'tno hell of a ways--my throat's beginnin' to feel kind of draw'd already. "

"W'er' we goin'?" asked the half-breed as they swung into the saddles. 

"Bat, " said the other, solemnly, "me an' you is goin' fast, an' we'regoin' a long time. You mentioned somethin' about Montana bein'considerable of a cow country. Well, me an' you is a-goin' North--as farNorth as cattle is--an' we're right now on our way!"

CHAPTER I

THE TRAIN STOPS

"I don't see why they had to build their old railroad down in thebottom of this river bed. " With deft fingers Alice Marcum caught backa wind-tossed whisp of hair. "It's like travelling through a trough. "

"Line of the least resistance, " answered her companion as he rested anarm upon the polished brass guard rail of the observation car. "Thisriver bed, running east and west, saved them millions in bridges. "

The girl's eyes sought the sky-line of the bench that rose on bothsides of the mile-wide valley through which the track of the greattranscontinental railroad wound like a yellow serpent. 

"It's level up there. Why couldn't they have built it along the edge?"

The man smiled: "And bridged all those ravines!" he pointed to gaps andnotches in the level sky-line where the mouths of creek beds andcoulees flashed glimpses of far mountains. "Each one of those ravineswould have meant a trestle and trestles run into big money. "

"And so they built the railroad down here in this ditch where peoplehave to sit and swelter and look at their old shiny rails and scragglygreen bushes and dirt walls, while up there only a half a mile away thegreat rolling plains stretch away to the mountains that seem so nearyou could walk to them in an hour. "

"But, my dear girl, it would not be practical. Railroads are builtprimarily with an eye to dividends and--" The girl interrupted himwith a gesture of impatience. 

"I hate things that are practical--hate even the word. There isnothing in all the world so deadly as practicability. It is ruthlessand ugly. It disregards art and beauty and all the higher things thatmake life worth living. It is a monster whose god is dollars--and whoserves that god well. What does any tourist know of the real West--theWest that lies beyond those level rims of dirt? How much do you or Iknow of it? The West to us is a thin row of scrub bushes along anarrow, shallow river, with a few little white-painted towns sprinkledalong, that for all we can see might be in Illinois or Ohio. I've beenaway a whole winter and for all the West I've seen I might as well havestayed in Brooklyn. "

"But certainly you enjoyed California!"

"California! Yes, as California. But California isn't the _West_!California is New York with a few orange groves thrown in. It is atourist's paradise. A combination of New York and Palm Beach. Thereal West lies east of the Rockies, the uncommercialized, unexploited--I suppose you would add, the unpractical West. A NewYorker gets as good an idea of the West when he travels by train toCalifornia as a Californian would get of New York were he to arrive byway of the tube and spend the winter in the Fritz-Waldmore. "

"I rather liked California, what little I saw of it. A business tripdoes not afford an ideal opportunity for sight seeing. "

"You like Newport and Palm Beach, too. "

The man ignored the interruption. 

"But, at least, this trip has combined a good bit of business with avery big bit of pleasure. It is two years since I have seen youand----"

"And so you're going to tell me for the twenty-sixth time in three daysthat you still love me, and that you want me to marry you, and I'llhave to say 'no' again, and explain that I'm not ready to marryanybody. " She regarded him with an air of mock solemnity. "But reallyMr. Winthrop Adams Endicott I think you _have_ improved since youstruck out for yourself into the wilds of--where was it, Ohio, or someplace. "

"Cincinnati, " answered the man a trifle stiffly. The girl shuddered. "I had to change cars there once. " Again she eyed him critically. "Yes, two years have made a really noticeable improvement. Do theCincinnati newspapers always remember to use your whole name or do theydare to refer to Winthrop A. Endicott. If I were a reporter I reallybelieve I'd try it once. If you keep on improving, some day somebodyis going to call you Win. "

The man flushed: "Are you never serious?" he asked. 

"Never more so than this minute. "

"You say you are not ready to many. You expect to marry, then, sometime?"

"I don't _expect_ to. I'm _going_ to. "

"Will you marry me when you are ready?"

The girl laughed. "Yes, if I can't find the man I want, I think Ishall. But he must be somewhere, " she continued, after a pause duringwhich her eyes centred upon the point where the two gleaming railsvanished into the distance. "He must be impractical, and human, and--and _elemental_. I'd rather be smashed to pieces in the GrandCanyon, than live for ever on the Erie Canal!"

"Aren't you rather unconventional in your tastes----?"

"If I'm not, I'm a total failure! I hate conventionality! And linesof least resistance! And practical things! It is the _men_ who arethe real sticklers for convention. The same kind of men that followthe lines of least resistance and build their railroads alongthem--because it is practical!

"I don't see why you want to marry me!" she burst out resentfully. "I'm not conventional, nor practical. And I'm not a line of leastresistance!"

"But I love you. I have always loved you, and----"

The girl interrupted him with a quick little laugh, which held no traceof resentment. "Yes, yes, I know. I believe you do. And I'm gladbecause really, Winthrop, you're a dear. There are lots of thingsabout you I admire. Your teeth, and eyes, and the way you wear yourclothes. If you weren't so terribly conventional, so cut and dried, and matter of fact, and _safe_, I might fall really and truly in lovewith you. But--Oh, I don't know! Here I am, twenty-three. And Isuppose I'm a little fool and have never grown up. I like to readstories about knights errant, and burglars, and fair ladies, andpirates, and mysterious dark oriental-looking men. And I like to go toplaces where everybody don't go--only Dad won't let me and---- Whyjust think!" she exclaimed in sudden wrath, "I've been in Californiafor three months and I've ridden over the same trails everybody elsehas ridden over, and motored over the same roads and climbed the samemountains, and bathed at the same beach, and I've met everybody I everknew in New York, just as I would have met them in Newport or PalmBeach or in Paris or Venice or Naples for that matter!"

"But why go off the beaten track where everything is arranged for yourconvenience? These people are experienced travellers. They know thatby keeping to the conventional routes-----"

"Winthrop Adams Endicott, if you say that word again I'll shriek! OrI'll go in from this platform and not speak to you again--ever! Youknow very well that there isn't a traveller among them. They're justtourists--professional goers. They do the same things, and say thesame things, and if they could think, they'd think the same thingsevery place they go. And I don't want things arranged for myconvenience--so there!"

Winthrop Adams Endicott lighted a cigarette, brushed some white dustfrom his sleeve, and smiled. 

"If I were a man and loved a girl so very, very much I wouldn't justsit around and grin. I'd do something!"

"But, my dear Alice, what would you have me do? I'm not a knighterrant, nor a burglar, nor a pirate, nor a dark mysteriousoriental--I'm just a plain ordinary business man and----"

"Well, I'd do something--even if it was something awful like gettingdrunk or shooting somebody. Why, if you even had a past you wouldn'tbe so hopeless. I could love a man with a past. It would show atleast, that he hadn't followed the line of the least resistance. Theworld is full of canals--but there are only a few canyons. Look! Ibelieve we're stopping! Oh, I hope it's a hold-up! What will you doif it is?" The train slowed to a standstill and Winthrop AdamsEndicott leaned out and gazed along the line of the coaches. 

"There is a little town here. Seems to be some commotion upahead--quite a crowd. If I can get this blamed gate open we can go upand see what the trouble is. "

"And if you can't get it open you can climb over and lift me down. I'mjust dying to know what's the matter. And if you dare to say itwouldn't be conventional I'll--I'll jump!"

CHAPTER II

WOLF RIVER

A uniformed flagman, with his flag and a handful of torpedoes swungfrom the platform and started up the track. 

"What's the trouble up in front?" asked the girl as Endicott assistedher to the ground. 

"Cloud busted back in the mountains, an' washed out the trussle, an'Second Seventy-six piled up in the river. "

"Oh, a wreck?" she exclaimed. "Will we have time to go up and see it?"

"I'd say it's a wreck, " grinned the trainman. "An' you've got all thetime you want. We're a-goin' to pull in on the sidin' an' let thewrecker an' bridge crew at it. But even with 'em a-workin' from bothends it'll be tomorrow sometime 'fore they c'n get them box cars drugout an' a temp'ry trussle throw'd acrost. "

"What town is this?"

"Town! Call it a town if you want to. It's Wolf River. It's ashippin' point fer cattle, but it hain't no more a town 'n what thecrick's a river. The trussle that washed out crosses the crick justabove where it empties into Milk River. I've railroaded through heregoin' on three years an' I never seen no water in it to speak ofbefore, an' mostly it's plumb dry. "

The man sauntered slowly up the track as one who performs a merelynominal duty, and the girl turned to follow Endicott. "It would havebeen easier to walk through the train, " he ventured, as he picked hisway over the rough track ballast. 

"Still seeking the line of least resistance, " mocked the girl. "We canwalk through a train any time. But we can't breathe air like this, and, see, --through that gap--the blue of the distant mountains!"

The man removed his hat and dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. "It's awfully hot, and I have managed to secrete a considerable portionof the railroad company's gravel in my shoes. "

"Don't mind a little thing like that, " retorted the girl sweetly. "I've peeled the toes of both of mine. They look like they had scarletfever. "

Passengers were alighting all along the train and hurrying forward tojoin those who crowded the scene of the wreck. 

"It was a narrow escape for us, " said Endicott as the two looked downupon the mass of broken cars about which the rapidly falling waters ofthe stream gurgled and swirled. "Had we not been running an hour latethis train would in all probability, have plunged through the trestle. "

"Was anybody hurt?" asked the girl. The train conductor nodded towardthe heap of debris. 

"No'm, the crew jumped. The fireman an' head brakeman broke a legapiece, an' the rest got bunged up a little; but they wasn't no onehurt. 

"I was just tellin' these folks, " he continued, "that they'll be atrain along on the other side in a couple of hours for to transfer thepassengers an' mail. "

The girl turned to Endicott. "There isn't much to see here, " she said. "Let's look around. It's such a funny little town. I want to buysomething at the store. And, there's a livery stable! Maybe we canhire horses and ride out where we can get a view of the mountains. "

As the two turned toward the little cluster of frame buildings, a tall, horse-faced man clambered onto the pilot of the passenger locomotiveand, removing his hat, proceeded to harangue the crowd. As they pausedto listen Alice stared in fascination at the enormous Adam's apple thatworked, piston-like above the neckband of the collarless shirt of vividchecks. 

"Ladies an' gents, " he began, with a comprehensive wave of thesoft-brimmed hat. "Wolf River welcomes you in our town. An' whileyou're amongst us we aim to show you one an' all a good time. Thishere desastorious wreck may turn out to be a blessin' in disguise. Asthe Good Book says, it come at a most provincial time. Wolf River, ladies an' gents, is celebratin', this afternoon an' evenin', a eventthat marks an' epykak in our historious career: The openin' of the WolfRiver Citizen's Bank, a reg'lar bonyfido bank with vaults, cashier, an'a board of directors consistin' of her leadinist citizens, with theHonorable Mayor Maloney president, which I introdoose myself as. 

"In concludin' I repeet that this here is ondoubtfully the luckiestwreck in the lives of any one of you, which it gives you aunpressagented chanct to see with your own eyes a hustlin' Western townthat hain't ashamed to stand on her own legs an' lead the world alongthe trail to prosperity. 

"Wolf River hain't a braggin' town, ladies an' gents, but I defy anyone of you to name another town that's got more adjacent an' contigitusterritory over which to grow onto. We freely admit they's a fewonconsequential improvements which is possessed by some bigger an' morenotorious cities such as sidewalks, sewers, street-gradin', an' lightsthat we hain't got yet. But Wolf River is a day an' night town, ladiesan' gents, combinin' business with pleasure in just the rightperportion, which it's plain to anyone that takes the trouble toinvestigate our shippin' corrals, four general stores, one _ho_tel, an'seven saloons, all of which runs wide open twenty-four hours a day an'is accommodated with faro, roulette, an' poker outfits fer the benefitof them that's so inclined to back their judgment with a little money. 

"In concloodin' I'll say that owin' to the openin' of the bank aboutwhich I was tellin' you of, Wolf River is holdin' the followin'programme which it's free to everyone to enter into or to look on at. 

"They'll be a ropin' contest, in which some of our most notoriousropers will rope, throw, an' hog-tie a steer, in the least shortness oftime. The prizes fer this here contest is: First prize, ten dollars, doneated by the directors of the bank fer which's openin' thiscelebration is held in honour of. Second prize, one pair of pantsdoneated by the Montana Mercantile Company. Third prize, one quart ofbottle in bond whiskey doneated by our pop'lar townsman an' leadin'citizen, Mr. Jake Grimshaw, proprietor of The Long Horn Saloon. 

"The next contest is a buckin' contest, in which some of our mostnotorious riders will ride or get bucked offen some of our most fameousoutlaw horses. The prizes fer this here contest is: First, a pair ofangory chaps, doneated by the directors of the bank about which I havespoke of before. Second prize, a pair of spurs doneated by the WolfRiver Tradin' Company. Third prize, a coffin that was ordered by SamLong's wife from the Valley Outfittin' Company, when Sam had theapendiceetis of the stummick, an' fer which Sam refused to pay fer whenhe got well contrary to expectations. 

"Both these here contests is open to ladies an' gents, both of which isinvited to enter. They will also be hoss racin', fancy an' trickridin', an' shootin', fer all of which sootable prizes has be'npervided, as well as fer the best lookin' man an' the homliest lady an'vicy versy. Any lady or gent attendin' these here contests will begave out a ticket good fer one drink at any saloon in town. Thesedrinks is on the directors of the bank of which I have before referredto. 

"An', ladies an' gents, in concloodin' I'll say that that hain't all!Follerin' these here contests, after each an' every lady an' gent hashad time to git their drink they'll be a supper dished out at the_ho_otel fer which the directors of the bank of which you have alreadyheard mention of has put up fifty cents a plate. This here supper isas free as gratis to all who care to percipitate an' which willincloode a speech by the Honorable Mayor Maloney, part of which I havealready spoke, but will repeat fer the benefit of them that hain't here. 

"Followin' the supper a dance will be pulled off in Curly Hardee'sdance-hall, the music fer which will be furnished by some of our mostnotorious fiddlers incloodin' Mrs. Slim Maloney, wife of the HonorableMayor Maloney, who will lead the grand march, an' who I consider one ofthe top pyanoists of Choteau County, if not in the hull United States. It is a personal fact ladies an' gents, that I've heard her set down toa pyano an' play _Old Black Joe_ so natural you'd swear it was _HomeSweet Home_. An' when she gits het up to it, I'll promise she'llloosen up an' tear off some of the liveliest music any one of you'sever shook a leg to. 

"An' now, ladies an' gents, you can transfer an' go on when the trainpulls in on t'other side, or yon can stay an' enjoy yourselves amongstus Wolf River folks an' go on tomorrow when the trussle gits fixed----"

"Ye-e-e-e-o-o-w! W-h-e-e-e-e. "

Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang! A chorus of wild yells, afusillade of shots, and the thud of horses' hoofs close at hand drewall eyes toward the group of riders that, spreading fan-like over theflat that lay between the town and the railway, approached at top speed. 

"The cowboys is comin'! Them's the Circle J, " cried the Mayor. "Things'll lively up a bit when the T U an' the I X an' the Bear PawPool boys gits in. " The cowboys were close, now, and the laughing, cheering passengers surged back as the horses swerved at full speedwith the stirrups of their riders almost brushing the outermost rank ofthe crowd. A long thin rope shot out, a loop settled gently about theshoulders of the Mayor of Wolf River, and a cowhorse stopped soabruptly that a cloud of alkali dust spurted up and settled in a greypowder over the clothing of the assembled passengers. 

"Come on, Slim, an' give these folks a chance to get their second windwhile you let a little licker into that system of yours. "

The Mayor grinned; "Tex Benton, hain't you had no bringin' up whatever?That was a pretty throw but it's onrespectable, no mor'n what it'srespectable to call the Mayor of a place by his first name to a publicmeetin'. "

"I plumb ferget myself, your Honour, " laughed the cowpuncher as hecoiled his rope. "Fact is, I learnt to rope mares back in Texas, an' Iain't----"

"Yip-e-i-e!"

"Ropin' mares!" The cowboys broke into a coyote chorus that drownedthe laughter of the crowd. 

"The drinks is on me!" sputtered the Mayor, when he was able to makehimself heard. "Jest you boys high-tail over to the Long Horn an' I'llbe along d'rectly. " He turned once more to the crowd of passengers. 

"Come on, gents, an' have a drink on me. An' the ladies is welcome, too. Wolf River is broad in her idees. We hain't got no sexualrestrictions, an' a lady's got as good a right to front a bar an'nominate her licker as what a man has. "

Standing beside Endicott upon the edge of the crowd Alice Marcum hadenjoyed herself hugely. The little wooden town with its high fencedcattle corrals, and its row of one story buildings that faced thealkali flat had interested her from the first, and she had joined withhearty goodwill in the rounds of applause that at frequent intervalshad interrupted the speech of the little town's Mayor. A bornhorsewoman, she had watched with breathless admiration the onrush ofthe loose-rein riders--the graceful swaying of their bodies, and theflapping of soft hat brims, as their horses approached with a thunderof pounding hoofs. Her eyes had sparkled at the reckless swerving ofthe horses when it seemed that the next moment the back-surging crowdwould be trampled into the ground. She had wondered at the precisionwith which the Texan's loop fell; and had joined heartily in thelaughter that greeted the ludicrous and red-faced indignation withwhich a fat woman had crawled from beneath a coach whither she hadsought refuge from the onrush of thundering hoofs. 

In the mind of the girl, cowboys had always been associated with motionpicture theatres, where concourses of circus riders in impossibleregalia performed impossible feats of horsemanship in the unravellingof impossible plots. She had never thought of them as real--or, if shehad, it was as a vanished race, like the Aztec and the buffalo. 

But here were real cowboys in the flesh: Open-throated, bronzed man, free and unrestrained as the air they breathed--men whose veryappearance called to mind boundless open spaces, purple sage, bluemountains, and herds of bellowing cattle. Here were men bound by nopetty and meaningless conventions--men the very sight of whom served tostimulate and intensify the longing to see for herself the land beyondthe valley rims--to slip into a saddle and ride, and ride, and ride--tofeel the beat of the rain against her face, and the whip of the wind, and the burning rays of the sun, and at night to lie under the winkingstars and listen to the howl of the coyotes. 

"Disgusting rowdies!" wheezed the fat woman as, dishevelled andperspiring, she waddled toward the steps of her coach; while the Mayor, his Adam's apple fairly pumping importance, led a sturdy band ofthirsters recruited from among the train passengers across the flattoward a building over the door of which was fixed a pair of horns ofprodigious spread. Lest some pilgrim of erring judgment should mistakethe horns for short ones, or misapprehend the nature of the businessconducted within, the white false front of the building proclaimed inletters of black a foot high: LONG HORN SALOON. While beneath thelegend was depicted a fat, vermilion clad cowboy mounted upon atarantula-bodied, ass-eared horse of pink, in the act of hurling acable-like rope which by some prodigy of dexterity was made to describethree double-bows and a latigo knot before its loop managed to poise inmid-air above the head of a rabbit-sized baby-blue steer whose hornsexceeded in length the pair of Texas monstrosities that graced thedoorway. 

"We're goin' to back onto the sidin' now, " announced the conductor, "where dinner will be served in the dinin' car as ushool. "

The cowboys had moved along to view the wreck and were grouped aboutthe broken end of the trestle where they lolled in their saddles, somewith a leg thrown carelessly about the horn and others lying back overthe cantle, while the horses which a few moments before had dashedacross the common at top speed now stood with lowered heads anddrooping ears, dreaming cayuse dreams. 

The engine bell was ringing monotonously and the whistle sounded threeshort blasts, while the passengers clambered up the steps of thecoaches or backed away from the track. 

"Let's walk to the side track, it's only a little way. "

Alice pointed to where the flagman stood beside the open switch. Endicott nodded acquiescence and as he turned to follow, the girl'shandkerchief dropped from her hand and, before it touched the ground, was caught by a gust of wind that swept beneath the coaches and whirledout onto the flat where it lay, a tiny square of white against thetrampled buffalo grass. 

Endicott started to retrieve it, but before he had taken a half-dozensteps there was a swift pounding of hoofs and two horses shot out fromthe group of cowboys and dashed at full speed, their riders low in thesaddle and each with his gaze fixed on the tiny bit of white fabric. Nose and nose the horses ran, their hoofs raising a cloud of whitealkali dust in their wake. Suddenly, just as they reached thehandkerchief, the girl who watched with breathless interest gasped. The saddles were empty! From the madly racing horses her glance flewto the cloud of dust which concealed the spot where a moment before hadlain that little patch of white. Her fingers clenched as she steeledherself to the sight of the two limp, twisted forms that the liftingdust cloud must reveal. Scarcely daring to wink she fixed her eyesupon the ground--but the dust cloud had drifted away and there were nolimp, twisted forms. Even the little square of white was gone. Inbewilderment she heard cries of approval and loud shouts of applausefrom the passengers. Once more her ears caught the sound of poundinghoofs, and circling toward her in a wide curve were the two riders, erect and firm in their saddles, as a gauntleted hand held high afluttering scrap of white. 

The horses brought up directly before her, a Stetson was swept from athick shock of curly black hair, the gauntleted hand extended therecalcitrant handkerchief, and she found herself blushing furiously forno reason at all beneath the direct gaze of a pair of very black eyesthat looked out from a face tanned to the colour of old mahogany. 

"Oh, thank you! It was splendid--the horsemanship. " She stammered. "I've seen it in the movies, but I didn't know it was actually done inreal life. "

"Yes, mom, it is. It's owin' to the horse yeh've got, an' yer cinch. Yeh'll see a heap better'n that this afternoon right on this here flat. An' would yeh be layin' over fer the dance tonight, mom?"

The abrupt question was even more disconcerting than the compellingdirectness of his gaze. 

For an instant, the girl hesitated as her eyes swept from thecowpuncher's face to the brilliant scarf loosely knotted about histhroat, the blue flannel shirt, the bright yellow angora chaps againstwhich the ivory butt of a revolver showed a splotch of white, and theboots jammed into the broad wooden stirrups, to their high heels fromwhich protruded a pair of enormously rowelled spurs inlaid with silver. By her side Endicott moved impatiently and cleared his throat. 

She answered without hesitation. "Yes, I think I shall. "

"I'd admire fer a dance with yeh, then, " persisted the cowpuncher. 

"Why--certainly. That is, if I really decide to stay. "

"We'll try fer to show yeh a good time, mom. They'll be some rightlively fiddlin', an' she don't bust up till daylight. "

With a smile the girl glanced toward the other rider who sat with anair of tolerant amusement. She recognized him as the man calledTex--the one who had so deftly dropped his loop over the shoulders ofthe Mayor, and noted that, in comparison with the other, he presentedrather a sorry appearance. The heels of his boots were slightly runover. His spurs were of dingy steel and his leather chaps, laced upthe sides with rawhide thongs looked as though they had seen muchservice. The scarf at his throat, however, was as vivid as hiscompanion's and something in the flash of the grey eyes that lookedinto hers from beneath the broad brim of the Stetson caused aninexplicable feeling of discomfort. Their gaze held a suspicion ofveiled mockery, and the clean cut lips twisted at their comers into thesemblance of a cynical, smiling sneer. 

"I want to thank you, too, " she smiled, "it wasn't your fault yourfriend----"

"Jack Purdy's my name, mom, " interrupted the other, importantly. 

"--that Mr. Purdy beat you, I am sure. And are you always as accurateas when you lassoed the honourable Mayor of Wolf River?"

"I always get what I go after--sometimes, " answered the man meeting hergaze with a flash of the baffling grey eyes. A subtle something, inlook or words, seemed a challenge. Instinctively she realized thatdespite his rough exterior here was a man infinitely less crude thanthe other. An ordinary cowpuncher, to all appearance, andyet--something in the flash of the eyes, the downward curve of thecorners of the lips aroused the girl's interest. He was speaking again:

"I'll dance with you, too--if you stay. But I won't mortgage none ofyour time in advance. " The man's glance shifted deliberately from thegirl to Endicott and back to the girl again. Then, without waiting forher to reply, he whirled his horse and swung off at top speed to jointhe other cowpunchers who were racing in the wake of the Mayor. 

CHAPTER III

PURDY

Some moments later, Jack Purdy nosed his horse into the group ofcayuses that stood with reins hanging, "tied to the ground, " in frontof the Long Horn Saloon. Beyond the open doors sounded a babel ofvoices and he could see the men lined two deep before the bar. 

Swinging from the saddle he threw the stirrup over the seat and becameimmediately absorbed in the readjustment of his latigo strap. Closebeside him Tex Benton's horse dozed with drooping head. Swiftly a handwhose palm concealed an open jack-knife slipped beneath the Texan'sright stirrup-leather and a moment later was withdrawn as the cayuse, suspicious of the fumbling on the wrong side of the saddle, snortednervously and sheered sharply against another horse which with an angrysqueal, a laying back of the ears, and a vicious snap of the teeth, resented the intrusion. Purdy jerked sharply at the reins of his ownhorse which caused that animal to rear back and pull away. 

"Whoa, there! Yeh imp of hell!" he rasped, in tones loud enough toaccount for the commotion among the horses, and slipping the knife intohis pocket, entered the saloon from which he emerged unobserved whilethe boisterous crowd was refilling its glasses at the solicitation of awhite goods drummer who had been among the first to accept theinvitation of the Mayor. 

Three doors up the street he entered a rival saloon where the bartenderwas idly arranging his glasses on the back-bar in anticipation of theinevitable rush of business which would descend upon him when thespirit should move the crowd in the Long Horn to start "going therounds. "

"Hello, Cinnabar!" The cowpuncher leaned an elbow on the bar, elevateda foot to the rail, and producing tobacco and a book of brown papers, proceeded to roll a cigarette. The bartender returned the greeting andshot the other a keen glance from the corner of his eye as he set out abottle and a couple of glasses. 

"Be'n down to the wreck?" he asked, with professionaldisinterestedness. The cowpuncher nodded, lighted his cigarette, andpicking the bottle up by the neck, poured a few drops into his glass. "Pretty bad pile-up, " persisted the bartender as he measured out hisown drink. "Two or three of the train crew got busted up pretty bad. They say----

"Aw, choke off! What the hell do I care what they say? Nor how badthe train crew got busted up, nor how bad they didn't?" Purdy tappedthe bar with his glass as his black eyes fixed the other with a levelstare. "I came over fer a little talk with yeh, private. I'm a-goin'to win that buckin' contest--an' yer goin' to help me--_sabe_?"

The bartender shook his head: "I don't know how I c'n help you none. "

"Well yeh will know when I git through--same as Doc Godkins'll knowwhen I have a little talk with him. Yer both a-goin' to help, you an'Doc. Yeh see, they was a nester's gal died, a year back, over onBeaver Crick, an' Doc tended her. 'Tarford fever, ' says Doc. But ol'Lazy Y Freeman paid the freight, an' he thinks about as much of thenesters as what he does of a rattlesnake. I was ridin' fer the Lazy Youtfit, an' fer quite a spell 'fore this tarford fever business the ol'man use to ride the barb wire along Beaver, reg'lar. Yeh know howloose ol' Lazy Y is with his change? A dollar don't loom no bigger tohim than the side of Sugar Loaf Butte, an' it slips through his fingersas easy as a porkypine could back out of a gunnysack. Well, that theredose of tarford fever that the nester gal died of cost ol' Lazy Y jesta even thousan' bucks. An' Doc Godkins got it. "

The cowpuncher paused and the bartender picked up his glass. "Drinkup, " he said, "an' have another. I do'no what yer talkin' about butit's jest as bad to not have enough red licker in under yer belt wheny' go to make a ride as 'tis to have too much. "

"Never yeh mind about the licker. I c'n reg'late my own drinks to suitme. Mebbe I got more'n a ride a-comin' to me 'fore tonight's over. "

The bartender eyed him questioningly: "You usta win 'em all--buckin', an' ropin', an'----"

"Yes, I usta!" sneered the other. "An' I could now if it wasn't ferthat Texas son of a ----! Fer three years hand runnin' he's drug downeverything he's went into. He c'n out-rope me an' out-ride me, but hecan't out-guess me! An' some day he's goin' to have to out-shoot me. I'm goin' to win the buckin' contest, an' the ropin', too. See?" Theman's fist pounded the bar. 

The bartender nodded; "Well, here's _to_ you. "

Once more Purdy fixed the man with his black-eyed stare. "Yes. Butthey's a heap more a-comin' from you than a 'here's _to_ yeh. '"

"Meanin'?" asked the other, as he mechanically swabbed the bar. 

"Meanin' that you an' Doc's goin' to help me do it. An' that hain'tall. Tonight 'long 'bout dance time I want that saddle horse o' yournan' yer sideways saddle, too. They's a gal o' mine come in on thetrain, which she'll be wantin', mebbe, to take a ride, an' hain'tfetched no split-up clothes fer to straddle a real saddle. Thatsideways contraption you sent fer 'fore yer gal got to ridin' man-waysis the only one in Wolf River, an' likewise hern's the only horsethat'll stand fer bein' rigged up in it. "

"Sure. You're welcome to the horse an' saddle, Jack. The outfit's inthe livery barn. Jest tell Ross to have him saddled agin' you wanthim. He's gentled down so's a woman c'n handle him all right. "

"Uh, huh. An' how about the other? Y'goin' to do as I say 'bout that, too?"

The bartender opened a box behind him and selected a cigar which helighted with extreme deliberation. "I told you onct I don't know whatyer talkin' about. Lazy Y Freeman an' Doc Godkins's dirty work ain'tnone of my business. If you win, you win, an' that's all there is toit. "

The cowpuncher laughed shortly, and his black eyes narrowed, as heleaned closer. "Oh, that's all, is it? Well, Mr. Cinnabar Joe, let metell yeh that hain't all--by a damn sight!" He paused, but the othernever took his eyes from his face. "Do yeh know what chloral is?" Theman's voice lowered to a whisper and the words seemed to hiss frombetween his lips. The other shook his head. "Well, it's somethin' yehslip into a man's licker that puts him to sleep. "

"You mean drug? Dope!" The bartender's eyes narrowed and the cornerof his mouth whitened where it gripped the cigar. 

Purdy nodded: "Yes. It don't hurt no one, only it puts 'em to sleepfer mebbe it's three er four hours. I'll get some from Doc an' yergoin' to slip a little into Tex Benton's booze. Then he jest nach'llydozes off an' the boys thinks he's spliflicated an' takes him down tothe hotel an' puts him to bed, an' before he wakes up I'll have thebuckin' contest, an' the ropin' contest, an' most of the rest of it inmy war-bag. I hain't afraid of none of the rest of the boys hornin' inon the money--an' 'tain't the money I want neither; I want to win themcontests particular--an' I'm a-goin' to. "

Without removing his elbows from the bar, Cinnabar Joe nodded towardthe door: "You git to hell out o' here!" he said, quietly. "I don'tset in no game with you, see? I don't want none o' your chips. Of allthe God-damned low-lived----"

"If I was you, " broke in the cowpuncher with a meaning look, "I'd chokeoff 'fore I'd got in too fer to back out. " Something in the glint ofthe black eyes caused the bartender to pause. Purdy laughed, tossedthe butt of his cigarette to the floor, and began irrelevantly: "It'shell--jest hell with the knots an' bark left on--that Nevada wild horserange is. " The cowpuncher noted that Cinnabar Joe ceased suddenly topuff his cigar. "It's about seven year, mebbe it's eight, " hecontinued, "that an outfit got the idee that mebbe Pete Barnum had thewild horse business to hisself long enough. Four of 'em was prettyrough hands, an' the Kid was headed that way. 

"Them that was there knows a heap more'n what I do about what they wentthrough 'fore they got out o' the desert where water-holes was about ascommon as good Injuns. Anyways, this outfit didn't git no wild horses. They was good an' damn glad to git out with what horses they'd took in, an' a whole hide. They'd blow'd in all they had on their projec' an'they was broke when they headed fer Idaho. " The bartender's cigar hadgone out and the cowpuncher saw that his face was a shade paler. "Thena train stopped sudden one evenin' where they wasn't no station, an'after that the outfit busted up. But they wasn't broke no more, allbut the Kid. They left him shift fer hisself. Couple o' years latertwo of the outfit drifted together in Cinnabar an' there they found theKid drivin' a dude-wagon. Drivin' a dude-wagon through the park is adamn sight easier than huntin' wild horses, an' a damn sight safer thanrailroadin' with a Colt, so when the two hard hands stops the Kid'sdude-wagon in the park, thinkin' they'd have a cinch goin' through theKid's passengers, they got fooled good an' proper when the Kid pumps'em full of . 45 pills. After that the Kid come to be know'd asCinnabar Joe, an' when the last of the dude-wagons was throw'd out ferautomobiles the Kid drifted up into the cow country. But they's acertain express company that's still huntin' fer the gang--not knowin'o' course that the Cinnabar Joe that got notorious fer defendin' hisdudes was one of 'em. '"

The cowpuncher ceased speaking and produced his "makings" while theother stood gazing straight before him, the dead cigar still gripped inthe corner of his mouth. The scratch of the match roused him and quickas a flash he reached beneath the bar and the next instant had Purdycovered with a six-shooter. With his finger on the trigger CinnabarJoe hesitated, and in that instant he learned that the man that facedhim across the bar was as brave as he was unscrupulous. The fingersthat twisted the little cylinder of paper never faltered and the blackeyes looked straight into the muzzle of the gun. 

Now, in the cow country the drawing of a gun is one and the samemovement with the firing of it, and why Cinnabar Joe hesitated he didnot know. 

Purdy laughed: "Put her down, Cinnabar. Yeh won't shoot, now. Yehsee, I kind of figgered yeh might be sort o' riled up, so I left my gunin my slicker. Shootin' a unarmed man don't git yeh nothin' but achanct to stretch a rope. "

The bartender returned the gun to its place. "Where'd you git thatdope, Jack?" he asked, in a dull voice. 

"Well, seein' as yeh hain't so blood-thirsty no more, I'll tell yeh. Iswung down into the bad lands couple weeks ago huntin' a bunch of maresthat strayed off the south slope. I was follerin' down a mud-crackthat opens into Big Dry when all to onct my horse jumps sideways an'like to got me. The reason fer which was a feller layin' on the groundwhere his horse had busted him agin' a rock. His back was broke an' hewas mumblin'; which he must of laid there a day, mebbe two, cause histongue an' lips was dried up till I couldn't hardly make out what hewas sayin'. I catched here an' there a word about holdin' up a trainan' he was mumblin' your name now an' agin so I fetched some water froma hole a mile away an' camped. He et a little bacon later but he washalf crazy with the pain in his back. He'd yell when I walked near himon the ground, said it jarred him, an' when I tried to move him alittle he fainted plumb away. But he come to agin an' begged me fer tohand him his Colt that had lit about ten feet away so he could finishthe job. I seen they wasn't no use tryin' to git him nowheres. He wasall in. But his mutterin' had interested me consid'ble. I figgers ifhe's a hold-up, chances is he's got a nice fat _cache_ hid awaysomewheres, an' seein' he hain't never goin' to need it I might's wellhave the handlin' of it as let it rot where it's at. I tells him soan' agrees that if he tips off his _cache_ to me I'll retaliate bygivin' him the gun. He swears he ain't got no _cache_. He's blow'deverything he had, his nerve's gone, an' he's headin' fer Wolf Riverfer to gouge yeh out of some _dinero_. He claims yeh collected rewardon them two yeh got in the Yellowstone an' what's more the dudes tuk upa collection of a thousan' bucks an' give it to yeh besides. _You_ washis _cache_. So he handed me the dope I just sprung on yeh, an' hesays besides that you an' him's the only ones left. The other one gothis'n down in Mexico where he'd throw'd in with some Greaser bandits. "

"An' what---- Did you give him the gun?" asked the bartender. 

Purdy nodded: "Sure. He' done a good job, too. He was game, allright, never whimpered nor hung back on the halter. Jest stuck the gunin his mouth an' pulled the trigger. I was goin' to bury him but Iheard them mares whinner down to the water-hole so I left him fer thebuzzards an' the coyotes. 

"About that there chloral. I'll slip over an' git it from Doc. An'say, I'm doin' the right thing by yeh. I could horn yeh fer a chunk o'that reward money, but I won't do a friend that way. An' more'n that, "he paused and leaned closer. "I'll let you in on somethin' worth whileone of these days. That there thousan' that ol' Lazy Y paid Doc hain'ta patchin' to what he's goin' to fork over to me. See?"

Cinnabar Joe nodded, slowly, as he mouthed his dead cigar, and when hespoke it was more to himself than to Purdy. "I've played a square gameever since that time back on the edge of the desert. I don't want tohave to do time fer that. It wouldn't be a square deal nohow, I wasonly a Kid then an' never got a cent of the money. Then, there'sJennie over to the hotel. We'd about decided that bartendin' an'hash-slingin' wasn't gittin' us nowheres an' we was goin' to hitch upan' turn nesters on a little yak outfit I've bought over on Eagle. " Hestopped abruptly and looked the cowpuncher squarely in the eye. "If itwasn't fer her, by God! I'd tell you jest as I did before, to git tohell out of here an' do your damnedest. But it would bust her all upif I had to do time fer a hold-up. You've got me where you want me, Iguess. But I don't want in on no dirty money from old Lazy Y, nor noone else. You go it alone--it's your kind of a job. 

"This here chloride, or whatever you call it, you sure it won't kill aman?"

Purdy laughed: "Course it won't. It'll only put him to sleep till I'vehad a chanct to win out. I'll git the stuff from Doc an' find out howmuch is a dost, an' you kin' slip it in his booze. "

As the cowpuncher disappeared through the door, Cinnabar Joe's eyesnarrowed. "You damn skunk!" he muttered, biting viciously upon thestump of his cigar. "If you was drinkin' anything I'd switch glasseson _you_, an' then shoot it out with you when you come to. From now onit's you or me. You've got your hooks into me an' this is only thebeginnin'. " The man stopped abruptly and stared for a long time at thestove-pipe hole in the opposite wall. Then, turning, he studied hisreflection in the mirror behind the bottles and glasses. He tossedaway his cigar, straightened his necktie, and surveyed himself from anew angle. 

"This here Tex, now, " he mused. "He sure is a rantankerous cuss whenhe's lickered up. He'd jest as soon ride his horse through that dooras he would to walk through, an' he's always puttin' somethin' over onsomeone. But he's a man. He'd go through hell an' high water fer afriend. He was the only one of the whole outfit had the guts to tendJimmy Trimble when he got the spotted fever--nursed him back to good asever, too, after the Doc had him billed through fer yonder. " CinnabarJoe turned and brought his fist down on the bar. "I'll do it!" hegritted. "Purdy'll think Tex switched the drinks on me. Only I hopehe wasn't lyin' about that there stuff. Anyways, even if he was, it'sone of them things a man's got to do. An' I'll rest a whole lot easierin my six by two than what I would if I give Tex the long good-byefirst. " Unconsciously, the man began to croon the dismal wail of theplains:

 "O bury me not on the lone praire-e-e In a narrow grave six foot by three, Where the buzzard waits and the wind blows free, Then bury me not on the lone praire-e-e. 

 Yes, we buried him there on the lone praire-e-e Where the owl all night hoots mournfulle-e-e And the blizzard beats and the wind blows free O'er his lonely grave on the lone praire-e-e. 

 And the cowboys now as they roam the plain"----

"Hey, choke off on that!" growled Purdy as he advanced with rattlingspurs. "Puts me in mind of _him_--back there in Big Dry. 'Spose I ortto buried him, but it don't make no difference, now. " He passed asmall phial across the bar. "Fifteen or twenty drops, " he saidlaconically, and laughed. "Nothin' like keepin' yer eyes an' earsopen. Doc kicked like a steer first, but he seen I had his hide hungon the fence onless he loosened up. But he sure wouldn't weep none atmy demise. If ever I git sick I'll have some other Doc. I'd as soonsend fer a rattlesnake. " The man glanced at the clock. "It's workin''long to'ards noon, I'll jest slip down to the Long Horn an' stampedethe bunch over here. "

CHAPTER IV

CINNABAR JOE

In the dining car of the side-tracked train Alice Marcum's glancestrayed from the face of her table companion to the window. Anothercavalcade of riders had swept into town and with a chorus of wild yellsthe crowd in the Long Horn surged out to greet them. A moment laterthe dismounted ones rushed to their horses, leaped into the saddlesand, joined by the newcomers, dashed at top speed for perhaps thirtyyards and dismounted to crowd into another saloon across whose frontthe word HEADQUARTERS was emblazoned in letters of flaming red. 

"They're just like a lot of boys, " exclaimed the girl with a smile, "The idea of anybody mounting a horse to ride _that_ distance!"

"They're a rough lot, I guess. " Winthrop Adams Endicott studied hismenu card. 

"Rough! Of course they're rough! Why shouldn't they be rough? Thinkof the work they do--rain or shine, riding out there on the plains. When they get to town they've earned the right to play as they want toplay! I'd be rough, too, if I lived the life they live. And if I werea man I'd be right over there with them this minute. "

"Why be a man?" smiled Endicott. "You have the Mayor's own word forthe breadth of Wolf River's ideas. As for myself, I don't drink andwouldn't enjoy that sort of thing. Besides, if I were over there Iwould have to forgo----"

"No pretty little speeches, _please_. At least you can spare me that. "

"But, Alice, I mean it, really. And----"

"Save 'em for the Cincinnati girls. They'll believe 'em. Who do youthink will win this afternoon. Let's bet! I'll bet you a--an umbrellaagainst a pair of gloves, that my cavalier of the yellow fur trouserswill win the bucking contest, and----"

"Our train may pull out before the thing is over, and we would neverknow who won. "

"Oh, yes we will, because we're going to stay for the finish. Why, Iwouldn't miss this afternoon's fun if forty trains pulled out!"

"I ought to be in Chicago day after tomorrow, " objected the man. 

"I ought to be, too. But I'm not going to be. For Heaven's sake, Winthrop, for once in your life, do something you oughtn't to do!"

"All right, " laughed the man with a gesture of surrender. "And for therope throwing contest I'll pick the other. "

"What other?" The girl's eyes strayed past the little wooden buildingsof the town to the clean-cut rim of the bench. 

"Why the other who rode after your handkerchief. The fellow wholassoed the honourable Mayor and was guilty of springing the pun. "

The girl nodded with her eyes still on the skyline. "Oh, yes. Heseemed--somehow--different. As if people amused him. As if everythingwere a joke and he were the only one who knew it was a joke. I could_hate_ a man like that. The other, Mr. Purdy, hates him. "

The man regarded her with an amused smile: "You keep a sort of mentalcard index. I should like to have just a peep at my card. "

"Cards sometimes have to be rewritten--and sometimes it really isn'tworth while to fill them out again. Come on, let's go. People arebeginning to gather for the fun and I want a good seat. There's alumber pile over there that'll be just the place, if we hurry. "

In the Headquarters saloon Tex Benton leaned against the end of the barand listened to a Bear Paw Pool man relate how they took in a bunch ofpilgrims with a badger game down in Glasgow. Little knots ofcowpunchers stood about drinking at the bar or discussing the comingcelebration. 

"They've got a bunch of bad ones down in the corral, " someone said. "That ol' roman nose, an' the wall-eyed pinto, besides a lot of snortylookin' young broncs. I tell yeh if Tex draws either one of them ol'outlaws it hain't no cinch he'll grab off this ride. The _hombre_ thatthrows his kak on one of them is a-goin' to do a little sky-ballin''fore he hits the dirt, you bet. But jest the same I'm here to bet tento eight on him before the drawin'. "

Purdy who had joined the next group turned at the words. 

"I'll jest take that, " he snapped. "Because Tex has drug down the lasttwo buckin' contests hain't no sign he c'n go south with 'em all. " Atthe end of the bar Tex grinned as he saw Purdy produce a roll of bills. 

"An', by gosh!" the Bear Paw Pool man was saying, "when they'd all gottheir money down an' the bull dog was a-clawin' the floor to git at thebadger, an' the pilgrims was crowded around with their eyes a-bungin'out of their heads, ol' Two Dot Wilson, he shoves the barrel over an'they wasn't a doggone thing in under it but a----"

"What yeh goin' to have, youse?" Purdy had caught sight of Tex whostood between the Bear Paw Pool man and Bat Lajune. "I'm bettin' agin'yeh winnin' the buckin' contest, but I'll buy yeh a drink. "

Tex grinned as his eyes travelled with slow insolence over the other'soutfit. 

"You're sure got up some colourful, Jack, " he drawled. "If you sh'dhappen to crawl up into the middle of one of them real outlaws they gotdown in the corral, an' quit him on the top end of a high one, you'rea-goin' to look like a rainbow before you git back. "

The other scowled: "I guess if I tie onto one of them outlaws yeh'llsee me climb off 'bout the time the money's ready. Yeh Texas fellerscomes up here an' makes yer brag about showin' us Montana boys how toride our own horses. But it's real money talks! I don't notice youbackin' up yer brag with no real _dinero_. "

Tex was still smiling. "That's because I ain't found anyone damn foolenough to bet agin' me. "

"Didn't I jest tell yeh I was bettin' agin' you?"

"Don't bet enough to hurt you none. How much you got, three dollars?An' how much odds you got to get before you'll risk 'em?"

Purdy reached for his hip pocket. "Jest to show yeh what I think ofyer ridin' I'll bet yeh even yeh don't win. "

"Well, " drawled the Texan, "seein' as they won't be only about tenfellows ride, that makes the odds somewhere around ten to one, which isabout right. How much you want to bet?"

With his fingers clutching his roll of bills, Purdy's eyes sought theface of Cinnabar Joe. For an instant he hesitated and then slammed theroll onto the bar. 

"She goes as she lays. Count it!"

The bartender picked up the money and ran it through. "Eighty-five, "he announced, laconically. 

"That's more'n I got on me, " said Tex ruefully, as he smoothed outthree or four crumpled bills and capped the pile with a gold piece. 

Purdy sneered: "It's money talks, " he repeated truculently. "'Tain'thardly worth while foolin' with no piker bets but if that's the bestyeh c'n do I'll drag down to it. " He reached for his roll. 

"Hold on!" The Texan was still smiling but there was a hard note in hisvoice. "She goes as she lays. " He turned to the half-breed who stoodclose at his elbow. 

"Bat. D'you recollect one night back in Las Vegas them four bits Iloant you? Well, just you shell out about forty dollars interest onthem four bits an' we'll call it square for a while. " The half-breedsmiled broadly and handed over his roll. 

"Forty-five, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty--" counted Tex, and with afive-dollar bill between his thumb and forefinger, eyed Purdycondescendingly: "I'm a-goin' to let you drag down that five if youwant to, " he said, "'cause you've sure kissed good-bye to the rest ofit. They ain't any of your doggoned Montana school-ma'm-cayuses butwhat I c'n ride slick-heeled, an' with my spurs on--" he paused;"better drag down the five. You might need a little loose change ifthat girl should happen to get thirsty between dances. "

"Jest leave it lay, " retorted Purdy; "an' at that, I'll bet I buy hermore drinks than what you do. "

Tex laughed: "Sure. But there ain't nothin' in buyin' 'em drinks. I've bought 'em drinks all night an' then some other _hombre_'d step inan'----"

"I'd bet yeh on _that_, too. I didn't notice her fallin' no hell of aways fer you. "

"Mebbe not. I wasn't noticin' her much. I was kind of studyin' thepilgrim that was along with her. "

"What's he got to do with it?"

"That's what I was tryin' to figger out. But, hey, Cinnabar, how aboutthat drink? I'm dry as a post-hole. "

"Fill 'em up, Cinnabar. I'm makin' this noise, " seconded Purdy. Andas the Texan turned to greet an acquaintance, he caught out of the tailof his eye the glance that flashed between Purdy and the bartender. Noticed, also out of the tail of his eye, that, contrary to custom, Cinnabar filled the glasses himself and that a few drops of colourlessliquid splashed from the man's palm into the liquor that was shovedtoward him. The Texan knew that Purdy had watched the operationinterestedly and that he straightened with an audible sigh of relief atits conclusion. "Come on, drink up!" Purdy raised his glass as Texfaced the bar with narrowed eyes. 

"What's them fellows up to?" cried Cinnabar Joe, and as Purdy turned, glass in hand, to follow his glance Tex saw the bartender swiftlysubstitute his own glass for the one into which he had dropped theliquid. 

The next instant Purdy was again facing him. "What fellers?" he askedsharply. 

Cinnabar Joe laughed: "Oh, that Bear Paw Pool bunch. Fellow's got tokeep his eye peeled whenever they git their heads together. Here'sluck. "

For only an instant did Tex hesitate while his brain worked rapidly. "There's somethin' bein' pulled off here, " he reasoned, "that I ain'tnext to. If that booze was doped why did Cinnabar drink it? Anyways, he pulled that stall on Purdy fer some reason an' it's up to me to seehim through with it. But if I do git doped it won't kill me an' when Icome alive they's a couple of fellows goin' to have to ride like hellto keep ahead of me. "

He drank the liquor and as he returned the glass to the bar he notedthe glance of satisfaction that flashed into Purdy's eyes. 

"Come on, boys, let's git things a-goin'!" Mayor Maloney stood in thedoorway and beamed good humouredly: "'Tain't every cowtown's got a bankan' us Wolf Riverites has got to do ourself proud. Every rancher an'nester in forty mile around has drove in. The flat's rimmed withwagons an' them train folks is cocked up on the lumber pilesa-chickerin' like a prairie-dog town. We'll pull off the racin' an'trick ridin' an' shootin' first an' save the ropin' an' buckin'contests to finish off on. Come on, you've all had enough to drink. Jump on your horses an' ride out on the flat like hell was tore loosefer recess. Then when I denounce what's a-comin', them that's goin' tocomplete goes at it, an' the rest pulls off to one side an' looks on'til their turn comes. "

A six-shooter roared and a bullet crashed into the ceiling. 

"Git out of the way we're a-goin' by!" howled someone, and instantlythe chorus drowned the rattle of spurs and the clatter of high-heeledboots as the men crowded to the door. 

 "Cowboys out on a yip ti yi! Coyotes howl and night birds cry And we'll be cowboys 'til we die!"

Out in the street horses snorted and whirled against each other, spursrattled, and leather creaked as the men leaped into their saddles. With a thunder of hoofs, a whirl of white dust, the slapping of quirtsand ropes against horses' flanks, the wicked bark of forty-fives, and aseries of Comanche-like yells the cowboys dashed out onto the flat. Once more Tex Benton found himself drawn up side by side with JackPurdy before the girl, for whose handkerchief they had raced. Bothwaved their hats, and Alice smiled as she waved her handkerchief inreturn. 

"Looks like I was settin' back with an ace in the hole, so far, "muttered Tex, audibly. 

Purdy scowled: "Ace in the hole's all right _sometimes_. But it's thelad that trails along with a pair of deuces back to back that comes upwith the chips, cashin' in time. "

Slim Maloney announced a quarter-mile dash and when Purdy lined up withthe starters, Tex quietly eased his horse between two wagons, and, slipping around behind the lumber-piles, rode back to the HeadquartersSaloon. The place was deserted and in a chair beside a card table, with his head buried in his arms, sat Cinnabar Joe, asleep. Thecowpuncher crossed the room and shook him roughly by the shoulder:

"Hey, Joe--wake up!"

The man rolled uneasily and his eyelids drew heavily apart. He mumbledincoherently. 

"Wake up, Joe!" The Texan redoubled his efforts but the other relapsedinto a stupor from which it was impossible to rouse him. 

A man hurrying past in the direction of the flats paused for a momentto peer into the open door. Tex glanced up as he hurried on. 

"Doc!" There was no response and the cowpuncher crossed to the door ata bound. The street was deserted, and without an instant's hesitationhe dashed into the livery and feed barn next door whose wide apertureyawned deserted save for the switching of tails and the stamping ofhorses' feet in the stalls. The door of the harness room stoodslightly ajar and Tex jerked it open and entered. Harness and saddleslittered the floor and depended from long wooden pegs set into the wallwhile upon racks hung sweatpads and saddle blankets of every known kindand description. Between the floor and the lower edge of the blanketsthat occupied a rack at the farther side of the room a pair of blackleather shoes showed. 

"Come on, Doc, let's go get a drink. " The shoes remained motionless. "Gosh! There's a rat over in under them blankets!" A forty-fivehammer was drawn back with a sharp click. The shoes left the floorsimultaneously and the head and shoulders of a man appeared above therack. 

"Eh! Was someone calling me?"

"Yeh, I was speakin' of rats----"

"My hearing's getting bad. I was fishing around for my saddle blanket. Those barn dogs never put anything where it belongs. "

"That's right. I said let's go get a drink. C'n you hear that?" Texnoted that the man's face was white and that he was eyeing himintently, as he approached through the litter. 

"Just had one, thanks. Was on my way down to the flats to see the fun, and thought I'd see if my blanket had dried out all right. "

"Yes? Didn't you hear me when I hollered at you in the saloon a minuteago?"

"No. Didn't know any one was in there. "

"You're in a hell of a fix with your eyesight an' hearin' all shot topieces, ain't you? But I reckon they're goin' to be the best part ofyou if you don't come along with me. Cinnabar Joe's be'n doped. "

"_Cinnabar Joe_!" The doctor's surprise was genuine. 

"Yes. Cinnabar Joe. An' you better get on the job an' bring him to, or they'll be tossin' dry ones in on top of you about tomorrow. Soldany drugs that w'd do a man that way, lately?"

The doctor knitted his brow. "Why let's see. I don't remember----"

"Your mem'ry ain't no better'n what your eyesight an' hearin' is, isit? I reckon mebbe a little jolt might get it to workin'. " As Textalked even on, his fist shot out and landed squarely upon the other'snose and the doctor found himself stretched at full length among thesaddles and odds and ends of harness. Blood gushed from his nose andflowed in a broad wet stream across his cheek. He struggled weakly tohis feet and interposed a shaking arm. 

"I didn't do anything to you, " he whimpered. 

"No. I'm the one that's doin'. Is your parts workin' better? 'Causeif they ain't----"

"What do you want to know? I'll tell you!" The man spoke hurriedly ashe cringed from the doubling fist. 

"I know you sold the dope, 'cause when I told you about Cinnabar youwasn't none surprised at the dope--but at who'd got it. You sold it toJack Purdy an' you knew he aimed to give it to me. What's more, youreyesight an' hearin' is as good as mine. You seen me an' heard me inthe saloon an' you was scairt an' run an' hid in the harness room. You're a coward, an' a crook, an' a damn liar! Wolf River don't needyou no more. You're a-comin' along with me an' fix Cinnabar up an'then you're a-goin' to go down to the depot an' pick you out a trainthat don't make no local stops an' climb onto it an' ride 'til you getwhere the buffalo grass don't grow. That is, onless Cinnabar shouldhappen to cash in. If he does----"

"He won't! He won't! It's only chloral. A little strychnine will fixhim up. "

"Better get busy then. 'Cause if he ain't to in an hour or so you'rea-goin' to flutter on the down end of a tight one. These herecross-arms on the railroad's telegraph poles is good an' stout an' hasthe added advantage of affordin' good observation for all, which if youuse a cottonwood there's always some that can't see good on account oflimbs an' branches bein' in the road----"

"Come over to the office 'til I get what I need and I'll bring himaround all right!" broke in the doctor and hurried away, with thecowpuncher close at his heels. 

CHAPTER V

ON THE FLAT

As Mayor Maloney had said, every rancher and nester within forty milesof Wolf River had driven into town for the celebration. Farm wagons, spring wagons, and automobiles were drawn wheel to wheel upon bothsides of the flat. From the vehicles women and children in holidayattire applauded the feats of the cowboys with cheers and the waving ofhandkerchiefs, while the men stood about in groups and watched withapparent indifference as they talked of fences and flumes. 

From the top of the lumber piles, and the long low roof of the woolwarehouse, the train passengers entered into the spirit of the fungasping in horror at some seemingly miraculous escape from deathbeneath the pounding hoofs of the cow-horses, only to cheer themselveshoarse when they saw that the apparent misadventure had been purposelystaged for their benefit. 

Races were won by noses. Hats, handkerchiefs, and even coins weresnatched from the ground by riders who hung head and shoulder belowtheir horses' bellies. Mounts were exchanged at full gallop. Playingcards were pierced by the bullets of riders who dashed past them atfull speed. And men emptied their guns in the space of seconds withoutmissing a shot. 

In each event the gaudily caparisoned Jack Purdy was at the fore, either winning or crowding the winner to his supremest effort. And itwas Purdy who furnished the real thrill of the shooting tournamentwhen, with a six-shooter in each hand, he jumped an empty tomato caninto the air at fifteen paces by sending a bullet into the groundbeneath its base and pierced it with a bullet from each gun before itreturned to earth. 

A half-dozen times he managed to slip over for a few words with AliceMarcum--a bit of explanation of a coming event, or a comment upon thefine points of a completed one, until unconsciously the girl's interestcentred upon the dashing figure to an extent that she found herselffollowing his every movement, straining forward when his supremacy hungin the balance, keenly disappointed when another wrested the honoursfrom him, and jubilantly exultant at his victories. So engrossed wasshe in fallowing the fortunes of her knight that she failed to noticethe growing disapproval of Endicott, who sat frowning and silent by herside. Failed, also, to notice that as Purdy's attentions waxed moreobvious she herself became the object of many a glance, and lip to earobservation from the occupants of the close-drawn vehicles. 

It was while Mayor Maloney was announcing the roping contest andexplaining that the man who "roped, throw'd, an' hog-tied" his steer inthe least number of seconds, would be the winner, that the girl'sthoughts turned to the cowpuncher who earlier in the day had soskilfully demonstrated his ability with the lariat. 

In vain her eyes sought the faces of the cowboys. She turned to Purdywho had edged his horse close beside the lumber pile. 

"Where is your friend--the one who raced with you for my handkerchief?"she asked. "I haven't seen him since you both rode up in that firstwild rush. He hasn't been in any of the contests. "

"No, mom, " answered the cowpuncher, in tones of well-simulated regret;"he's--he's prob'ly over to some saloon. He's a good man some ways, Tex is. But he can't keep off the booze. "

Kicking his feet from the stirrups the man stood upright in his saddleand peered over the top of an intervening pile of lumber. "Yes, Ithought so. His horse is over in front of the Headquarters. Him an'Cinnabar Joe's prob'ly holdin' a booze histin' contest of their own. "Slipping easily into his seat, he unfastened the rope from his saddle, and began slowly to uncoil it. 

"All ready!" called the Mayor. "_Go git him_!"

A huge black steer dashed out into the open with a cowboy in fullpursuit, his loop swinging slowly above his head. Down the middle ofthe flat they tore, the loop whirling faster as the horseman gained onhis quarry. Suddenly the rope shot out, a cloud of white dust roseinto the air as the cow-horse stopped in his tracks, a moment ofsuspense, and the black steer dashed frantically about seeking anavenue of escape while in his wake trailed the rope like a long thinsnake with its fangs fastened upon the frantic brute's neck. A roar oflaughter went up from the crowd and Purdy turned to the girl. "Made abad throw an' got him around the neck, " he explained. "When you git'em that way you got to turn 'em loose or they'll drag you all over theflat. A nine-hundred-pound horse hain't got no show ag'in afifteen-hundred-pound steer with the rope on his neck. An' even if thehorse would hold, the cinch wouldn't, so _he's_ out of it. "

The black steer was rounded up and chased from the arena, and once moreMayor Maloney, watch in hand, cried "_Go git him_!"

Another steer dashed out and another cowboy with whirling loopthundered after him. The rope fell across the animal's shoulders andthe loop swung under. The horse stopped, and the steer, his fore legsjerked from under him, fell heavily. To make his rope fast to thesaddle-horn and slip to the ground leaving the horse to fight it outwith the captive, was the work of a moment for the cowboy whoapproached the struggling animal, short rope in hand. Purdy who wasleaning over his saddle-horn, watching the man's every move, gave a cryof relief. 

"He's up behind! That'll fix your clock!" Sure enough, the strugglinganimal had succeeded in regaining his hind legs and while the horse, with the cunning of long practice, kept his rope taut, the steerplunged about to such good purpose that precious seconds passed beforethe cowboy succeeded in making his tie-rope fast to a hind foot, jerking it from under the struggling animal, and securing it to theopposite fore foot. 

"Three minutes an' forty-three seconds!" announced the Mayor. "Gitready for the next one. . . . _Go git him_!"

This time the feat was accomplished in a little over two minutes andthe successful cowboy was greeted with a round of applause. Severalothers missed their throws or got into difficulty, and Purdy turned tothe girl:

"If I got any luck at all I'd ort to grab off this here contest. Theyhain't be'n no fancy ropin' done yet. If I c'n hind-leg mine theywon't be nothin' to it. " He rode swiftly away and a moment later, tothe Mayor's "_Go git him_!" dashed out after a red and white steer thatplunged down the field with head down and tail lashing the air. Purdycrowded his quarry closer than had any of the others and with a swiftsweep of his loop enmeshed the two hind legs of the steer. The nextmoment the animal was down and the cowpuncher had a hind foot fast inthe tie rope, Several seconds passed as the man fought for a forefoot--seconds which to the breathlessly watching girl seemed hours. Suddenly he sprang erect. "One minute an' forty-nine seconds!"announced the Mayor and the crowd cheered wildly. 

Upon the lumber pile Alice Marcum ceased her handclapping as her eyesmet those of a cowboy who had ridden up unobserved and sat his horse atalmost the exact spot that had, a few moments before, been occupied byPurdy. She was conscious of a start of surprise. The man sat easilyin his saddle, and his eyes held an amused smile. Once more the girlfound herself resenting the smile that drew down the corner of the thinlips and managed to convey an amused tolerance or contempt on the partof its owner toward everything and everyone that came within its radius. 

"If they hain't no one else wants to try their hand, " began the Mayor, when the Texan interrupted him:

"Reckon I'll take a shot at it if you've got a steer handy. "

"Well, dog my cats! If I hadn't forgot you! Where you be'n at? Ifyou'd of got here on time you'd of stood a show gittin' one of themsteers that's be'n draw'd. You hain't got no show now 'cause theonliest one left is a old long-geared roan renegade that's on theprod----"

Tex yawned: "Jest you tell 'em to run him in, Slim, an' I'll show youhow we-all bust 'em wide open down in Texas. "

Three or four cowpunchers started for the corral with a whoop and a fewminutes later the men who had been standing about in groups began toclamber into wagons or seek refuge behind the wheels as the lean roansteer shot out onto the flat bounding this way and that, the veryembodiment of wild-eyed fury. But before he had gone twenty yardsthere was a thunder of hoofs in his wake and a cow-horse, his ridermotionless as a stone image in his saddle, closed up the distance untilhe was running almost against the flank of the frenzied renegade. There was no preliminary whirling of rope. The man rode with his eyesfixed on the flying hind hoofs while a thin loop swung from his righthand, extended low and a little back. 

Suddenly--so suddenly that the crowd was still wondering why the mandidn't swing his rope, there was a blur of white dust, a brown streakas the cow-horse shot across the forefront of the big steer, the thudof a heavy body on the ground, the glimpse of a man-among the thrashinghoofs, and then a mighty heaving as the huge steer strained against therope that bound his feet, while the cowboy shoved the Stetson to theback of his head and felt for his tobacco and papers. 

"Gosh sakes!" yelled Mayor Maloney excitedly as he stared at the watchin his hand. "Fifty-seven seconds! They can't beat that down toCheyenne!"

At the words, a mighty cheer went up from the crowd and everybody wastalking at once. While over beside the big steer the cowboy mountedhis pony and coiling his rope as he rode, joined the group of riderswho lounged in their saddles and grinned their appreciation. 

"Ladies an' gents, " began the Mayor, "you have jest witnessed a ropin'contest the winner of which is Tex Benton to beat who McLaughlinhimself would have to do his da--doggondest! We will now conclood theafternoon's galaxity of spurious stars, as the circus bills says, witha buckin' contest which unneedless to say will conclood the afternoon'scelebration of the openin' of a institoot that it's a credit to anytown in reference to which I mean the Wolf River Citizen's Bank inwhich we invite to whose vaults a fair share of your patrimony. Whilethe boys is gittin' ready an' drawin' their horses a couple of gentswill pass amongst you an' give out to one an' all, ladies an' gentsalike, an' no favorytes played, a ticket good fer a free drink in anysaloon in Wolf River on the directors of the bank I have endeavoured toexplain about which. After which they'll be a free feed at the _ho_telalso on the directors. Owin' to the amount of folks on hand this herewill be pulled off in relays, ladies furst, as they hain't room fer allto onct, but Hank, here, claims he's got grub enough on hand so allwill git a chanct to shove right out ag'in their belt. An' I might sayright here in doo elegy of our feller townsman that Hank c'n set out asfillin' an' tasty a meal of vittles as anyone ever cocked a lip over, barrin', of course, every married man's wife. 

"Draw your horses, boys, an' git a-goin'!"

Alice Marcum's surprise at Tex Benton's remarkable feat, after whatPurdy had told her, was nothing to the surprise and rage of Purdyhimself who had sat like an image throughout the performance. When theMayor began his oration Purdy's eyes flashed rapidly over the crowd andseeing that neither Cinnabar Joe nor the doctor were present, slippedhis horse around the end of the lumber pile and dashed for the doctor'soffice. "That damn Doc'll wisht he hadn't never double-crossed me!" hegrowled, as he swung from the saddle before the horse had come to astop. The office was empty and the man turned to the Headquarterssaloon. Inside were the two men he sought, and he approached them witha snarl. 

"What the hell did yeh double-cross me for?" he shouted in a fury. 

The doctor pointed to Cinnabar Joe who, still dazed from the effect ofthe drug, leaned upon the table. "I didn't double-cross you. Thewrong man got the dope, that's all. "

Cinnabar Joe regarded Purdy dully. "He switched glasses, " he mutteredthickly. 

A swift look of fear flashed into Purdy's eyes. "How'n hell did heknow we fixed his licker?" he cried, for well he realized that if theTexan had switched glasses he was cognizant of the attempt to dope him. Moistening his lips with his tongue, the cowpuncher turned abruptly onhis heel. "Guess I'll be gittin' back where they's a lot of folksaround, " he muttered as he mounted his horse. "I got to try an' figgerout if he knows it was me got Cinnabar to dope his booze. An' if hedoes--" The man's face turned just a shade paler beneath the tan----"I got to lay off this here buckin' contest. I hain't got the guts totackle it. "

"Have you drawn your horse?" he had reached the lumber pile and thegirl was smiling down at him. He shook his head dolefully. 

"No, mom, I hain't a-goin' to ride. I spraint my shoulder ropin' thatsteer an' I just be'n over to see doc an' he says I should keep offenbad horses fer a spell. It's sure tough luck, too, 'cause I c'd of wonif I c'd of rode. But I s'pose I'd ort to be satisfied, I drug downmost of the other money--all but the ropin', an' I'd of had that if ithadn't of be'n fer Tex Benton's luck. An' he'll win ag'in, chancesis--if his cinch holds. Here he comes now; him an' that breed. Theyhain't never no more'n a rope's len'th apart. Tex must have somethin'on him the way he dogs him around. "

The girl followed his glance to the Texan who approached accompanied byBat Lajune and a cowboy who led from the horn of his saddle ablaze-faced bay with a roman nose. As the three drew nearer the girlcould see the mocking smile upon his lips as his eyes rested for amoment on Purdy. "I don't like that man, " she said, as though speakingto herself, "and yet----"

"Plenty others don't like him, too, " growled Purdy. "I'm glad he'sdraw'd that roman nose, 'cause he's the out-buckin'est outlaw that evergrow'd hair--him an' that pinto, yonder, that's hangin' back on therope. "

The Texan drew up directly in front of the lumber pile and ignoringPurdy entirely, raised his Stetson to the girl. The direct cutting ofPurdy had been obviously rude and Alice Marcum felt an increasingdislike for the man. She returned his greeting with a perfunctory nodand instantly felt her face grow hot with anger. The Texan waslaughing at her--was regarding her with an amused smile. 

A yell went up from the crowd and out on the flat beyond the Texan, ahorse, head down and back humped like an angry cat, was leaping intothe air and striking the ground stiff-legged in a vain effort to shakethe rider from his back. 

"'Bout as lively as a mud turtle. He'll sulk in a minute, " laughed theTexan, and true to the prophecy, the horse ceased his efforts and stoodwith legs wide apart and nose to the ground. 

"Whoopee!"

"He's a ringtailed woozoo!"

"Thumb him!"

"Scratch him!"

The crowd laughed and advised, and the cowboy thumbed and scratched, but the broncho's only sign of animation was a vicious switching of thetail. 

"Next horse!" cried the Mayor, and a horse shot out, leaving the groundbefore the rider was in the saddle. Straight across the flat he buckedwith the cowboy whipping higher and higher in the saddle as he tried invain to catch his right stirrup. 

"He's a goner!"

"He's clawin' leather!"

To save himself a fall the rider had grabbed the horn of the saddle, and for him the contest was over. 

"Come on, Bat, we'll throw the shell on this old buzzard-head. I'mnumber seven an' there's three down!" called the Texan. 

The two swung from the saddles and the roman-nosed outlaw pricked hisears and set against the rope with fore legs braced. The cowboy whohad him in tow took an extra dally around the saddle horn as the Texan, hackamore in hand, felt his way inch by inch along the taut lead-rope. As the man's hand touched his nose the outlaw shuddered and braced backuntil only the whites of his eyes showed. Up came the hand and therawhide hackamore slipped slowly into place. 

"He's a-goin' to ride with a hackamore!" cried someone as the Texanbusied himself with the knots. Suddenly the lead-rope slackened andwith a snort of fury the outlaw reared and lashed out with bothforefeet. The Texan stepped swiftly aside and as the horse's feetstruck the ground the loaded end of a rawhide quirt smashed against hisjaw. 

Bat Lajune removed the saddle from the Texan's horse and steppedforward with the thick felt pad which Tex, with a hand in thecheek-strap of the hackamore, brushed along the outlaw's sides a fewtimes and then deftly threw over the animal's back. The horse, bracedagainst the rope, stood trembling in every muscle while Bat broughtforward the saddle with the right stirrup-leather and cinch thrown backover the seat. As he was about to hand it to the Texan he stoppedsuddenly and examined the cinch. Then without a word carried it back, unsaddled his own horse, and taking the cinch from his saddle exchangedit for the other. 

"Just as easy to switch cinches as it is drinks, ain't it, Bat?"grinned Tex. 

"Ba Goss! Heem look lak' Circle J boun' for be wan man short, " repliedthe half-breed, and the girl, upon whom not a word nor a move had beenlost, noticed that Purdy's jaw tightened as the Texan laughed at theapparently irrelevant remark. 

The outlaw shuddered as the heavy saddle was thrown upon his back andthe cinch ring deftly caught with a loop of rope and made fast. 

Out on the flat number four, on the pinto outlaw, had hit the dirt, number five had ridden through on a dead one, and number six had quithis in mid-air. 

"Next horse--number seven!" called the Mayor. The cowboy who had thebroncho in tow headed out on the flat prepared to throw off his dalliesand two others, including Purdy, rode forward quirt in hand, to hazethe hate-blinded outlaw from crashing into the wagons. With his handgripping the cheek-strap, Tex turned and looked straight into Purdy'seyes. 

"Go crawl under a wagon an' chaw a bone, " he said in a low even voice, "I'll whistle when I want _you_. " For an instant the men's glanceslocked, while the onlookers held their breath. Purdy was not aphysical coward. The insult was direct, uttered distinctly, and in thehearing of a crowd. At his hip was the six-gun with which he had justwon a shooting contest--yet he did not draw. The silence was becomingpainful when the man shrugged, and without a word, turned his horseaway. Someone laughed, and the tension broke with a hum of low-voicedconversation. 

"Next horse, ready!"

As the crowd drew back Alice Marcum leaned close to Purdy's ear. 

"I think it was splendid!" she whispered; "it was the bravest thing Iever saw. " The man could scarcely believe his ears. 

"Is she kiddin' me?" he wondered, as he forced his glance to the girl'sface. But no, she was in earnest, and in her eyes the man readundisguised admiration. She was speaking again. 

"Any one of these, " she indicated the crowd with a sweep of her glovedhand, "would have shot him, but it takes a real man to preserve perfectself-control under insult. "

The cowpuncher drew a long breath. "Yes; mom, " he answered; "it waspretty tough to swaller that. But somehow I kind of--of hated to shoothim. " Inwardly he was puzzled. What did the girl mean? He realizedthat she was in earnest and that he had suddenly become a hero in hereyes. Fate was playing strangely into his hands. A glitter of triumphflashed into his eyes, a glitter that faded into a look of wistfulnessas they raised once more to hers. 

"Would you go to the dance with me tonight, mom? These others--theydon't git me right. They'll think I didn't dast to shoot it out withhim. "

The girl hesitated, and the cowpuncher continued. "The transfertrain's pulled out an' the trussle won't be fixed 'til mornin', youmight's well take in the dance. "

Beside her Endicott moved uneasily. "Certainly not!" he exclaimedcurtly as his eyes met Purdy's. And then, to the girl, "If you arebound to attend that performance you can go with me. "

"Oh, I can go with you, can I?" asked the girl sweetly. "Well thankyou so much, Winthrop, but really you will have to excuse me. Mr. Purdy asked me first. " There was a sudden flash of daring in her eyesas she turned to the cowpuncher. "I shall be very glad to go, " shesaid; "will you call for me at the car?"

"I sure will, " he answered, and turned his eyes toward the flats. Thiswas to be _his_ night, his last on the Wolf River range, he realizedsavagely. In the morning he must ride very far away. For before theeyes of all Wolf River he had swallowed an insult. And the man knewthat Wolf River knew why he did not shoot. 

CHAPTER VI

THE RIM OF THE BENCH

Out on the flat the Texan was riding "straight up" amid a whirl ofwhite dust. 

"Fan him, Tex!"

"Stay with him!"

The cries of the cowboys cut high above the chorus of yelling applauseas the furious outlaw tried every known trick to unseat the rider. High in the air he bucked, swapping ends like a flash, and landing withall four feet "on a dollar, " his legs stiff as jack-pine posts. TheTexan rode with one hand gripping the hackamore rope and the other hisquirt which stung and bit into the frenzied animal's shoulders eachtime he hit the ground. In a perfect storm of fury the horse plunged, twisted, sunfished, and bucked to free himself of the rider who swayedeasily in the saddle and raked him flank and sides with his hugerowelled spurs. 

"Stay a long time!"

"Scratch him, Tex!" yelled the delighted cowpunchers. 

Suddenly the yells of appreciation gave place to gasps even from theinitiated, as the rage-crazed animal leaped high into the air andthrowing himself backward, crashed to the ground squarely upon hisback. As the dust cloud lifted the Texan stood beside him, one footstill in the stirrup, slashing right and left across the strugglingbrute's ears with his braided quirt. The outlaw leaped to his feetwith the cowboy in the saddle and the crowd went wild. Then with theenthusiasm at its height, the man jerked at his hackamore knot, and thenext moment the horse's head was free and the rider rode "on hisbalance" without the sustaining grip on the hackamore rope to hold himfirm in his saddle. The sudden loosening of the rawhide thongs gavethe outlaw new life. He sunk his head and redoubled his efforts, aswith quirt in one hand and hackamore in the other the cowboy lashed hisshoulders while his spurs raked the animal to a bloody foam. Slowerand slower the outlaw fought, pausing now and then to scream shrilly aswith bared teeth and blazing eyes he turned this way and that, suckingthe air in great blasts through his blood-dripping nostrils. 

At last he was done. Conquered. For a moment he stood trembling inevery muscle, and as he sank slowly to his knees, the Texan steppedsmiling from the saddle. 

"Sometime, Slim, " he grinned as he reached for his tobacco and papers, "if you-all can get holt of a horse that ain't plumb gentle, I'll showyou a real ride. "

All about was the confusion attendant to the breaking-up of the crowd. Men yelled at horses as they hitched them to the wagons. Pedestrians, hurrying with their tickets toward the saloons, dodged from under thefeet of cowboys' horses, and the flat became a tangle of wagons withshouting drivers. 

Alice Marcum stood upon the edge of the lumber-pile with the windwhipping her skirts about her silk stockings as the Texan, saddle overhis arm, glanced up and waved, a gauntleted hand. The girl returnedthe greeting with a cold-eyed stare and once more found herself growingfuriously angry. For the man's lips twisted into their cynical smileas his eyes rested for a moment upon her own, shifted, lingered withundisguised approval upon her silk stockings, and with devilishboldness, returned to her own again. Suddenly his words flashedthrough her brain. "I always get what I go after--sometimes. " Sherecalled the consummate skill with which he had conquered the renegadesteer and the outlaw broncho--mastered them completely, and yet alwaysin an off-hand manner as though the thing amused him. Never for amoment had he seemed to exert himself--never to be conscious of effort. Despite herself the girl shuddered nervously, and ignoring Endicott'sproffer of assistance, scrambled to the ground and hastened toward hercoach. 

A young lady who possessed in a high degree a very wholesome love ofadventure, Alice Marcum coupled with it a very unwholesome habit ofacting on impulse. As unamenable to reason as she was impervious toargument, those who would remonstrate with her invariably foundthemselves worsted by the simple and easy process of turning theirweapons of attack into barriers of defence. Thus when, an hour later, Winthrop Adams Endicott found her seated alone at a little table in thedining-car he was agreeably surprised when she greeted him with a smileand motioned him into the chair opposite. 

"For goodness' sake, Winthrop, sit down and talk to me. There'snothing so stupid as dining alone--and especially when you want to talkto somebody. " As Endicott seated himself, she rattled on: "I wanted togo to that preposterous supper they are going to 'dish up' at thehotel, but when I found they were going to separate the 'ladies andgents' and feed them in relays, I somehow lost the urge. The men, mostof them, are interesting--but the women are deadly. I know just whatit would be--caught snatches of it from the wagons during thelulls--preserves, and babies, and what Harry's ma died of. The mencarry an atmosphere of unrestraint--of freshness----"

Endicott interrupted her with a nod: "Yes, " he observed, dryly, "Ibelieve that is the term----"

"Don't be guilty of a pun, Winthrop. At least, not a slangy one. It'squite unsuited to your style of beauty. But, really, wasn't it alldelightful? Did you ever see such riding, and shooting, and lassoing?"

"No. But I have never lived in a country where it is done. I havealways understood that cowboys were proficient along those lines, butwhy shouldn't they be? It's their business----"

"There you go--reducing everything to terms of business! Can't you seethe romance of it--what it stands for? The wild free life of theplains, the daily battling with the elements, and the mastery of nerveand skill over blind brute force and fury! I love it! And tonight I'mgoing to a real cowboy dance. "

"Alice!" The word carried a note of grave disapproval. "Surely youwere not serious about attending that orgy!"

The girl stared at him in surprise. "Serious! Of course I'm serious!When will I ever get another chance to attend a cowboy dance--and witha real cowboy, too?"

"The whole thing is preposterous! Perfectly absurd! If you are boundto attend that affair I will take you there, and we can look on and----"

"I don't want to look on. I want to dance--to be in it all. It willbe an experience I'll never forget. "

The man nodded: "And one you may never cease to regret. What do youknow of that man? Of his character; of his antecedents? He may be theveriest desperado for all you know. "

The girl clapped her hands in mock delight: "Oh, wouldn't that begrand! I hadn't thought of that. To attend a dance with just a plaincowboy doesn't fall to every girl's lot, but one who is a cowboy and adesperado, too!" She rolled her eyes to express the seventh heavendomof delight. 

Endicott ignored the mockery. "I am sure neither your mother nor yourfather----"

"No, neither of them would approve, of course. But really, Winthrop, I'm way past the short petticoat stage--though the way they're makingthem now nobody would guess it. I know it's improper andunconventional and that it isn't done east of the Mississippi nor westof the Rocky Mountains. But when in Rome do as the roamers do, assomeone has said. And as for Mr. Purdy, " she paused and lookedEndicott squarely in the eyes. "Do you know why he didn't shoot thatdisgusting Tex when he insulted him?"

Endicott nodded. "Yes, " he answered. "Because he was afraid to. "

Colour suffused the girl's face and she arose abruptly from the table. "At least, " she said haughtily, "you and Wolf River are thoroughly inaccord on _that_ point. "

As the man watched her disappear through the doorway he became awarethat the fat woman who had sought refuge under the coach was staring athim through her lorgnette from her seat across the aisle. 

"Young man, I believe you insulted that girl!" she wheezed indignantly. 

"You should be a detective, madam. Not even a great one could befarther from the truth, " he replied dryly, and rising, passed into thesmoking compartment of his Pullman where he consumed innumerablecigarettes as he stared out into the gathering night. 

Seated in her own section of the same Pullman, Alice Marcum sat andwatched the twilight deepen and the lights of the little town twinkleone by one from the windows. Alone in the darkening coach the girl wasnot nearly so sure she was going to enjoy her forthcoming adventure. Loud shouts, accompanied by hilarious laughter and an occasional pistolshot, floated across the flat. She pressed her lips tighter andheartily wished that she had declined Purdy's invitation. It was nottoo late, yet. She could plead a headache, or a slight indisposition. She knew perfectly well that Endicott had been right and she wrong but, with the thought, the very feminine perversity of her strengthened herdetermination to see the adventure through. 

"Men are such fools!" she muttered angrily. "I'll only stay a littlewhile, of course, but I'm going to that dance if it is the last thing Iever do--just to show him that--that--" her words trailed into silencewithout expressing just what it was she intended to show him. 

As the minutes passed the girl's eyes glowed with a spark of hope. "Maybe, " she muttered, "maybe Mr. Purdy has forgotten, or--" thesentence broke off shortly. Across the flat a rider was approachingand beside him trotted a lead-horse upon whose back was an emptysaddle. For just an instant she hesitated, then rose from her seat andwalked boldly to the door of the coach. 

"Good evenin', mom, " the cowboy smiled as he dismounted to assist herfrom the steps of the coach. 

"Good evening, " returned the girl. "But, you needn't to have gone tothe trouble of bringing a horse just to ride that little way. "

"'Twasn't no trouble, mom, an' he's woman broke. I figured yehwouldn't have no ridin' outfit along so I loant a sideways saddle offena friend of mine which his gal usta use before she learnt to ridestraddle. The horse is hern, too, an' gentle as a dog. Here I'll giveyeh a h'ist. " The lead-horse nickered softly, and reaching up, thegirl stroked his velvet nose. 

"He's woman broke, " repeated the cowboy, and as Alice looked up hereyes strayed past him to the window of the coach where they metEndicott's steady gaze. 

The next moment Purdy was lifting her into the saddle, and without abackward glance the two rode out across the flat. 

The girl was a devoted horsewoman and with the feel of the horse underher, her spirits revived and she drew in a long breath of the fragrantnight. There was a living tang to the air, soft with the balm of June, and as they rode side by side the cowboy pointed toward the east wherethe sharp edge of the bench cut the rim of the rising moon. Alicegasped at the beauty of it. The horses stopped and the two watched insilence until the great red disc rose clear of the clean-cut sky-line. 

About the wreck torches flared and the night was torn by the clang andrattle of gears as the great crane swung a boxcar to the side. Thesingle street was filled with people--women and men from the wagons, and cowboys who dashed past on their horses or clumped along the woodensidewalk with a musical jangle of spurs. 

The dance-hall was a blaze of light toward which the people flockedlike moths to a candle flame. As they pushed the horses past, the girlglanced in. Framed in the doorway stood a man whose eyes met herssquarely--eyes that, in the lamplight seemed to smile cynically as theystrayed past her and rested for a moment upon her companion, even asthe thin lips were drawn downward at their corners in a sardonic grin. 

Unconsciously she brought her quirt down sharply, and her horse, gladof the chance to stretch his legs after several days in the stall, bounded forward and taking the bit in his teeth shot past the littlecluster of stores and saloons, past the straggling row of houses andheaded out on the trail that wound in and out among the cottonwoodclumps of the valley. At first, the girl tried vainly to check thepace, but as the animal settled to a steady run a spirit of wildexhilaration took possession of her--the feel of the horse boundingbeneath her, the muffled thud of his hoofs in the soft sand of thetrail, the alternating patches of moonlight and shadow, and the keentang of the night air--all seemed calling her, urging her on. 

At the point where the trail rose abruptly in its ascent to the bench, the horse slackened his pace and she brought him to a stand, and forthe first time since she left the town, realized she was not alone. The realization gave her a momentary start, as Purdy reined in closebeside her; but a glance into the man's face reassured her. 

"Oh, isn't it just grand! I feel as if I could ride on, and on, andon. "

The man nodded and pointed upward where the surface of the bench cutthe sky-line sharply. 

"Yes, mom, " he answered respectfully. "If yeh'd admire to, we c'nfoller the trail to the top an' ride a ways along the rim of the bench. If you like scenes, that ort to be worth while lookin' at. The dancewon't git a-goin' good fer an hour yet 'til the folks gits het up toit. "

For a moment Alice hesitated. The romance of the night was upon her. Every nerve tingled, with the feel of the wild. Her glance wanderedfrom the rim of the bench to the cowboy, a picturesque figure as he sateasily in his saddle, a figure toned by the soft touch of the moonlightto an intrinsic symbolism of vast open spaces. 

Something warned her to go back, but--what harm could there be in justriding to the top? Only for a moment--a moment in which she couldfeast her eyes upon the widespread panorama of moonlit wonder--andthen, they would be in the little town again before the dance was infull swing. In her mind's eye she saw Endicott's disapproving frown, and with a tightening of the lips she started her horse up the hill andthe cowboy drew in beside her, the soft brim of his Stetson concealingthe glance of triumph that flashed from his eyes. 

The trail slanted upward through a narrow coulee that reached the benchlevel a half-mile back from the valley. As the two came out into theopen the girl once more reined her horse to a standstill. Before her, far away across the moonlit plain the Bear Paws loomed in mysteriousgrandeur. The clean-cut outline of Miles Butte, standing apart fromthe main range, might have been an Egyptian pyramid rising abruptlyfrom the desert. From the very centre of the sea of peaks thesnow-capped summit of Big Baldy towered high above Tiger Ridge, and SawTooth projected its serried crown until it seemed to merge into theLittle Rockies which rose indistinct out of the dim beyond. 

The cowboy turned abruptly from the trail and the two headed theirhorses for the valley rim, the animals picking their way through thepatches of prickly pears and clumps of low sage whose fragrant aromarose as a delicate incense to the nostrils of the girl. 

Upon the very brink of the valley they halted, and in awed silenceAlice sat drinking in the exquisite beauty of the scene. 

Before her as far as the eye could see spread the broad reach of theMilk River Valley, its obfusk depths relieved here and there by brightpatches of moonlight, while down the centre, twisting in and out amongthe dark clumps of cottonwoods, the river wound like a ribbon ofgleaming silver. At widely scattered intervals the tiny lights ofranch houses glowed dull yellow in the distance, and almost at her feetthe clustering lights of the town shone from the open windows and doorsof buildings which stood out distinctly in the moonlight, like avillage in miniature. Faint sounds, scarcely audible in the stillnessof the night floated upward--the thin whine of fiddles, a shot now andthen from the pistol of an exuberant cowboy sounding tiny and far awaylike the report of a boy's pop-gun. 

The torches of the wrecking crew flickered feebly and the drone oftheir hoisting gears scarce broke the spell of the silence. 

Minutes passed as the girl's eyes feasted upon the details of the scene. 

"Oh, isn't it wonderful!" she breathed, and then in swift alarm, glanced suddenly into the man's face. Unnoticed he had edged his horseclose so that his leg brushed hers in the saddle. The hat brim did notconceal the eyes now, that stared boldly into her face and in suddenterror the girl attempted to whirl her horse toward the trail. But theman's arm shot out and encircled her waist and his hot breath was uponher cheek. With all the strength of her arm she swung her quirt, butPurdy held her close; the blow served only to frighten the horses whichleaped apart, and the girl felt herself dragged from the saddle. 

In the smoking compartment of the Pullman, Endicott finished acigarette as he watched the girl ride toward the town in company withPurdy. 

"She's a--a headstrong _little fool_!" he growled under his breath. Hestraightened out his legs and stared gloomily at the brass cuspidor. "Well, I'm through. I vowed once before I'd never have anything moreto do with her--and yet--" He hurled the cigarette at the cuspidor andtook a turn up and down the cramped quarters of the little room. Thenhe stalked to his seat, met the fat lady's outraged stare with anungentlemanly scowl, procured his hat, and stamped off across the flatin the direction of the dance-hall. As he entered the room a feelingof repugnance came over him. The floor was filled with noisy dancers, and upon a low platform at the opposite end of the room threeshirt-sleeved, collarless fiddlers sawed away at their instruments, asthey marked time with boots and bodies, pausing at intervals to moptheir sweat-glistening faces, or to swig from a bottle proffered by apassing dancer. Rows of onlookers of both sexes crowded the walls andEndicott's glance travelled from face to face in a vain search for thegirl. 

A little apart from the others the Texan leaned against the wall. Thesmoke from a limp cigarette which dangled from the corner of his lipscurled upward, and through the haze of it Endicott saw that the man wassmiling unpleasantly. Their eyes met and Endicott turned toward thedoor in hope of finding the girl among the crowd that thronged thestreet. 

Hardly had he reached the sidewalk when he felt a hand upon his arm, and turned to stare in surprise into the dark features of ahalf-breed, --the same, he remembered, who had helped the Texan tosaddle the outlaw. With a swift motion of the head the man signalledhim to follow, and turned abruptly into the deep shadow of an alleythat led along the side of the livery bam. Something in thehalf-breed's manner caused Endicott to obey without hesitation and amoment later the man turned and faced him. 

"You hont you 'oman?" Endicott nodded impatiently and the half-breedcontinued: "She gon' ridin' wit Purdy. " He pointed toward the windingtrail. "Mebbe-so you hur' oop, you ketch. " Without waiting for areply the man slipped the revolver from his holster and pressed it intothe astonished Endicott's hand, and catching him by the sleeve, hurriedhim to the rear of the stable where, tied to the fence of the corral, two horses stood saddled. Loosing one, the man passed him the bridlereins. "Dat hoss, she damn good hoss. Mebbe-so you ride lak' hell youcom' long in tam'. Dat Purdy, she not t'ink you got de gun, mebbe-soyou git chance to kill um good. " As the full significance of the man'swords dawned upon him Endicott leaped into the saddle and, dashing fromthe alley, headed at full speed out upon the winding, sandy trail. Onand on he sped, flashing in and out among the clumps of cottonwood. Atthe rise of the trail he halted suddenly to peer ahead and listen. Afull minute he stood while in his ears sounded only the low hum ofmosquitoes and the far-off grind of derrick wheels. 

He glanced upward and for a moment his heart stood still. Far above, on the rim of the bench, silhouetted clearly against the moonlight skywere two figures on horseback. Even as he looked the figures blendedtogether--there was a swift commotion, a riderless horse dashed fromview, and the next moment the sky-line showed only the rim of the bench. 

The moon turned blood-red. And with a curse that sounded in his earslike the snarl of a beast, Winthrop Adams Endicott tightened his gripupon the revolver and headed the horse up the steep ascent. 

The feel of his horse labouring up the trail held nothing ofexhilaration for Endicott. He had galloped out of Wolf River with thewords of the half-breed ringing in his ears: "Mebbe-so you ride lak'hell you com' long in tam'!" But, would he "com' long in tam'"? Therehad been something of sinister portent in that swift merging togetherof the two figures upon the sky-line, and in the flash-like glimpse ofthe riderless horse. Frantically he dug his spurless heels into thelabouring sides of his mount. 

"Mebbe-so you kill um good, " the man had said at parting, and asEndicott rode he knew that he would kill, and for him the knowledgeheld nothing of repugnance--only a wild fierce joy. He looked at therevolver in his hand. Never before had the hand held a lethal weapon, yet no slightest doubt as to his ability to use it entered his brain. Above him, somewhere upon the plain beyond the bench rim, the woman heloved was at the mercy of a man whom Endicott instinctively knew wouldstop at nothing to gain an end. The thought that the man he intendedto kill was armed and that he was a dead shot never entered his head, nor did he remember that the woman had mocked and ignored him, andagainst his advice had wilfully placed herself in the man's power. Shehad harried and exasperated him beyond measure--and yet he loved her. 

The trail grew suddenly lighter. The walls of the coulee flattenedinto a wide expanse of open. Mountains loomed in the distance and inthe white moonlight a riderless horse ceased snipping grass, raised hishead, and with ears cocked forward, stared at him. In a fever ofsuspense Endicott gazed about him, straining his eyes to penetrate thehalf-light, but the plain stretched endlessly away, and upon itssurface was no living, moving thing. 

Suddenly his horse pricked his ears and sniffed. Out of a near-bydepression that did not show in the moonlight another horse appeared. It, too, was riderless, and the next instant, from the same directionsounded a low, muffled cry and, leaping from his saddle, he dashedtoward the spot. The sage grew higher in the depression which was thehead of a branch of the coulee by means of which the trail gained thebench, and as he plunged in, the head and shoulders of a man appearedabove a bush. Endicott was very close when the man pushed somethingfiercely from him, and the body of a woman crashed heavily into thesage. Levelling the gun, he fired. The shot rang loud, and upon theedge of the depression a horse snorted nervously. The man pitchedforward and lay sprawled grotesquely upon the ground and Endicott sawthat his extended hand grasped a revolver. 

Dully he stared at the thing on the ground at his feet. There was amovement in the scrub and Alice Marcum stood beside him. He glancedinto her face. And as her eyes strayed from the sprawling figure tomeet his, Endicott read in their depths that which caused his heart torace madly. She stepped toward him and suddenly both paused to listen. The girl's face turned chalk-white in the moonlight. From thedirection of the coulee came the sound of horses' hoofs pounding thetrail!

CHAPTER VII

THE ARREST

Bat Lajune grinned into the dark as the galloping cow-horse carriedEndicott out upon the trail of Purdy and the girl. "A'm t'ink dat wangood job. Mebbe-so de pilgrim keel Purdy, _bien_! Mebbe-so Purdy keelde pilgrim, den de sheriff ketch Purdy an' she got for git hang--datpret' good, too. Anyhow, Tex, she don' got for bodder 'bout keel Purdyno mor'. Tex kin keel him all right, but dat Purdy she damn good shot, too. Mebbe-so she git de drop on Tex. Den afterwards, me--A'm got tofool 'roun' an' keel Purdy, an' mebbe-so A'm hang for dat, too. Wat dehell!"

A man rode up to the corral and tied his horse to the fence. Thehalf-breed drew into the shadow. "Dat Sam Moore, " he muttered. "Shedipity sher'ff, an' she goin' try for git 'lect for de beeg sher'ff disfall. Mebbe-so she lak' for git chanct for 'rest som'one. A'm goin'see 'bout dat. " He stepped to the side of the man, who startednervously and peered into his face. 

"Hello, Bat, what the devil you doin' prowlin' around here? Why hain'tyou in dancin'?"

The half-breed shrugged: "Me, A'm no lak' for dance mooch. She don' dono good. Anyhow, A'm hont 'roun' for fin' you. A'm t'ink mebbe-so youbetter com' 'long wit' me. "

"Come along with you! What's on yer mind?" Suddenly the manstraightened: "Say, look a here, if you're up to helpin' Tex Bentonpull off any gag on me, you've picked the wrong hand, see!"

The other shook his head vigorously: "_Non_! Tex, she goin' in dedance-hall. She don' know nuthin' 'bout w'at A'm know. "

"What you drivin' at? Come on, spit 'er out! I hain't a-goin' to fool'round here all night an' miss the dancin'. "

Bat stepped closer: "Two mans an' wan 'oman gon' up de trail. A'mt'ink som'one goin' for git keel. Mebbe-so we better gon' up an' see'bout dat. "

"You're crazy as hell! The trail's free, hain't it? What business Igot hornin' in on 'em? I come to town for to take in the dance, an'I'm a-goin' to. Besides it's a good chanct to do a little'lectioneerin'. " Once more Bat shrugged, and turning away, began tountie his horse. 

"Four Ace Johnson, over 'crost de riv', she dipity sher'ff, too. A'mhear she goin' run for de beeg sher'ff, nex' fall. A'm gon' over an'see if she no lak' to go 'long an' mak' de arres' if som'ting happen. Mebbe-so w'en de votin' tam' com' 'long de men lak' for hav' ChoteauCounty sher'ff w'at kin mak' de arres' better as de sher'ff w'at kindance good. _Voila_!" Without so much as a glance toward the other, he slipped into his saddle and started slowly down the alley. Beforehe reached the street Moore's horse pushed up beside him. 

"Where's this here outfit?" he growled, with a glance toward thedance-hall lights, "an' what makes you think they's a-goin' to begun-fightin'?"

"A'm t'ink dey ain' so far, " replied the half-breed as he swung intothe trail at a trot. And although the impatient deputy plied him witha volley of questions the other vouchsafed no further information. Midway of the ascent to the bench the two drew rein abruptly. Fromabove, and at no great distance, rang the sound of a shot--thensilence. The deputy glanced at the half-breed: "Hey, Bat, " hewhispered, "this here's a dangerous business!"

"Mebbe-so Choteau County lak' to git de sher'ff w'at ain' so moochscairt. "

"Scairt! Who's scairt? It hain't that. But I got a wife an' ninekids back there in the mountains, an' I'm a-goin' to deputize you. "

The half-breed shot him a look of sudden alarm: "_Non_! _Non_! BetterI lak' I ponch de cattle. You ke'p de nine wife an' de kid!"

"You hain't got no more sense than a reservation Injun!" growled thedeputy. "What I mean is, you got to help me make this here arrest!"

The half-breed grinned broadly: "Me, --A'm de, w'at you call, de posse, eh? _Bien_! Com' on 'long den. Mebbe-so we no ketch, you no git'lect for sher'ff. "

At the head of the trail the deputy checked his galloping mount with ajerk and scrutinized the three riderless horses that stood huddledtogether. His face paled perceptibly. "Oh, Lord!" he gasped betweenstiffening lips: "It's Tex, an' Jack Purdy, an' they've fit overCinnabar Joe's gal!"

He turned wrathfully toward Bat. "Why'n you tell me who it was uphere, so's I could a gathered a man's-size posse?" he demanded. "Whichever one of them two has shot up the other, they hain't goin' tobe took in none peaceable. An' if they've killed one of each othera'ready, he ain't goin' to be none scrupulous about pottin' you an' me. Chances is, they've got us covered right now. 'Tain't nowayspercautious to go ahead--an' we don't dast to go back! Bat, this is ahell of a place to be--an' it's your fault. Mebbe they won't shoot aunarmed man--here Bat, you take my gun an' go ahead. I'll tell 'emback there how you was game to the last. O-O-o-o-o! I got a turriblecramp in my stummick! I got to lay down. Do your duty, Bat, an' if Isurmise this here attact, which I think it's the appendeetus, I'll tell'em how you died with yer boots on in the service of yer country. " Theman forced his six-shooter into the half-breed's hand and, slippinglimply from his saddle to the ground, wriggled swiftly into the shadowof a sage bush. 

Bat moved his horse slowly forward as he peered about him. "If Purdykeel de pilgrim, den A'm better look out. He don' lak' me nohow, 'cause A'm fin' out 'bout dat cinch. Better A'm lak' Sam Moore, A'mgit de 'pendeceet in my belly for li'l w'ile. " He swung off his horseand flattening himself against the ground, advanced cautiously frombush to bush. At the edge of the depression he paused and stared atthe two figures that huddled close together a few feet ahead. Bothwere gazing toward the trail and in the moonlight he recognized theface of the pilgrim. With a smile of satisfaction the half-breed stooderect and advanced boldly. 

"You com' in tam', eh?" he asked, as with a nod Endicott stepped towardhim and handed him the revolver. 

"Yes, just in time. I am deeply grateful to you. "

"Eh?" The other's brows drew together. 

"I say, I thank you--for the gun, and for telling me----"

"Ha, dat's a'right. W'er' Purdy?" The girl shuddered, as Endicottpointed to the ground at some little distance away. The man advancedand bent over the prostrate form. 

"Ba goss!" he exclaimed with a glance of admiration. "You shoot heemafter de draw! _Nom de Dieu_! You good man wit' de gun! Wer' you hitheem?"

Endicott shook his head. "I don't know. I saw him, and shot, and hefell. " The half-breed was bending over the man on the ground. 

"You shoot heem on he's head, " he approved, "dat pret' good place. " Hebent lower and a sibilant sound reached the ears of Endicott and thegirl. After a moment the man stood up and came toward them smiling. "A'm fin' out if she dead, " he explained, casually. "A'm speet detobac' juice in he's eye. If she wink she ain' dead. Purdy, she don'wink no mor'. Dat damn good t'ing. "

Again Alice Marcum shuddered as Endicott spoke: "Can you find ourhorses?" he asked. "I must go to town and give myself up. "

"_Oui_, A'm git de hoss' a'right. Better you tak' 'em an' skeep off. A'm git on dat posse an' you bet we no ketch. A'm lak' you fine. "

"No! No!" Endicott exclaimed. "If I have killed a man I shall standtrial for it. I won't sneak away like a common murderer. I know myact was no crime, let the decision of the jury be what it may. "

The half-breed regarded him with a puzzled frown. "You mean you lak'fer git arres'?" he asked in surprise. 

"Why, of course! I--" the other interrupted with a laugh. 

"A'right. Dat de kin' Sam Moore she lak' fer arres'. Sam, she layin'back here a ways. She dipity sher'ff, an' we'n we com' on dem hoss', Sam she git to fink 'bout he's wife an' kids. He don' fink 'bout demmooch only w'en he git dronk, or git scairt. Den he lov' 'em lak'hell, an' he grab de beeg belly-ache, so dey don' got for feel sorry'bout heem gittin' keel. "

Slipping his own gun into its holster, the half-breed turned and walkedtoward the spot where he had left the deputy, and as he walked he threwopen the cylinder of the officer's gun and removed the cartridges. 

"Sam!" he called sharply. Cautiously a head raised from behind a sagebush. "How long you t'ink dat tak' you git well? Wan man he lak' forgit arres' w'en you git time. "

"Shut up! Don't talk so loud! D'you want to git us killed? Which onegot it?"

"Purdy. De pilgrim shoot heem 'cause he run off wit' he's girl. "

"Pilgrim! What pilgrim! An' what girl? Ain't that Tex Benton'shorse, an' Cinnabar Joe's----?"

"Uh-huh, A'm bor' heem Tex boss for ketch Purdy. An', Ba goss, heshoot heem on he's head after Purdy draw'd!"

Moore stared aghast. "What? A pilgrim done that? Not on yer life!He may look an' act like a pilgrim but, take it from me, he's adesperate character if he got Purdy after he draw'd. It's worser thanif it was Tex. _He_ might of took pity on us, knowin' about thefambly. But a stranger, an' one that kin git a man like Jack Purdy!O-o-o-o, my stummick! Bat, I'm 'fraid I'm a-passin' away! Thesespells is a-killin' me--an' what'll become of the woman an' the kids?"

The half-breed grinned: "Mebbe-so you kin' pass back agin, Sam. Heain' got no gun. "

Sam Moore ceased to writhe, and sat abruptly erect. "Ain't got nogun!" he exclaimed. "What did he shoot Purdy with?"

"My gun. He giv' it back to me. A'm bor' heem dat gun li'l while ago. "

The deputy sprang to his feet. "Quick, now, Bat!" he roared loudly. "You slip these irons on him, an' I'll catch up the horses. Don't takeno chances!" He tossed the half-breed a pair of hand-cuffs, andstarted after his own horse. "Kill him if he makes a crooked move. Tell him you're actin' under my authority an' let him understand we'rehard men to tamper with--us sheriffs. We don't stand fer no foolin'. "

In Curly Hardee's dance-hall Tex Benton leaned against the wall andidly watched the couples weave in and out upon the floor to the whiningaccompaniment of the fiddles and the clanging piano. 

Apparently the cowboy's interest centred solely upon the dancers, but aclose observer would have noticed the keen glance with which he scannedeach new arrival--noticed too, that after a few short puffs on acigarette the man tossed it to the floor and immediately rolledanother, which is not in the manner of a man with a mind at ease. 

The Texan saw Endicott enter the room, watched as the man's eyes sweptthe faces of dancers and spectators, and smiled as he turned toward thedoor. 

"Three of us, " mused the cowboy, with the peculiar smile still twistingthe corners of his lips, "Purdy, an' me, an' the pilgrim. Purdy'swork's so coarse he'll gum his own game, an' that's where I come in. An' the pilgrim--I ain't quite figgered how he stacks up. " Thecowpuncher glanced at his watch. "It's time they showed up long ago. I wonder what's keepin' em. " Suddenly he straightened himself with ajerk: "Good Lord! I wonder if---- But no, not even Purdy would try_that_. Still, if he knows I know he tried to dope me he'll befiggerin' on pullin' his freight anyhow, an'--" The man's lipstightened and, elbowing his way to the door he stepped onto the streetand hurried to the Headquarters saloon. Cinnabar Joe was behind thebar, apparently none the worse for his dose of chloral, and in answerto a swift signal, followed the Texan to the rear of the room. 

"Does Purdy know I'm wise to his dope game?"

The bartender nodded: "Yes, I told him you must of switched theglasses. "

"I saw him leadin' your horse rigged up with your side-saddle acrostthe flats awhile back. "

Again the bartender nodded: "He borrowed the outfit fer a gal of his'nhe said come in on the train. Wanted to take her fer a ride. "

"Where'd they go?" The words whipped viciously. 

"Search me! I've had my hands full to keep track of what's goin' on inhere, let alone outside. "

Without a word the Texan stepped out the back door and hastened towardthe horse corral behind the livery stable. Circling its fence to thehead of the alley, he stared in surprise at the spot where he and BatLajune had tied their horses. The animals were gone, and cursing thehalf-breed at every step, he rushed to the street, and catching up thereins of a big roan that stood in a group of horses, swung into thesaddle and headed out onto the trail. 

"Women are fools, " he muttered savagely. "It beats hell what even thesensible ones will fall for!"

At the up-bend of the trail he halted abruptly and listened. From theshadows of the coulee ahead came the sound of voices and the softscraping of horses' feet. He drew the roan into a cottonwood thicketand waited. 

"Somethin' funny here. Nobody ever come to a dance ridin' at a walk, "he muttered, and then as the little cavalcade broke into the brightmoonlight at a bend of the trail, his eyes widened with surprise. Infront rode Bat Lajune with Purdy's horse snubbed to his saddle-horn, and immediately following him were the girl and Endicott riding side byside. Tex saw that the girl was crying, and that Endicott's hands weremanacled, and that he rode the missing horse. Behind them rode SamMoore, pompously erect, a six-shooter laid across the horn of hissaddle, and a scowl of conceited importance upon his face that wouldhave evoked the envy of the Kaiser of Krautland. The figure appealedto the Texan's sense of humour and waiting until the deputy was exactlyopposite his place of concealment, he filled his lungs and leanedforward in his saddle. 

"Y-e-e-e-o-w!" The sound blared out like the shrill of doom. Theofficer's six-shooter thudded upon the ground, his hands grasped thehorn of the saddle, his spurs dug into his horse's flanks and sent theanimal crashing between the girl and Endicott and caused Purdy's horseto tear loose from the half-breed's saddle-horn. 

"Stand 'em off, Bat!" shrieked the deputy as he shot past, "I'm a-goin'fer help!" and away he tore, leaning far over his horse's neck, withPurdy's horse, the stirrups lashing his sides, dashing madly in hiswake. 

A moment later Tex pushed his mount into the trail where the girl, drawn close to Endicott, waited in fearful expectation. The half-breedmet him with a grin. 

Rapidly, with many ejaculations interspersing explosive volleys ofhalf-intelligible words, Bat acquainted the Texan with the progress ofevents. The cowpuncher listened without comment until the other hadfinished. Then he turned to Endicott. 

"Where'd you learn to shoot?" he asked abruptly. 

"I never learned. Until tonight I never had a pistol in my hand. "

"You done damned well--to start out with, " commented the Texan dryly. 

"But, oh, it's horrible!" sobbed the girl, "and it's all my fault!"

"I reckon that's right. It looks like a bad mix-up all around. "

"Oh, why didn't you tell me what a _beast_ he was? You knew all thetime. And when you insulted him I thought you were _horrid_! And Ithought he was so noble when he refrained from shooting you. "

"No. He wasn't noble, none noticeable--Purdy wasn't. An' as for metellin' you about him--answer me square: Would you have believed me?"

The girl's eyes fell before his steady gaze. 

"No, " she faltered, "I wouldn't. But isn't there something we can do?Some way out of this awful mess?"

The Texan's eyes flashed a glint of daring. He was thinking rapidly. Endicott moved his horse closer to the cowboy. "Can't you manage toget _her_ away--onto a train some place so she can avoid the annoyanceof having to testify at the trial, and submit to the insulting remarksof your sheriff?"

The girl interrupted him: "Winthrop Adams Endicott, if you dare to eventhink _such_ a thing--I'll never speak to you again! Indeed he _won't_take me away or put me on any train! I got you into this, and I won'tbudge one inch until you get out of it. What do I care for a littleannoyance--and as for the sheriff, I'll say 'boo' at him in the darkand he'll die. "

There was a gleam of approval in the eyes of the Texan as his lipstwisted into their peculiar cynical smile. "Spunky little devil, " hethought to himself. "There's a chance to pull a play here somewherethat'll make me solid with her all right. I got to have time tothink. " Aloud he said: "Just you leave things to me. I'll get a lineon what's what. But you both got to do as I say, an' no augerin' aboutit neither. It looks from here as if things could be straightened outif someone don't go to work an' ball the jack. An' as for Sam passin'insultin' remarks no more--he won't. Here he comes now with about halfWolf River for a posse. " The cowboy turned to Endicott: "You go 'longwith 'em an' lay low 'til you hear from Bat, there, or me. Then you doas we say, an' don't ask no questions. "

The rumble of horses' feet sounded from the direction of the littletown and the Texan whispered to Bat: "Find out where they lock him up. An' when the excitement dies down you find me. I ain't a-goin' to losesight of _her_--see. " The half-breed grinned his understanding and Texswung his horse in close beside the girl and awaited the coming of theposse. 

With a yell the onrushing cowboys whom the deputy had recruited fromthe dance-hall spied the little group and, thundering up at fullgallop, formed a closely packed circle about them. Recognizing thedeputy who was vociferously urging his horse from the rear, Tex forcedhis way through the circle and called him aside. 

"Say, Sam, " he drawled, in a tone that caused the deputy's hair toprickle at its roots; "about some an' sundry insultin' remarks youpassed agin' the lady, yonder----"

"No, I never----"

"That'll be about all the lyin' you need to do now. An' just let thissink in. You can lock up the pilgrim where you damn please. But thelady goes to the hotel. If you aim to hold her as a witness you canappoint a guard--an' I'm the guard. D'you get me? 'Cause if there'sany misunderstandin' lingerin' in them scrambled aigs you use ferbrains, I'll just start out by tellin' the boys what a hell of a bravearrest you pulled off, an' about the nervy stand you made agin' odds toguard your prisoners when I yipped at you from the brush. Then, afterthey get through havin' their fun out of you, I'll just waste a shellon you for luck--see?"

"Sure, Tex, that sounds reasonable, " the other rattled on in evidentrelief. "Fact is, I be'n huntin' fer you ever sense I suspicionedthey'd be'n a murder. 'If I c'd only find Tex, ' I says to myself, Isays, 'he'd be worth a hull posse hisself. ' Jest you go ahead an'night-herd the lady. I'll tell her myself so's it'll be official. An'me an' the rest of the boys here, we'll take care of the pilgrim, whichhe ain't no pilgrim at all, but a desperate desperado, or he couldn'tnever have got Jack Purdy the way he done. "

The Texan grinned and, forcing his horse through the crowd, reached thegirl's side where he was joined a few moments later by the deputy. Despite her embarrassing situation Alice Marcum could scarce restrain asmile at the officer's sudden obsequious deference. Stetson in hand, he bowed awkwardly. "Excuse me, mom, but, as I was goin' on to say inreference of any remarks I might of passed previous, I found outsubsequent I didn't mean what I was sayin', which I misunderstoodmyself complete. But as I was goin' on to say, mom, the State ofMontany might need you fer a witness in this here felonious trial, soif you'll be so kind an' go to the _ho_tel along of Tex here whom he'sthe party I've tolled off fer to guard you, an' don't stand no monkeybusiness neither. What I mean is, " he hastened to add, catching aglance from the Texan's eye, "don't be afraid to ask fer soap or towelsif there hain't none in yer room, an' if yer cold holler fer an extryblanket er two. The State's a-payin' fer it, an' yer board, too, an'if they don't fill you up every meal you set up a yell an' I'll see 'tthey do. " The deputy turned abruptly away and addressed the cowboys:"Come on, boys, let's git this character under lock an' key so I kinbreathe easier. "

Even Endicott joined in the laugh that greeted the man's words and, detaining a cowpuncher to ride on either side of the prisoner, theofficer solemnly led the way toward town. 

CHAPTER VIII

ONE WAY OUT

As the horses traversed the two miles of winding trail, Alice Marcumglanced from time to time at the Texan who rode silently at her side. The man's face was grave and he seemed entirely oblivious to herpresence. Only once did she venture to speak to him. 

"I suppose I ought to thank you, Mr. ----"

"Tex'll do, " supplied the man, without even the courtesy of a glance. 

"--for the very changed attitude of the sheriff, and for the fact thatI am to be lodged in the hotel instead of the jail. "

The girl thought the Texan's lips drew into their peculiar smile, buthe gave no further evidence of having heard and rode on in silence, with his attention apparently fixed upon the tips of his horse's ears. At the edge of town the crowd, with Endicott in its midst, swervedtoward the railroad and the girl found herself alone with her jailer. She drew up her horse sharply and glanced back toward the prisoner. 

"This way, " said a voice close beside her; "we'll go to the hotel, Iguess there's enough of 'em to see that the pilgrim gets locked upsafe. "

"But I--I want to speak to him. To tell him----"

"Never mind what you want to tell him. It'll keep, I reckon. "

At the door of the wooden hotel the cowpuncher swung from his horse. "You wait here a minute; I'll go fetch Jennie. She's prob'ly over tothe dance. She'll fix you up with a room an' see that you get what youwant. "

"But my bag?"

"Yer what?"

"My bag--with all my things in it. I left it in the car. "

"Oh, yer war-bag! All right, I'll get that after I've got Jennie cutout an' headed this way. "

He stepped into the dance-hall next door and motioned to a plump, round-faced girl who was dancing with a young cowboy. At theconclusion of the dance the girl laughingly refused to accompany herpartner to the bar, and made her way toward the Texan. 

"Say, Jennie, " the man said, after drawing her aside; "there's a girlover to the hotel and I want you to go over an' fix her up with a room. Give her Number 11. It's handy to the side door. "

The girl's nose went up and the laughing eyes flashed scornfully. "No, you don't, Tex Benton! What do you think I am? An' what's more, youdon't pull nothin' like that around there. That hotel's run decent, an' it's goin' to stay decent or Hank can get someone else fer help. They's some several of the boys has tried it sence I be'n there butthey never tried it but onct. _An' that goes_!" The girl turned awaywith a contemptuous sniff. 

"Jennie!" The Texan was smiling. "This is a little different case, Ireckon. "

"They're all different cases, " she retorted. "But everything's be'ntried from a sister come on a unexpected visit, to slippin' mefive--Cinnabar Joe tended to that one's case hisself, an' he done agood job, too. So you might's well save yer wind 'cause there ain'tnothin' you can think up to say that'll fool me a little bit. I ain'tworked around hotels fer it's goin' on six years fer nothin', an' Iwouldn't trust no man--cowboys an' drummers least of all. "

"Listen, Jennie, I ain't tryin' to tell you I wouldn't. Only thistime, I ain't. If I was, don't you suppose I've got sense enough notto go to you to help me with it?" The girl waited with all outwardappearance of skepticism for him to proceed. "This girl went ridin'with Jack Purdy--he borrowed the side-saddle from Cinnabar----"

"Did Cinnabar loan him that saddle fer any such----?"

"Hold on, now, Cinnabar don't know nothin' about it. Purdy wants toborrow his side-saddle an' Joe says sure. "

"He might of know'd if Purdy wanted it, it wasn't fer no good. You'reall bad enough, goodness knows, but he was the worst of the lot. Ihate Purdy an' you bet he cuts a big circle when he sees me comin'. "

"Well, he won't no more, " answered the Texan dryly. "Purdy's dead. "

"Dead!"

"Yes. He took a pilgrim's girl out on the bench an' the pilgrim gotwise to it an' dug out after 'em. Got there just in time an' took ashot at Purdy an' got him. "

"Land sakes! I'm glad he did! If they was a few more pilgrims likehim that would get about half the rest of you, maybe the others wouldturn decent, or take to the brush. "

The Texan laughed. "Anyway Purdy's dead, an' they've got the pilgrimlocked up, an' the girl's held fer a witness, an' I told Sam Moore I'dtake a shot at him if he locked her up wherever he's goin' to lock upthe pilgrim--in the wool-warehouse I reckon. Anyhow, he told her to goto the hotel an' specified me fer a guard. "

"Oh, he did, did he? Well jest you wait 'til I get my hat. I guessmaybe she'll be safer with _two_ guards. " With a meaning look the girlhurried away and a moment later returned and followed the Texan fromthe room. 

"Why was you so anxious she was to have Number 11, if what you've toldme is on the level?" she asked, as they approached the hotel. 

"I don't know, yet, exactly. But I've got a hunch they'll be somethin'doin' a little later. "

"Uh-huh, an' I'll be right there when it's doin', too. An' you can betyour last blue one on that!"

Alice Marcum swung unassisted to the ground as the two approached. Andas she glanced into the wide, friendly eyes of the girl she felt deeplygrateful to the Texan for bringing a woman. Then the woman wasspeaking: "Come right along in the house. I'm Jennie Dodds, an' I'llsee't you get settled comfortable. Tex, he told me all about it. Landsakes! I bet you feel proud! Who'd a thought any pilgrim could a gotJack Purdy! Where's your grip?"

"Gosh! I plumb forgot!" exclaimed the cowboy, and started for hishorse. "I'll be back with yer war-bag in a minute. " A few momentslater, he returned to the hotel carrying a leather bag. 

"I'm goin' to kind of slip around among the boys a bit. I've be'ndoin' some thinkin' an maybe we can figger a way out. I don't quitelike the way things is shapin' up. I'll be wantin' most likely to seeyou in a while----"

"We'll both be here, " interrupted Jennie. "_Both_ of us. We'll be inNumber 11. "

Outside the hotel the Texan paused to roll and light a cigarette, andas he blew the smoke from his lungs, he smiled cynically. 

"Purdy's work was so damn coarse he got just what was comin' to him. There's only me an' the pilgrim, now--an' it's me an' him for it. Iain't plumb got the girl sized up yet. If she's straight--all right. She'll stay straight. If she ain't---- They say everything's fair inlove an' war, an' bein' as it's my deal the pilgrim's got to go upagainst a stacked deck. An' if things works out right, believe me, he's a-goin' to know he's be'n somewhere by the time he gets back--ifhe ever does get back. "

For the third time that evening he entered the dance-hall and avoidingthe dancers made his way leisurely toward the bar that ran along oneside of the room. 

"Hello, Tex, ain't dancin'? Say, they're tellin' how a pilgrim killedJack Purdy. Yes, an' they got him locked up down in thewool-warehouse. What's yourn?" The cowboy ranged himself beside theTexan. 

"A little red liquor, I reckon. " The men poured their drinks and theTexan glanced toward the other: "You ain't mournin' none over Purdy, Curly?"

"Who, me?" the man laughed. "Not what you c'd notice, I ain't. An'they's plenty others ain't, too. I don't hear no lamentations wailin'a-bustin' in on the festchivities. It was over the pilgrim's girl. They say how Purdy tried to----"

"Yes, he did. But the pilgrim got there first. I been thinkin', Curly. It's plumb shameful for to hold the pilgrim for doin' what oneof us would of had to do sooner or later. Choteau County has stood forhim about as long as it could, an' a damn sight longer than it oughtto. His work was gettin' so rotten it stunk, I could tell you about asage-brush corral an' some runnin'-iron work over on the southslope----"

"Yes, " broke in the other, "an' there's a hell of a lot of I X an' BearPaw Pool cows that show'd up, brandin' time, 'thout no calves. "

The Texan nodded: "Exactly. Now, what I was goin' on to say: The grandjury don't set for a couple or three months yet. An' when they do, they'll turn the pilgrim loose so quick it'll make yer head swim. Then, there's the girl. They'll hold her for a witness--not thatthey'd have to, 'cause she'll stay on her own hook. Now what's the useof them bein' took down to Benton an' stuck in jail? Drink up, an'have another. "

"Not none, " agreed Curly, as he measured out his liquor to an imaginaryline half-way up the glass. "But how'd you figger to fix it?"

"Well, " answered the Texan, as his lips twisted into their peculiarsmile; "we might get the right bunch together an' go down to thewool-warehouse an' save the grand jury the trouble. "

The other stared at him in amazement: "You mean bust him out?"

Tex laughed: "Sure. Lord! Won't it be fun seein' Sam Moore puttin' upa scrap to save his prisoner?"

"But, how'd we git away with him? All Sam w'd do is git a posse an'take out after him an' they'd round him up 'fore he got to Three-mile. Or if we went along we'd git further but they'd git us in the end an'then we'd be in a hell of a fix!"

"Your head don't hurt you none, workin' it that way, does it?" grinnedTex. "I done thought it all out. We'll get the boys an' slip down tothe warehouse an' take the pilgrim out an' slip a noose around his neckan' set him on a horse an' ride out of town a-cussin' him an'a-swearin' to lynch him. He won't know but what we aim to hang him tothe first likely cottonwood, an' we'll have a lot of fun with him. An'no one else won't know it, neither. Then you-all ride back an' pertendto keep mum, but leak it out that we done hung him. They won't be noposse hunt for him then an' I'll take him an' slip him acrost to the N. P. Or the C. P. R. An' let him go. It's too good a chanct to miss. Lordy! Won't the pilgrim beg! An' Sam Moore--he'll be scairt out of ayear's growth!"

"But, the girl, " objected Curly. 

"Oh, the girl--well, they'll turn her loose, of course. They ain'tnothin' on her except for a witness. An' if they ain't no prisonerthey won't need no witness, will they?"

"That's right, " assented the other. "By gosh, Tex, what you can'tthink up, the devil wouldn't bother with. That's sure some stunt. Let's get the boys an' go to it!"

"You get the boys together. Get about twenty of the live ones an' head'em over to the Headquarters. I'll go hunt up a horse for the pilgriman' be over there in half an hour. "

Curly passed from man to man, whom he singled out from among thedancers and onlookers, and the Texan slipped unobserved through thedoor and proceeded directly to the hotel. On the street he met Bat. 

"De pilgrim, she lock up in de woolhouse an' Sam Moore she stan' 'longde door wit two revolver an' wan big rifle. "

"All right, Bat. You look alive now, an' catch up Purdy's horse an'see that you get a good set of bridle reins on him, an' find the girl'shorse an' get holt of a pack-horse somewheres an' get your war-bag an'mine an' our blankets onto him, an' go down to the store an' get acouple more pairs of blankets, an' grub enough fer a week for four, an'get that onto him, an' have all them horses around to the side door ofthe hotel in twenty minutes, or I'll bust you wide open an' fill yourhide with prickly pears. "

The half-breed nodded his understanding and slipped onto his horse asthe Texan entered the hotel. Passing through the office where acoal-oil lamp burned dimly in a wall-bracket, he stepped into thenarrow hallway and paused with his eyes on the bar of yellow light thatshowed at the bottom of the door of Number 11. 

"Most any fool thing would do to tell the girl. But I've got to makeit some plausible to put it acrost on Jennie. I'm afraid I kind ofover-played my hand a little when I let her in on this, but--damn it!I felt kind of sorry for the girl even if it was her own fool faultgettin' into this jack-pot. I thought maybe a woman could kind ofknock off the rough edges a little. Well, here goes!" He knockedsharply, and it was a very grave-faced cowboy who stepped into the roomand closed the door behind him. "I've be'n doin' quite some feelin'out of the public pulse, as the feller says, an' the way things looksfrom here, the pilgrim is sure in bad. You see, the jury is bound tobe made up of cow-men an' ranchers with a sheep-man or two mixed in. An' they're all denizens that Choteau County is infested with. Now astranger comin' in that way an' kind of pickin' one of us off, casual, like a tick off'n a dog's ear, it won't be looked on with favour----"

Jennie interrupted, with a belligerent forefinger wagging almostagainst the Texan's nose: "But that Jack Purdy needed killin' if everany one did. He was loose an'----"

"Yes, " broke in Tex, "he was. I ain't here to pronounce no benedictionof blessedness on Purdy's remains. But, you got to recollect that mostof the jury, picked out at random, is in the same boat--loose, an'needin' killin', which they know as well as you an' me do, an'consequent ain't a-goin' to establish no oncomfortable precedent. Suppose any pilgrim was allowed to step off'n a train any time hehappened to be comin' through, an' pick off a loose one? What wouldChoteau County's or any other county's he-population look like in ayear's time, eh? It would look like the hair-brush out here in thewash-room, an' you could send in the votin' list on a cigarette paper. No, sir, the pilgrim ain't got a show if he's got to face a jury. There's only one way out, an' there's about fifteen or twenty of theboys that's willin' to give him a chance. We're a-goin' to bust himout of jail an' put him on a horse an' run him up some cottonwoodcoulee with a rope around his neck. "

Alice Marcum, who had followed every word, turned chalk-white in thelamplight as she stared wide-eyed at the Texan, with fingers pressedtight against her lips, while Jennie placed herself protectinglybetween them and launched into a perfect tirade. 

"Hold on, now. " Both girls saw that the man was smiling and Jennierelapsed into a warlike silence. "A rope necktie ain't a-goin' to hurtno one as long as he keeps his heft off'n it. As I was goin' on tosay, we'll run him up this coulee an' a while later the boys'll rideback to town in the same semmey-serious mood that accompanies suchsimilar enterprises. They won't do no talkin' an' they won't need to. Folks will naturally know that justice has be'n properly dispensedwith, an' that their taxes won't raise none owin' to county funds bein'misdirected in prosecutin' a public benefactor--an' they'll besatisfied. The preacher'll preach a long sermon condemnin' the takin'of human life without due process of law, an' the next Sunday he'llpreach another one about the onchristian shootin' of folks withoutgivin' 'em a chanct to repent--after they'd drawed--an' he'll use thelynchin' as a specimen of the workin's of the hand of the Lord inbringin' speedy justice onto the murderer. 

"But they ain't be'n no lynchin' done. 'Cause the boys will turn theprisoner over to me an' I'll hustle him acrost to the N. P. An' let himget out of the country. "

Alice Marcum leaped to her feet: "Oh, are you telling me the truth?How do I know you're not going to lynch him? I told him I'd stay withhim and see him through!"

The Texan regarded her gravely: "You can, " he said after a moment ofsilence. "I'll have Bat take you to Snake Creek crossing an' you canwait there 'til I come along with the pilgrim. Then we'll cut throughthe mountains an' hit down through the bad lands an'----"

"No you don't, Tex Benton!" Jennie was facing him again. "You're asmooth one all right. How long would it take you to lose the pilgrimthere in the bad lands, even if you don't lynch him, which it ain't nocinch you ain't a-goin' to--then where would _she_ be? No, sir, youdon't pull nothin' like that off on me!"

"But I want to go!" cried Alice. "I want to be near him, and I'm notafraid. "

The girl regarded her for a moment in silence. "I should think you'dhad enough of cowpunchers for one night. But if you're bound to go Iain't got no right to hold you. I'd go along with you if I could, butI can't. "

"I'm not afraid, " she answered as her eyes sought the Texan's. "I'velearned a lot in the past few hours. "

"I guess you ain't learnt enough to hurt you none, " retorted Jennie, with a trace of acid in her tone. "An' you'll learn a lot more 'foreyou hit the N. P. , or my name ain't Jennie Dodds. If you're bound togo you can take my outfit. I guess Tex'll see that my horse comesback, anyhow. "

The cowpuncher grinned: "Thanks, Jennie, I'm right proud to know youthink I wouldn't steal your horse. " Once more he turned to the girl. "When the half-breed comes for you, you go with him. I've got to go onwith the boys, now. " Abruptly he left the room, and once more pausedin the hall before passing through the office. "She's game, all right. An' the way she can look at a fellow out of those eyes of hers---- ByGod! Purdy _ought_ to be'n killed!"

CHAPTER IX

THE PILGRIM

A group of saddle-horses stood before the Headquarters saloon, and asthe Texan entered he was vociferously greeted by the twenty cowboys whocrowded the bar. 

"Come on, Tex, drink up!"

"Hell'll be a-poppin' down to the wool-warehouse. "

"An', time we get there we won't be able to see Sam Moore fer dust. "Curly raised his glass and the cowpunchers joined in uproarious song:

 "We'll string him up to a cottonwood limb An' dig his grave in under him, We'll tromp down the clods, an' we won't give a damn 'Cause he'll never kill another cow-man, Ah wi yi yippie i oo-o-!"

Without a break the Texan picked up the refrain, improvising words tofit the occasion:

 "The sheriff's name, it's old Sam Moore, He's standin' down by the jail-house door With seventeen knives an' a gatlin' gun, But you bet your boots we'll make him run Ah wi yi yippie i o-o-o-!"

With whoops of approbation and a deafening chorus of yowls andcatcalls, the cowpunchers crowded through the door. A moment later thebar-room was deserted and out in the street the night air resoundedwith the sound of snorting, trampling horses, the metallic jangle ofspurs and bit chains, the creak of saddle-leather, and the terse, quick-worded observations of men mounting in the midst of the confusionof refractory horses. 

"The sheriff's name, it's old Sam Moore!" roared a cowboy as he slammedinto the saddle of a skew-ball black. 

"Go git him!" howled another in exact imitation of Slim Maloney. 

There was a thunder of hoofs as the whole crowd, headed by Tex andCurly swept down the street and across the flat toward the impromptujail. 

With a lighted lantern beside him, Sam Moore sat upon the stronglybuilt unloading platform before the warehouse door, access to which wasgained by means of a flight of six or eight plank steps at either end. Up these steps rode a couple of cowpunchers while the rest drew upsharply at the very edge of the platform. Hemmed in upon all sides thevaliant deputy glanced fearfully into the faces of the horsemen. "Wha--What's up, boys? What's ailin' ye?" he managed to blurt out. 

"Drop them guns an' give over the key!" commanded someone. 

"Sure--sure, boys! I hain't aimin' to hurt no one. Yer all friends ofmine an' what you say goes with me. "

"Friends of yourn!" roared someone menacingly; "you're a liar, Sam!You ain't never seen nary one of us before! Git that!"

"Sure, sure thing, boys, I don't know who ye be. 'Tain't none of mybusiness. I couldn't name none of you. You don't need to be scairt ofme. "

"You beat it, then, an' lose yerself an' don't yer go stirrin' up norookus over to the dance, er we'll dangle you a little, too. "

"Sure. I'm a-goin' now. I----"

"Fork over that key first!"

"Sure, Tex! Here it is----"

"Sure _who_!" rasped a voice close to the sheriff's ear. 

"I mean--I said---- Here's the doggone key! I was thinkin' of afeller I know'd down to Wyomin'. Tex--Tex--Smith, er some such of aname it was. I mistrusted you was him, an' mebbe you be fer all Iknow. I don't savvy none of you whatever. "

"Get a move on, Sam!"

"Me! I'm gone! An' you boys remember when 'lection time comes, tovote fer a sheriff that's got disgression an' common sense. " And withludicrous alacrity, the deputy scrambled from the platform anddisappeared into the deep blackness of the lumber-yard. 

The Texan fitted the key into the huge padlock and a moment later thedoor swung open and a dozen cowpunchers swarmed in. 

"Come on, pilgrim, an' try on yer necktie!"

"We'll prob'ly have to haul down all them wool-sacks an' drag him outfrom behind 'em. "

"I think not. If I am the man you want I think you will find meperfectly able to walk. " The pilgrim stood leaning against one of thewooden supporting posts, and as a cowboy thrust the lantern into hisface he noted the eyes never faltered. 

"Come along with us!" commanded the puncher, gruffly, as anotherstepped up and slipped the noose of a lariat-rope over his head. 

"So I am to be lynched, am I?" asked the pilgrim in a matter-of-facttone, as with a cowboy on either side he was hurried across theplatform and onto a horse. 

"This ain't no time to talk, " growled another. "We'll give you achanct to empty yer chest 'fore we string you up. "

In the moonlight the prisoner's face showed very pale, but the cow-mensaw that his lips were firmly set, and the hands that caught up thebridle reins did not falter. As the cavalcade started out upon thetrail the Texan turned back, and riding swiftly to the hotel, found Batwaiting. 

"You go in to Number 11 and tell the girl you're ready to start. "

"You'm mean de pilgrim's girl?"

The Texan frowned and swore under his breath: "She ain't the pilgrim'sgirl, yet--by a damn sight! You take her an' the pack horse an' hitdown the river an' cut up through old man Lee's horse ranch onto thebench. Then hit for Snake Creek crossin' an' wait for me. "

The half-breed nodded, and the Texan's frown deepened as he leanedcloser. "An' you see that you get her through safe an' sound or I'llcut off them ears of yours an' stake you out in a rattlesnake den tothink it over. " The man grinned and the frown faded from the Texan'sface. "You got to do me a good turn, Bat. Remember them four bits inLas Vegas!"

"A'm tak' de girl to Snake Creek crossin' a'right; you'm don' need forbe 'fraid for dat. "

The cowpuncher whirled and spurred his horse to overtake the cowboyswho, with the prisoner in charge, were already well out upon the trail. 

In front of the hotel the half-breed watched the flying horseman untilhe disappeared from sight. 

"A'm wonder if dat girl be safe wit' him, lak' she is wit' me--_bien_. A'm t'ink mebbe-so dat damn good t'ing ol' Bat goin' long. If she damnfine girl mebbe-so Tex, he goin' mar' her. Dat be good t'ing. But, byGar! if he don' mar' her, he gon' leave her 'lone. Me--A'm lak' datTex fine, lak' me own brudder. He got de good heart. But w'en hedrink de hooch, den A'm got for look after him. He don' care wan damn'bout nuttin'. Dat four bit in Las Vegas, dats a'right. A'm fink'bout dat, too. But, by Gar, it tak' more'n four bit in Las Vegas formak' of Bat let dat girl git harm. "

An atmosphere of depression pervaded the group of riders as they woundin and out of the cottonwood clumps and threaded the deep coulee thatled to the bench. For the most part they preserved an owlish silence, but now and then someone would break into a low, weird refrain and theothers would join in with the mournful strain of "The Dying Cowboy. "

 "Oh, bury me not on the lone prairie-e-e, Where the coyote howls and the wind blows free. "

Or the dirge-like wail of the "Cowboy's Lament":

 "Then swing your rope slowly and rattle your spurs lowly, And give a wild whoop as you carry me along: And in the grave throw me and roll the sod o'er me, For I'm only a cowboy that knows he's done wrong. "

"Shall we take him to Lone Tree Coulee?" asked one. Another answereddisdainfully. 

"Don't you know the lone tree's dead? Jest shrivelled up an' diedafter Bill Atwood was hung onto it. Some augers he worn't guilty. Butit's better to play safe, an' string up all the doubtful ones, then yerbound to git the right one onct in a while. "

"Swing over into Buffalo Coulee, " commanded Tex. "There's a bunch ofcottonwoods just above Hansen's old sheep ranch. "

 "We'll string him up to a cottonwood limb An' dig his grave in under him----"

"Shut up!" ordered Curly, favouring the singer with a scowl. "Any onewould think you was joyous-minded, which this here hangin' a man isplumb serious business, even if it hain't only a pilgrim!"

He edged his horse in beside the Texan's. "He don't seem tore up withterror, none. D'you think he's onto the racket?"

Tex shook his head, and with his eyes on the face of the prisoner whichshowed very white in the moonlight, rode on in silence. 

"You mean you think he's jest nach'ly got guts--an' him a pilgrim?"

"How the hell do I know what he's got?" snapped the other. "Can't youwait till we get to Buffalo?"

Curly allowed his horse to fall back a few paces. "First time I everknow'd Tex to pack a grouch, " he mused, as his lips drew into a grin. "He's sore 'cause the pilgrim hain't a-snifflin' an' a-carryin'-on an'tryin' to beg off. Gosh! If he turns out to be a reg'lar hand, an'steps up an' takes his medicine like a man, the joke'll be on Tex. Theboys never will quit joshin' him--an' he knows it. No wonder he'ssore. "

The cowboys rode straight across the bench. Song and conversation hadceased and the only sounds were the low clink of bit chains and thesoft rustle of horses' feet in the buffalo grass. At the end of anhour the leaders swung into an old grass-grown trail that led bydevious windings into a deep, steep-sided coulee along the bottom ofwhich ran the bed of a dried-up creek. Water from recent rains stoodin brackish pools. Remnants of fence with rotted posts sagging fromrusty wire paralleled their course. A dilapidated cross-fence barredtheir way, and without dismounting, a cowboy loosened the wire gate andthrew it aside. 

A deserted log-house, windowless, with one corner rotted away, and thesod roof long since tumbled in, stood upon a treeless bend of the drycreek. Abandoned implements littered the dooryard; a rusted hay rakewith one wheel gone, a broken mower with cutter-bar drunkenly erect, and the front trucks of a dilapidated wagon. 

The Texan's eyes rested sombrely upon the remnant of a rocking-horse, still hitched by bits of weather-hardened leather to a child'swheelbarrow whose broken wheel had once been the bottom of a woodenpail--and he swore, softly. 

Up the creek he could see the cottonwood grove just bursting into leafand as they rounded the corner of a long sheep-shed, whose soggy strawroof sagged to the ground, a coyote, disturbed in his prowling amongthe whitening bones of dead sheep, slunk out of sight in a weed-patch. 

Entering the grove, the men halted at a point where the branches ofthree large trees interlaced. It was darker, here. The moonlightfiltered through in tiny patches which brought out the faces of the menwith grotesque distinctness and plunged them again into blackness. 

Gravely the Texan edged his horse to the side of the pilgrim. 

"Get off!" he ordered tersely, and Endicott dismounted. 

"Tie his hands!" A cowboy caught the man's hands behind him andsecured them with a lariat-rope. 

The Texan unknotted the silk muffler from about his neck and folded it. 

"If it is just the same to you, " the pilgrim asked, in a voice thatheld firm, "will you leave that off?"

Without a word the muffler was returned to its place. 

"Throw the rope over that limb--the big one that sticks out this way, "ordered the Texan, and a cowpuncher complied. 

"The knot had ort to come in under his left ear, " suggested one, andproceeded to twist the noose into place. 

"All ready!"

A dozen hands grasped the end of the rope. 

The Texan surveyed the details critically:

"This here is a disagreeable job, " he said. "Have you got anything tosay?"

Endicott took a step forward, and as he faced the Texan, his eyesflashed. "Have I got anything to say!" he sneered. "Would you haveanything to say if a bunch of half-drunken fools decided to take thelaw into their own hands and hang you for defending a woman against thebrutal attack of a fiend?" He paused and wrenched to free his handsbut the rope held firm. "It was a wise precaution you took when youordered my hands tied--a precaution that fits in well with this wholedamned cowardly proceeding. And now you ask me if I have anything tosay!" He glanced into the faces of the cowboys who seemed to beenjoying the situation hugely. 

"I've got this to say--to you, and to your whole bunch of grinninghyenas: If you expect me to do any begging or whimpering, you are infor a big disappointment. There is one request I am going to make--andthat you won't grant. Just untie my hands for ten minutes and stand upto me bare-fisted. I want one chance before I go, to fight you, or anyof you, or all of you! Or, if you are afraid to fight that way, giveme a pistol--I never fired one until tonight--and let me shoot it outwith you. Surely men who swagger around with pistols in their belts, and pride themselves on the use of them, ought not to be afraid to takea chance against a man who has never but once fired one!" There was anawkward pause and the pilgrim laughed harshly: "There isn't an ounce ofsporting blood among you! You hunt in packs like the wolves youare--twenty to one--and that one with a rope around his neck and hishands tied!"

"The odds is a little against you, " drawled the Texan. "Where mightyou hail from?"

"From a place where they breed men--not curs. "

"Ain't you afraid to die?"

"Just order your hounds to jerk on that rope and I'll show you whetheror not I am afraid to die. But let me tell you this, you damnedmurderer! If any harm comes to that girl--to Miss Marcum--may thecurse of God follow every last one of you till you are damned in afiery hell! You will kill me now, but you won't be rid of me. I'llhaunt you every one to your graves. I will follow you night and daytill your brains snap and you go howling to hell like maniacs. "

Several of the cowboys shuddered and turned away. Very deliberatelythe Texan rolled a cigarette. 

"There is a box in my coat pocket, will you hand me one? Or is itagainst the rules to smoke?" Without a word the Texan complied, and ashe held a match to the cigarette he stared straight into the man'seyes: "You've started out good, " he remarked gravely. "I'm justwonderin' if you can play your string out. " With which enigmaticalremark he turned to the cowboys: "The drinks are on me, boys. Jerk offthat rope, an' go back to town! An' remember, this lynchin' come offas per schedule. "

Alone in the cottonwood grove, with little patches of moonlightfiltering through onto the new-sprung grass, the two men faced eachother. Without a word the cowboy freed the prisoner's hands. 

"Viewin' it through a lariat-loop, that way, the country looks betterto a man than what it really is, " he observed, as the other stretchedhis arms above his head. 

"What is the meaning of all this? The lynching would have been anatrocious injustice, but if you did not intend to hang me why shouldyou have taken the trouble to bring me out here?"

"'Twasn't no trouble at all. The main thing was to get you out of WolfRiver. The lynchin' part was only a joke, an' that's on us. You bein'a pilgrim, that way, we kind of thought----"

"A what?"

"A pilgrim, or tenderfoot, or greener or chechako, or counter-jumper, owin' to what part of the country you misfit into. We thought youwouldn't have no guts, an' we'd----"

"Any what?"

The Texan regarded the other hopelessly. "Oh hell!" he muttereddisgustedly. "Can't you talk no English? Where was you raised?"

The other laughed. "Go on, I will try to follow you. "

"I can't chop 'em up no finer than one syllable. But I'll shorten upthe dose sufficient for your understandin' to grasp. It's this way:D'you know what a frame-up is?"

Endicott nodded. 

"Well, Choteau County politics is in such a condition of onwee that ahangin' would be a reg'lar tonic for the party that's in; which it'skind of bogged down into an old maid's tea party. Felonioustakin's-off has be'n common enough, but there hasn't no hangin'sresulted, for the reason that in every case the hangee has got friendsor relations of votin' influence. Now, along comes you without novotin' connections an' picks off Purdy, which he's classed amongsthuman bein's, an' is therefore felonious to kill. There ain't nothin'to it. They'd be poundin' away on the scaffold an' testin' the ropewhile the trial was goin' on. Besides which you'd have to linger in acrummy jail for a couple of months waitin' for the grand jury to set onyou. A few of us boys seen how things was framed an' we took theliberty to turn you loose, not because we cared a damn about you, butwe'd hate to see even a snake hung fer killin' Purdy which his folksdone a wrong to humanity by raisin' him. 

"The way the thing is now, if the boys plays the game accordin' toHoyle, there won't be no posses out huntin' you 'cause folks will allthink you was lynched. But even if they is a posse or two, which thechances is there will be, owin' to the loosenin' effect of spiritoriouslicker on the tongue, which it will be indulged in liberal when thatbunch hits town, we can slip down into the bad lands an' lay low for awhile, an' then on to the N. P. An' you can get out of the country. "

Endicott extended his hand: "I thank you, " he said. "It is certainlywhite of you boys to go out of your way to help a perfect stranger. Ihave no desire to thrust my neck into a noose to further the ends ofpolitics. One experience of the kind is quite sufficient. "

"Never mind oratin' no card of thanks. Just you climb up into themiddle of that bronc an' we'll be hittin' the trail. We got quite someridin' to do before we get to the bad lands--an' quite some after. "

Endicott reached for the bridle reins of his horse which was croppinggrass a few feet distant. 

"But Alice--Miss Marcum!" With the reins in his hand he faced theTexan. "I must let her know I am safe. She will think I have beenlynched and----"

"She's goin' along, " interrupted the Texan, gruffly. 

"Going along!"

"Yes, she was bound to see you through because what you done was on heraccount. Bat an' her'll be waitin' for us at Snake Creek crossin'. "

"Who is Bat?"

"He's a breed. "

"A what?"

"Wait an' see!" growled Tex. "Come on; we can't set here 'til you geteducated. You'd ought to went to school when you was young. "

Endicott reached for a stirrup and the horse leaped sidewise with asnort of fear. Again and again the man tried to insert a foot into thebroad wooden stirrup, but always the horse jerked away. Round andround in a circle they went, while the Texan sat in his saddle androlled a cigarette. 

"Might try the other one, " he drawled, as he struck a match. "Don'tyou know no better than to try to climb onto a horse on the right-handside? You must of be'n brought up on G-Dots. "

"What's a G-Dot?"

"There you go again. Do I look like a school-marm? A G-Dot is anInjun horse an' you can get on 'em from both sides or endways. Comeon; Snake Creek crossin' is a good fifteen miles from here, an' webetter pull out of this coulee while the moon holds. "

Endicott managed to mount, and gathering up the reins urged his horseforward. But the animal refused to go and despite the man's utmostefforts, backed farther and farther into the brush. 

"Just shove on them bridle reins a little, " observed the Texan dryly. "I think he's swallerin' the bit. What you got him all yanked in for?D'you think the head-stall won't hold the bit in? Or ain't his mouthcut back far enough to suit you? These horses is broke to be rode witha loose rein. Give him his head an' he'll foller along. "

A half-mile farther up the coulee, the Texan headed up a ravine thatled to the level of the bench, and urging his horse into a longswinging trot, started for the mountains. Mile after mile they rode, the cowboy's lips now and then drawing into their peculiar smile as, out of the corner of his eye he watched the vain efforts of hiscompanion to maintain a firm seat in the saddle. "He's game, though, "he muttered, grudgingly. "He rides like a busted wind-mill an' it mustbe just tearin' hell out of him but he never squawks. An' the way hetook that hangin'---- If he'd be'n raised right he'd sure made sometough hand. An' pilgrim or no pilgrim, the guts is there. "

CHAPTER X

THE FLIGHT

When the Texan had departed Bat Lajune eyed the side-saddle withdisgust. "Dat damn t'ing, she ain' no good. A'm git de reg'larsaddle. "

Slowly he pushed open the side door of the hotel and paused in thedarkened hallway to stare at the crack of yellow light that showedbeneath the door of Number 11. 

"A'm no lak' dis fool 'roun' wit' 'omen. " He made a wry face andknocked gingerly. 

Jennie Dodds opened the door, and for a moment eyed the half-breed withfrowning disfavour. 

"Look a here, Bat Lajune, is this on the level? They say you're thesquarest Injun that ever swung a rope. But Injun or white, you're aman, an' I wouldn't trust one as far as I could throw a mule by thetail. "

"Mebbe-so you lak' you com' 'long an' see, eh?"

"I got somethin' else to do besides galavantin' 'round the countrynights with cowboys an' Injuns. "

The half-breed laughed and turned to Alice. "Better you bor' somepants for ride de horse. Me, A'm gon' git nudder saddle. 'Fore youride little ways you bre'k you back. "

"Go over to the livery barn an' tell Ross to put my reg'lar saddle onin place of the side-saddle, an' when you come back she'll be ready. "Jennie Dodds slipped from the room as the outer door closed upon thehalf-breed's departure, and returned a few minutes later with her ownriding outfit, which she tossed onto the bed. 

"Jest you climb into them, dearie, " she said. "Bat's right. Themside-saddles is sure the dickens an' all, if you got any ways to go. "

"But, " objected Alice, "I can't run off with all your things this way!"She reached for her purse. "I'll tell you, I'll buy them from you, horse and all!"

"No you won't, no such thing!" Jennie Dodds assumed an injured tone. "Pity a body can't loan a friend nuthin' without they're offered to gitpayed for it. You can send the clothes back when you're through with'em. An' here's a sack. Jest stick what you need in that. It'll tieon behind your saddle, an' you can leave the rest of your stuff here inyour grip an I'll ship it on when you're ready for it. Better leavethem night-gowns an' corsets an' such like here. You ain't goin' tofind no use for 'em out there amongst the prickly pears an' sage brush. Law me! I don't envy you your trip none! I'd jest like to know whatfor devilment that Tex Benton's up to. Anyways, you don't need to beafraid of him--like Purdy. But men is men, an' you got to watch 'em. "

As the girl chattered on she helped Alice to dress for the trail andwhen the "war-bag" was packed and tied with a stout cord, the girlcrossed to the window and drew back the shade. 

"The Injun's back. You better be goin'. " The girl slipped a smallrevolver from her pocket and pressed it into Alice's hand. "There's apocket for it in the bloomers. Cinnabar Joe give it to me a long timeago. Take care of yourself an' don't be afraid to use it if you haveto. An' mind you let me hear jest the minute you git anywheres. I'llbe a-dyin' to know what become of you. "

Alice promised and as she passed through the door, leaned swiftly andkissed the girl squarely upon the lips. 

"Good-bye, " she whispered. "I won't forget you, " and the next momentshe stepped out to join the waiting half-breed, who with a glance ofapproval at her costume, took the bag from her hand and proceeded tosecure it behind the cantle. The girl mounted without assistance, andsnubbing the lead-rope of the pack-horse about the horn of his saddle, the half-breed led off into the night. 

Hour after hour they rode in silence, following a trail that wound ineasy curves about the bases of hillocks and small buttes, and dippedand slanted down the precipitous sides of deep coulees where thehorses' feet splashed loudly in the shallow waters of fords. As themoon dipped lower and lower, they rode past the darkened buildings ofranches nestled beside the creeks, and once they passed a band of sheepcamped near the trail. The moonlight showed a sea of grey, woollybacks, and on a near-by knoll stood a white-covered camp-wagon, with atiny lantern burning at the end of the tongue. A pair of hobbledhorses left off snipping grass beside the trail and gazed with mildinterest as the two passed, and beneath the wagon a dog barked. Atlength, just as the moon sank from sight behind the long spur of TigerButte, the trail slanted into a wide coulee from the bottom of whichsounded the tinkle of running water. 

"Dis Snake Creek, " remarked the Indian; "better you git off now an'stretch you leg. Me, A'm mak' de blanket on de groun' an' you ketch-umlittle sleep. Mebbe-so dem com' queek--mebbe-so long tam'. "

Even as he talked the man spread a pair of new blankets beside thetrail and walking a short distance away seated himself upon a rock andlighted a cigarette. 

With muscles aching from the unaccustomed strain of hours in thesaddle, Alice threw herself upon the blankets and pillowed her head onthe slicker that the half-breed had folded for the purpose. Almostimmediately she fell asleep only to awake a few moments later withevery bone in her body registering an aching protest at the unbearablehardness of her bed. In vain she turned from one side to the other, inan effort to attain a comfortable position. With nerves shrieking ateach new attitude, all thought of sleep vanished and the girl's brainraced madly over the events of the past few hours. Yesterday she hadsat upon the observation platform of the overland train and complainedto Endicott of the humdrum conventionality of her existence! Onlyyesterday--and it seemed weeks ago. The dizzy whirl of events that hadsnatched her from the beaten path and deposited her somewhere out uponthe rim of the world had come upon her so suddenly and with suchstupendous import that it beggared any attempt to forecast its outcome. With a shudder she recalled the moment upon the verge of the bench whenin a flash she had realized the true character of Purdy and her ownutter helplessness. With a great surge of gratitude--and--was it onlygratitude--this admiration and pride in the achievement of the man whohad rushed to her rescue? Alone there in the darkness the girl flushedto the roots of her hair as she realized that it was for this man shehad unhesitatingly and unquestioningly ridden far into the night incompany with an unknown Indian. Realized, also, that above the pain ofher tortured muscles, above the uncertainty of her own position, wasthe anxiety and worry as to the fate of Endicott. Where was he? HadTex lied when he told her there would be no lynching? Even if hedesired could he prevent the cowboys from wreaking their vengeance uponthe man who had killed one of their number? She recalled with ashudder the cold cynicism of the smile that habitually curled the lipsof the Texan. A man who could smile like that could lie--could doanything to gain an end. And yet--she realized with a puzzled frownthat in her heart was no fear of him--no terror such as struck into hervery soul at the sudden unmasking of Purdy. "It's his eyes, " shemurmured; "beneath his cynical exterior lies a man of finer fibre. "

Some distance away a match flared in the darkness and went out, anddimly by the little light of the stars Alice made out the form of thehalf-breed seated upon his rock beside the trail. Motionless as therock itself the man sat humped over with his arms entwining his knees. A sombre figure, and one that fitted intrinsically into the scene--thedark shapes of the three horses that snipped grass beside the trail, the soft murmur of the waters of the creek as they purled over thestones, the black wall of the coulee, with the mountains risingbeyond--all bespoke the wild that since childhood she had pictured, butnever before had seen. Under any other circumstances the setting wouldhave appealed, would have thrilled her to the soul. But now--over andover through her brain repeated the question: Where is he?

A horse nickered softly and raising his head, sniffed the night air. The Indian stepped from his rock and stood alert with his eyes on thereach of the back-trail. And then softly, almost inaudibly to the earsof the girl came the sound of horses' hoofs pounding the trail inmonotonous rhythm. 

Leaping to her feet she rushed forward in time to see Bat catch up thereins of the three horses and slip noiselessly into the shelter of abunch of scrub willows. In a moment she was at his side and the Indianthrust the reins into her hand. 

"Better you wait here, " he whispered hurriedly. "Mebbe-so, som'wanelse com' 'long. Me, A'm gon' for look. " With the words the manblended into the shadows and, clutching the reins, the girl waited withevery nerve drawn tense. 

Nearer and nearer came the sound of the thudding hoofs. The riders hadreached the dip of the trail now and the rhythmic pound of the horses'feet changed to a syncopated shuffle as the animals made the steepdescent. At the edge of the creek they paused for a moment and thenAlice, could hear the splash of their feet in the water and the deepsucking sound of horses drinking. 

A low peculiar whistle cut the air and the next moment a voice whichthe girl recognized as the Texan's sounded plainly through the dark. 

"You got here, did you? Where's the girl?" Alice could not catch theanswer but at the next words of the Texan she started forward tuggingat the reins of the refractory cayuses. 

"Come alive, now, an' get your outfit together. There's prob'ly a bigposse out an' we got to scratch gravel some lively to keep ahead of'em, which little item the future prosperity of all concerned, as thefellow says, depends on--not only the hangee here, but us accessories, the law bein' some specific in outlinin' the disposal of aiders an'abettors of felonious transmigrations. "

The half-breed relieved her of the horses and Alice rushed to the sideof Endicott who had reined his horse out of the water and dismountedstiffly. 

"Oh, Winthrop!" she cried joyfully. "Then they didn't hang you, and----"

Endicott laughed: "No, they didn't hang me but they put a lot of localcolour into the preliminaries. I certainly thought my time had come, when friend Tex here gave the word to throw off the rope. " The girlflashed a grateful glance into the face of the Texan who sat his horsewith the peculiar smile curling his lips. 

"Oh, how can I ever thank you?" she cried impulsively. "I think youare just _splendid_! And I'll never, _never_ distrust you again. I'vebeen a perfect fool and----"

"Yes, " answered the man gruffly, and Alice noticed that the smile wasgone from his lips. "But you ain't out of the woods yet. Bat's gotthat horse packed an' as soon as Winthrup, there, can crawl up the sideof that bronc we better be hittin' the trail. If we can make thetimber at the head of Cow Creek divide by daylight, we can slip downinto the bad lands tomorrow night. "

Endicott painfully raised a foot to the stirrup, and the Texan turnedabruptly to the girl. 

"Can you make it?" he asked. She replied with an eager affirmative andthe Texan shot her a glance of approval as he watched her mount, forwell he knew that she must have fared very little better than Endicottin the matter of aching muscles. 

Mile after mile the four rode in silence, Tex in the lead with BatLajune close by his side. An occasional backward glance revealed theclumsy efforts of the pilgrim to ease himself in the saddle, and theset look of determination upon the tired face of the girl. 

"Winthrup ain't wearin' well, " thought the cowboy as his lips twistedinto a smile, "but what could you expect with a name like that? I'mafraid Winthrup is goin' to wish I hadn't interfered none with hisdemise, but he won't squawk, an' neither will she. There's the makin'sof a couple of good folks wasted in them two pilgrims, " and he frowneddarkly at the recollection of the note of genuine relief and gladnesswith which the girl had greeted Endicott; a frown that deepened at thegirl's impulsive words to himself, "I think you are just splendid. I'll never distrust you again. " "She's a fool!" he muttered under hisbreath. At his side the half-breed regarded him shrewdly from underthe broad brim of his hat. 

"Dat girl she dam' fine 'oman. She got, w'at you call, de nerve. "

"It's a good thing it ain't daytime, " growled the Texan surlily, "orthat there tongue of yourn would get sun-burnt the way you keep ita-goin'. "

Upon the crest of a high foothill that is a spur of Tiger Ridge, Texswerved abruptly from the trail and headed straight for the mountainsthat loomed out of the darkness. On and on he rode, keeping whereverpossible to the higher levels to avoid the fences of the nesters whosefields and pastures followed the windings of the creek bottoms. 

Higher and higher they climbed and rougher grew the way. The scrubwillows gave place to patches of bull pine and the long stretches ofbuffalo grass to ugly bare patches of black rock. In and out of thescrub timber they wended, following deep coulees to their sources andcrossing steep-pitched divides into other coulees. The fences of thenesters were left far behind and following old game trails, or notrails at all, the Texan pushed unhesitatingly forward. At last, justas the dim outlines of the mountains were beginning to assume definiteshape in the first faint hint of the morning grey, he pulled into amore extensive patch of timber than any they had passed and dismountingmotioned the others to the ground. 

While the Texan prepared breakfast, Bat busied himself with theblankets and when the meal was finished Alice found a tent awaitingher, which the half-breed had constructed by throwing the pack-tarpover a number of light poles whose ends rested upon a fallentree-trunk. Never in her life, thought the girl, as she sank into thefoot-thick mattress of pine boughs that underlay the blankets, had abed felt so comfortable, so absolutely satisfying. But her consciousenjoyment of its comfort was short-lived for the sounds of men andhorses, and the low soughing of the wind in the pine-tops blended intoone, and she slept. Endicott, too, fell asleep almost as soon as hetouched the blankets which the half-breed had spread for him a shortdistance back from the fire, notwithstanding the scant padding of pineneedles that interposed between him and mother earth. 

Beside the fire the half-breed helped Tex wash the dishes, the while heregarded the cowpuncher shrewdly as if to fathom what was passing inhis mind. 

"Back in Wolf Rivaire, dey t'ink de pilgrim git hang. W'at for deymak' de posse?" he asked at length. The Texan finished washing the tinplates, dried his hands, and rolled a cigarette, which he lighteddeliberately with a brand from the fire. 

"Bat, " he said with a glance toward the sleeping Endicott, "me an' youhas be'n right good friends for quite a spell. You recollect them fourbits, back in Las Vegas--" The half-breed interrupted him with a grinand reaching into his shirt front withdrew a silver half-dollar whichdepended from his neck by a rawhide thong. 

"_Oui_, A'm don' git mooch chance to ferget dat four bit. "

"Well, then, you got to help me through with this here, like I helpedyou through when you stole Fatty's horse. " The half-breed nodded andTex continued: "When that outfit goes up against the Wolf River hoochyou can bet someone's going to leak it out that there wasn't no reg'larbony-fido hangin' bee. That'll start a posse, an' that's why we got tostay _cached_ good an' tight till this kind of blows over an' gives usa chance to slip acrost the Misszoo. Even if it don't leak out, an'any one should happen to spot the pilgrim, that would start a posse, _pronto_, an' we'd get ours for helpin' him to elope. "

"'Spose dey git de pilgrim, " persisted the half-breed, "de, w'at youcall, de jury, dey say 'turn 'um loose' 'cause he keel dat Purdy fortry to----"

Tex hurled his cigarette into the blaze. "You're a damn smart Injun, ain't you? Well, you just listen to me. I'm runnin' this here littleoutfit, an' there's reasons over an' above what I've orated, why thepilgrim is goin' to be treated to a good lib'ral dose of the roughstuff. If he comes through, he'll stack up pretty close to a top hand, an' if he don't--" The Texan paused and scowled into the fire. "An'if he don't it's his own damn fault, anyhow--an' there you are. "

The half-breed nodded, and in the dark eyes the Texan noted ahalf-humorous, half-ominous gleam; "Dat, w'at you call, '_reason overan' 'bove_', she damn fine 'oman. A'm t'ink she lak' de pilgrim more'nyou. But mebbe-so you show heem up for w'at you call, de yellow, yougit her 'way, but--me, A'm no lak' I see her git harm. " With whichdeclaration the half-breed rose abruptly and busied himself with thehorses, while the Texan, without bothering to spread his blankets, pulled his hat over his face and stretched out beside the fire. 

CHAPTER XI

A RESCUE

When Alice Marcum opened her eyes the timber was in darkness. The moonhad not yet topped the divide and through an opening in the trees thegirl could see the dim outlines of an endless sea of peaks and ridgesthat stretched away to the eastward. The voice of the Texan sounded inher ears: "Come alive, now! We got to eat an' pull out of here in anhour's time if we're goin' to fetch the bad lands by daylight. "

Peering around the edge of her shelter tent she could see him, coffee-pot in hand, standing beside the tiny flame that licked at thedry pine shavings of a newly kindled fire. 

He turned and made his way to the creek that burbled over the rocks ashort way down the ravine and Alice drew on her riding-boots and joinedEndicott who had made his way painfully toward the fire where he stoodgazing ruefully at the begrimed wreck of a white collar which he heldin his hand. The Texan returned and placed the coffee-pot closeagainst the tiny blaze. 

"When you get through invoicin' yer trooso, Winthrup, it wouldn't delayus none if you'd grasp that there hand-ax an' carve out a littlefire-fodder. " He glanced up at Alice. "An' if cookin' of any kind hasbe'n inclooded in your repretwa of accomplishments, you might sizzle upa hunk of that sow-belly, an' keep yer eye on this here pot. An' ifWinthrup should happen to recover from his locomotive attacksyou an'hack off a limb or two, you can get a little bigger blaze a-goin' an', just before that water starts to burn, slop in a fistful of java. You'll find some dough-gods an' salve in one of them canvas bags, an'when you're all set, holler. I'll throw the kaks on these cayuses, an'Bat, he can wrastle with the pack. "

Alice looked into the Texan's face with a peculiar little puckering ofthe brows, and laughed: "See here, Mr. Tex, " she said, "of course, Iknow that java must be coffee, but if you will kindly render the restof your remarks a little less caliginous by calling the grub by itsChristian name, maybe I'll get along better with the breakfast. "

The Texan was laughing now, a wholesome, hearty laugh in which was notrace of cynicism, and the girl felt that for the first time she hadcaught a glimpse of the real man, the boyish, whole-hearted man thatonce or twice before she had suspected existed behind the mask of thesardonic smile. From that moment she liked him and at the breezywhimsicality of his next words she decided that it would be well worththe effort to penetrate the mask. 

"The dude, or dictionary, names for the above specified commodities isbacon, biscuits, an' butter. An' referrin' back to your ownetymological spasm, the word 'grub' shows a decided improvement overanything you have uttered previous. I had expected 'food' an' wouldn'thave hardly batted an' eye at 'viands, ' an' the caliginous part of itis good, only, if you aim to obfuscate my convolutions you'll have todig a little deeper. Entirely irrelevant to syntax an' the alliedtrades, as the feller says, I'll add that them leggin's of yourn is onthe wrong legs, an' here comes Winthrup with a chip. "

Turning abruptly, the man made his way toward the horses, and asEndicott approached with an armful of firewood, the contrast betweenthe men was brought sharply to the girl's notice. The Texan, easy andlithe of movement as an animal born to the wild, the very tilt of hissoft-brimmed hat and the set of his clothing bespeaking consciousmastery of his environment--a mastery that the girl knew was notconfined to the subduing of wild cattle and horses and the following ofobscure trails in the nighttime. Never for a moment had the air ofself-confidence deserted him. With the same easy assurance that he hadflung his loop about the shoulders of the Mayor of Wolf River he hadcarried off the honours of the tournament, insulted Purdy to his face, dictated to the deputy sheriff, and planned and carried out the releaseof Endicott from the grip of the law. And what was most surprising ofall, never had he shown a trace of the boorish embarrassment orself-consciousness which, up to the moment of his brutal attack uponher, had characterized the attitude of Purdy. And the girl realizedthat beneath his picturesque slurring and slashing of English, was afamiliarity with words that had never been picked up in the cow-country. 

Endicott tossed down his wood, and Alice could not help but notice thesorry appearance of the erstwhile faultlessly dressed gentleman whostood collarless and unshaven, the once delicately lined silk shirtfilthy with trail dust, and the tailored suit wrinkled and misshapen asthe clothing of a tramp. She noted, too, that his movements wereawkward and slow with the pain of overtaxed muscles, and that the stiffderby hat he had been forced to jam down almost to the tops of his earshad left a grimy red band across his forehead. She smiled as her eyesswept the dishevelled and uncouth figure. 

"I am glad, " said Endicott with asperity, as he brushed the dirt andbits of bark from his coat, "that you find the situation so humorous. It must be highly gratifying to know that it is of your own making. "

The tone roused the girl's anger and she glanced up as she finishedlacing her leggings. 

"Yes, " she answered, sweetly, "it is--very. And one of the mostamusing features is to watch how a man's disposition crabs with themussing of his clothing. No wonder the men who live out here wearthings that won't muss, or there wouldn't be but one left and he'd bejust a concentrated chunk of unadulterated venom. Really, Winthrop, you do look horrid, and your disposition is perfectly nasty. But, cheer up, the worst is yet to come, and if you will go down to thecreek and wash your hands, you can come back and help me with the grub. You can get busy and dig the dough-gods and salve out of that sackwhile I sizzle up the sow-belly. "

Endicott regarded her with a frown of disapproval: "Why thispreposterous and vulgar talk?"

"Adaptability to environment, " piped the girl, glibly. "You can't getalong by speaking New York in Montana, any easier than you can withEnglish in Cincinnati. "

Endicott turned away with a sniff of disgust, and the girl's lips drewinto a smile which she meant to be an exact replica of the Texan's asshe proceeded to slice strips of bacon into the frying-pan. 

The meal was a silent affair, and during its progress the moon roseclear of the divide and hung, a great orange ball, above the high-flungpeaks. Almost simultaneously with the rising of the moon, the windrose, and scuds of cloud-vapour passed, low down, blurring the higherpeaks. 

"We got to get a move on, " opined the Texan, with an eye on the clouds. "Throw them dishes into the pack the way they are, an' we'll clean 'emwhen we've got more time. There's a storm brewin' west of here an' wewant to get as far as we can before she hits. "

By the time the others were in the saddle, Bat was throwing the finalhitch on his pack outfit, and with the Texan in the lead, the littlecavalcade headed southward. 

An hour's climb, during which they skirted patches of scrub pine, clattered over the loose rocks of ridges, and followed narrow, brush-choked coulees to their sources, found them on the crest of theCow Creek divide. 

The wind, blowing half a gale from the south-east, whipped about theirfaces and roared and whistled among the rocks and scrub timber. Alice's eyes followed the Texan's glance toward the west and there, lowdown on the serried horizon she could see the black mass of a cloudbank. 

"You can't tell nothin' about those thunderheads. They might hold off'til along towards mornin', they might pile up on us in an hour, andthey might not break at all, " vouchsafed the man, as Alice reined inher horse close beside his. 

"But the wind is from the other direction!"

"Yes, it generally is when the thunder-storms get in their work. If wecan get past the Johnson fences we can take it easy an' camp mostanywhere when the storm hits, but if we get caught on this side withoutno moonlight to travel by an' have to camp over tomorrow in somecoulee, there's no tellin' who'll run onto us. This south slope'sinfested some plentiful by the riders of three or four outfits. " Heheaded his horse down the steep descent, the others following in singlefile. 

As the coulee widened Alice found herself riding by the Texan's side. "Oh, don't you just love the wild country!" she exclaimed, breaking along interval of silence. "The plains and the mountains, the woods andthe creeks, and the wonderful air----"

"An' the rattlesnakes, an' the alkali, an' the soap-holes, an' thequicksand, an' the cactus, an' the blisterin' sun, an' the lightnin', an' the rain, an' the snow, an' the ice, an' the sleet----"

The girl interrupted him with a laugh: "Were you born a pessimist, orhas your pessimism been acquired?"

The Texan did not lift his eyes from the trail: "Earnt, I reckon, wouldbe a better word. An' I don't know as it's pessimism, at that, to lookin under the crust of your pie before you bite it. If you'd et fliesfor blueberries as long as I have, you'd----"

"I'd ask for flies, and then if there were any blueberries the surprisewould be a pleasant one. "

"Chances are, there wouldn't be enough berries to surprise you nonepleasant. Anyhow, that would be kind of forcin' your luck. Follerin'the same line of reasoning a man ort to hunt out a cactus to set onso's he could be surprised pleasant if it turned out to be a Burbankone. "

"You're hopeless, " laughed the girl. "But look--the moonlight on thepeaks! Isn't it wonderful! See how it distorts outlines, and throws amysterious glamour over the dark patches of timber. Corot would haveloved it. "

The Texan shook his head: "No. It wouldn't have got _to him_. Hecouldn't never have got into the feel of stuff like that. Meakin did, and Remington, but it takes old Charlie Russell to pick it right out ofthe air an' slop it onto canvas. "

Alice regarded the man in wonder. "You do love it!" she said. "Whyshould you be here if you didn't love it?"

"Bein' a cow-hand, it's easier to make a livin' here than in New Yorkor Boston. I've never be'n there, but I judge that's the case. "

"But you are a cow-hand from choice. You have an education and youcould----"

"No. All the education I've got you could pile onto a dime, an' itwouldn't kill more'n a dozen men. Me an' the higher education flirtedfor a couple of years or so, way back yonder in Austin, but owin' tocertain an' sundry eccentricities of mine that was frowned on bycivilization, I took to the brush an' learnt the cow business. Thenafter a short but onmonotonous sojourn in Las Vegas, me an' Bat camenorth for our health. . . . Here's Johnson's horse pasture. We've gotto slip through here an' past the home ranch in a quiet an'onobstrusive manner if we aim to preserve the continuity of Winthrup'sspinal column. "

"Can't we go around?" queried the girl. 

"No. The coulee is fenced clean acrost an' way up to where even a goatcouldn't edge past. We've got to slip through. Once we get past thebig reservoir we're all right. I'll scout on ahead. "

The cowboy swung to the ground and threw open the barbed-wire gate. "Keep straight on through, Bat, unless you hear from me. I'll bewaitin' by the bunk-house. Chances are, them salamanders will all bepoundin' their ear pretty heavy, bein' up all last night to the dance. "He galloped away and the others followed at a walk. For an hour no onespoke. 

"I thought that fence enclosed a pasture, not a county, " growledEndicott, as he clumsily shifted his weight to bear on a spot less sore. 

"_Oui_, dat hoss pasture she 'bout seven mile long. Den we com' by deranch, an' den de reservoir, an' de hay fences. " The half-breed openeda gate and a short distance down the creek Alice made out the darkbuildings of the ranch. As they drew nearer the girl felt her heartrace madly, and the soft thud of the horse's feet on the sod soundedlike the thunder of a cavalry charge. Grim and forbidding loomed thebuildings. Not a light showed, and she pictured them peopled withlurking forms that waited to leap out as they passed and throttle theman who had rescued her from the brutish Purdy. She was sorry she hadbeen nasty to Endicott. She wanted to tell him so, but it was toolate. She thought of the revolver that Jennie had given her, andslipping her hand into her pocket she grasped it by the butt. Atleast, she could do for him what he had done for her. She could shootthe first man to lay hands on him. 

Suddenly her heart stood still and her lips pressed tight. A rideremerged from the black shadow of the bunk-house. 

"Hands up!" The girl's revolver was levelled at the man's head, andthe next instant she heard the Texan laugh softly. 

"Just point it the other way, please, if it's loaded. A fellow shot mewith one of those once an' I had a headache all the rest of theevenin'. " His horse nosed in beside hers. "It's just as I thought, "he explained. "Everyone around the outfit's dead to the world. Bein'up all night dancin', an' most of the next day trailin' home, youcouldn't get 'em up for a poker game--let alone hangin' a pilgrim. "

Alice's fear vanished the moment the Texan appeared. His air ofabsolute self-confidence in his ability to handle a situation compelledthe confidence of others. 

"Aren't your nerves ever shaken? Aren't you ever afraid?" she asked. 

Tex smiled: "Nerve ain't in not bein' afraid, " he answered evasively, "but in not lettin' folks know when you're afraid. "

Another gate was opened, and as they passed around the scrub-cappedspur of a ridge that projected into the widening valley, the girl drewher horse up sharply and pointed ahead. 

"Oh! A little lake!" she cried enthusiastically. "See how themoonlight shimmers on the tiny waves. "

Heavy and low from the westward came an ominous growl of thunder. 

"Yes. An' there'll be somethin' besides moonlight a-shimmerin' aroundhere directly. That ain't exactly a lake. It's Johnson's irrigationreservoir. If we could get about ten miles below here before the stormhits, we can hole up in a rock cave 'til she blows over. The creekvalley narrows down to a canyon where it cuts through the last ridge ofmountains. 

"Hit 'er up a little, Bat. We'll try an' make the canyon!"

A flash of lightning illumined the valley, and glancing upward, Alicesaw that the mass of black clouds was almost overhead. The horses wereforced into a run as the hills reverberated to the mighty roll of thethunder. They were following a well-defined bridle trail and scarcelyslackened their pace as they splashed in and out of the water where thetrail crossed and recrossed the creek. One lightning flash succeededanother with such rapidity that the little valley was illuminatedalmost to the brightness of day, and the thunder reverberated in onecontinuous roar. 

With the buildings of Johnson's ranch left safely behind, Alice'sconcern for Endicott's well-being cooled perceptibly. 

"He needn't to have been so hateful, just because I laughed at him, "she thought, and winced at a lightning flash. Her lips pressedtighter. "I hate thunder-storms--to be out in them. I bet we'll allbe soaked and--" There was a blinding flash of light, the whole valleyseemed filled with a writhing, twisting rope of white fire, and thedeafening roar of thunder that came simultaneously with the flash madethe ground tremble. It was as though the world had exploded beneaththeir feet, and directly in the forefront the girl saw a tall deadcottonwood split in half and topple sidewise. And in the same instantshe caught a glimpse of Endicott's face. It was very white. "He'safraid, " she gritted, and at the thought her own fear vanished, and inits place came a wild spirit of exhilaration. This was life. Life inthe raw of which she had read and dreamed but never before experienced. Her horse stopped abruptly. The Texan had dismounted and was pullingat the huge fragment of riven trunk that barred the trail. 

"We'll have to lead 'em around through the brush, there. We can'tbudge this boy. "

Scattering rain-drops fell--huge drops that landed with a thud andsplashed broadly. 

"Get out the slickers, Bat. Quick now, or we're in for a wettin'. " Ashe spoke the man stepped to Alice's side, helped her to the ground, andloosened the pack-strings of her saddle. A moment later he held a hugeoilskin of brilliant yellow, into the sleeves of which the girl thrusther arms. There was an odour as of burning sulphur and she sniffed theair as she buttoned the garment about her throat. 

The Texan grinned: "Plenty close enough I'll say, when you get a whiffof the hell-fire. Better wait here 'til I find a way through thebrush. An' keep out of reach of the horse's heels with that slickeron. You can't never trust a cayuse, 'specially when they can't more'nhalf see. They're liable to take a crack at you for luck. "

Grasping his bridle reins the Texan disappeared and by the lightningflashes she could see him forcing his way through the thicket ofwillows. The scattering drops changed to a heavy downpour. Themoonlight had long since been obliterated and the short intervalsbetween the lightning flashes were spaces of intense blackness. Ayellow-clad figure scrambled over the tree trunk and the cowboy tookthe bridle reins from her hand. 

"You slip through here. I'll take your horse around. "

On the other side, the cowboy assisted her to mount, and pulling hishorse in beside hers, led off down the trail. The rain steadilyincreased in volume until the flashes of lightning showed only a greywall of water, and the roar of it blended into the incessant roar ofthe thunder. The horses splashed into the creek and wallowed to theirbellies in the swirling water. 

The Texan leaned close and shouted to make himself heard. 

"They don't make 'em any worse than this. I've be'n out in someconsiderable rainstorms, take it first an' last, but I never seen itcome down solid before. A fish could swim anywheres through this. "

"The creek is rising, " answered the girl. 

"Yes, an' we ain't goin' to cross it many more times. In the canyonshe'll be belly-deep to a giraffe, an' we got to figure a way out ofthe coulee 'fore we get to it. "

Alice was straining her ears to catch his words, when suddenly, abovethe sound of his voice, above the roar of the rain and the crash androll of thunder, came another sound--a low, sullen growl--indefinable, ominous, terrible. The Texan, too, heard the sound and, jerking hishorse to a standstill, sat listening. The sullen growl deepened into aloud rumble, indescribably horrible. Alice saw that the Texan's facewas drawn into a tense, puzzled frown. A sudden fear gripped herheart. She leaned forward and the words fairly shrieked from her lips. 

"It's the reservoir!"

The Texan whirled to face the others whose horses had crowded close andstood with drooping heads. 

"The reservoir's let go!" he shouted, and pointed into the grey wall ofwater at right angles to their course. "Ride! Ride like hell an' saveyourselves! I'll look after her!" The next instant he whirled hishorse against the girl's. 

"Ride straight ahead!" he roared. "Give him his head an' hang on!I'll stay at his flank, an' if you go down we'll take a chancetogether!"

Slipping the quirt from the horn of his saddle the cowboy brought itdown across her horse's flank and the animal shot away straight intothe opaque grey wall. Alice gave the horse a loose rein, set her lips, and gripped the horn of her saddle as the brute plunged on. 

The valley was not wide. They had reached a point where its sidesnarrowed to form the mouth of the canyon. The pound of the horse'sfeet was lost in the titanic bombilation of the elements--the incessantcrash and rumble of thunder and the ever increasing roar of rushingwaters. At every jump the girl expected her frantic horse to go down, yet she was conscious of no feeling of fear. She glanced over hershoulder, but the terrific downpour acted as a curtain through whichher eyes could not penetrate with the aid even of the most vividflashes of lightning. Yet she knew that the Texan rode at her flankand that the others followed--Endicott and Bat, with his pack-horseclose-snubbed to his saddle-horn. Suddenly the girl felt her horselabouring. His speed slackened perceptibly. As abruptly as it startedthe rain stopped; and she saw that water was swirling about his knees. Saw also by the aid of a lightning flash that throughout its width thevalley was a black sea of tossing water. Before her the bank was veryclose and she jerked her horse toward a point where the perpendicularsides of a cutbank gave place to a narrow plane that slanted steeplyupward. It seemed to the girl that the steep ascent would beimpossible for the horses but it was the only chance. She glancedbackward. The Texan was close behind, and following him were theothers, their horses wallowing to their bellies. She had reached thehill and so steep was its pitch that her horse seemed perpendicular tothe earth's surface. She leaned over the horn and twisted her fingersinto his mane as the animal, his feet clear of the water, clawed andscrambled like a cat to gain the top. Another moment and he had pulledhimself over the edge and the girl leaped to the ground. The Texan hadnot followed to the top but had halted his horse at the edge of thewater that was mounting steadily higher. Bat swung in with his packhorse and with his quirt Tex forced them up the embankment. Endicott'shorse was all but swimming. The water came above the man's knees asthe animal fought for footing. The Texan leaned far out and, graspingthe bridle, drew him in to the bank and quirted him to the top. Then, as the three watched, he headed his own horse upward. Scarcely had theanimal come clear of the water when the eager watchers saw thatsomething was wrong. 

"De cinch--she bus'!" cried the half-breed excitedly. "Dat dam' Purdycut de cinch an' A'm trade Tex mine for ride de outlaw, an' we tradeback. _Voila_!" As the man talked, he jerked the coiled rope from hissaddle and rushed to the edge. Alice, too, crowded to the bank, herhands tight clenched as she saw the man, the saddle gone from underhim, clinging desperately to the bridle reins, his body awash in theblack waters. Saw also that his weight on the horse's head was causingthe animal to quit the straight climb and to plunge and turnerratically. It was evident that both horse and rider must be hurledinto the flood. The fury of the storm had passed. The rumble ofthunder was distant now. The flashes of lightning came at greaterintervals, and with a pale glow instead of the dazzling brilliance ofthe nearer flashes. Through a great rift in the cloud-bank the moonshowed, calm and serene above the mad rush of black waters. 

For a single instant Alice gazed into the up-turned face of the Texan, and in that instant she saw his lips curve into the familiar cynicalsmile. Then he calmly let go the reins and slipped silently beneaththe black water, as the released horse scrambled to the top. Besideher, Endicott uttered an oath and, tearing at the buttons of hisslicker, dashed the garment to the ground. His coat followed, andstooping he tore the shoes from his feet and poised on the very edge ofthe flood. With a cry she sprang to his side and gripped his arm, butwithout a word he shook her roughly away, and as a dark form appearedmomentarily upon the surface of the flood he plunged in. 

Alice and Bat watched as the moonlight showed the man swimming withstrong, sure strokes toward the spot where a moment before the darkform had appeared upon the surface. Then he dived, and theswift-rushing water purled and gurgled as it closed over the spot wherehe had been. Rope in hand, Bat, closely followed by the girl, ranalong the edge of the bank, both straining their eyes for the firstsign of movement upon the surface of the flood. Would he never comeup? The slope up which the horses had scrambled steepened into aperpendicular cut-bank at no great distance below, and if the currentbore the two men past that point the girl knew instinctively thatrescue would be impossible and they would be swept into the vortex ofthe canyon. 

There was a cry from Bat, and Alice, struggling to keep up, caught ablur of motion upon the surface some distance below. A few stepsbrought them opposite to the point, where, scarcely thirty feet fromthe bank, two forms were struggling violently. Suddenly an arm raisedhigh, and a doubled fist crashed squarely against the jaw of a white, upturned face. The half-breed poised an instant and threw his rope. The wide loop fell true and a moment later Endicott succeeded inpassing it under the arms of the unconscious Texan. Then the rope drewtaut and the halfbreed braced to the pull as the men were forcedshoreward by the current. 

With a cry of relief, Alice rushed to the aid of the half-breed, andgrasping the rope, threw her weight into the pull. But her relief wasshort-lived, for when the forms in the water touched shore it was tobrush against the side of the cut-bank with tea feet of perpendicularwall above them. And worse than, that, unhardened to the wear ofwater, the bank was caving off in great chunks as the current gnawed atits base. A section weighing tons let go with a roar only a few yardsbelow, and Bat and the girl worked as neither had ever worked before totow their burden upstream to the sloping bank. But the force of thecurrent and the conformation of the bank, which slanted outward at anangle that diminished the force of the pull by half, rendered theirefforts in vain. 

"You stan' back!" ordered Bat sharply, as a section of earth gave wayalmost beneath their feet, but the girl paid no attention, and the tworedoubled their efforts. 

In the water, Endicott took in the situation at a glance. He realizedthat the strain of the pull was more than the two could overcome. Realized also that each moment added to the Jeopardy of the half-breedand the girl. There was one chance--and only one. Relieved of hisweight, the unresisting form of the Texan could be dragged tosafety--and he would take that chance. 

"_Non_! _Non_!" The words were fairly hurled from the half-breed'slips, as he seemed to divine what was passing in Endicott's mind. ButEndicott gave no heed. Deliberately he let go the rope and the nextmoment was whirled from sight, straight toward the seething vortex ofthe canyon, where the moonlight revealed dimly in the distance only awild rush of lashing waters and the thrashing limbs of uprooted trees. 

CHAPTER XII

TEX DOES SOME SCOUTING

The moon hung low over the peaks to the westward when the Texan openedhis eyes. For some moments he stared about him in bewilderment, hisgaze travelling slowly from the slicker-clad form of the girl, who satclose beside him with her face buried in her arms, to the little groupof horses that stood huddled dejectedly together. With an effort hestruggled to his elbow, and at the movement, the girl raised her headand turned a very white face toward him. 

Shivering with cold, the Texan raised himself to a sitting posture. "Where's Bat?" he asked. "An' why ain't he onsaddled those horses, an'built a fire? I'm froze stiff. "

"Bat has gone to--to find Winthrop, " answered the girl, with a painfulcatch in her voice. "He wouldn't wait, and I had no matches, and yourswere all wet, and I couldn't loosen the cinches. "

Tex passed his hand over his forehead, as if trying to remember, andhis fingers prodded tenderly at his jaw. "I recollect bein' in thewater, an' the pilgrim was there, an' we were scrappin' an' he punchedme in the jaw. He carries a whallop up his sleeve like the kick of amule. But what we was scrappin' about, an' where he is now, an' how Icome here, is somethin' I don't savvy. "

Step by step the girl detailed what had happened while the Texanlistened in silence. "And now, " she concluded, "he's gone. Justwhen--" her voice broke and once more she buried her face in her arms. Tex saw that she was sobbing silently. He felt for his "makings" anddrew from his pocket a little sack of soggy tobacco and some wetpapers. He returned them to his pocket and rose to his feet. 

"You're cold, " he said softly. "There's dry matches in the pack. I'llmake a fire an' get those wet saddles off the horses. "

Alice did not look up and the man busied himself with the pack. A fewminutes later she felt his fingers upon her shoulder. He pointedtoward a fire that crackled cheerfully from the depths of a bull pinethicket. "I fixed you up a shelter tent and spread your blankets. Thetarp kep' 'em tolerable dry. Go over there an' get off those clothes. You must be wet through--nothin' short of a divin' suit would have kep'that rain out!"

"But----"

He forestalled the objection. "There won't be any one to bother you. I'm goin' down the creek. "

The girl noticed that his horse, saddled with Endicott's saddle stoodclose behind her. 

"I didn't mean that!" she exclaimed. "But you are cold--chilled to thebone. You need the fire more than I do. "

The man shook his head: "I'll be goin' now, " he said. "You'd bettermake you some coffee. "

"You're going to--to----"

Tex nodded: "Yes. To find the pilgrim. If he's alive I'll find him. An' if he ain't I'll find him. An' when I do, I'll bring him back toyou. " He turned abruptly, swung onto his horse, and Alice watched himas he disappeared down the valley, keeping to the higher ground. Notuntil she was alone did the girl realize how miserably cold anduncomfortable she was. She rose stiffly, and walking slowly to theedge of the bank, looked out over the little valley. The greatreservoir had run out in that first wild rush of water and now the lastrays of moonlight showed only wide, glistening pools, and the creeksubsided to nearly its normal proportions. With a shudder she turnedtoward the fire. Its warmth felt grateful. She removed the slickerand riding costume and, wrapping herself, squaw-like, in a blanket, satdown in the little shelter tent. She found that the Texan had filledthe coffee pot and, throwing in some coffee, she set it to boil. 

"He's so thoughtful, and self-reliant, and--and competent, " shemurmured. "And he's brave, and--and picturesque. Winthrop is brave, too--just as brave as he is, but--he isn't a bit picturesque. " Sherelapsed into silence as she rummaged in the bag for a cup, and thesugar, and a can of milk. The moon sank behind the ridge and the girlreplenished her fire from the pile of wood the Texan had left withinreach of her hand. She drank her coffee and her eyes sought topenetrate the blackness beyond the firelight. Somewhere out there inthe dark--she shuddered as she attempted to visualize _what_ wassomewhere out there in the dark. And then a flash of memory broughtwith it a ray of hope that cheered her immeasurably. "Why, he was achampion swimmer in college, " she said aloud. "He was always winningcups and things. And he's strong, and brave--and yet----" Vividly toher mind came the picture of the wildly rushing flood with its burdenof tossing trees, and the man being swept straight into the gurge ofit. "I'll tell him he's brave--and he'll spoil it all by saying thatit was the only _practical_ thing to do. " "Oh, " she cried aloud, "Icould love him if it were not for his deadly practicability--even if Ishould have to live in Cincinnati. " And straightway fell to comparingthe two men. "Tex is absurdly unconventional in speech and actions, and he has an adorable disregard for laws and things. He's just a big, irresponsible boy--and yet, he makes you feel as if he always knewexactly what to do and how to do it. And he is brave, too, with areckless, devil-may-care sort of bravery that takes no thought of costor consequences. He knew, when he let go his bridle reins, that hecouldn't swim a stroke--and he smiled and didn't care. And he's gentleand considerate, too. " She remembered the look in his eyes when hesaid: "You are cold, " and blushed furiously. 

It seemed hours she sat there staring into the little fire andlistening for sounds from the dark. But the only sounds that came toher were the sounds of the feeding horses, and in utter weariness shelay back with her head upon a folded blanket, and slept. 

When the Texan swung onto his horse after having made the girlcomfortable for her long vigil, a scant half-hour of moonlight was leftto him. He gave the horse his head and the animal picked his way amongthe loose rocks and scrub timber that capped the ridge. When darknessovertook him he dismounted, unsaddled, and groped about for firewood. Despite its recent soaking the resinous bull pine flared up at thetouch of a match, and with his back to a rock-wall, the cowboy sat andwatched the little flames shoot upward. Once more he felt for his"makings" and with infinite pains dried out his papers and tobacco. 

"It's the chance I be'n aimin' to make for myself, " he mused, as hedrew the grey smoke of a cigarette deep into his lungs, "to get Bat an'the pilgrim away--an' I ride off and leave it. " The cigarette wasconsumed and he rolled another. "Takin' a slant at himself from theinside, a man kind of gets a line on how damned ornery folks can get. Purdy got shot, an' everyone said he got just what was comin' tohim---- Me, an' everyone else--an' he did. But when you get down tocases, he wasn't no hell of a lot worse'n me, at that. We was bothafter the same thing--only his work was coarser. " For hours the mansat staring into his fire, the while he rolled and smoked manycigarettes. 

"Oh, hell!" he exclaimed, aloud. "I can't turn nester, an' even if Idid, she couldn't live out in no mud-roof shack in the bottom of somecoulee! Still, she---- There I go again, over the same old trail. This here little girl has sure gone to my head--like a couple of joltsof hundred-proof on an empty stummick. Anyhow, she's a damn sightsafer'n ever she was before, an'--I'll bet the old man _would_ let metake that Eagle Creek ranch off his hands, an' stake me to a littlebunch of stock besides, if I went at him right. If it wasn't for thatdamn pilgrim! Bat was right. He holds the edge on me--but he's aman. " The cowboy glanced anxiously toward the east where the sky wasbeginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn. He rose, trampledout his fire, and threw the saddle onto his horse. "I've got to findhim, " he muttered, "if Bat ain't found him already. I don't know muchabout this swimmin' business but if he could have got holt of a tree orsomethin' he might have made her through. "

Now riding, now dismounting to lead his horse over some particularlyrough outcropping of rocks, or through an almost impenetrable tangle ofscrub, the man made his way over the divide and came down into thevalley amid a shower of loose rock and gravel, at a point some distancebelow the lower end of the canyon. 

The mountains were behind him. Only an occasional butte reared itshead above the sea of low foothills that stretched away into the badlands to the southward. The sides of the valley flattened and becameill-defined. Low ridges and sage-topped foothills broke up itscontinuity, so that the little creek that started so bravely from themountains ended nowhere, its waters being sucked in by the parched andthirsting alkali soil long before it reached the bad lands. 

As his horse toiled ankle-deep in the soft whitish mud, Tex's eyesroved over the broadened expanse of the valley. Everywhere wereevidences of the destructive force of the flood. Uprooted treesscattered singly and in groups, high-flung masses of brush, hay, andinextricably tangled barbed-wire from which dangled fence-posts markedevery bend of the creek bed. And on every hand the bodies of drownedcattle dotted the valley. 

"If I was Johnson, " he mused, as his eyes swept the valley, "I'd head aright smart of ranch hands down here heeled with a spade an' a sexton'scommission. These here late lamented dogies'll cost him somethin' indamages. " From force of habit the man read the brands of the deadcattle as he rode slowly down the valley. "D bar C, that's old DaveCromley's steer. An' there's a T U, an' an I X cow, an' there's one ofCharlie Green's, an' a yearlin' of Jerry Keerful's, an' aquarter-circle M, --that belongs over the other side, they don't need tobother with that one, an' there's a----"

Suddenly he drew himself erect, and rising to stand in the stirrups, gazed long and intently toward a spot a quarter of a mile below, wherea thin column of smoke curled over the crest of a low ridge. Abruptlyhe lost interest in the brands of dead cattle and headed his horse at arun toward a coulee, that gave between two sage covered foothills onlya short distance from the faint column of smoke. "That might be Bat, an' then again it mightn't, " he muttered. "It can't be the pilgrimwithout Bat's along, 'cause he wouldn't have no dry matches. An' ifit's any one else--" he drew up sharply in the shelter of a thicket, dismounted, and made his way on foot to the summit of the ridge. Removing his hat, he thrust his head through a narrow opening betweentwo sage bushes, and peered into the hollow beyond. Beside a littlefire sat Bat and the pilgrim, the latter arrayed in a suit of underwearmuch abbreviated as to arms and legs, while from the branches of abroken tree-top drawn close beside the blaze depended a pair ofmud-caked trousers and a disreputably dirty silk shirt. The Texanpicked his way down the hill, slipping and sliding in the soft mud. 

"Breakfast about ready?" he asked, with a grin. 

"Breakfas'! _Voila_! A'm lak' A'm got som' breakfas', you bet!Me--A'm gon' for cut de chonk of meat out de dead steer but de pilgrimsay: '_Non_, dat bes' we don' eat de damn drownded cattle--dat betterwe sta've firs'!"

Tex laughed: "Can't stand for the drownded ones, eh? Well I don't knowas I blame you none, they might be some soggy. " Reaching into hisshirt-front he produced a salt bag which he tossed to Endicott. "Here's some sinkers I fetched along. Divide 'em up. I've et. Itain't no great ways back to camp----"

"How is she--Miss Marcum? Did she suffer from the shock?"

"Nary suffer. I fixed her up a camp last night back in the timberwhere we all landed, an' then came away. "

"She spent the night alone in the timber!" cried Endicott. 

The Texan nodded. "Yes. There ain't nothin' will bother her. Ijudged it to be the best way. " Endicott's hand shot out and thecowboy's met it in a firm grip. "I reckon we're fifty-fifty on that, "he said gravely. "How's the swimmin'?"

Endicott laughed: "Fine--only I didn't have to do a great deal of it. I staged a little riding contest all my own, part of the way on a deadcow, and the rest of it on this tree-trunk. I didn't mind that part ofit--that was fun, but it didn't last over twenty minutes. After thetree grounded, I had to tramp up and down through this ankle-deep mudto keep from freezing. I didn't dare to go any place for fear ofgetting lost. I thought at first, when the water went down I wouldfollow back up the valley, but I couldn't find the sides and after oneor two false starts I gave it up. Then Bat showed up at daylight andwe managed to build a fire. " Endicott divided the biscuits andproceeded to devour his share. 

Tex rolled a cigarette. "Say, " he drawled, when he had lighted it witha twig from the fire, "what the hell did you whallop me in the jaw for?I seen it comin' but I couldn't dodge, an' when she hit--it seemed likeI was all tucked away in my little crib, an' somewhere, sweet voiceswas singin'. "

"I had to do it, " laughed Endicott. "It was that, or both of us goingto the bottom. You were grabbing for my arms and legs. "

"I ain't holdin' it against you, " grinned Tex. "The arms an' legs isyours, an' you're welcome to 'em. Also I'm obliged to you forpermittin' me to tarry a spell longer on this mundane spear, as thefellow says, even if I can't chew nothin' harder'n soup. "

"Would you mind rolling me a cigarette, " grinned Endicott, as hefinished the last of the biscuits. "I never tried it, and I am afraidI would bungle the job. " Without hesitation the Texan complied, deftlyinterposing his body so that the pilgrim could not see that the tobaccohe poured into the paper was the last in his sack. He extended thelittle cylinder. "When you get that lit, you better crawl into themclothes of yours an' we'll be hittin' the back-trail. Out here in theopen ain't no place for us to be. "

Endicott surveyed his sorry outfit with disfavour. "I would ratherstick to the B. V. D. 's, if it were practical. "

"B. V. D. , B. V. D. , " repeated the Texan. "There ain't no such brand onthis range. Must be some outfit south of here--what did you say aboutit?"

"I said my B. V. D. 's, " he indicated his under-garments; "these would bepreferable to those muddy trousers and that shirt. "

"Oh, that's the brand of your longerie. Don't wear none myself, exceptin winter, an' then thick ones. I've scrutinized them kind, though, more or less thorough--hangin' on lines around nesters' places an' homeranches, when I'd be ridin' through. Never noticed none with B. V. D. On'em, though. The brand most favoured around here has got XXXX FLOURprinted acrost the broad of 'em, an' I've always judged 'em asbelongin' to the opposin' sect. "

Endicott chuckled as he gingerly arrayed himself in the damp garmentsand when he was dressed, Tex regarded him quizzically: "Them belongin'sof yourn sure do show neglect, Win. " Endicott started at the word. Itwas the first time any one had abbreviated his name, and instantly heremembered the words of Alice Marcum: "If you keep on improving someday somebody is going to call you Win. " He smiled grimly. "I must beimproving, " he muttered, under his breath, "I would pass anywhere for atramp. " From beyond the fire Tex continued his scrutiny, the while hecommuned with himself: "Everything's fair, et cetry, as the fellowsays, an' it's a cinch there ain't no girl goin' to fall no hell of aways for any one rigged out like a last year's sheepherder. But, damnit! he done me a good turn--an' one that took guts to do. 'Tain't nouse in chasin' the devil around the stump---- If I can get that girlI'm a-goin' to get her! If I do I'll wire in some creek an' turnnester or do any other damned thing that's likewise mean an' debasin'that she wants me to--except run sheep. But if the pilgrim's got theedge, accordin' to Bat's surmise, he's got it fair an' square. Thecards is on the table. It's him or me for it--but from now on thegame's on the level. "

Aloud he said: "Hope you don't mind havin' your name took in vain likeI done, but it's a habit of mine to get names down to a workin' basiswhen I've got to use 'em frequent. Bat, there, his folks started himoff with a name that sounded like the Nicene Creed, but we bobbed herdown for handy reference, an' likewise I ain't be'n called Horatiosince the paternal roof-tree quit sproutin' the punitive switch. But, to get down to cases, you fellows have got to hike back to the camp an'hole up 'til dark. There's bound to be someone ridin' this here couleean' you got to keep out of sight. I'm goin' to do a little scoutin', an' I'll join you later. It ain't only a couple of miles or so an' youbetter hit for the high ground an' cross the divide. Don't risk goin'through the canyon. "

Endicott glanced apprehensively at his mud encased silk socks, the feetof which were already worn through in a dozen places. 

"Where's your slippers!" asked Tex, catching the glance. 

"My shoes? I threw them away last night before I took to the water. "

"It's just as well. They wasn't any good anyhow. The ground's softwith the rain, all you got to watch out for is prickly pears an'rattlesnakes. You'll be close to camp before the rocks get bad an'then Bat can go hunt up your slippers an' fetch 'em out to you. " TheTexan started for his horse. At the top of the ridge he turned: "I'llstop an' tell her that you'll be along in a little bit, " he called, andswinging into the saddle, struck off up the creek. 

The habitual cynical smile that curled his lips broadened as he rode. "This here Johnson, now, he likes me like he likes a saddle-galdedboil, ever since I maintained that a rider was hired to ride, an' notto moil, an' quit his post-hole-diggin', hay-pitchin', tea-drinkin'outfit, short-handed. I ain't had no chance to aggravate him realgood, outside of askin' him how his post-holes was winterin' through, when I'd meet up with him on the trail, an' invitin' him to go over tothe Long Horn to have a snort of tea, a time or two, down to WolfRiver. "

At the up-slanting bank where they had sought refuge from the valley hedismounted, wrenched his own saddle out of the mud, and examined thebroken cinch. "If the pilgrim hadn't saved me the trouble, I'd of surehad to get Purdy for that, " he muttered, and looked up to encounter theeyes of the girl, who was watching him from the top of the bank. Herface was very white, and the sight stirred a strange discomfort withinhim. "I bet she wouldn't turn no such colour for me, if I'd be'ndrowned for a week, " he thought, bitterly. 

"You--didn't find him?" The words came with an effort. 

The Texan forced a smile: "I wouldn't have be'n here if I hadn't. Orrather Bat did, an' I found the two of 'em. He's all to the mustardan' none the worse for wear, except his clothes--they won't never lookquite the same, an' his socks need mendin' in sixty or seventy spots. They'll be along directly. You run along and fix 'em up some breakfastan' keep out of sight. I'm goin' to do a little scoutin' an', maybe, won't be back 'til pretty near dark. "

"But you! Surely, you must be nearly starved!" The relief thatflashed into her face at the news of Endicott's safety changed tosincere concern. 

"I ain't got time, now. "

"Please come. The coffee is all ready and it won't take but a minuteto fry some bacon. "

The Texan smiled up at her. "If you insist, " he said. The girlstarted in surprise at the words, and the man plunged immediately intothe vernacular of the cow-country as he followed her into the timber. "Yes. A cup of Java wouldn't go bad, but I won't stop long. I want tokind of circulate along the back-trail a ways to see if we're bein'followed. " He took the cup of coffee from her hand and watched as shesliced the bacon and threw it into the frying pan. "Did you everfigure on turnin' nester?" he asked abruptly. 

The girl looked at him inquiringly: "Nester?" she asked. "What's anester?"

Tex smiled: "Nesters is folks that takes up a claim an' fences off acreek somewheres, an' then stays with it 'til, by the grace of God, they either starve to death, or get rich. "

Alice laughed: "No, I never thought of being a nester. But it would beloads of fun. That is, if----"

The Texan interrupted her almost rudely: "Yes, an' if they didn't, itwould just naturally be hell, wouldn't it?" He gulped down the last ofhis coffee, and, without waiting for the bacon, strode out of thetimber, mounted his horse, and rode away. 

At the reservoir site he drew rein and inspected the ruineddirt-and-rock dam. Fresh dirt, brush, and rock had already been dumpedinto the aperture, and over on the hillside a group of men was busyloading wagons. He let himself into the ranch enclosure, rode past thebunk-house and on toward the big house that sat well back from theother buildings in the centre of a grove of trees. A horse stoodsaddled beside the porch, and through the open door Tex could hear aman's voice raised in anger: "Why in hell ain't it ready? You might ofknowed I'd want it early today, havin' to git out at daylight! Youwouldn't give a damn if I never got nothin' to eat!" The door bangedviciously cutting off a reply in a woman's voice, and a man strodeacross the porch, and snatched up the reins of the waiting horse. 

"What's the matter, Johnson, your suspenders galdin' you this mornin'?"

The man scowled into the face of the cow-puncher who sat regarding himwith an irritating grin. 

"What do you want around here? If you want a job go turn your horseinto the corral an' git out there an' git to work on that resevoy. "

"No, Johnson, I don't want a job. I done had one experience with thisoutfit, an' I fired you for a boss for keeps. "

"Get offen this ranch!" roared the man, shaking a fist, and advancingone threatening step, "or I'll have you throw'd off!"

Tex laughed: "I don't aim to stick around no great while. Fact is, I'min somethin' of a hurry myself. I just stopped in to give you a chanctto do me a good turn. I happened to be down this way an': 'there'sJohnson, ' I says to myself, 'he's so free an' open-handed, a man'swelcome to anything he's got, ' so I stopped in. "

The ranchman regarded him with an intent scowl: "'Sth' matter with you, you drunk?"

"Not yet. But I got a friend out here in the hills which he's lost hisslippers, an' tore his pants, an' got his shirt all dirty, an' mislaidhis hat; an' knowin' you'd be glad to stake him to an outfit I comeover, him bein' about your size an' build. "

The ranchman's face flushed with anger: "What the hell do I care aboutyou an' your friends. Git offen this ranch, I tell you!"

"Oh, yes, an' while you're gettin' the outfit together just you slip ina cinch, an' a quart or two of _hooch_, case we might get snake-bit. "

Beside himself with rage, the man raised his foot to the stirrup. Asif suddenly remembering something he paused, lowered his foot, andregarded the cowboy with an evil leer: "Ah-ha, I've got it now!" hemoved a step nearer. "I was at the dance night before last to WolfRiver. " He waited to note the effect of the words on his hearer. 

"Did you have a good time? Or did the dollar you had to shell out forthe ticket spoil all the fun?"

"Never mind what kind of a _time_ I had. But they's plenty of us knowsyou was the head leader of the gang that took an' lynched that pilgrim. "

"That's right, " smiled the man coolly. "Beats the devil, how thingsgets spread around, don't it? An' speakin' of news spreading thatway--I just came up the creek from down below the canyon. You musthave had quite a bit of water in your reservoir when she let go, Johnson, judgin' by results. "

"What do you mean?"

"You ain't be'n down the creek, then?"

"No, I ain't. I'm goin' now. I had to git the men to work fixin' thedam. "

"What I mean is this! There's about fifty head of cattle, more orless, that's layin' sprinkled around on top of the mud. Amongst whichI seen T U brands, and I X, an' D bar C, an' quite a few nester brands. When your reservoir let go she sure raised hell with other folks'property. Of course, bein' away down there where there ain't anyfolks, if I hadn't happened along it might have been two or three weeksbefore any one would have rode through, an' you could have run a bunchof ranch hands down an' buried 'em an' no one would have be'n anywiser----"

"You're lyin'!" There was a look of fear in the man's eyes, Tex shrugged: "You'll only waste a half a day ridin' down to see foryourself, " he replied indifferently. 

Johnson appeared to consider, then stepped close to the Texan's side:"They say one good turn deserves another. Meanin' that you shet upabout them cattle an' I'll shet up about seein' you. "

"That way, it wouldn't cost you nothin' would it, Johnson? Well, it'sa trade, if you throw in the aforementioned articles of outfit Ispecified, to boot. "

"Not by a damn sight! You got the best end of it the way it is. Lynchin' is murder!"

"So it is, " agreed the Texan. "An' likewise, maintainin' weakreservoirs that lets go an' drowns other folks' cattle is a publicnuisance, an' a jury's liable to figger up them damages kind ofhigh--'specially again' you, Johnson, bein' ornery an' rotten-hearted, an' tight-fisted, that way, folks don't like you. "

"It means hangin' fer you!"

"Yes. But it means catchin' first. I can be a thousan' miles awayfrom here, in a week, but you're different. All they got to do is grabthe ranch, it's good for five or six thousan' in damages, all right. Still if you don't want to trade, I'll be goin'. " He gathered up hisreins. 

"Hold on! It's a damned hold-up, but what was it you wanted?"

The Texan checked off the items on his gloved fingers: "One pair ofpants, one shirt, one hat, one pair of boots, same size as yourn, onepair of spurs, one silk muffler, that one you've got on'll do, onecinch, half a dozen packages of tobacco, an' one bottle of whiskey. All to be in good order an' delivered right here within ten minutes. An' you might fetch a war-bag to pack 'em in. Hurry up now! 'Cause ifyou ain't back in ten minutes, I'll be movin' along, an' when I passthe word to the owners of them cattle it's goin' to raise theirasperity some obnoxious. "

With a growl the man disappeared into the house to return a few minuteslater with a sack whose sides bulged. 

"Dump 'em out an' we'll look 'em over!" ordered the Texan and the mancomplied. 

"All right. Throw 'em in again an' hand 'em up. "

When he had secured the load by means of his pack strings he turned tothe rancher. 

"So long, Johnson, an' if I was you I wouldn't lose no time inattendin' to the last solemn obsequies of them defunk dogies. I'llnever squeal, but you can't tell how soon someone else might comea-ridin' along through the foot-hills. "

CHAPTER XIII

A BOTTLE OF "HOOCH"

It was well past the middle of the afternoon when the Texan rode up thesteep incline and unsaddled his horse. The occupants of the camp wereall asleep, the girl in her little shelter tent, and Bat and Endicottwith their blankets spread at some little distance away. Tex carriedthe outfit he had procured from Johnson into the timber, then crawledcautiously to the pilgrim's side, and awoke him without arousing theothers. 

"Hey, Win, wake up, " he whispered as the man regarded him through apair of sleepy eyes. "Come on with me. I got somethin' to show you. "Tex led the way to the war-bag. "Them clothes of yourn is plumdespisable to look at, " he imparted, "so I borrowed an outfit offen afriend of mine that's about your size. Just crawl into 'em an' see howthey fit. "

Five minutes later the cowboy viewed with approval the figure thatstood before him, booted and spurred, with his mud-caked garmentsreplaced by corduroy trousers and a shirt of blue flannel against whichthe red silk muffler made a splotch of vivid colouring. 

"You look like a sure enough top hand, now, " grinned the Texan. "We'lljust take a drink on that. " He drew the cork from the bottle andtendered it to Endicott, who shook his head. 

"No, thanks. I never use it. "

The Texan stared at him in surprise. "Do you mean you've got theregular habit of not drinkin', or is it only a temporary lapse of duty?"

Endicott laughed: "Regular habit, " he answered. 

The other drank deeply of the liquor and returned the cork. "You oughtto break yourself of that habit, Win, there's no tellin' where it'lllead to. A fellow insulted me once when I was sober an' I nevernoticed it. But laying aside your moral defects, them whiskers ofyourn is sure onornamental to a scandalous degree. Wait, I'll fetch myrazor, an' you can mow 'em. " He disappeared, to return a few momentslater with a razor, a cake of hand-soap, and a shaving brush. 

"I never have shaved my self, " admitted Endicott, eyeing the articlesdubiously. 

"Who have you shaved?"

"I mean, I have always been shaved by a barber. "

"Oh!" The cowboy took another long pull at the bottle. "Well, Win, the fact is them whiskers looks like hell an' has got to come off. " Herolled up his sleeves. "I ain't no barber, an' never shaved a man inmy life, except myself, but I'm willin' to take a chance. After whatyou've done for me I'd be a damn coward not to risk it. Wait now 'tilI get another drink an' I'll tackle the job an' get it over with. Aman can't never tell what he can do 'til he tries. "

Endicott viewed the cowboy's enthusiasm with alarm. "That's just whatI was thinking, Tex, " he hastened to say, as the other drew the corkfrom the bottle. "And it is high time I learned to shave myself, anyway. I have never been where it was necessary before. If you willjust sit there and tell me how, I will begin right now. "

"Alright, Win, you can't never learn any younger. First off, you wetyour face in the creek an' then soap it good. That soap ain't regularshavin' soap, but it'll do. Then you take the brush an' work it into alather, an' then you shave. "

"But, " inquired the man dubiously, "don't you have towels soaked in hotwater, and----"

"Towels an' hot water, hell! This ain't no barber shop, an' thereain't no gin, or whatever they rub on your face after you get through, either. You just shave an' knock the soap off your ears an' that's allthere is to it. "

After much effort Endicott succeeded in smearing his face with a thin, stringy lather, and gingerly picked up the razor. The Texan looked onin owlish solemnity as the man sat holding the blade helplessly. 

"What you doin', Win, sayin' the blessin'? Just whet her on your bootan' sail in. "

"But where do I begin?"

The Texan snorted disgustedly. "Your face ain't so damn big but whatan hour or two reminiscence ought to take you back to where it starts. Begin at your hat an' work down over your jaw 'til you come to yourshirt, an' the same on the other side, takin' in your lip an' chin intransit, as the feller says. An' hold it like a razor, an' not like apitchfork. Now you got to lather all over again, 'cause it's dry. "

Once more Endicott laboriously coaxed a thin lather out of the brownhand-soap, and again he grasped the razor, this time with a do-or-diedetermination. 

"Oughtn't I have a mirror?" he asked doubtfully. 

"A mirror! Don't you know where your own face is at? You don't needno mirror to eat with, do you? Well, it's the same way with shavin'. But if you got to have ocular evidence, just hang out over the creekthere where it's still. "

The operation was slow and painful. It seemed to Endicott as thougheach separate hair were being dragged out by its roots, and more thanonce the razor edge drew blood. At last the job was finished, hebathed his smarting face in the cold water, and turned to the Texan forapproval. 

"You look like the second best bet in a two-handed cat fight, " heopined, and producing his book of cigarette papers, proceeded to stickpatches of tissue over various cuts and gashes. "Takin' it by an'large, though, it ain't so bad. There's about as many places where youdidn't go close enough as there is where you went too close, so's it'llaverage somewhere around the skin level. Anyway it shows you tried tolook respectable--an' you do, from your neck down--an' your hat, too. "

"I am certainly obliged to you, " laughed Endicott, "for going to allthat trouble to provide me with clothing. And by the way, did youlearn anything--in regard to posses, I mean?"

The Texan nodded sombrely: "Yep. I did. This here friend of mine wason his way back from Wolf River when I met up with him. 'Tex, ' hesays, 'where's the pilgrim?' I remains noncommital, an' he continues, 'I layed over yesterday to enjoy Purdy's funeral, which it was thebiggest one ever pulled off in Wolf River--not that any one give a damnabout Purdy, but they've drug politics into it, an' furthermore, his'nwas the only corpse to show for the whole celebration, it bein' plumbdevoid of further casualties. '" The cowpuncher paused, referred to hisbottle, and continued: "It's just like I told you before. There can'tno one's election get predjudiced by hangin' you, an' they've made akind of issue out of it. There's four candidates for sheriff this fallan' folks has kind of let it be known, sub rosy, that the one thatbrings you in, gathers the votes. In the absence of any corpsedelecti, which in this case means yourn, folks refuses to assume youwas hung, so each one of them four candidates is right now scouring thecountry with a posse. All this he imparts to me while he was throwin'that outfit of clothes together an' further he adds that I'm undersuspicion for aidin' an' abettin', an' that means life with hard labourif I'm caught with the goods--an', Win, you're the goods. Therefore, you'll confer a favour on me by not getting caught, an' incidentallysave yourself a hangin'. Once we get into the bad lands we're all tothe good, but even then you've got to keep shy of folks. Duck out ofsight when you first see any one. Don't have nothin' to say to no oneunder no circumstances. If you do chance onto someone where you can'tdo nothin' else you'll have to lie to 'em. Personal, I don't favourlyin' only as a last resort, an' then in moderation. Of course, downin the bad lands, most of the folks will be on the run like we are, an'not no more anxious for to hold a caucus than us. You don't have to beso particular there, 'cause likely all they'll do when they run ontoyou will be to take a shot at you, an' beat it. We've got to lay lowin the bad lands about a week or so, an' after that folks will havesomethin' else on their mind an' we can slip acrost to the N. P. "

"See here, Tex, this thing has gone far enough. " There was a note ofdetermination in Endicott's voice as he continued: "I cannot permit youto further jeopardize yourself on my account. You have alreadyneglected your business, incurred no end of hard work, and risked life, limb, and freedom to get me out of a scrape. I fully appreciate that Iam already under heavier obligation to you than I can ever repay. Butfrom here on, I am going it alone. Just indicate the general directionof the N. P. And I will find it. I know that you and Bat will see thatMiss Marcum reaches the railway in safety, and----"

"Hold on, Win! That oration of yourn ain't got us no hell of a ways, an' already it's wandered about four school-sections off the trail. Inthe first place, it's me an' not you that does the permittin' for thisoutfit. I've undertook to get you acrost to the N. P. I never startedanythin' yet that I ain't finished. Take this bottle of _hooch_here--I've started her, an' I'll finish her. There's just as muchchance I won't take you acrost to the N. P. , as that I won't finishthat bottle--an' that's damn little. 

"About neglectin' my business, as you mentioned, that ain't worryin' menone, because the wagon boss specified particular an' onmistakeablethat if any of us misguided sons of guns didn't show up on the job themornin' followin' the dance, we might's well keep on ridin' as far asthat outfit was concerned, so it's undoubtable that the cow business isbein' carried on satisfactory durin' my temporary absence. 

"Concernin' the general direction of the N. P. , I'll enlighten you thatif you was to line out straight for Texas, it would be the firstrailroad you'd cross. But you wouldn't never cross it becauseinterposed between it an' here is a right smart stretch of countrywhich for want of a worse name is called the bad lands. They's someseveral thousan' square miles in which there's only seven water-holesthat a man can drink out of, an' generally speakin' about five of themis dry. There's plenty of water-holes but they're poison. Some is gypan' some is arsnic. Also these here bad lands ain't laid out on nogeneral plan. The coulees run hell-west an' crossways at theirlittlest end an' wind up in a mud crack. There ain't no trails, an'the inhabitants is renegades an' horse-thieves which loves theirsolitude to a murderous extent. If a man ain't acquainted with thecountry an' the horse-thieves, an' the water-holes, his sojourn wouldbe discouragin' an' short. 

"All of which circumlocutin' brings us to the main point which is that_she_ wouldn't stand for no such proceedin'. As far as I can see thatsettles the case. The pros an' cons that you an' me could set here an'chew about, bein' merely incidental, irreverent, an' by way of passin'the time. "

Endicott laughed: "You are a philosopher, Tex. "

"A cow-hand has got to be. "

"But seriously, I could slip away without her knowing it, then the onlything you could do would be to take her to the railway. "

"Yes. Well, you try that an' you'll find out who's runnin' thisoutfit. I'll trail out after you an' when I catch you, I'll justnaturally knock hell out of you, an' that's all there'll be to it. Youhad the edge on me in the water but you ain't on land. An' now that'ssettled to the satisfaction of all parties concerned, suppose me an'you slip over to camp an' cook supper so we can pull out right aftersundown. "

The two made their way through the timber to find Alice blowing herselfred in the face in a vain effort to coax a blaze out of a fewsmouldering coals she had scraped from beneath the ashes of the fire. 

"Hold on!" cried the Texan, striding toward her, "I've alwaysmaintained that buildin' fires is a he-chore, like swearin', an'puttin' the baby to sleep. So, if you'll just set to one side a minutewhile I get this fire a-goin' an' Win fetches some water, you can takeholt an' do the cookin' while we-all get the outfit ready for thetrail. "

Something in the man's voice caused the girl to regard him sharply, andher eyes shifted for a moment to his companion who stood in thebackground. There was no flash of recognition in the glance, andEndicott, suppressing a laugh, turned his face away, picked up thewater pail, and started toward the creek. 

"Who is that man?" asked the girl, a trifle nervously, as hedisappeared from view. 

"Who, him?" The Texan was shaving slivers from a bull pine stick. "He's a friend of mine. Win's his name, an' barrin' a few littleirregularities of habit, he ain't so bad. " The cowboy burst intomournful song as he collected his shavings and laid them upon the coals:

 "It's little Joe, the wrangler, he'll wrangle never more, His days with the _remuda_ they are o'er; 'Twas a year ago last April when he rode into our camp, Just a little Texas stray, and all alo-o-o-n-e. "

Alice leaned toward the man in sudden anger:

"You've been drinking!" she whispered. 

Tex glanced at her in surprise: "That's so, " he said, gravely. "It'sthe only way I can get it down. "

She was about to retort when Endicott returned from the creek andplaced the water pail beside her. 

"Winthrop!" she cried, for the first time recognizing him. "Where inthe world did you get those clothes, and what is the matter with yourface?"

Endicott grinned: "I shaved myself for the first time. "

"What did you do it with, some barbed wire?"

"Looks like somethin' that was left out in the rain an' had started topeel, " ventured the irrepressible Tex. 

Alice ignored him completely. "But the clothes? Where did you getthem?"

Endicott nodded toward the Texan. "He loaned them to me!"

"But--surely they would never fit him. "

"Didn't know it was necessary they should, " drawled Tex, and havingsucceeded in building the fire, moved off to help Bat who was busyinghimself with the horses. 

"Where has he been?" asked the girl as the voice of the Texan came frombeyond the trees:

 "It happened in Jacksboro in the spring of seventy-three, A man by the name of Crego come steppin' up to me, Sayin', 'How do you do, young fellow, an' how would you like to go An' spend one summer pleasantly, on the range of the buffalo-o-o?'"

"I'm sure I don't know. He came back an hour or so ago and woke me upand gave me this outfit and told me my whiskers looked like theinfernal regions and that I had better shave--even offered to shave me, himself. "

"But he has been drinking. Where did he get the liquor?"

"The same place he got the clothes, I guess. He said he met a friendand borrowed them, " smiled Endicott. 

"Well, it's nothing to laugh at. I should think you'd be ashamed tostand there and laugh about it. "

The man stared at her in surprise. "I guess he won't drink enough tohurt him any. And--why, it was only a day or two ago that you sat inthe dining car and defended their drinking. You even said, I believe, that had you been a man you would have been over in the saloon withthem. "

"Yes, I did say that! But that was different. Oh, I think men are_disgusting_! They're either _bad_, or just plain _dumb_!"

 "We left old Crego's bones to bleach on the range of the buffalo-- Went home to our wives an' sweethearts, told others not to go, For God's forsaken the buffalo range, and the damned old buffalo-o-o!"

"At least our friend Tex does not seem to be stricken with dumbness, "Endicott smiled as the words of the buffalo skinner's song broke forthanew. "Do you know I have taken a decided fancy to him. He's----"

"I'd run along and play with him then if I were you, " was the girl'ssarcastic comment. "Maybe if you learn how to swear and sing some ofhis beautiful songs he'll give you part of his whiskey. " She turnedaway abruptly and became absorbed in the preparation of supper, andEndicott, puzzled as he was piqued, at the girl's attitude, joined thetwo who were busy with the pack. "He's just perfectly stunning in thatoutfit, " thought Alice as she watched him disappear in the timbers. "Oh, I don't know--sometimes I wish--" but the wish became confusedsomehow with the sizzling of bacon. And with tight-pressed lips, shegot out the tin dishes. 

"What's the matter, Win--steal a sheep?" asked the Texan as he paused, blanket in hand, to regard Endicott. 

"What?"

"What did _you_ catch hell for? You didn't imbibe no embalmin' fluid. "Endicott grinned and the cowboy finished rolling his blanket. 

"Seems like we're in bad, some way. She didn't say nothin' much, but Imanaged to gather from the way she looked right through the place whereI was standin' that I could be got along without for a spell. Herinterruptin' me right in the middle of a song to impart that I'd be'ndrinkin' kind of throw'd me under the impression that the pastime wasfrowned on, but the minute I seen you comin' through the brush like youwas sneaking off at recess, I know'd you was included in the boycottan' that lets the booze out. Seein's our conscience is clear, it mustbe somethin' _she_ done that she's took umbrage at, as the feller says, an' the best thing we can do is to overlook it. I don't know as I'dadvise tellin' her so, but we might just kind of blend into the sceneryonobtrusive 'til the thaw comes. In view of which I'll just take alittle drink an' sing you a song I heard down on the Rio Grande. "Thrusting his arm into the end of his blanket roll, the Texan drewforth his bottle and, taking a drink, carefully replaced it. "Thishere song is _The Old Chisholm Trail_, an' it goes like this:

 "Come along; boys, and listen to my tale, I'll tell you of my troubles on the old Chisholm trail. 

 Coma ti yi youpy, youpy ya, youpy ya, Coma ti yi youpy, youpy ya. 

 I started up the trail October twenty-third, I started up the trail with the 2-U herd. 

 Oh, a ten dollar hoss and a forty dollar saddle-- And I'm goin' to punchin' Texas cattle. 

 I woke up one morning on the old Chisholm trail, Rope in my hand and a cow by the tail. 

 I'm up in the mornin' afore daylight And afore I sleep the moon shines bright. 

 Old Ben Bolt was a blamed good boss, But he'd go to see the girls on a sore-backed hoss. 

 Old Ben Bolt was a fine old man And you'd know there was whiskey wherever he'd land. 

 My hoss throwed me off at the creek called Mud, My hoss throwed me off round the 2-U herd. 

 Last time I saw him he was going cross the level A-kicking up his heels and a-runnin' like the devil. 

 It's cloudy in the west, a-lookin' like rain, An' my damned old slicker's in the wagon again. 

 Crippled my hoss, I don't know how, Ropin' at the horns of a 2-U cow. 

 We hit Caldwell and we hit her on the fly, We bedded down the cattle on the hill close by. 

 No chaps, no slicker, and it's pourin' down rain, An' I swear, by God, I'll never night-herd again. 

 Feet in the stirrups and seat in the saddle, I hung and rattled with them long-horn cattle. 

 Last night I was on guard and the leader broke the ranks, I hit my horse down the shoulders and I spurred him in the flanks. 

 The wind commenced to blow, and the rain began to fall. Hit looked, by grab, like we was goin' to lose 'em all. 

 I jumped in the saddle and grabbed holt the horn, Best blamed cow-puncher ever was born. 

 I popped my foot in the stirrup and gave a little yell, The tail cattle broke and the leaders went to hell. 

 I don't give a damn if they never do stop; I'll ride as long as an eight-day clock. 

 Foot in the stirrup and hand on the horn, Best damned cowboy ever was born. 

 I herded and I hollered and I done very well Till the boss said, 'Boys, just let 'em go to hell. '

 Stray in the herd and the boss said kill it, So I shot him in the rump with the handle of the skillet. 

 We rounded 'em up and put 'em on the cars, And that was the last of the old Two Bars. 

 Oh, it's bacon and beans most every day, -- I'd as soon be a-eatin' prairie hay. 

 I'm on my best horse and I'm goin' at a run, I'm the quickest shootin' cowboy that ever pulled a gun. 

 I went to the wagon to get my roll, To come back to Texas, dad-burn my soul. 

 I went to the boss to draw my roll, He had it figgered out I was nine dollars in the hole. 

 I'll sell my outfit just as soon as I can, I won't punch cattle for no damned man. 

 Goin' back to town to draw my money, Goin' back home to see my honey. 

 With my knees in the saddle and my seat in the sky, I'll quit punchin' cows in the sweet by and by. 

 Coma ti yi youpy, youpy ya, youpy ya, Coma ti yi youpy, youpy ya. "

As the last words of the chorus died away both men started at the soundof the girl's voice. 

"Whenever you can spare the time you will find your supper ready, " sheannounced, coldly, and without waiting for a reply, turned toward thecamp. Endicott looked at Tex, and Tex looked at Endicott. 

"Seems like you done raised hell again, Win. Standin' around listenin'to ribald songs, like you done, ain't helped our case none. Well, webetter go eat it before she throws it away. Come on, Bat, you'reincluded in the general gloom. Your face looks like a last year'scircus bill, Win, with them patches of paper hangin' to it. Maybethat's what riled her. If I thought it was I'd yank 'em off an' letthem cuts bleed no matter how bad they stung, just to show her myheart's in the right place. But that might not suit, neither, so thereyou are. "

Alice sat well back from the fire as the three men poured their coffeeand helped themselves to the food. 

"Ain't you goin' to join us in this here repast?" asked Tex, with asmile. 

"I have eaten, thank you. "

"You're welcome--like eight dollars change for a five-spot. "

In vain Endicott signalled the cowboy to keep silent. "Shove over, Win, you're proddin' me in the ribs with your elbow! Ain't ChoteauCounty big enough to eat in without crowdin'? 'Tain't as big as TomGreen County, at that, no more'n Montana is as big as Texas--nor asgood, either; not but what the rest of the United States has gotsomethin' to be said in its favour, though. But comparisons areordorous, as the Dutchman said about the cheese. Come on, Win, me an'you'll just wash up these dishes so Bat can pack 'em while we saddleup. "

A half-hour later, just as the moon topped the crest of a high ridge, the four mounted and made their way down into the valley. 

"We got to go kind of easy for a few miles 'cause I shouldn't wonder ifold man Johnson had got a gang out interrin' defunck bovines. I'lljust scout out ahead an' see if I can locate their camp so we can slippast without incurrin' notoriety. "

"I should think, " said Alice, with more than a trace of acid in hertone, "that you had done quite enough scouting for one day. "

"In which case, " smiled the unabashed Texan, "I'll delegate the duty tomy trustworthy retainer an' side-kicker, the ubiquitous an' iniquitousBaterino St. Cecelia Julius Caesar Napoleon Lajune. Here, Bat, forkover that pack-horse an' take a siyou out ahead, keepin' a lookout forposses, post holes, and grave-diggers. It's up to you to see that wepass down this vale of tears, unsight an' unsung, as the poet says, oroff comes your hind legs. Amen. "

The half-breed grinned his understanding and handed over the lead-ropewith a bit of homely advice. "You no lak' you git find, dat better youdon' talk mooch. You ain' got to sing no mor', neider, or ba Goss!A'm tak' you down an' stick you mout' full of rags, lak' I done down toChinook dat tam'. Dat _hooch_ she mak' noise 'nough for wan night, _sabe_?"

"That's right, Bat. Tombstones and oysters is plumb raucousinstitutions to what I'll be from now on. " He turned to the otherswith the utmost gravity. "You folks will pardon any seemin' reticenceon my part, I hope. But there's times when Bat takes holt an' runs theoutfit--an' this is one of 'em. "

CHAPTER XIV

ON ANTELOPE BUTTE

After the departure of Bat it was a very silent little cavalcade thatmade its way down the valley. Tex, with the lead-horse in tow, rodeahead, his attention fixed on the trail, and the others followed, single file. 

Alice's eyes strayed from the backs of her two companions to themountains that rolled upward from the little valley, their massivepeaks and buttresses converted by the wizardry of moonlight into afairyland of wondrous grandeur. The cool night air was fragrant withthe breath of growing things, and the feel of her horse beneath hercaused the red blood to surge through her veins. 

"Oh, it's grand!" she whispered, "the mountains, and the moonlight, andthe spring. I love it all--and yet--" She frowned at the jarring notethat crept in, to mar the fulness of her joy. "It's the most wonderfuladventure I ever had--and romantic. And it's _real_, and I ought to beenjoying it more than I ever enjoyed anything in all my life. But, I'mnot, and it's all because--I don't see why he had to go and drink!"The soft sound of the horses' feet in the mud changed to a series ofsharp clicks as their iron shoes encountered the bare rocks of thefloor of the canyon whose precipitous rock walls towered far above, shutting off the flood of moonlight and plunging the trail intodarkness. The figures of the two men were hardly discernible, and thegirl started nervously as her horse splashed into the water of thecreek that foamed noisily over the canyon floor. She shivered slightlyin the wind that sucked chill through the winding passage, althoughback there in the moonlight the night had been still. Gradually thecanyon widened. Its walls grew lower and slanted from theperpendicular. Moonlight illumined the wider bends and flashed insilver scintillations from the broken waters of the creek. The clickof the horses' feet again gave place to the softer trampling of mud, and the valley once more spread before them, broader now, and flankedby an endless succession of foothills. 

Bat appeared mysteriously from nowhere, and after a whispered colloquywith Tex, led off toward the west, leaving the valley behind andwinding into the maze of foothills. A few miles farther on they cameagain into the valley and Alice saw that the creek had dwindled into asuccession of shallow pools between which flowed a tiny trickle of thewater. On and on they rode, following the shallow valley. Lush grassoverran the pools and clogged the feeble trickle of the creek. Fartheron, even the green patches disappeared and white alkali soil showedbetween the gnarled sage bushes. Gradually the aspect of the countrychanged. High, grass-covered foothills gave place to sharp pinnaclesof black lava rock, the sides of the valley once more drew together, low, and broken into ugly cutbanks of dirty grey. Sagebrush andprickly pears furnished the only vegetation, and the rough, brokensurface of the country took on a starved, gaunt appearance. 

Alice knew instinctively that they were at the gateway of the badlands, and the forbidding aspect that greeted her on every side as hereyes swept the restricted horizon caused a feeling of depression. Eventhe name "bad lands" seemed to hold a foreboding of evil. She had notnoticed this when the Texan had spoken it. If she had thought of it atall, it was impersonally--an undesirable strip of country, as onementions the Sahara Desert. But, now, when she herself was enteringit--was seeing with her own eyes the grey mud walls, the bare blackrocks, and the stunted sage and cactus--the name held much of sinisterportent. 

From a nearby hillock came a thin weird scream--long-drawn and brokeninto a series of horrible cackles. Instantly, as though it were thesignal that loosed the discordant chorus of hell, the sound was caughtup, intensified and prolonged until the demonical screams seemed tobelch from every hill and from the depths of the coulees between. 

Unconsciously, the girl spurred her horse which leaped past Endicottand Bat and drew up beside the Texan, who was riding alone in theforefront. 

The man glanced into the white frightened face: "Coyotes, " he said, gravely. "They won't bother any one. "

The girl shuddered. "There must be a million of them. What makes themhowl that way?"

"Most any other way would be better, wouldn't it. But I reckon that'sthe way they've learnt to, so they just keep on that way. "

Alice glanced at him sharply, but in the moonlight his clean-cutprofile gave no hint of levity. 

"You are making fun of me!"

He turned his head and regarded her thoughtfully. "No. I wouldn't dothat, really. I was thinkin' of somethin' else. "

"You are a very disconcerting young man. You are unspeakably rude, andI ought to be furiously angry. "

The Texan appeared to consider. "No. You oughtn't to do that becausewhen something important comes up you ain't got anything back, an'folks won't regard you serious. But you wouldn't have been even peevedif you knew what I was thinkin' about. "

"What was it?" The instant the question left her lips the girl wishedshe could have recalled it. 

There was a long pause and Alice began to hope that the man had notheard her question. Then he turned a very grave face toward her andhis eyes met hers squarely. "I was thinkin' that maybe, sometime, you'd get to care enough about me to marry me. Sounds kind of abruptan' off-hand, don't it? But it ain't. I've been thinkin' about it alot. You're the first woman I've seen since--well, since way backyonder, that I'd ever marry. The only one that stacks up to the kindof people mine are, an' that I was back there. Of course, there'd be alot of readjustin' but that would work out--it always does when theright kind of folks takes holt to put anything through. I've got somerecreations an' pastimes that ain't condoned by the pious. I gamble, an' swear, an' smoke, an' lie, an' drink. But I gamble square, sweardecent an' hearty, lie for fun, but never in earnest, an' drink to areasonable degree of hilarity. My word is good with every man, woman, an' child in the cow country. I never yet went back on a friend, norlet up on an enemy. I never took underhand advantage of man or woman, an' I know the cow business. For the rest of it, I'll go to the oldman an' offer to take the Eagle Creek ranch off his hands an' turnnester. It's a good ranch, an' one that rightly handled would make aman rich--provided he was a married man an' had somethin' to get richfor. I don't want you to tell me now, you won't, or you will. We'vegot a week or so yet to get acquainted in. An', here's another thing. I know, an' you know, down deep in your heart, that you're goin' tomarry either Win, or me. Maybe you know which. I don't. But if it ishim, you'll get a damned good man. He's square an' clean. He's gotnerve--an' there ain't no bluff about it, neither. Wise men don't foolwith a man with an eye like his. An' he wants you as bad as I do. AsI said, we've got a week or more to get acquainted. It will be a weekthat may take us through some mighty tough sleddin', but that ain'tgoin' to help you none in choosin', because neither one of us willbreak--an' you can bet your last stack of blue ones on that. "

The girl's lips were pressed very tight, and for some moments she rodein silence. 

"Do you suppose I would ever marry a man who deliberately gets so drunkhe sings and talks incessantly----"

"You'd be safer marryin' one that got drunk deliberately, than one whodone it inadvertent when he aimed to stay sober. Besides, there'svarious degrees of drunkenness, the term bein' relative. But for thesake of argument admittin' I was drunk, if you object to the singin'and talkin', what do you recommend a man to do when he's drunk?"

"I utterly despise a man that gets drunk!" The words came with anangry vehemence, and for many minutes the Texan rode in silence whilethe bit chains clinked and the horses' hoofs thudded the ground dully. He leaned forward and his gloved hand gently smoothed his horse's mane. "You don't mean just exactly that, " he said, with his eyes on the dimoutline of a butte that rose high in the distance. Alice noticed thatthe bantering tone was gone from his voice, and that his words fellwith a peculiar softness. "I reckon, though, I know what you do mean. An' I reckon that barrin' some little difference in viewpoint, we thinkabout alike. . . . Yonder's Antelope Butte. We'll be safe to campthere till we find out which way the wind blows before we strikeacross. "

Deeper and deeper they pushed into the bad lands, the huge bulk ofAntelope Butte looming always before them, its outline showingdistinctly in the light of the sinking moon. As far as the eye couldsee on every side the moonlight revealed only black lava-rock, deepblack shadows that marked the courses of dry coulees, and enormousmud-cracks--and Antelope Butte. 

As the girl rode beside the cowboy she noticed that the cynical smilewas gone from the clean-cut profile. For miles he did not speak. Antelope Butte was near, now. 

"I am thirsty, " she said. A gauntleted hand fumbled for a moment withthe slicker behind the cantle, and extended a flask. 

"It's water. I figured someone would get thirsty. "

The girl drank from the flask and returned it: "If there are posses outwon't they watch the water-holes? You said there are only a few in thebad lands. "

"Yes, they'll watch the water-holes. That's why we're goin' to camp onAntelope Butte--right up on top of it. "

"But, how will we get water?"

"It's there. "

"Have you been up there?" The girl glanced upward. They were alreadyascending the first slope, and the huge mass of the detached mountaintowered above them in a series of unscaleable precipices. 

"No. But the water's there. The top of the Butte hollows out like asaucer, an' in the bowl there's a little sunk spring. No one much evergoes up there. There's a little scragglin' timber, an' the trail--it'san old game trail--is hard to find if you don't know where to look forit. A horse-thief told me about it. "

"A horse-thief! Surely, you are not risking all our lives on the wordof a horse-thief!"

"Yes. He was a pretty good fellow. They killed him, afterwards, overnear the Mission. He was runnin' off a bunch of Flourey horses. "

"But a man who would steal would lie!"

"He didn't lie to me. He judged I done him a good turn once. Over onthe Marias, it was--an' he said: 'If you're ever on the run, hit forAntelope Butte. ' Then he told me about the trail, an' the spring thatyou've got to dig for among the rocks. He's got a grub _cache_ there, too. He won't be needin' it, now. " The cowboy glanced toward thewest. "The moon ought to just about hold 'til we get to the top. Hesaid you could ride all the way up. " Without an instant's hesitationhe headed his horse for a huge mass of rock fragments that lay at thebase of an almost perpendicular wall. The others followed in singlefile. Bat bringing up the rear driving the pack-horse before him. Alice kept her horse close behind the Texan's which wormed and twistedin and out among the rock fragments that skirted the wall. For aquarter of a mile they proceeded with scarcely a perceptible rise andthen the cowboy turned his horse into a deep fissure that slantedupward at a most precarious angle seemingly straight into the heart ofthe mountain. Just when it seemed that the trail must end in a blindpocket, the Texan swung into a cross fissure so narrow that thestirrups brushed either side. So dark was it between the towering rockwalls that Alice could scarcely make out the cowboy's horse, althoughat no time was he more than ten or fifteen feet in advance. Afterinnumerable windings the fissure led once more to the face of themountain and Tex headed his horse out upon a ledge that had not beendiscernible from below. Alice gasped, and for a moment it seemed asthough she could not go on. Spread out before her like a huge reliefmap were the ridges and black coulees of the bad lands, and directlybelow--hundreds of feet below--the gigantic rock fragments lay strewnalong the base of the cliff like the abandoned blocks of a child. Sheclosed her eyes and shuddered. A loose piece of rock on the narrowtrail, a stumble, and--she could feel herself whirling down, down, down. It was the voice of the Texan--confident, firm, reassuring--thatbrought her once more to her senses. 

"It's all right. Just follow right along. Shut your eyes, or keep 'emto the wall. We're half-way up. It ain't so steep from here on, an'she widens toward the top. I'm dizzy-headed, too, in high places an' Ishut mine. Just give the horse a loose rein an' he'll keep the trail. There ain't nowhere else for him to go. "

With a deadly fear in her heart, the girl fastened her eyes upon thecowboy's back and gave her horse his head. And as she rode shewondered at this man who unhesitatingly risked his life upon the wordof a horse-thief. 

Almost before she realized it the ordeal was over and her horse wasfollowing its leader through a sparse grove of bull pine. The ascentwas still rather sharp, and the way strewn with boulders, and fallentrees, but the awful precipice, with its sheer drop of many hundreds offeet to the black rocks below, no longer yawned at her stirrup's edge, and it was with a deep-drawn breath of relief that she allowed her eyesonce again to travel out over the vast sweep of waste toward the westwhere the moon hung low and red above the distant rim of the bad lands. 

The summit of Antelope Butte was, as the horse-thief had said, an idealcamping place for any one who was "on the run. " The edges of thelittle plateau, which was roughly circular in form, rose on every sideto a height of thirty or forty feet, at some points in an easy slope, and at others in a sheer rise of rock wall. The surface of the littleplane showed no trace of the black of the lava rock of the lower levelsbut was of the character of the open bench and covered with buffalograss and bunch grass with here and there a sprinkling of pricklypears. The four dismounted and, in the last light of the moon, surveyed their surroundings. 

"You make camp, Bat, " ordered the Texan, "while me an' Win hunt up thespring. He said it was on the east side where there was a lot of looserock along the edge of the bull pine. We'll make the camp there, too, where the wood an' water will be handy. "

Skirting the plateau, Tex led the way toward a point where a fewstraggling pines showed gaunt and lean in the rapidly waning moonlight. 

"It ought to be somewheres around here, " he said, as he stopped toexamine the ground more closely. "He said you had to pile off therocks 'til you come to the water an' then mud up a catch-basin. " As hetalked, the cowboy groped among the loose rocks on his hands and knees, pausing frequently to lay his ear to the ground. "Here she is!" heexclaimed at length. "I can hear her drip! Come on, Win, we'll buildour well. "

Alice stood close beside her horse watching every move with intenseinterest. 

"Who would have thought to look for water there?" she exclaimed. 

"I knew we'd find it just as he said, " answered the Texan gravely. "Hewas a good man, in his way--never run off no horses except from outfitsthat could afford to lose 'em. Why, they say, he could have got plumbaway if he'd shot the posse man that run onto him over by the Mission. But he knew the man was a nester with a wife an' two kids, so he took achance--an' the nester got him. "

"How could he?" cried the girl, "after----"

The Texan regarded her gravely. "It was tough. An' he probably hatedto do it. But he was a sworn-in posse man, an' the other was ahorse-thief. It was just one of those things a man's got to do. LikeJim Larkin, when he was sheriff, havin' to shoot his own brother, an'him hardly more'n a kid that Jim had raised. But he'd gone plumb badan' swore never to be taken alive, so Jim killed him--an' then heresigned. There ain't a man that knows Jim, that don't know he'drather a thousan' times over had the killin' happen the other way'round. But he was a man. He had it to do--an' he done it. "

Alice shuddered: "And then--what became of him, then?"

"Why, then, he went back to ranchin'. He owns the Bar X horse outfitover on the White Mud. This here, Owen--that was his brother'sname--was just like a son to him. Jim tried to steer him straight, butthe kid was just naturally a bad egg. Feelin' it the way he does, alesser man might of squinted down the muzzle of his own gun, or gonethe whiskey route. But not him. To all appearances he's the same ashe always was. But some of us that know him best--we can see that heain't _quite_ the same as before--an' he never will be. "

There were tears in the girl's eyes as the man finished. 

"Oh, it's all wrong! It's cruel, and hard, and brutal, and wrong!"

"No. It ain't wrong. It's hard, an' it's cruel, maybe, an' brutal. But it's right. It ain't a country for weaklings--the cow countryain't. It's a country where, every now an' then, a man comes square upagainst something that he's got to do. An' that something is apt asnot to be just what he don't want to do. If he does it, he's a man, an' the cow country needs him. If he don't do it, he passes on towhere there's room for his kind--an' the cow country don't miss him. Aman earns his place here, it ain't made for him--often he earns thename by which he's called. I reckon it's the same all over--only thisis rawer. "

"Here's the water! And it is cold and sweet, " called Endicott who hadbeen busily removing the loose rock fragments beneath which the springlay concealed. 

The Texan's interest centred on matters at hand: "You Bat, you make afire when you've finished with the horses. " He turned again to thegirl: "If you'll be the cook, Win an' I'll mud up a catch-basin an'rustle some firewood while Bat makes camp. We got to do all ourcookin' at night up here. A fire won't show above the rim yonder, butin the daytime someone might see the smoke from ten mile off. "

"Of course, I'll do the cooking!" assented the girl, and began to carrythe camp utensils from the pack that the half-breed had thrown upon theground. "The dough-gods are all gone!" she exclaimed in dismay, peering into a canvas bag. 

"Mix up some bakin'-powder ones. There's flour an' stuff in that brownsack. "

"But--I don't know how!"

"All right. Wait 'til I get Win strung out on this job, an' I'll makeup a batch. "

He watched Endicott arrange some stones: "Hey, you got to fit thoserocks in better'n that. Mud ain't goin' to hold without a goodbackin'. "

The cowboy washed his hands in the overflow trickle and wiped them uponhis handkerchief. "I don't know what folks does all their lives backEast, " he grinned; "Win, there, ain't barbered none to speak of, an'the Lord knows he ain't no stone-mason. "

Alice did not return the smile, and the Texan noticed that her face wasgrave in the pale starlight. For the first time in her life the girlfelt ashamed of her own incompetence. 

"And I can't cook, and----"

"Well, that's so, " drawled Tex, "but it won't be so tomorrow. No onebut a fool would blame any one for not doin' a thing they've neverlearnt to do. They might wonder a little how-come they never learnt, but they wouldn't hold it against 'em--not 'til they've had thechance. " Bat was still busy with the horses and the cowboy collectedsticks and lighted a small fire, talking, as he worked with swiftmovements that accomplished much without the least show of haste. "Itgenerally don't take long in the cow country for folks to get theirchance. Take Win, there. Day before yesterday he was about thegreenest pilgrim that ever straddled a horse. Not only he didn't knowanything worth while knowin', but he was prejudiced. The first time Ilooked at him I sized him up--almost. 'There's a specimen, ' I says tomyself--while you an' Purdy was gossipin' about the handkerchief, an'the dance, an' what a beautiful rider he was--'that's gone on gatherin'refinement 'til it's crusted onto him so thick it's probably struckthrough. ' But just as I was losin' interest in him, he slanted aglance at Purdy that made me look him over again. There he stood, justthe same as before--only different. " The Texan poured some flour intoa pan and threw in a couple of liberal pinches of baking-powder. 

Alice's eyes followed his every movement, and she glanced toward thespring that Endicott had churned into a mud hole. The cowboy noted herglance. "It would be riled too much even if we strained it, " hesmiled, "so we'll just use what's left in that flask. It don't takemuch water an' the spring will clear in time for the coffee. "

"And some people never do learn?" Alice wanted to hear more from thisman's lips concerning the pilgrim. But the Texan mustn't know that shewanted to hear. 

"Yes, some don't learn, some only half learn, an' some learn in a waythat carries 'em along 'til it comes to a pinch--they're the worst. But, speakin' of Win, after I caught that look, the only surprise I gotwhen I heard he'd killed Purdy was that he _could_ do it--not that he_would_. Then later, under certain circumstances that come to pass ina coulee where there was cottonwoods, him an' I got better acquaintedyet. An' then in the matter of the reservoir--but you know more aboutthat than I do. You see what I'm gettin' at is this: Win can saddlehis own horse, now, an' he climbs onto him from the left side. Thenext time he tackles it he'll shave, an' the next time he muds up acatch-basin he'll mud it right. Day before yesterday he was about asuseless a lookin' piece of bric-a-brac as ever draw'd breath--an' lookat him now! There ain't been any real change. The man was there allthe time, only he was so well disguised that no one ever know'dit--himself least of all. Yesterday I saw him take a chew off Bat'splug--an' Bat don't offer his plug promiscuous. He'll go back East, an' the refinement will cover him up again--an' that's a damned shame. But he won't be just the same. It won't crust over no more, becausethe prejudice is gone. He's chewed the meat of the cow country--an'he's found it good. "

Later, long after the others had gone to sleep, Alice lay between herblankets in the little shelter tent, thinking. 

CHAPTER XV

THE TEXAN HEARS SOME NEWS

Bat had pitched the tent upon a little knoll, screened by a juttingshoulder of rock from the sleeping place of the others. When Aliceawoke it was broad daylight. She lay for a few moments enjoying thedelicious luxury of her blankets which the half-breed had spread upon afoot-thick layer of boughs. The sun beat down upon the white canvasand she realized that it was hot in the tent. The others must havebeen up for hours and she resented their not having awakened her. Shelistened for sounds, but outside all was silence and she dressedhurriedly. Stepping from the tent, she saw the dead ashes of thelittle fire and the contents of the packs apparently undisturbed, covered with the tarp. She glanced at her watch. It was half pastnine. Suddenly she remembered that dawn had already began to grey theeast when they retired. She was the first one up! She would let theothers sleep. They needed it. She remembered the Texan had not sleptthe day before, but had ridden away to return later with the clothingfor Endicott--and the whiskey. 

"I don't see why he has to drink!" she muttered, and making her way tothe spring, dipped some water from the catch-basin and splashed it overher face and arms. The cold water dispelled the last vestige ofsleepiness and she stood erect and breathed deeply of the crystal air. At the farther side of the bowl-like plateau the horses grazedcontentedly, and a tiny black and white woodpecker flew from tree totree pecking busily at the bark. Above the edge of the rim-rocks thehigh-flung peaks of the Bear Paws belied the half-night's ride thatseparated them from the isolated Antelope Butte. 

"What a view one should get from the edge!" she exclaimed, and turningfrom the spring, made her way through the scraggly timber to the rockwall beyond. It was not a long climb and five minutes later she stoodpanting with exertion and leaned against an upstanding pinnacle ofjagged rock. For a long time she stood wonder-bound by the mightygrandeur of the panorama that swept before her to lose itself somewhereupon the dim horizon. Her brain grasped for details. It was all toobig--too unreal--too unlike the world she had known. In sheerdesperation, for sight of some familiar thing, her eyes turned towardthe camp. There was the little white tent, and the horses grazingbeyond. Her elevation carried her range of vision over the juttingshoulder of rock, and she saw the Texan sitting beside his blanketsdrawing on his boots. The blankets were mounded over the forms of theothers, and without disturbing them, the cowboy put on his hat andstarted toward the spring. At the sight of the little tent he pausedand Alice saw him stand staring at the little patch of white canvas. For a long time he stood unmoving, and then, impulsively, his two armsstretched toward it. The arms were as quickly withdrawn. The Stetsonwas lifted from his head and once more it seemed a long time that hestood looking at the little tent with the soft brim of his Stetsoncrushed tightly in his hand. 

Evidently, for fear of waking her, the man did not go to the spring, but retraced his steps and Alice saw him stoop and withdraw somethingfrom his war-bag. Thrusting the object beneath his shirt, he roseslowly and made his way toward the rim-rock, choosing for his ascent asteep incline which, with the aid of some rock ledges, would bring himto the top at a point not ten yards from where she stood. 

It was with a sense of guilt that she realized she had spied upon thisman, and her cheeks flushed as she cast about desperately for a meansto escape unseen. But no such avenue presented itself, and she drewback into a deep crevice of her rock pinnacle lest he see her. 

A grubby, stunted pine somehow managed to gain sustenance from thestray earth among the rock cracks and screened her hiding-place. Theman was very close, now. She could hear his heavy breathing and theclick of his boot heels upon the bare rocks. Then he crossed to thevery verge of the precipice and seated himself with his feet hangingover the edge. For some moments he sat gazing out over the bad lands, and then his hand slipped into the front of his shirt and withdrew abottle of whiskey. 

The girl's lips tightened as she watched him from behind her screen ofnaked roots and branches. He looked a long time at the bottle, shookit, and held it to the sun as he contemplated the little beads thatsparkled at the edge of the liquor line. He read its label, and seemeddeeply interested in the lines of fine print contained upon an ovalsticker that adorned its back. Still holding the bottle, he once morestared out over the bad lands. Then he drew the cork and smelled ofthe liquor, breathing deeply of its fragrance, and turning, gazedintently toward the little white tent beside the stunted pines. 

Alice saw that his eyes were serious as he set the bottle upon the rockbeside him. And then, hardly discernible at first, but graduallyassuming distinct form, a whimsical smile curved his lips as he lookedat the bottle. 

"Gosh!" he breathed, softly, "ain't you an' I had some nonsensicaltimes? I ain't a damned bit sorry, neither. But our trails fork here. Maybe for a while--maybe for ever. But if it is for ever, my averagewill be right honourable if I live to be a hundred. " Alice noticed howboyish the clean-cut features looked when he smiled that way. Theother smile--the masking, cynical smile--made him ten years older. Theface was once more grave, and he raised the bottle from the rock. "Solong, " he said, and there was just that touch of honest regret in hisvoice with which he would have parted from a friend. "So long. I'vegot a choice to make--an' I don't choose you. "

The hand that held the bottle was empty. There was a moment of silenceand then from far below came the tinkle of smashing glass. The Texangot up, adjusted the silk scarf at his neck, rolled a cigarette, andclambering down the sharp descent, made his way toward the grazinghorses. Alice watched for a moment as he walked up to his own horse, stroked his neck, and lightly cuffed at the ears which the horse laidback as he playfully snapped at his master's hand. Then she scrambledfrom her hiding-place and hurried unobserved to her tent, where shethrew herself upon the blankets with a sound that was somehow very likea sob. 

When the breakfast of cold coffee and biscuits was finished the Texanwatched Endicott's clumsy efforts to roll a cigarette. 

"Better get you a piece of twine to do it with, Win, " he grinned; "yousure are a long ways from home when it comes to braidin' a smoke. Sawa cow-hand do it once with one hand. In a show, it was in Cheyenne, an' he sure was some cowboy--in the show. Come out onto the flats oneday where the boys was breakin' a bunch of Big O Little Ohorses--'after local colour, ' he said. " The Texan paused and grinnedbroadly. "Got it too. He clum up into the middle of a wall-eyedbuckskin an' the doc picked local colour out of his face for two hourswhere he'd slid along on it--but he could roll a cigarette with onehand. There, you got one at last, didn't you? Kind of humped up inthe middle like a snake that's swallowed a frog, but she draws allright, an' maybe it'll last longer than a regular one. " He turned toAlice who had watched the operation with interest. 

"If you-all don't mind a little rough climbin', I reckon, you'd countthe view from the rim-rocks yonder worth seein'. "

"Oh, I'd love it!" cried the girl, as she scrambled to her feet. 

"Come on, Win, " called the Texan, "I'll show you where God dumped thetailin's when He finished buildin' the world. "

Together the three scaled the steep rock-wall. Alice, scorningassistance, was the first to reach the top, and once more the splendourof the magnificent waste held her speechless. 

For some moments they gazed in silence. Before them, bathed in a paleamethyst haze that thickened to purple at the far-off edge of theworld, lay the bad lands resplendent under the hot glare of the sun invivid red and black and pink colouring of the lava rock. Everywherethe eye met the flash and shimmer of mica fragments that sparkled likethe facets of a million diamonds, while to the northward the Bear Pawsreared cool and green, with the grass of the higher levels reachingalmost to the timber line. 

"Isn't it wonderful?" breathed the girl. "Why do people stay cooped upin the cities, when out here there is--this?" Endicott's eyes methers, and in their depths she perceived a newly awakened fire. She wasconscious of a strange glow at her heart--a mighty gladness welled upwithin her, permeating her whole being. "He has awakened, " her brainrepeated over and over again, "he has----"

The voice of the Texan fell upon her ears softly as from a distance, and she turned her eyes to the boyish faced cow-puncher who viewed lifelightly and who, she had learned, was the thorough master of hiswilderness, and very much a man. 

"I love it too, " he was saying. "This bad land best of all. What withthe sheep, an' the nesters, the range country must go. But barbed-wirecan never change this, " his arm swept the vast plain before him. "Isuppose God foreseen what the country was comin' to, " he speculated, "an' just naturally stuck up His 'keep off' sign on places here an'there--the Sahara Desert, an' Death Valley, an' the bad lands. Hewanted somethin' left like He made it. Yonder's the Little Rockies, an' them big black buttes to the south are the Judith, an' you cansee--way beyond the Judith--if you look close--the Big Snowy Mountains. They're more than a hundred miles away. "

The cowboy ceased speaking suddenly. And Alice, following his gaze, made out far to the north-eastward a moving speck. The Texan crouchedand motioned the others into the shelter of a rock. "Wish I had a pairof glasses, " he muttered, with his eyes on the moving dot. 

"What is it?" asked the girl. 

"Rider of some kind. Maybe the I X round-up is workin' the southslope. An' maybe it's just a horse-thief. But it mightn't be either. Guess I'll just throw the hull on that cayuse of mine an' siyou downand see. He's five or six miles off yet, an' I've got plenty of timeto slip down there. Glad the trail's on the west side. You two stayup here, but you got to be awful careful not to show yourselves. Folksdown below look awful little from here, but if they've got glassesyou'd loom up plenty big, an' posse men's apt to pack glasses. " Thetwo followed him to camp and a few moments later watched him ride offat a gallop and disappear in the scrub that concealed the mouth of theprecipitous trail. 

Hardly had he passed from sight than Bat rose and, walking to hissaddle, uncoiled his rope. 

"Where are you going?" asked Endicott as the half-breed started towardthe horses. 

"Me, oh, A'm trail long behine. Mebbe-so two kin see better'n wan. "

A few minutes later he too was swallowed up in the timber at the headof the trail, and Alice and Endicott returned to the rim-rocks and froma place of concealment watched with breathless interest the course ofthe lone horseman. 

After satisfying himself he was unobserved, the Texan pushed from theshelter of the rocks at the foot of the trail and, circling the butte, struck into a coulee that led south-eastward into the bad lands. Amile away he crossed a ridge and gained another coulee which hefollowed northward. 

"If he's headin' into the bad lands I'll meet up with him, an' if he'sjust skirtin' 'em, our trails'll cross up here a piece, " he reasoned ashis horse carried him up the dry ravine at a steady walk. Presently heslanted into a steep side coulee that led upward to the crest of a longflat ridge. For a moment he paused as his eyes swept the landscape andthen suddenly a quarter of a mile away a horseman appeared out ofanother coulee. He, too, paused and, catching sight of the Texan, dugin his spurs and came toward him at a run. 

The cowboy's brows drew into a puzzled frown as he studied the rapidlyapproaching horseman. "Well, I'll be damned!" he grinned, "ain't hethe friendly young spirit! His ma had ought to look after him better'nthat an' teach him some manners. The idea of any one chargin' up to astranger that way in the bad lands! One of these days he's a-goin' torun up again' an abrupt foreshortin' of his reckless young career. "The rider was close now and the Texan recognized a self-important youngjackass who had found work with one of the smaller outfits. 

"It's that mouthy young short-horn from the K 2, " he muttered, disgustedly. "Well, he'll sure cut loose an' earful of small talk. Hehates himself, like a peacock. " The cowboy pulled up his horse with avicious jerk that pinked the foam at the animal's mouth and caused alittle cloud of dust to rise into the air. Then, for a moment, he satand stared. 

"If you was in such a hell of a hurry, " drawled the Texan, "you couldof rode around me. There's room on either side. "

The cowboy found his voice. "Well, by gosh, if it ain't Tex! How theystackin', old hand?"

"Howdy, " replied the Texan, dryly. 

"You take my advice an' lay low here in the bad lands an' they won'tketch you. I said it right in the Long Horn yeste'day mornin'--theywas a bunch of us lappin' 'em up. Old Pete was there--an' I says toPete, I says, 'Take it from me they might ketch all the rest of 'em butthey won't never ketch Tex!' An' Pete, he says, 'You're just rightthere, Joe, ' an' then he takes me off to one side, old Pete does, an'he says, 'Joe, ' he says, 'I've got a ticklish job to be done, an' Iain't got another man I kin bank on puttin' it through. '"

The Texan happened to know that Mr. Peter G. Kester, owner of the K 2, was a very dignified old gentleman who left the details of his ranchentirely in the hands of his foreman, and the idea of his drinking inthe Long Horn with his cowboys was as unique as was hearing himreferred to as "Old Pete. "

"What's ailin' him?" asked the Texan. "Did he lose a hen, or is hefixin' to steal someone's mewl?"

"It's them Bar A saddle horses, " continued the cowboy, without noticingthe interruption. "He buys a string of twenty three-year-olds offenthe Bar A an' they broke out of the pasture. They range over here onthe south slope, an' if them horse-thieves down in the bad lands hasgot 'em they're a-goin' to think twict before they run off any more K 2horses, as long as I'm workin' fer the outfit. "

"Are you aimin' to drive twenty head of horses off their own rangesingle handed?"

"Sure. You can do it easy if you savvy horses. "

The Texan refrained from comment. He wanted to know who was supposedto be interested in catching him, and why. Had someone told the truthabout the lynching, and was he really wanted for aiding and abettingthe pilgrim's escape?

"I reckon that's true, " he opined. "They can't get me here in the badlands. "

The other laughed: "You bet they can't! Say, that was some ride youput up down to Wolf River. None of us could have done better. "

"Did you say they was headin' this way?"

"Who?"

"Who would I be thinkin' about now, I wonder?"

"Oh! Naw! They ain't ready to make any arrests yet. The grand juryset special an' returned a lot of indictments an' you're one of 'em, but the districk attorney, he claims he can't go ahead until he digs upthe cripus delinkty----"

"The what?"

"Oh, that's a nickname the lawyers has got fer a pilgrim. "

"Wasn't one stranglin' enough for spreadin' out Purdy? What do theywant of the pilgrim?"

"Spreadin' out Purdy!" exclaimed the other, "don't you know that Purdydidn't stay spread? Wasn't hardly hurt even. The pilgrim's bulletjust barely creased him, an' when Sam Moore went back with a springwagon to fetch his remains, Purdy riz up an' started cussin' him outan' scairt Sam so his team run away an' he lost his voice an' ain'tspoke out loud since--an' them's only one of the things he done. So, you see, you done your lynching too previous, an' folks is all stirredup about it, holdin' that lawless acts has got to be put a stop to inChoteau County, an' a pilgrim has got as good a right to live as thenext one. They're holdin' that even if he had got Purdy it would ofbe'n a damn good thing, an' they wasn't no call to stretch a man forthat. So the grand jury set, an' the districk attorney has got a gangof men diggin' up all the coulees for miles around, a-huntin' for thepilgrim's cripus delinkty so he kin go ahead with his arrests. "

The eyes of the Texan were fixed on the mountains. He appeared notinterested. Twenty feet away in a deep crevice at the edge of thecoulee, Bat Lajune, who had overheard every word, was convulsed withsilent mirth. 

"You say they've dug up all the coulees? Red Rock an'--an' all, Buffalo, Six-mile, Woodpile, Miller's?" The Texan shot out the nameswith all appearance of nervous haste, but his eye was sombre as beforeas he noted the gleam of quick intelligence that flashed into thecowboy's eyes. "You're sure they dug up Buffalo?" he pressed shrewdly. 

"Yes, I think they finished there. "

The Texan gave a visible sigh of relief. "Say, " he asked, presently, "do you know if they're fordin' at Cow Island this year?"

"Yes, the Two Bar reps come by that way. "

"I'm right obliged to you. I reckon I'll head north, though. Canadalooks good to me 'til this here wave of virtue blows over. So long. "

"So long, Tex. An', say, there's some of us friends of yourn that'sgoin' to see what we kin do about gettin' them indictments squashed. We don't want to see you boys doin' time fer stretchin' no pilgrim. "

"You won't, " answered the Texan. "Toddle along now an' hunt up Mr. Kester's horses. I want room to think. " He permitted himself a broadsmile as the other rode at a gallop toward the mountains, then turnedhis horse into the coulee he had just left and allowed him his own pace. 

"So Purdy ain't dead, " he muttered, "or was that damned fool lyin'? Ireckon he wasn't lyin' about that, an' the grand jury, an' the districtattorney. " Again he smiled. "Let's see how I stack up, now: In thefirst place, Win ain't on the run, an' I am--or I'm supposed to be. But, as long as they don't dig Win up out of the bottom of some coulee, I'm at large for want of a party of the first part to the allegedfelonious snuffin'-out. Gosh, I bet the boys are havin' fun watchin'that diggin'. If I was there I'd put in my nights makin' fresh-dugspots, an' my days watchin' 'em prospect 'em. " Then his thoughtsturned to the girl, and for miles he rode unheeding. The sun had swungwell to the westward before the cowboy took notice of his surroundings. Antelope Butte lay ten or twelve miles away and he headed for it with alaugh. "You must have thought I sure enough was headin' for Cow IslandCrossing didn't you, you old dogie chaser?" He touched his horselightly with his spurs and the animal struck into a long swinging trot. 

"This here's a mixed-up play all around, " he muttered. "Win's worryin'about killin' Purdy--says it's got under his hide 'til he thinks aboutit nights. It ain't so much bein' on the run that bothers him as it isthe fact that he's killed a man. " He smiled to himself: "A littleworryin' won't hurt him none. Any one that would worry over shootin' apup like Purdy ought to worry--whether he done it or not. Then, there's me. I start out with designs as evil an' triflin' asPurdy's--only I ain't a brute--an' I winds up by lovin' her. Yes--that's the word. There ain't no mortal use beatin' around thebush to fool myself. Spite of silk stockin's she's good clean through. I reckon, maybe, they're wore more promiscuous in the East. That EagleCreek Ranch, if them corrals was fixed up a little an' them old cattlesheds tore down, an' the ditches gone over, it would be a good outfit. If it was taken hold of right, there wouldn't be a better propositionon the South Slope. " Gloom settled upon the cowboy's face: "Butthere's Win. I started out to show him up. " He smiled grimly. "Well, I did. Only not just exactly as I allowed to. Lookin' over theback-trail, I reckon, when us four took to the brush there wasn't onlyone damned skunk in the crowd--an' that was me. It's funny a man canbe that ornery an' never notice it. But, I bet Bat knew. He's puregold, Bat is. He's about as prepossessin' to look at as an old gumboot, but his heart's all there--an' you bet, Bat, he knows. "

It was within a quarter of a mile of Antelope Butte that the Texan, riding along the bottom of a wide coulee met another horseman. Thistime there was no spurring toward him, and he noticed that the man'shand rested near his right hip. He shifted his own gun arm andcontinued on his course without apparently noticing the other whoapproached in the same manner. 

Suddenly he laughed: "Hello, Curt!"

"Well, I'm damned if it ain't Tex! Thought maybe I was going to getthe high-sign. "

"Same here. " Both men relaxed from their attitude of alertness, andCurt leaned closer. 

"They ain't dug him up yet, " he said, "but they sure are slingin'gravel. I hope to God they don't. "

"They won't. "

"Anything I can do?"

The Texan shook his head: "Nothin', thanks. "

"Hot as hell fer June, ain't it. "

"Yes; who you ridin' for?"

"K 2. "

"K 2! Mister Kester moved his outfit over to the south slope?"

"Naw. I'm huntin' a couple of old brood mares Mister Kester boughtoffen the Bar A. They strayed away about a week ago. "

"Alone?"

"Might better be, " replied the cowboy in tones of disgust. "I've gotthat damned fool, Joe Ainslee, along--or ruther I had him. BobBrumley's foreman of the K 2, now, an' he hired the Wind Bag in amoment of mental abortion, as the fellow says, an' he don't dast firehim for fear he'll starve to death. They wouldn't no other outfit havehim around. An' I'm thinkin' he'll be damn lucky if he lives longenough to starve to death. Bob sent him along with me--said he'd doless harm than with the round-up, an' would be safer--me bein' amiableenough not to kill him offhand. "

"Ain't you found your mares?"

Curt snorted: "Yes. Found 'em couple hours ago. An' now I've lost theWind Bag. Them mares was grazin' right plumb in plain sight of whereI'd sent him circlin', an' doggone if he not only couldn't find 'em, but he's lost hisself. An' if he don't show up pretty damn _pronto_ hekin stay lost--an' the K 2 will win, at that. "

The Texan grinned: "Go get your mares, Curt. The short-horn hasstampeded. I shouldn't wonder if he's a-foggin' it through themountains right now to get himself plumb famous for tippin' off thedistrict attorney where to do his minin'. "

"You seen him!"

"Yes, we had quite a little pow-wow. "

"You sure didn't let him git holt of nothin'!"

"Yes. He's about to bust with the information he gathered. An' say, he might of seen them mares an' passed 'em up. He ain't huntin' nobrood mares, he's after twenty head of young saddle stock--forgot tomention there was any one with him. Said it was easy to runthree-year-olds off their own range single handed if you savviedhorses. Called Mister Kester 'Old Pete' an' told of an orgy they hadmutual in the Long Horn. "

Curt burst out laughing: "Can you beat it?"

"I suppose they'll have Red Rock Coulee all mussed up, " reflected theTexan, with a grin. 

"You wait 'til I tell the boys. "

"Don't you. They'd hurt him. He's a-whirlin' a bigger loop than hecan throw, the way it is. "

Curt fumbled in his slicker and produced a flask which he tendered. 

Tex shook his head: "No thanks, I ain't drinkin'. "

"You ain't _what_?"

"No, I'm off of it"; he dismounted and tightened his cinch, and theother followed his example. 

"Off of it! You ain't sick, or nothin'?"

"No. Can't a man----?"

"Oh, sure, he could, but he wouldn't, onless--you got your camp nearhere?"

Tex was aware the other was eyeing him closely. 

"Tolerable. "

"Let's go camp then. I left my pack horse hobbled way up on LastWater. "

The Texan was thinking rapidly. Curt was a friend of long standing anddesired to share his camp, which is the way of the cow country. Yet, manifestly this was impossible. There was only one way out and thatwas to give offence. 

"No. I'm campin' alone these days. "

A slow red mounted to the other's face and his voice sounded a triflehard: "Come on up to mine, then. It ain't so far. "

"I said I was campin' alone. "

The red was very apparent now, and the other took a step forward, andhis words came slowly:

"Peck Maguire told me, an' I shut his dirty mouth for him. But now Iknow it's true. You're ridin' with the pilgrim's girl. "

At the inference the Texan whitened to the eyes. "_You're a damnedliar_!" The words came evenly but with a peculiar venom. 

Curt half drew his gun. Then jammed it back in the holster. "Notbetween friends, " he said shortly, "but jest the same you're goin' toeat them words. It ain't a trick I'd think of you--to run off with aman's woman after killin' him. If he was alive it would be different. I'd ort to shoot it out with you, I suppose, but I can't quite forgetthat time in Zortman when you----"

"Don't let that bother you, " broke in the Texan with the same evennessof tone. "_You're a damned liar_!"

With a bound the man was upon him and Tex saw a blinding flash oflight, and the next moment he was scrambling from the ground. Afterthat the fight waxed fast and furious, each man giving and receivingblows that landed with a force that jarred and rocked. Then, the Texanlanded heavily upon the point of his opponent's chin and the lattersank limp to the floor of the coulee. For a full minute Tex stoodlooking down at his victim. 

"Curt can scrap like the devil. I'm sure glad he didn't force no gunplay, I'd have hated to hurt him. " He recovered the flask from theground where the other had dropped it, and forced some whiskey betweenhis lips. Presently the man opened his eyes. 

"Feelin' better?" asked the Texan as Curt blinked up at him. 

"Um-hum. My head aches some. "

"Mine, too. "

"You got a couple of black eyes, an' your lip is swol up. "

"One of yours is turnin' black. "

Curt regained his feet and walked slowly toward his horse. "Well, I'llbe goin'. So long. "

"So long, " answered the Texan. He, too, swung into the saddle and eachrode upon his way. 

CHAPTER XVI

BACK IN CAMP

From their place of concealment high upon the edge of Antelope Butte, Alice Marcum and Endicott watched the movements of the three horsemenwith absorbing interest. They saw the Texan circle to thesouth-eastward and swing north to intercept the trail of the unknownrider. They watched Bat, with Indian cunning, creep to his place ofconcealment at the edge of the coulee. They saw the riders disperse, the unknown to head toward the mountains at a gallop, and the Texan toturn his horse southward and ride slowly into the bad lands. And theywatched Bat recover his own horse from behind a rock pinnacle andfollow the Texan, always keeping out of sight in parallel coulees untilboth were swallowed up in the amethyst haze of the bad lands. 

For an hour they remained in their lookout, pointing out to each othersome new wonder of the landscape--a wind-carved pinnacle, theheliographic flashing of the mica, or some new combination in theever-changing splendour of colours. 

"Whew! But it's hot, and I'm thirsty. And besides it's lunch time. "Alice rose, and with Endicott following, made her way to the camp. 

"Isn't it wonderful?" she breathed, as they ate their luncheon. "Thislife in the open--the pure clean air--the magnificent world all spreadout before you, beckoning you on, and on, and on. It makes a personstrong with just the feel of living--the joy of it. Just think, Winthrop, of being able to eat left-over biscuits and cold bacon andenjoy it!"

Endicott smiled: "Haven't I improved enough, yet, for 'Win'?--Texthinks so. "

The girl regarded him critically. "I have a great deal of respect forTex's judgment, " she smiled. 

"Then, dear, I am going to ask you again, the question I have asked youtimes out of number: Will you marry me?"

"Don't spoil it all, now, please. I am enjoying it so. Enjoying beinghere with just you and the big West. Oh, this is the real West--theWest of which I've dreamed!"

Endicott nodded: "Yes, this is the West. You were right, Alice. California is no more the West than New York is. "

"Don't you love it?" The girl's eyes were shining with enthusiasm. 

"Yes. I love it, " he answered, and she noticed that his face was verygrave. "There must be something--some slumbering ego in every man thatawakens at the voice of the wild places. Our complex system ofcivilization seems to me, as I sit here now, a little thing--a thing, somehow, remote--unnecessary, and very undesirable. "

"Brooklyn seems very far away, " murmured the girl. 

"And Cincinnati--but not far enough away. We know they are real--thatthey actually exist. " Endicott rose and paced back and forth. Suddenly he stopped before the girl. "Marry me, Alice, and I'll buy aranch and we will live out here, and for us Brooklyn and Cincinnatineed never exist. I do love it all, but I love you a thousand timesmore. "

To Endicott's surprise the girl's eyes dropped before his gaze andrested for a long time upon the grazing horses--then abruptly sheburied her face in her arms. The man had half expected a return to thelight half-mocking raillery that had been her staunchest weapon, butthere was nothing even remotely suggestive of raillery in the figurethat huddled at his feet. Suddenly, his face became very grave:"Alice, " he cried, bending over her, "is it because my hands are red?Because I have taken a human life, and am flying from the hand of thelaw like a common murderer?"

"No, no, no! Not that? I----"

Swiftly he gathered her into his arms, but she freed herself and shookher head in protest. "Don't please, " she pleaded softly. "Oh, I--Ican't choose. "

"Choose!" cried Endicott. "Then there is--someone else? You havefound--" he stopped abruptly and drew a long breath. "I see, " he said, gently, "I think I understand. "

The unexpected gentleness of the voice caused the girl to raise herhead. Endicott stood as he had stood a moment before, but his gaze wasupon the far mountains. The girl's eyes were wet with tears: "Yes, I--he loves me--and he asked me to marry him. He said I would marryeither you or him, and he would wait for me to decide--until I wassure. " Her voice steadied, and Endicott noticed that it held a traceof defensive. "He's a dear, and--I know--way down in his heart he'sgood--he's----"

Endicott smiled: "Yes, little girl, he is good. He's a man--every inchof him. And he's a man among men. He's honest and open hearted andhuman. There is not a mean hair in his head. And he stands a greatdeal nearer the top of his profession than I do to the top of mine. Ihave been a fool, Alice. I can see now what a complacent fool and acad I must have been--when I could look at these men and see nothingbut uncouthness. But, thank God, men can change----"

Impulsively the girl reached for his hand: "No, " she murmured, remembering the words of the Texan, "no, the man was there all thetime. The real man that is _you_ was concealed by the unreal man thatis superficiality. "

"Thank you, Alice, " he said gravely. "And for your sake--and I say itan all sincerity--let the best man win!"

The girl smiled up into his face: "And in all sincerity I will say thatin all your life you have never seemed so--so marryable as you do rightnow. "

While Endicott cut a supply of fire-wood and tinkered about the spring, the girl made a complete circuit of the little plateau, and as theshadows began to lengthen they once more climbed to their lookoutstation. For an hour the vast corrugated plane before them showed nosign of life. Suddenly the girl's fingers clutched Endicott's arm andshe pointed to a lone horseman who rode from the north. 

"I wonder if he's the same one we saw before--the one who rode away sofast?"

"Not unless he has changed horses, " answered Endicott. "The other rodea grey. "

The man swung from his horse and seemed to be minutely studying theground. Then he mounted and headed down the coulee at a trot. 

"Look! There is Tex!" cried Endicott, and he pointed farther down thesame coulee. A sharp bend prevented either rider from noticing theapproach of the other. 

"Oh, I wonder who it is, and what will happen when they see eachother?" cried the girl. "Look! There is Bat. Near the top of thatridge. He's cutting across so he'll be right above them when theymeet. " She was leaning forward watching: breathlessly the movements ofthe three horsemen. "It is unreal. Just like some great spectacularplay. You see the actors moving through their parts and you wonderwhat is going to happen next and how it is all going to work out. "

"There! They see each other!" Endicott exclaimed. Each horsemanpulled up, hesitated a moment, and rode on. Distance veiled from theeager onlookers the significant detail of the shifted gun arms. But nosuch preclusion obstructed Bat's vision as he lay flattened upon therim of the coulee with the barrel of his six-gun resting upon the edgeof a rock, and its sights lined low upon the stranger's armpit. 

"They've dismounted, " observed Alice, "I believe Tex is going tounsaddle. "

"Tightening his cinch, " ventured Endicott, and was interrupted by a cryfrom the lips of the girl. 

"Look! The other! He's going to shoot---- Why, they're fighting!"Fighting they certainly were, and Endicott stared in surprise as he sawthe Texan knocked down and then spring to his feet and attack hisassailant with a vigour that rendered impossible any further attempt tofollow the progress of the combat. 

"Why doesn't Bat shoot, or go down there and help him?" cried the girl, as with clenched fists she strained her eyes in a vain effort to seewho was proving the victor. 

"This does not seem to be a shooting affair, " Endicott answered, "andit is my own private opinion that Tex is abundantly able to take careof himself. Ah--he got him that time! He's down for the count! Goodwork, Tex, old man! A good clean knockout!"

The two watched as the men mounted and rode their several ways--thestranger swinging northward toward the mountains, and the Texanfollowing along the south face of the butte. 

"Some nice little meetings they have out here, " grinned Endicott. "Iwonder if the vanquished one was a horse-thief or just an ordinaryfriend. "

Alice returned the smile: "You used to rather go in for boxing incollege, didn't you?"

"Oh, yes. I can hold my own when it comes to fists----

"And--you can shoot. "

The man shook his head: "Do you know that was the first time I everfired a pistol in my life. I don't like to think about it. And yet--Iam always thinking about it! I have killed a man--have taken a humanlife. I did it without malice--without forethought. All I knew wasthat you were in danger, then I saw him fling you from him--the pistolwas in my hand, and I fired. "

"You need have no regrets, " answered the girl, quickly. "It was hislife or both of ours--worse than that--a thousand times worse. "

Endicott was silent as the two turned toward the plateau. "Why, there's Bat's horse, trotting over to join the others, and unsaddled, too, " cried Alice. "He has beaten Tex to camp. Bat is a dear, and hejust adores the ground Tex walks on, or 'rides on' would be moreappropriate, for I don't think he ever walked more than a hundred feetin his life. "

Sure enough, when they reached camp there sat the half-breed placidlymending a blanket, with the bored air of one upon whom time hangsheavily. He looked up as Endicott greeted him. 

"Mebbe-so dat better you don' say nuttin' 'bout A'm gon' 'way fromhere, " he grinned. "Tex she com' 'long pret' queek, now. Mebbe-so het'ink dat better A'm stay roun' de camp. But _Voila_! How A'm know heain' gon for git hurt?"

"But he did--" Alice paused abruptly with the sentences unfinished, for the sound of galloping hoofs reached her ears and she looked up tosee the Texan swing from his horse, strip off the saddle and bridle andturn the animal loose. 

"Oh, " she cried, as the man joined them after spreading his saddleblanket to dry. "Your eyes are swollen almost shut and your lip isbleeding!"

"Yes, " answered the cowboy with a contortion of the stiff, swollen lipthat passed for a smile. "I rounded the bend in a coulee down yonderan' run plumb against a hard projection. "

"They certainly are hard--I have run against those projections myself, "grinned Endicott. "You see, we had what you might call ringside seats, and I noticed that it didn't take you very long to come back with somemighty stiff projecting yourself. "

"Yes. Him pastin' me between the eyes that way, I took as anonfriendly act, an' one I resented. "

"That wallop you landed on his chin was a beautiful piece of work. "

"Yes, quite comely. " The cowboy wriggled his fingers painfully. "Butthese long-horns that's raised on salt-horse an' rawhide, maintains ajaw on 'em that makes iron an' granite seem right mushy. I didn'tfigure I'd recount the disturbance, aimin' to pass it off casualregardin' the disfigurin' of my profile. But if you-all witnessed thedebate, I might as well go ahead an' oncork the details. In the firstplace, this warrior is a deputy that's out after Win. "

The Texan glanced sharply at Bat who became suddenly seized with a fitof coughing, but the face of the half-breed was impassive--even sombreas he worked at the blanket. "It's all owin' to politics, " continuedthe cowpuncher, rolling and lighting a cigarette. "Politics, an' thefact that the cow country is in its dotage. Choteau County is growin'effeminate, not to say right down effete when a lynchin', that byrights it would be stretching its importance even to refer to it inconversation, is raised to the dignity of a political issue. Aseveryone knows, a hangin' is always a popular play, riddin' thecommunity of an ondesirable, an' at the same time bein' a warnin' toothers to polish up their rectitude. But it seems, from what I wasable to glean, that this particular hangin' didn't win universalacclaim, owin' to the massacre of Purdy not bein' deplored none. "

Once more the half-breed emitted a strangling cough, and Tex eyed himnarrowly. "Somethin' seems to ail your throat. "

"_Oui_, A'm swal' de piece tabac'. "

"Well just hang onto it 'til it gets a little darker an' we'll havesupper, " said the Texan, dryly, and resumed. 

"So there was some talk disparagin' to the lynchin', an' the partythat's in, holdin' its tenure by the skin of its teeth, an' electioncomin' on, sided in with public opinion an' frowned on the lynchin', not as a hangin', you onderstand, but because the hangin' didn'tredound none to their particular credit--it not being legal an'regular. All this is brewed while the dance is goin' on, an' bybreakfast time next mornin', there bein' a full quorum of Republicanwar chiefs on hand, they pulls a pow-wow an' instructs their deputiesto round up the lynchers. This is done, barrin' a few that's flitted, the boys bein' caught unawares. Well, things begun lookin' serious to'em, an' as a last resort they decided to fall back on the truth. Sothey admits that there ain't no lynchin'. They tells how, after they'dgot out on the bench a piece they got to thinkin' that the demise ofPurdy ain't a serious matter, nohow, so they turned him loose. 'Whereis he, then?' says a county commissioner. 'Search us, ' replies theculprits. 'We just turned him loose an' told him to _vamoose_. Wedidn't stick around an' herd him!'" Again Bat coughed, and the Texanglared at him. 

"Maybe a drink of water would help them lacerated pipes of yourn, " hesuggested, "an' besides it's dark enough so you can start suppera-goin'. "

"But, " said Endicott, "won't that get the boys all into serious troublefor aiding and abetting a prisoner to escape? Accessories after thefact, is what the law calls them. "

"Oh Lord, " groaned the Texan inwardly. "If I can steer through allthis without ridin' into my own loop, I'll be some liar. This on topof what I told 'em in Wolf River, an' since, an' about Purdy'sfuneral--I dastn't bog down, now!"

"No, " he answered, as he lighted another cigarette. "There comes inyour politics again. You see, there was twenty-some-odd of us--an'none friendless. Take twenty-odd votes an' multiply 'em by the numberof friends each has got--an' I reckon ten head of friends apiecewouldn't overshoot the figure--an' you've got between two hundred an'three hundred votes--which is a winnin' majority for any candidateamong 'em. Knowin' this, they wink at the jail delivery an' cinchthose votes. But, as I said before, hangin' is always a popularmeasure, an' as they want credit for yourn, they start all the deputiesthey got out on a still-hunt for you, judgin' it not to be hard to finda pilgrim wanderin' about at large. An' this party I met up with wasone of 'em. "

"Did he suspect that we were with you?" asked Alice, her voicetrembling with anxiety. 

"Such was the case--his intimation bein' audible, and venomous. Idenied it in kind, an' one word leadin' to another, he called me aliar. To which statement, although to a certain extent veracious, Itook exception, an' in the airy persiflage that ensued, he took umbrageto an extent that it made him hostile. Previous to this littlealtercation, he an' I had been good friends, and deemin', rightly, thatit wasn't a shootin' matter, he ondertook to back up his play with hisfists, and he hauled off an' smote me between the eyes before I'ddevined his intentions. Judgin' the move unfriendly, not to say rightdownright aggressive, I come back at him with results you-all noted. An' that's all there was to the incident of me showin' up with blackeyes, an' a lip that would do for a pin cushion. "

All during supper and afterward while the half-breed was washing thedishes, the Texan eyed him sharply, and several times caught the flashof a furtive smile upon the habitually sombre face. 

"He knows somethin' mirthful, " thought the cowboy, "I noticed itparticular, when I was flounderin' up to my neck in the mire ofdeception. The old reprobate ain't easy amused, either. "

Alice retired early, and before long Endicott, too, sought hisblankets. The moon rose, and the Texan strolled over to the grazinghorses. Returning, he encountered Bat seated upon a rock at somedistance from camp, watching him. The half-breed was grinning openlynow, broadly, and with evident enjoyment. Tex regarded him with afrown: "For a Siwash you're plumb mirthful an' joyous minded. In factI ain't noticed any one so wrapped up in glee for quite a spell. Suppose you just loosen up an' let me in on the frivolity, an' at thesame time kind of let it appear where you put in the day. I mistrustedmy packin' a pair of purple ones wouldn't give you the whoopin' cough, so I just sauntered over an' took a look at the cayuses. Yourn's be'nrode 'til he's sweat under the blanket--an' he ain't soft neither. "

"_Oui_, A'm fol' 'long we'n you make de ride. A'm t'ink mebbe-so twobetter'n wan. "

"Well, I was weaned right young, an' I don't need no governess. Afterthis you----"

The half-breed shrugged: "A'm tink dat tam way back in Las Vegas datdam' good t'ing ol' Bat fol' 'long, or else, ba Goss, you gon' to hellfor sure. "

"But that's no sign I've always got to be close-herded. Did you sneakup near enough to hear what the short-horn said?"

"_Oui_, A'm hear dat. She mak' me laugh lak' hell. "

"Laugh! I didn't see nothin' so damn hilarious in it. What do youthink about Purdy?"

"A'm tink dat dam' bad luck she no git keel. " The half-breed pausedand grinned: "De pilgrim she mak' de run for nuttin', an' you got toke'p on lyin' an' lyin', an bye-m-bye you got so dam' mooch lies yougit los'. So far, dat work out pret' good. De pilgrim gon' ke'p on derun, 'cause he no lak' for git stretch for politick, an' you git mor'chance for make de play for de girl. "

"What do you mean?" The Texan's eyes flashed. "I just knocked thelivin' hell out of one fellow for makin' a crack about that girl. "

"_Oui_, A'm know 'bout dat, too. Dat was pret' good, but nex' tam datbetter you start in fightin' fore you git knock clean across de couleefirs'. A'm lak dat girl. She dam' fine 'oman, you bet. A'm no lak'she git harm. "

"See here, Bat, " interrupted the Texan, "no matter what my intentionswere when I started out, they're all right now. "

"_Oui_, A'm know dat, 'bout two day. "

"It's this way, I be'n thinkin' quite a bit the last couple of daysthere ain't a thing in hellin' around the country punchin' other folks'cattle for wages. It's time I was settlin' down. If that girl willtake a long shot an' marry me, I'm goin' to rustle around an' start anoutfit of my own. I'll be needin' a man about your heft an' complexionto help me run it, too--savvy?"

The half-breed nodded slowly. "_Oui_, all de tam A'm say: 'Some tamTex she queet de dam' foolin', an' den she git to be de beeg man. ' Iain' tink you git dis 'oman, but dat don' mak' no differ', som' tam yoube de beeg man yet. Som' nodder 'oman com' 'long----"

"To hell with some other woman!" flared the Texan. "I tell you I'llhave that girl or I'll never look at another woman. There ain'tanother woman in the world can touch her. You think you're wise ashell, but I'll show you!"

The half-breed regarded him gloomily: "A'm tink dat 'oman de pilgrim'oman. "

"Oh, you do, do you? Well, just you listen to me. She ain't--not yet. It's me an' the pilgrim for her. If she ties to him instead of me, it's all right. She'll get a damn good man. Take me, an' all of asudden throw me into the middle of _his_ country, an' I doubt like hellif I'd show up as good as he did in mine. Whatever play goes onbetween me an' the pilgrim, will be on the square--with one deck, an'the cards on the table. There's only one thing I'm holdin' out on him, an' that is about Purdy. An' that ain't an onfair advantage, becauseit's his own fault he's worryin' about it. An' if it gives me a betterchance with her, I'm goin' to grab it. An' I'll win, too. But, if Idon't win, I don't reckon it'll kill me. Sometimes when I get tothinkin' about it I almost wish it would--I'm that damned close tobein' yellow. "

Bat laughed. The idea of the Texan being yellow struck him ashumorous. "I'm wonder how mooch more beeg lie you got for tell, eh?"

Tex was grinning now, "Search me. I had to concoct some excuse forgetting 'em started--two or three excuses. An' it looks like I got tokeep on concoctin' 'em to keep 'em goin'. But it don't hurt noone--lyin' like that, don't. It don't hurt the girl, because she'sbound to get one of us. It don't hurt the pilgrim, because we'll seehim through to the railroad. It don't hurt you, because you don'tbelieve none of it. An' it don't hurt me, because I'm used to it--an'there you are. But that don't give you no license to set around an'snort an' gargle while I'm tellin' 'em. I got trouble enough keepin''em plausible an' entangled, without you keepin' me settin' on a cactusfor fear you'll give it away. What you got to do is to back up myplay--remember them four bits I give you way back in Los Vegas? Well, here's where I'm givin' you a chance to pay dividends on them fourbits. "

Bat grinned: "You go 'head an' mak' you play. You fin' out I ain'tforgit dat four bit. She ain' mooch money--four bit ain'. But w'enshe all you got, she wan hell of a lot . . . _bien_!"

CHAPTER XVII

IN THE BAD LANDS

It was well toward noon on the following day when the four finallysucceeded in locating the grub cache of the departed horse-thief. Nearlytwo years had passed since the man had described the place to Tex and atwo-year-old description of a certain small, carefully concealed cavernin a rock-wall pitted with innumerable similar caverns is a mightyslender peg to hang hopes upon. 

"It's like searching for buried treasure!" exclaimed Alice as she priedand prodded among the rocks with a stout stick. 

"There won't be much treasure, even if we find the _cache_, " smiled Tex. "Horse thievin' had got onpopular to the extent there wasn't hardly alivin' in it long before this specimen took it up as a profession. We'llbe lucky if we find any grub in it. "

A few moments later Bat unearthed the _cache_ and, as the others crowdedabout, began to draw out its contents. 

"Field mice, " growled Tex, as the half-breed held up an empty canvas bagwith its corner gnawed to shreds. Another gnawed bag followed, andanother. 

"We don't draw no flour, nor rice, not jerky, anyhow, " said the puncher, examining the bags. "Nor bacon, either. The only chance we stand tomake a haul is on the air-tights. "

"What are air-tights?" asked the girl. 

"Canned stuff--tomatoes are the best for this kind of weather--keep youfrom gettin' thirsty. I've be'n in this country long enough to prettymuch know its habits, but I never saw it this hot in June. "

"She feel lak' dat dam' Yuma bench, but here is only de rattlesnake. Wedon' got to all de tam hont de pizen boog. Dat ain' no good for git sodam' hot--she burn' oop de range. If it ain' so mooch danger for Win togit hang--" He paused and looked at Tex with owlish solemnity. "A'm nolak we cross dem bad lands. Better A'm lak we gon' back t'rough demountaine. "

"You dig out them air-tights, if there's any in there, an' quit yourcroakin'!" ordered the cowboy. 

And with a grin Bat thrust in his arm to the shoulder. One by one hedrew out the tins--eight in all, and laid them in a row. The labels haddisappeared and the Texan stood looking down at them. 

"Anyway we have these, " smiled the girl, but the cowboy shook his head. 

"Those big ones are tomatoes, an' the others are corn, an' peas--but, itdon't make any difference. " He pointed to the cans in disgust: "Seethose ends bulged out that way? If we'd eat any of the stuff in thosecans we'd curl up an' die, _pronto_. Roll 'em back, Bat, we got grubenough without 'em. Two days will put us through the bad lands an' we'vegot plenty. We'll start when the moon comes up. "

All four spent the afternoon in the meagre shade of the bull pine, seeking some amelioration from the awful scorching heat. But it wasscant protection they got, and no comfort. The merciless rays of the sunbeat down upon the little plateau, heating the rocks to a degree thatrendered them intolerable to the touch. No breath of air stirred. Thehorses ceased to graze and stood in the scrub with lowered heads andwide-spread legs, sweating. 

Towards evening a breeze sprang up from the southeast, but it was abreeze that brought with it no atom of comfort. It blew hot and stiflinglike the scorching blast of some mighty furnace. For an hour after thesun went down in a glow of red the super-heated rocks continued to giveoff their heat and the wind swept, sirocco-like, over the little camp. Before the after-glow had faded from the sky the wind died and adelicious coolness pervaded the plateau. 

"It hardly seems possible, " said Alice, as she breathed deeply of thevivifying air, "that in this very spot only a few hours ago we weregasping for breath. 

"You can always bank on the nights bein' cold, " answered Tex, as heproceeded to build the fire. "We'll rustle around and get supper out ofthe way an' the outfit packed an' we can pull our freight as soon as it'slight enough. The moon ought to show up by half-past ten or eleven, an'we can make the split rock water-hole before it gets too hot for thehorses to travel. It's the hottest spell for June I ever saw and if shedon't let up tomorrow the range will be burnt to a frazzle. "

Bat cast a weather-wise eye toward the sky which, cloudless, neverthelessseemed filmed with a peculiar haze that obscured the million lesser starsand distorted the greater ones, so that they showed sullen and angry anddull like the malignant pustules of a diseased skin. 

"A'm t'ink she gon' for bus' loose pret' queek. "

"Another thunder storm and a deluge of rain?" asked Alice. 

The half-breed shrugged: "I ain' know mooch 'bout dat. I ain' t'ink shefeel lak de rain. She ain' feel good. "

"Leave off croakin', Bat, an' get to work an' pack, " growled the Texan. "There'll be plenty time to gloom about the weather when it gets here. "An hour later the outfit was ready for the trail. 

"Wish we had one of them African water-bags, " said the cowboy, as hefilled his flask at the spring. "But I guess this will do 'til we strikethe water-hole. "

"Where is that whiskey bottle?" asked Endicott. "We could take a chanceon snake-bite, dump out the booze, and use the bottle for water. "

The Texan shook his head: "I had bad luck with that bottle; it knockedagainst a rock an' got busted. So we've got to lump the snake-bite withthe thirst, an' take a chance on both of 'em. "

"How far is the water-hole?" Alice asked, as she eyed the flask that thecowboy was making fast in his slicker. 

"About forty miles, I reckon. We've got this, and three cans oftomatoes, but we want to go easy on 'em, because there's a good rideahead of us after we hit Split Rock, an' that's the only water, exceptpoison springs, between here an' the old Miszoo. "

Bat, who had come up with the horses, pointed gloomily at the moon whichhad just topped the shoulder of a mountain. "She all squash down. Datain' no good she look so red. " The others followed his gaze, and for amoment all stared at the distorted crimson oblong that hung low above themountains. A peculiar dull luminosity radiated from the misshapen orband bathed the bad lands in a flood of weird murky light. 

"Come on, " cried Tex, swinging into his saddle, "we'll hit the trailbefore this old Python here finds something else to forebode about. Forall I care the moon can turn green, an' grow a hump like a camel just soshe gives us light enough to see by. " He led the way across the littleplateau and the others followed. With eyes tight-shut and hands grippingthe saddle-horn, Alice gave her horse full rein as he followed theTexan's down the narrow sloping ledge that answered for a trail. Nor didshe open her eyes until the reassuring voice of the cowboy told her thedanger was past. 

Tex led the way around the base of the butte and down into the coulee hehad followed the previous day. "We've got to take it easy this trip, " heexplained. "There ain't any too much light an' we can't take any chanceson holes an' loose rocks. It'll be rough goin' all the way, but a goodfast walk ought to put us half way, by daylight, an' then we can hit herup a little better. " The moon swung higher and the light increasedsomewhat, but at best it was poor enough, serving only to bring out thegeneral outlines of the trail and the bolder contour of the coulee's rim. No breath of the wind stirred the air that was cold, with a dank, clammycoldness--like the dead air of a cistern. As she rode, the girl noticedthe absence of its buoyant tang. The horses' hoofs rang hollow and thinon the hard rock of the coulee bed, and even the frenzied yapping of apack of coyotes, sounded uncanny and far away. Between these sounds thestillness seemed oppressive--charged with a nameless feeling ofunwholesome portent. "It is the evil spell of the bad lands, " thoughtthe girl, and shuddered. 

Dawn broke with the moon still high above the western skyline. The sidesof the coulee had flattened and they traversed a country of low-lyingridges and undulating rock-basins. As the yellow rim of the sun showedabove the crest of a far-off ridge, their ears caught the muffled roar ofwind. From the elevation of a low hill the four gazed toward the westwhere a low-hung dust-cloud, lowering, ominous, mounted higher and higheras the roar of the wind increased. The air about them remainedmotionless--dead. Suddenly it trembled, swirled, and rushed forward tomeet the oncoming dust-cloud as though drawn toward it by the suck of amighty vortex. 

"Dat better we gon' for hont de hole. Dat dust sto'm she raise hell. "

"Hole up, nothin'!" cried the Texan; "How are we goin' to hole up--fourof us an' five horses, on a pint of water an' three cans of tomatoes?When that storm hits it's goin' to be hot. We've just naturally got tomake that water-hole! Come on, ride like the devil before she hits, because we're goin' to slack up considerable, directly. "

The cowboy led the way and the others followed, urging their horses attop speed. The air was still cool, and as she rode, Alice glanced overher shoulder toward the dust cloud, nearer now, by many miles. The roarof the wind increased in volume. "It's like the roar of the falls atNiagara, " she thought, and spurred her horse close beside the Texan's. 

"Only seventeen or eighteen miles, " she heard him say, as her horse drewabreast. "The wind's almost at our back, an' that'll help some. " Hejerked the silk scarf from his neck and extended it toward her. "Coveryour mouth an' nose with that when she hits. An' keep your eyes shut. We'll make it all right, but it's goin' to be tough. " A mile further onthe storm burst with the fury of a hurricane. The wind roared down uponthem like a blast from hell. Daylight blotted out, and where a momentbefore the sun had hung like a burnished brazen shield, was only a dimlightening of the impenetrable fog of grey-black dust. The girl openedher eyes and instantly they seemed filled with a thousand needles thatbit and seared and caused hot stinging tears to well between thetight-closed lids. She gasped for breath and her lips and tongue wentdry. Sand gritted against her teeth as she closed them, and she tried invain to spit the dust from her mouth. She was aware that someone wastying the scarf about her head, and close against her ear she heard thevoice of the Texan: "Breathe through your nose as long as you can an'then through your teeth. Hang onto your saddle-horn, I've got yourreins. An' whatever you do, keep your eyes shut, this sand will cut 'emout if you don't. " She turned her face for an instant toward the west, and the sand particles drove against her exposed forehead and eyelidswith a force that caused the stinging tears to flow afresh. Then shefelt her horse move slowly, jerkily at first, then more easily as theTexan swung him in beside his own. 

"We're all right now, " he shouted at the top of his lungs to make himselfheard above the roar of the wind. And then it seemed to the girl theyrode on and on for hours without a spoken word. She came to tell by theforce of the wind whether they travelled along ridges, or wide lowbasins, or narrow coulees. Her lips dried and cracked, and the fine dustand sand particles were driven beneath her clothing until her skinsmarted and chafed under their gritty torture. Suddenly the wind seemedto die down and the horses stopped. She heard the Texan swing to theground at her side, and she tried to open her eyes but they were gluedfast. She endeavoured to speak and found the effort a torture because ofthe thick crusting of alkali dust and sand that tore at her broken lips. The scarf was loosened and allowed to fall about her neck. She couldhear the others dismounting and the loud sounds with which the horsesstrove to rid their nostrils of the crusted grime. 

"Just a minute, now, an' you can open your eyes, " the Texan's words fellwith a dry rasp of his tongue upon his caked lips. She heard a slightsplashing sound and the next moment the grateful feel of water was uponher burning eyelids, as the Texan sponged at them with a saturated bit ofcloth. 

"The water-hole!" she managed to gasp. 

"There's water here, " answered the cowboy, evasively, "hold still, an' ina minute you can open your eyes. " Very gently he continued to sponge ather lids. Her eyes opened and she started back with a sharp cry. Thethree men before her were unrecognizable in the thick masks of dirt thatencased their faces--masks that showed only thin red slits for eyes, andthick, blood-caked excrescences where lips should have been. 

"Water!" Endicott cried, and Alice was sure she heard the dry click ofhis tongue against the roof of his mouth. The girl saw that they were ina cavern formed by a mud crack whose walls had toppled together. Almostat her feet was a small pool, its surface covered with a film of dust. Endicott stepped toward it, but the Texan barred the way. 

"Don't drink that! It might be a poison spring--most of 'em are downhere. It's the meanest death there is, the bellyache an' cramps thatcomes from drinkin' poison water. Watch the horses. If they will drinkit, we can. He led his horse to the pool into which the animal thrusthis nose half way to the eyes. Only a moment he held it there, then witha thrash of disappointment that sent the water splashing over thedust-coated rocks, he raised his head and stood with the water drippingin streams from his muzzle. He pawed at the ground, shook his headwrathfully, and turned in disgust from the water-hole. 

"Poison, " announced the Texan. "We can rinse out our mouths with it an'clean out our eyes an' wash our faces, an' do the same for the horses, but we can't swallow not even a drop of it, or us an' the angels will beswappin' experiences about this time tomorrow. " He turned to Alice:"Ladies first. Just take your handkerchief an' wet it an' swab out yourmouth an' when you're through there's a good drink of real water waitin'for you in the flask. "

When she had done, the three men followed her example, and the Texantendered the bottle:

"Take all you need, there's plenty, " he said. But she would take only aswallow which she held in her mouth and allowed to trickle down herthroat. Endicott did the same and Bat, whereupon the cowboy replaced thecork to the bottle and was about to return it to his slicker when thegirl caught his arm. 

"You didn't drink any!" she cried, but he overrode her protest. 

"I ain't thirsty, " he said almost gruffly. "You better catch you alittle rest, because as soon as we get these horses fixed up, we're goin'to pull out of here. " The girl assayed a protest, but Tex turnedabruptly away and the three fell to work removing the caked dust from theeyes and nostrils of the horses, and rinsing out their mouths. When theyfinished, Tex turned to Bat. 

"How far d'you reckon it is to the water-hole?" he asked. 

The half-breed shrugged: "Mebbe-so fi' mile, mebbe-so ten. I ain' knowdis place. A'm t'ink we los'. "

"Lost!" snorted the Texan, contemptuously. "You're a hell of an Injun, you are, to get lost in broad daylight in sight of the Bear Paws. Iain't lost, if you are, an' I tell you we camp at that water-holetonight!"

Again the half-breed shrugged: "I ain' see no mountaine. I ain' see nomooch daylight, neider. Too mooch de dam' dus'--too mooch san'--toomooch de win' blow. If we com' by de water-hole, A'm t'ink dat dam'lucky t'ing. "

Tex regarded him with disapproval: "Climb onto your horse, old CalamityJane, an' we'll mosey along. A dry camp is better than this--at leastnobody can crawl around in their sleep an' drink a snifter of poison. " Hehelped Alice from the ground where she sat propped against a rock andassisted her to mount, being careful to adjust the scarf over her noseand mouth. 

As the horses with lowered heads bored through the dust-storm the Texancursed himself unmercifully. "This is all your fault, you damnedfour-flusher! You would run a girl--that girl, into a hole like this, would you? You low-lived skunk, you! You think you're fit to marry her, do you? Well, you ain't! You ain't fit to be mentioned in the samelanguage she is! You'll get 'em all out of here or, by God, you'll neverget out yourself--an' I'm right here to see that that goes! An' you'llfind that water-hole, too! An' after you've found it, an' got 'em allout of this jack-pot, you'll h'ist up on your hind legs an' tell 'em thewhole damn facts in the case, an' if Win jumps in an' just naturally mopsup hell with you, it'll be just what you've got comin' to you--if he doesa good job, it will. " Mile after mile the horses drifted before thewind, heads hung low and ears drooping. In vain the Texan tried topierce the impenetrable pall of flying dust for a glimpse of a familiarlandmark. "We ought to be hittin' that long black ridge, or the sodahill by now, " he muttered. "If we miss 'em both--God!"

The half-breed pushed his horse close beside him: "We mus' got to camp, "he announced with his lips to the Texan's ear. "De hosses beginnin' toshake. "

"How far can they go?"

"Camp now. Beside de cut-bank here. Dem hoss she got for res' queek or, ba Goss, she die. "

Tex felt his own horse tremble and he knew the half-breed's words weretrue. With an oath he swung into the sheltered angle of the cut-bankalong which they were travelling. Bat jerked the pack from thelead-horse and produced clothing and blankets, dripping wet from thesaturation he had given them in the poison spring. While the othersrepeated the process of the previous camp, Bat worked over the horseswhich stood in a dejected row with their noses to the base of thecut-bank. 

"We'll save the water an' make tomatoes do, " announced the Texan, as withhis knife he cut a hole in the top of a can. "This storm is bound to letup pretty quick an' then we'll hit for the waterhole. It can't be farfrom here. We'll tap two cans an' save one an' the water--the flask'shalf full yet. "

Never in her life, thought Alice, as she and Endicott shared their can oftomatoes, had she tasted anything half so good. The rich red pulp andthe acid juice, if it did not exactly quench the burning thirst, at leastmade it bearable, and in a few minutes she fell asleep protected from theall pervading dust by one of the wet blankets. The storm roared on. Atthe end of a couple of hours Bat rose and silently saddled his horse. "A'm gon' for fin' dat water-hole, " he said, when the task was completed. "If de sto'm stop, a'right. If it don' stop, you gon' on in de mornin'. "He placed one of the empty tomato cans in his slicker, and as he wasabout to mount both Endicott and Tex shook his hand. 

"Good luck to you, Bat, " said Endicott, with forced cheerfulness. TheTexan said never a word, but after a long look into the half-breed'seyes, turned his head swiftly away. 

Both Tex and Endicott slept fitfully, throwing the blankets from theirheads at frequent intervals to note the progress of the storm. Onceduring the night the Texan visited the horses. The three saddle animalsstood hobbled with their heads close to the cut-bank, but the pack-horsewas gone. "Maybe you'll find it, " he muttered, "but the best bet is, youwon't. I gave my horse his head for an hour before we camped, an' hecouldn't find it. " Tex sat up after that, with his back to the wall ofthe coulee. With the first hint of dawn Endicott joined him. The windroared with unabated fury as he crawled to the cowboy's side. He held upthe half-filled water flask and the Texan regarded him with red-rimmedeyes. 

"This water, " asked the man, "it's for her, isn't it?" Tex nodded. Without a word Endicott crawled to the side of the sleeping girl andgently drew the blanket from her face. He carefully removed the corkfrom the bottle and holding it close above the parched lips allowed a fewdrops of the warm fluid to trickle between them. The lips moved and thesleeping girl swallowed the water greedily. With infinite pains the mancontinued the operation doling the precious water out a little at a timeso as not to waken her. At last the bottle was empty, and, replacing theblanket, he returned to the Texan's side. "She wouldn't have taken it ifshe had known, " he whispered. "She would have made us drink some. "

Tex nodded, with his eyes on the other's face. 

"An' you're nothin' but a damned pilgrim!" he breathed, softly. Minutespassed as the two men sat silently side by side. The Texan spoke, as ifto himself: "It's a hell of a way to die--for her. "

"We'll get through somehow, " Endicott said, hopefully. 

Tex did not reply, but sat with his eyes fixed on the horses. Presentlyhe got up, walked over and examined each one carefully. "Only two of 'emwill travel, Win. Yours is all in. " He saddled the girl's horse and hisown, leaving them still hobbled. Then he walked over and picked up theempty tomato can and the bottle. "You've got to drink, " he said, "oryou'll die--me, too. An' maybe that water ain't enough for her, either. "He drew a knife from his pocket and walked to Endicott's horse. 

"What are you going to do?" cried the other, his eyes wide with horror. 

"It's blood, or nothin', " answered the Texan, as he passed his hand alongthe horse's throat searching for the artery. 

Endicott nodded: "I suppose you're right, but it seems--cold blooded. "

"I'd shoot him first, but there's no use wakin' her. We can tell her thehorse died. " There was a swift twisting of the cowboy's wrist, the horsereared sharply back, and Endicott turned away with a sickening feeling ofweakness. The voice of the Texan roused him: "Hand me the bottle and thecan quick!" As he sprang to obey, Endicott saw that the hand the cowboyheld tightly against the horse's throat was red. The weakness vanishedand he cursed himself for a fool. What was a horse--a thousand horses tothe lives of humans--her life? The bottle was filled almost instantlyand he handed Tex the can. 

"Drink it--all you can hold of it. It won't taste good, but it's wet. "He was gulping great swallows from the tin, as with the other hand hetried to hold back the flow. Endicott placed the bottle to his lips andwas surprised to find that he emptied it almost at a draught. Again andagain the Texan filled the bottle and the can as both in a frenzy ofdesire gulped the thick liquid. When, at length they were satiated, theblood still flowed. The receptacles were filled, set aside, and coveredwith a strip of cloth. For a moment longer the horse stood with theblood spurting from his throat, then with a heavy sigh he toppledsidewise and crashed heavily to the ground. The Texan fixed the cork inthe bottle, plugged the can as best he could, and taking them, togetherwith the remaining can of tomatoes, tied them into the slicker behind thecantle of his saddle. He swung the bag containing the few remainingbiscuits to the horn. 

"Give her the tomatoes when you have to. _You_ can use the othercan--tell her that's tomatoes, too. She'll never tumble that it's blood. "

Endicott stared at the other: "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you had better wake her up, now, an' get goin'. I'll waithere for Bat. He's probably found the spring by this time, an' he'll bemoseyin' along directly with water an' the pack-horse. "

Endicott took a step toward him: "It won't work, Tex, " he said, with asmile. "You don't expect me to believe that if you really thought Batwould return with water, you would be sending us away from here into thisdust-storm. No. I'm the one that waits for Bat. You go ahead and takeher through, and then you can come back for me. "

The Texan shook his head: "I got you into this deal, an'----"

"You did it to protect me!" flared Endicott. "I'm the cause for allthis, and I'll stand the gaff!"

The Texan smiled, and Endicott noticed that it was the same cynical smilewith which the man had regarded him in the dance hall, and again as theyhad faced each other under the cottonwoods of Buffalo Coulee. "Sincewhen you be'n runnin' this outfit?"

"It don't make any difference since when! The fact is, I'm running it, now--that is, to the extent that I'll be damned if you're going to staybehind and rot in this God-forsaken inferno, while I ride to safety onyour horse. "

The smile died from the cowboy's face: "It ain't that, Win. I guess youdon't savvy, but I do. She's yours, man. Take her an' go! There was awhile that I thought--but, hell!"

"I'm not so sure of that, " Endicott replied. "Only yesterday, or the daybefore, she told me she could not choose--yet. "

"She'll choose, " answered Tex, "an' she won't choose--me. She ain'tmakin' no mistake, neither. By God, I know a man when I see one!"

Endicott stepped forward and shook his fist in the cowboy's face: "It'sthe only chance. You can do it--I can't. For God's sake, man, besensible! Either of us would do it--for her. It is only a question ofsuccess, and all that it means; and failure--and all that that means. You know the country--I don't. You are experienced in fighting thisdamned desert--I'm not. Any one of a dozen things might mean thedifference between life and death. You would take advantage of them--Icouldn't. "

"You're a lawyer, Win--an' a damn good one. I wondered what your tradewas. If I ever run foul of the law, I'll sure send for you, _pronto_. If I was a jury you'd have me plumb convinced--but, I ain't a jury. Theway I look at it, the case stands about like this: We can't stay here, and there can't only two of us go. I can hold out here longer than youcould, an' you can go just as far with the horses as I could. Just givethem their head an' let them drift--that's all I could do. If the stormlets up you'll see the Split Rock water-hole--you can't miss it if you'rein sight of it, there's a long black ridge with a big busted rock on theend of it, an' just off the end is a round, high mound--the soda hill, they call it, and the water-hole is between. If you pass the water-hole, you'll strike the Miszoo. You can tell that from a long ways off, too, by the fringe of green that lines the banks. And, as for the rest ofit--I mean, if the storm don't let up, or the horses go down, I couldn'tdo any more than you could--it's cashin' in time then anyhow, an' thelong, long sleep, no matter who's runnin' the outfit. An' if it comes tothat, it's better for her to pass her last hours with one of her own kindthan with--me. "

Endicott thrust out his hand: "I think any one could be proud to spendtheir last hours with one of your kind, " he said huskily. "I believe wewill all win through--but, if worse comes to worst---- Good Bye. "

"So Long, Win, " said the cowboy, grasping the hand. "Wake her up an'pull out quick. I'll onhobble the horses. "

CHAPTER XVIII

"WIN"

Alice opened her eyes to see Endicott bending over her. "It is time topull out, " said the man tersely. 

The girl threw off the blanket and stared into the whirl of opaquedust. "The storm is still raging, " she murmured. "Oh, Winthrop, doyou know that I dreamed it was all over--that we were riding betweenhigh, cool mountains beside a flashing stream. And trout were leapingin the rapids, and I got off and drank and drank of the clear, coldwater, and, why, do you know, I feel actually refreshed! The horribleburning thirst has gone. That proves the control mind has overmatter--if we could just concentrate and think hard enough, I don'tbelieve we would ever need to be thirsty, or hungry, or tired, or cold, do you?"

The man smiled grimly, and shook his head: "No. If we could think hard_enough_ to accomplish a thing, why, manifestly that thing would beaccomplished. Great word--enough--the trouble is, when you use it, younever say anything. "

Alice laughed: "You're making fun of me. I don't care, you know what Imean, anyway. Why, what's the matter with that horse?"

"He died--got weaker and weaker, and at last he just rolled over dead. And that is why we have to hurry and make a try for the water-hole, before the others play out. "

Endicott noticed that the Texan was nowhere in sight. He pressed hislips firmly: "It's better that way, I guess, " he thought. 

"But, that's your horse! And where are the others--Tex, and Bat, andthe pack-horse?"

"They pulled out to hunt for the water-hole--each in a differentdirection. You and I are to keep together and drift with the wind aswe have been doing. "

"And they gave us the best of it, " she breathed. Endicott winced, andthe girl noticed. She laid her hand gently upon his arm. "No, Winthrop, I didn't mean that. There was a time, perhaps, when I mighthave thought--but, that was before I knew you. I have learned a lot inthe past few days, Winthrop--enough to know that no matter whathappens, you have played a man's part--with the rest of them. Come, I'm ready. "

Endicott tied the scarf about her face and assisted her to mount, then, throwing her bridle reins over the horn of his saddle as the Texan haddone, he headed down the coulee. For three hours the horses driftedwith the storm, following along coulees, crossing low ridges, and longlevel stretches where the sweep of the wind seemed at times as thoughit would tear them from the saddles. Endicott's horse stumbledfrequently, and each time the recovery seemed more and more of aneffort. Then suddenly the wind died--ceased to blow as abruptly as ithad started. The man could scarcely believe his senses as he listenedin vain for the roar of it--the steady, sullen roar, that had rung inhis ears, it seemed, since the beginning of time. Thick dust filledthe air but when he turned his face toward the west no sand particlesstung his skin. Through a rift he caught sight of a low butte--a buttethat was not nearby. Alice tore the scarf from her face. "It hasstopped!" she cried, excitedly. "The storm is over!"

"Thank God!" breathed Endicott, "the dust is beginning to settle. " Hedismounted and swung the girl to the ground. "We may as well wait hereas anywhere until the air clears sufficiently for us to get ourbearings. We certainly must have passed the water-hole, and we wouldonly be going farther and farther away if we pushed on. "

The dust settled rapidly. Splashes of sunshine showed here and thereupon the basin and ridge, and it grew lighter. The atmosphere took onthe appearance of a thin grey fog that momentarily grew thinner. Endicott walked to the top of a low mound and gazed eagerly about him. Distant objects were beginning to appear--bare rock-ridges, andlow-lying hills, and deep coulees. In vain the man's eyes followed theridges for one that terminated in a huge broken rock, with its nearbysoda hill. No such ridge appeared, and no high, round hill. Suddenlyhis gaze became rivetted upon the southern horizon. What was thatstretching away, long, and dark, and winding? Surely--surely itwas--trees! Again and again he tried to focus his gaze upon that longdark line, but always his lids drew over his stinging eyeballs, andwith a half-sobbed curse, he dashed the water from his eyes. At lasthe saw it--the green of distant timber. "The Missouri--fivemiles--maybe more. Oh God, if the horses hold out!" Running, stumbling, he made his way to the girl's side. "It's the river!" hecried. "The Missouri!"

"Look at the horses!" she exclaimed. "They see it, too!" The animalsstood with ears cocked forward, and dirt-caked nostrils distended, gazing into the south. Endicott sprang to his slicker, and producingthe flask, saturated his handkerchief with the thick red liquid. Hetried to sponge out the mouths and noses of the horses but they drewback, trembling and snorting in terror. 

"Why, it's blood!" cried the girl, her eyes dilated with horror. "Fromthe horse that died, " explained Endicott, as he tossed the rag to theground. 

"But, the water--surely there was water in the flask last night!"Then, of a sudden, she understood. "You--you fed it to me in mysleep, " she faltered. "You were afraid I would refuse, and that was mydream!"

"Mind over matter, " reminded Endicott, with a distortion of hisbleeding lips that passed for a grin. Again he fumbled in his slickerand withdrew the untouched can of tomatoes. He cut its cover as he hadseen Tex do and extended it to the girl. "Drink some of this, and ifthe horses hold out we will reach the river in a couple of hours. "

"I believe it's growing a little cooler since that awful wind wentdown, " she said, as she passed the can back to Endicott. "Let's pushon, the horses seem to know there is water ahead. Oh, I hope they canmake it!"

"We can go on a-foot if they can't, " reassured the man. "It is notfar. "

The horses pushed on with renewed life. They stumbled weakly, but thehopeless, lack-lustre look was gone from their eyes and at frequentintervals they stretched their quivering nostrils toward the long greenline in the distance. So slow was their laboured pace that at the endof a half-hour Endicott dismounted and walked, hobbling clumsily overthe hot rocks and through ankle-deep drifts of dust in his high-heeledboots. A buzzard rose from the coulee ahead with silent flapping ofwings, to be joined a moment later by two more of his evil ilk, and thethree wheeled in wide circles above the spot from which they had beenfrightened. A bend in the coulee revealed a stagnant poison spring. Adead horse lay beside it with his head buried to the ears in the slimywater. Alice glanced at the broken chain of the hobbles that stillencircled the horse's feet. 

"It's the pack-horse!" she cried. "They have only one horse betweenthem!"

"Yes, he got away in the night. " Endicott nodded. "Bat is huntingwater, and Tex is waiting. " He carried water in his hat and dashed itover the heads of the horses, and sponged out their mouths and noses asTex and Bat had done. The drooping animals revived wonderfully underthe treatment and, with the long green line of scrub timber now plainlyin sight, evinced an eagerness for the trail that, since the departurefrom Antelope Butte, had been entirely wanting. As the man assistedthe girl to mount, he saw that she was crying. 

"They'll come out, all right, " he assured her. "As soon as we hit theriver and I can get a fresh horse, I'm going back. "

"Going back!"

"Going back, of course--with water. You do not expect me to leavethem?"

"No, I don't expect you to leave them! Oh, Winthrop, I--" her voicechoked up and the sentence was never finished. 

"Buck up, little girl, an hour will put us at the river, " he swung intothe saddle and headed southward, glad of a respite from the galling, scalding torture of walking in high-heeled boots. 

Had Endicott combed Montana throughout its length and breadth he couldhave found no more evil, disreputable character than Long Bill Kearney. Despised by honest citizens and the renegades of the bad lands, alike, he nevertheless served these latter by furnishing them whiskey andsupplies at exorbitant prices. Also, he bootlegged systematically tothe Port Belknap Indians, which fact, while a matter of commonknowledge, the Government had never been able to prove. So Long Bill, making a living ostensibly by maintaining a flat-boat ferry and a fewhead of mangy cattle, continued to ply his despicable trade. Evenpassing cowboys avoided him and Long Bill was left pretty much to hisown evil devices. 

It was the cabin of this scum of the outland that Endicott and Aliceapproached after pushing up the river for a mile or more from the pointwhere they had reached it by means of a deep coulee that woundtortuously through the breaks. Long Bill stood in his doorway and eyedthe pair sullenly as they drew rein and climbed stiffly from thesaddles. Alice glanced with disgust into the sallow face with itsunkempt, straggling beard, and involuntarily recoiled as her eyes metthe leer with which he regarded her as Endicott addressed him:

"We've been fighting the dust storm for two days, and we've got to havegrub and some real water, quick. "

The man regarded him with slow insolence: "The hell ye hev, " hedrawled; "Timber City's only seven mile, ef ye was acrost the river. Ihain't runnin' no hotel, an' grub-liners hain't welcome. "

"God, man! You don't mean----"

"I mean, ef ye got five dollars on ye I'll ferry ye acrost to where yec'n ride to Timber City ef them old skates'll carry ye there, an' ef yehain't got the five, ye c'n swim acrost, or shove on up the river, orgo back where ye come from. "

Endicott took one swift step forward, his right fist shot into theman's stomach, and as he doubled forward with a grunt of pain, Endicott's left crashed against the point of his jaw with a force thatsent him spinning like a top as he crumpled to the hard-trodden earthof the door-yard. 

"Good!" cried Alice. "It was beautifully done. He didn't even have achance to shoot, " she pointed to the two 45's that hung, one at eitherhip. 

"I guess we'll just relieve him of those, " said Endicott, and, jerkingthe revolvers from their holsters, walked to his saddle and uncoiledthe rope. Alice lent eager assistance, and a few moments later theinhospitable one lay trussed hand and foot. "Now, we'll go in and findsomething to eat, " said Endicott, as he made fast the final hitch. 

The cabin was well stocked with provisions and, to the surprise of thetwo, was reasonably clean. While Alice busied herself in the cabin, Endicott unsaddled the horses and turned them into a small field wherethe vegetation grew rank and high and green beside a series ofirrigation ditches. Passing the horse corral he saw that three or foursaddle-horses dozed in the shade of its pole fence, and continued on tothe river bank where he inspected minutely the ferry. 

"I guess we can manage to cross the river, " he told Alice, when hereturned to the cabin; "I will breathe easier when I see you safe inTimber City, wherever that is. I am coming back after Tex. But firstI must see you safe. "

The girl crossed to his side and as the man glanced into her face hesaw that her eyes were shining with a new light--a light he had dreamedcould shine from those eyes, but never dared hope to see. "No, Win, "she answered softly, and despite the mighty pounding of his heart theman realized it was the first time she had used that name. "You arenot going back alone. I am going too. " Endicott made a gesture ofprotest but she gave no heed. "From now on my place is with you. Oh, Win, can't you see! I--I guess I have always loved you--only I didn'tknow It. I wanted romance--wanted a red-blood man--a man who could dothings, and----"

"Oh, if I could come to you clean-handed!" he interrupted, passionately; "if I could offer you a hand unstained by the blood of afellow creature!"

She laid a hand gently upon his shoulder and looked straight into hiseyes: "Don't, Win, " she said; "don't always hark back to _that_. Letus forget. "

"I wish to God I could forget!" he answered, bitterly. "I know the actwas justified. I believe it was unavoidable. But--it is my NewEngland conscience, I suppose. "

Alice smiled: "Don't let your conscience bother you, because it is aNew England conscience. They call you 'the pilgrim' out here. It isthe name they called your early Massachusetts forebears--and if historyis to be credited, they never allowed their consciences to stand in theway of taking human life. "

"But, they thought they were right. "

"And you _know_ you were right!"

"I know--I know! It isn't the ethics--only the fact. "

"Don't brood over it. Don't think of it, dear. Or, if you must, thinkof it only as a grim duty performed--a duty that proved, as nothingelse could have proved, that you are every inch a man. "

Endicott drew her close against his pounding heart. "It proved thatthe waters of the Erie Canal, if given the chance, can dash as madlyunrestrained as can the waters of the Grand Canyon. "

She pressed her fingers to his lips: "Don't make fun of me. I was afool. "

"I'm not making fun--I didn't know it myself, until--" the sentence wasdrowned in a series of yells and curses and vile epithets that broughtboth to the door to stare down at the trussed-up one who writhed on theground in a very paroxysm of rage. 

"Conscience hurting you, or is it your jaw?" asked Endicott, as hegrinned into the rage-distorted features. 

"Git them hosses outa that alfalfy! You ---- ---- ---- ---- ----!I'll hev th' law on ye! I'll shoot ye! I'll drag yer guts out!" Sogreat was the man's fury that a thin white foam flecked hishate-distorted lips, and his voice rose to a high-pitched whine. Endicott glanced toward the two horses that stood, belly-deep, in thelush vegetation. 

"They like it, " he said, calmly. "It's the first feed they have had intwo days. " The man's little pig eyes glared red, and his voice chokedin an inarticulate snarl. 

Alice turned away in disgust. "Let him alone, " she said, "and we willhave dinner. I'm simply famished. Nothing ever looked so good to mein the world as that ham and potatoes and corn and peas. " During thecourse of the meal, Endicott tried to dissuade the girl from herpurpose of accompanying him on his search for Tex and the half-breed. But she would have it no other way, and finally, perforce, he consented. 

Leaving her to pack up some food, Endicott filled the water-bag thathung on the wall and, proceeding to the corral, saddled three of thehorses. Through the open window of the cabin he could see the girlbusily engaged in transferring provisions to a sack. He watched her asshe passed and repassed the window intent upon her task. Never had sheseemed so lovable, so unutterably desirable--and she loved him! Withher own lips she had told him of her love, and with her own lips hadplaced the seal of love upon his own. Happiness, like no happiness hehad ever known should be his. And yet--hovering over him like apall--black, ominous, depressing--was the thing that momentarilythreatened to descend and engulf him, to destroy this new-foundhappiness, haunt him with its diabolical presence, and crush hislife--and hers. 

With an effort he roused himself--squared himself there in the corralfor the final battle with himself. "It is now or never, " he grittedthrough clenched teeth. "Now, and alone. She won't face the situationsquarely. It is woman's way, calmy to ignore the issue, to push itaside as the ill of a future day. "

She had said that he was right, and ethically, he knew that he wasright--but the fact of the deed remained. His hand had sped a soul toits God. 

Why?

To save the woman he loved. No jury on earth would hold him guilty. He would surrender himself and stand trial. Then came the memory ofwhat Tex had told him of the machinations of local politics. He had nowish to contribute his life as campaign material for a county election. The other course was to run--to remain, as he now was, a fugitive, ifnot from justice, at least from the hand of the law. This course wouldmean that both must live always within the menace of theshadow--unless, to save her from this life of haunting fear, herenounced her. 

His eyes sought the forbidding sweep of the bad lands, strayed to thesluggish waters of the Missouri, and beyond, where the black buttes ofthe Judith Range reared their massive shapes in the distance. Suddenlya mighty urge welled up within him. He would not renounce her! Shewas his! This was life--the life that, to him, had been as a sealedbook--the fighting life of the boundless open places. It was thecoward's part to run. He had played a man's part, and he wouldcontinue to play a man's part to the end. He would fight. Wouldidentify himself with this West--become part of it. Never would hereturn to the life of the city, which would be to a life of fear. Theworld should know that he was right. If local politics sought to crushhim--to use him as a puppet for their puny machinations, he would smashtheir crude machine and rebuild the politics of this new land uponprinciples as clean and rugged as the land itself. It should be hiswork!

With the light of a new determination in his eyes, he caught up thebridle-reins of the horses and pushed open the gate of the corral. Ashe led the animals out he was once more greeted with a volley of oathsand curses: "Put them back! Ye hoss-thief! I'll have ye hung! Them'smine, I tell ye!"

"You'll get them back, " assured Endicott. "I am only borrowing them togo and hunt for a couple of friends of mine back there in the badlands. "

"Back in the bad lands! What do ye know about the bad lands? Ye'llgit lost, an' then what'll happen to me? I'll die like a coyote in atrap! I'll starve here where no one comes along fer it's sometimes aweek--mebbe two!"

"It will be a long time between meals if anything should happen to us, but it will do you good to lie here and think it over. We'll be backsometime. " Endicott made the sack of provisions fast to the saddle ofthe lead-horse, and assisted Alice to mount. 

"I'll kill ye fer this!" wailed the man; "I'll--I'll--" but the tworode away with the futile threats ringing in their ears. 

CHAPTER XIX

THE END OF THE TRAIL

"How are we going to find them?" asked the girl, as the two drew theirmounts to a stand on the top of a low ridge and gazed out over the seaof similar ridges that rolled and spread before them as far as the eyecould reach in three directions--bare coulees, and barer ridges, withhere and there a low bare hill, all black and red and grey, withstuddings of mica flashing in the rays of the afternoon sun. 

"We'll find them. We've got to. I have just been thinking: Living onthe edge of the bad lands the way this man does he must occasionallycross them. Tex said that the Split Rock water-hole was the only onebetween the river and the mountains. We'll start the horses out andgive them their heads, and the chances are they will take us to thewater-hole. In all probability Tex and Bat will be there. If they arenot we will have to find them. "

"Of course!" assented the girl. "Oh, Win, I'm so proud of you! Icouldn't be any prouder if you were a--a real cowboy!" Endicottlaughed heartily, and urged his horse forward. The animals crossedseveral low ridges and struck into a coulee which they followedunhesitatingly. When it petered out in a wide basin, they struck intoanother coulee, and continued their course, covering the miles at along, swinging trot. At sundown Endicott reined in sharply and pointedto the northward. "It's the ridge of the Split Rock!" he cried; "andlook, there is the soda hill!" There it was only a mile or twoaway--the long black ridge with the huge rock fragment at its end, andalmost touching it, the high round hill that the Texan had described. 

The horses pressed eagerly forward, seeming to know that rest and waterwere soon to be theirs. "I wonder if they are there, " breathed thegirl, "and I wonder if they are--all right. "

A few minutes later the horses swung around the base of the hill and, with an exclamation of relief, Endicott saw two figures seated besidethe detached fragment of rock that lay near the end of the ridge. 

The Texan arose slowly and advanced toward them, smiling: "Goodevenin', " he greeted, casually, as he eyed the pair with evidentapproval. "You sure come a-runnin'. We didn't expect you 'til alongabout noon tomorrow. And we didn't expect you at all, " he said to thegirl. "We figured you'd shove on to Timber City, an' then Win wouldget a guide an' come back in the mornin'. "

Endicott laughed: "When I learned there was such a place as TimberCity, I intended to leave her there and return alone--only I was notgoing to wait 'til morning to do it. But she wouldn't hear of it, sowe compromised--and she came with me. "

Tex smiled: "It's a great thing to learn how to compromise. " He staredfor a few moments toward the west, where the setting sun left the skyablaze with fiery light. Then, still smiling, he advanced toward themwith both hands extended: "I wish you luck, " he said, softly. "I caredfor you a mighty lot, Miss Alice, but I'm a good loser. I reckon, maybe it's better things worked out the way they did. " Endicottpressed the outstretched hand with a mighty grip and turned swiftlyaway to fumble at his latigo strap. And there were tears in the girl'seyes as her fingers lingered for a moment in the Texan's grasp: "Oh, I--I'm sorry. I----"

"You don't need to be, " the man whispered. "You chose the best of thetwo. " He indicated Endicott with a slight jerk of the head. "You'vegot a real man there--an' they're oncommon hard to find. An' now, ifyou've got some grub along suppose we tie into it. I'm hungry enoughto gnaw horn!"

As Alice proceeded to set out the food, the Texan's eyes for the firsttime strayed to the horses. "How much did Long Bill Kearney soak youfor the loan of his saddle-horses?"

"Nothing, " answered Endicott, "and he supplied us with the grub, too. "

"He, what?"

"Fact, " smiled the other, "he demurred a little, but----"

"Long Bill's the hardest character in Choteau County. "

Endicott glanced at his swollen knuckles: "He is hard, all right. "

Tex eyed him in amazement, "Win, you didn't--punch his head for him!"

"I did--and his stomach, too. We were nearly starved, and he refusedus food. Told us to go back where we came from. So I reached for himand he dozed off. "

"But where was his guns?"

"I took them away from him before I tied him up. "

"Where is he now?"

"Tied up. He called me a lot of names because I turned the horses intohis alfalfa. They were hungry and they enjoyed it, but Bill nearlyblew up. Then we got dinner and took the horses and came away. "

"You're the luckiest man out of hell! You doggoned pilgrim, you!" Texroared with laughter: "Why accordin' to dope, he'd ought to just et youup. "

"He whined like a puppy, when we left him, for fear we would get lostand he would starve to death. He is yellow. "

"His kind always is--way down in their guts. Only no one ever made himshow it before. "

"How far did we miss the water-hole last night?" asked Endicott, as heand Tex sat talking after the others had sought their blankets. 

"About two miles. The wind drifted us to the east. Bat didn't get far'til his horse went down, so he bled him like we did, and holed up 'tilthe storm quit. Then, after things cleared up, we got here about thesame time. The water ain't much--but it sure did taste good. " For along time the two lay close together looking up at the million winkingstars. Tex tossed the butt of a cigarette into the grey dust. "She'sa great girl, Win. Game plumb to her boot heels. "

"She is, that. I've loved her for a long time--since way back in mycollege days--but she wouldn't have me. "

"You hadn't earnt her. Life's like that--it's ups an' downs. But, inthe long run, a man gets about what's comin' to him. It's likepoker--in the long run the best player is bound to win. There's timeswhen luck is against him, maybe for months at a stretch. He'll loseevery time he plays, but if he stays with it, an' keeps on playin' thebest he knows how, an' don't go tryin' to force his luck by drawin'four cards, an' fillin' three-card flushes, why, some day luck willchange an' he wins back all he's lost an' a lot more with it, becausethere's always someone in the game that's throwin' their money awaydrawin' to a Judson. "

"What is a Judson?"

"Bill Judson was a major, an' next to playin' poker, he liked otherthings. Every time he'd get three cards of a suit in a row, he'd drawto 'em, hopin' for a straight flush. That hope cost him, I reckon, hundreds of dollars, an' at last he filled one--but, hell! Everyonelaid down, an' he gathered the ante. " The Texan rolled anothercigarette. "An' that's the way it is with me--I tried to force myluck. I might as well own up to it right here an' get it over with. You've be'n square, straight through, an' I haven't. I was stringin'you with all that bunk about politics, an' you bein' sure to get hungfor shootin' Purdy. Fact is, the grand jury would have turned youloose as soon as your case come up. But, from the first minute I laideyes on that girl, I wanted her. I'm bad enough, but not like Purdy. I figured if she'd go half-way, I'd go the other half. So I plannedthe raid on the wool-warehouse, an' the fake lynchin', purpose to gether out of town. I didn't care a damn about you--you was just anexcuse to get her away. I figured on losing you after we hit themountains. The first jolt I got was in the warehouse, when we didn'thave to drag you out. Then I got another hell of a one in the couleeunder the cottonwoods. Then they got to comin' so thick I lost trackof 'em. An' the first thing I knew I would have killed any man thatwould look crossways at _her_. It come over me all of a sudden that Iloved her. I tried to get out of it, but I was hooked. I watchedclose, an' I saw that she liked me--maybe not altogether for what shethought I'd done for you. But you was in the road. I knew she likedyou, too, though she wouldn't show it. 'Everything's fair in love orwar, ' I kept sayin' over an' over to myself when I'd lay thinkin' itover of nights. But, I knew it was a damned lie when I was sayin' it. If you'd be'n milk-gutted, an' louse-hearted, like pilgrims aresupposed to be, there'd be'n a different story to tell, because youwouldn't have be'n fit for her. But I liked you most as hard as Iloved her. 'From now on it's a square game, ' I says, so I made Old ManJohnson cough up that outfit of raiment, an' made you shave, so shewouldn't have to take you lookin' like a sheep-herdin' greaser, if shewas a-goin' to take you instead of me. After that I come right out an'told her just where I stood, an' from then on I've played the gamesquare. The women ain't divided up right in this world. There oughtto have be'n two of her, but they ain't another in the whole world, Ireckon, like her; so one of us had to lose. An', now, seein' how I'velied you into all this misery, you ought to just naturally up an' knockhell out of me. We'll still keep the game fair an' square. I'll throwaway my gun an' you can sail in as quick as you get your sleeves rolledup. But, I doubt if you can get away with it, at that. "

Endicott laughed happily, and in the darkness his hand stole across andgripped the hand of the Texan in a mighty grip: "I wish to God therewas some way I could thank you, " he said. "Had it not been for you, Inever could have won her. Why, man, I never got acquainted with myselfuntil the past three days!"

"There ain't any posses out, " grinned Tex. "The fellow I met in thecoulee there by Antelope Butte told me. They think you were lynched. He told me somethin' else, too--but that'll keep. "

As they were saddling up, the following morning, the Texan grinned:"I'll bet old Long Bill Kearney's in a pleasin' frame of mind. "

"He's had time to meditate a little on his sins, " answered Alice. 

"No--not Long Bill ain't. If he started in meditatin' on them, he'dstarve to death before he'd got meditated much past sixteen--an' he'sfifty, if he's a day. "

"There are four of us and only three horses, " exclaimed Endicott, as hetightened his cinch. 

"That's all right. The horses are fresh. I'm light built, an' we'llchange off makin' 'em carry double. It ain't so far. "

The morning sun was high when the horses turned into the coulee thatled to Long Bill's ranch. Bat, who had scouted ahead to make sure thathe had not succeeded in slipping his bonds and had plotted mischief, sat grinning beside the corral fence as he listened, unobserved, to thewhimpering and wailing of the man who lay bound beside the cabin door. 

"What's the matter, Willie?" smiled Tex, as he slipped from his seatbehind Endicott's saddle. "Didn't your breakfast set right?"

The man rolled to face them at the sound of the voice, and such astream of obscene blasphemy poured from his lips as to cause even theTexan to wince. Without a word the cowboy reached for a bar of soapthat lay awash in the filthy water of a basin upon a bench beside thedoor, and jammed it down the man's throat. The sounds changed to asputtering, choking gurgle. "Maybe that'll learn you not to talk vilewhen there's ladies around. "

"Water!" the man managed to gasp. 

"Will you quit your damn swearin'?"

Long Bill nodded, and Tex held a dipper to his lips. 

"Go catch up the horses, Bat, an' we'll be gettin' out of here. They'ssome reptiles so mean that even their breath is poison. "

As Bat started for the alfalfa field the man fairly writhed with fury:"I'll hev the law on ye, ye--" he stopped abruptly as Tex reached forthe soap. 

"You won't have the law on no one, you lizard! You don't dare to getwithin hollerin' distance of the law. "

"I will pay you a reasonable amount for any damage to your field, andfor the food, and the use of your horses, " offered Endicott, reachingfor his pocket. 

"Keep your money, Win, " grinned the Texan. "Let me pay for this. Thiscoyote owes me twenty dollars he borrowed from me when I first hit thecountry an' didn't know him. He's always be'n anxious to pay it, ain'tyou, Bill? Well, it's paid now, an' you don't need to go worryin' yourheart out about that debt no longer. "

Again the man opened his lips, but closed them hurriedly as Tex reachedfor the soap. 

"I'll have to borrow your horse an' saddle for my friend, here, " saidthe Texan, "an' Bat, he'll have to borrow one, too. We'll leave 'em inTimber City. "

"_Non_!" cried the half-breed, who had paused in the process ofchanging Alice's saddle to her own horse. "Me--I ain' gon' for bor' nohoss. Am tak' dis hoss an' giv' heem back to Judge Carson. Him b'longover on Sage Creek. "

"Whad'ye mean, ye red scum!" screamed the man, his face growing purple. "That Circle 12 brand is----"

"Ha! Circle 12! De mos' dat Circle 12 she hair-bran'. " He steppedinto the cabin and reappeared a moment later with some coal-oil in acup. This he poured into his hand and rubbed over the brand on thehorse's shoulder. And when he had pressed the hair flat, the Circle 12resolved itself into a V 2. 

The Texan laughed: "I suppose I ought to take you into Timber City, butI won't. I imagine, though, when the Judge hears about this, you'dbetter be hittin' the high spots. He's right ugly with horse thieves. "

"Hey, hain't ye goin' to ontie me?" squealed the man, as the fourstarted down the bank with the horses. 

"You don't suppose I'd go off an' leave a good rope where you could getyour claws on it, do you? Wait 'til we get these horses onto theflat-boat, and all the guns around here collected so you can't peck atus from the brush, an' I'll be back. "

"You gon' on to Timbaire City, " said Bat, "an' I'm com' long bye-m-bye. A'm tak' dis hoss an' ride back an' git ma saddle an' bridle. " Headvanced and removed his hat; "_Adieu, ma'mselle_, mebbe-so I ain' gitdere 'til you gon'. Ol' Bat, he lak' you fine. You need de help, som'tam', you mak' de write to ol' Bat an', ba Goss, A'm com' lak'hell--you bet you dam' life!" Tears blinded the girl's eyes as sheheld out her hand, and as a cavalier of old France, the half-breed bentand brushed it with his lips. He shook the hand of Endicott: "Som'tam'mebbe-so you com' back, we tak' de hont. Me--A'm know where de elk an'de bear liv' plenty. " Endicott detected a twinkle in his eye as heturned to ascend the bank: "You mak' Tex ke'p de strong lookout for deposse. A'm no lak' I seen you git hang. "

"Beat it! You old reprobate!" called the Texan as he followed him upthe slope. 

"How'm I goin' to git my boat back?" whined Long Bill, as the Texancoiled his rope. 

"Swim acrost. Or, maybe you'd better go 'round--it's some littlefurther that way, but it's safer if you can't swim. I'll leave yourguns in the boat. So long, an' be sure to remember not to furgetsometime an' pay me back that twenty. "

The ride to Timber City was made almost in silence. Only once did theTexan speak. It was when they passed a band of sheep grazing besidethe road: "They're minin' the country, " he said, thoughtfully. "Thetime ain't far off when we'll have to turn nester--or move on. "

"Where?" asked Alice. 

The cowboy shrugged, and the girl detected a note of unconscioussadness in his tone: "I don't know. I reckon there ain't any place forme. The whole country's about wired in. "

Timber City, since abandoned to the bats and the coyotes, but then inher glory, consisted of two stores, five saloons, a half-dozen lessreputable places of entertainment, a steepleless board church, aschoolhouse, also of boards, a hotel, a post office, a feed stable, fifty or more board shacks of miners, and a few flimsy buildings at themouths of shafts. It was nearly noon when the three drew up before thehotel. 

"Will you dine with us in an hour?" asked Endicott. 

The Texan nodded. "Thanks, " he said, formally, "I'll be here. " And asthe two disappeared through the door, he gathered up the reins, crossedto the feed barn where he turned the animals over to the proprietor, and passing on to the rear, proceeded to take a bath in the wateringtrough. 

Punctually on the minute he entered the hotel. The meal was a solemnaffair, almost as silent as the ride from the river. Several attemptsat conversation fell flat, and the effort was abandoned. At no time, however, did the Texan appear embarrassed, and Alice noted that hehandled his knife and fork with the ease of early training. 

At the conclusion he arose, abruptly: "I thank you. Will you excuseme, now?"

Alice nodded, and both watched as he crossed the room, his spurstrailing noisily upon the wooden floor. 

"Poor devil, " said Endicott, "this has hit him pretty hard. "

The girl swallowed the rising lump in her throat: "Oh, why can't hemeet some nice girl, and----"

"Women--his kind--are mighty scarce out here, I imagine. "

The girl placed her elbows upon the table, rested her chin upon herknuckles, and glanced eagerly into Endicott's face:

"Win, you've just got to buy a ranch, " she announced, the words fairlytumbling over each other in her excitement. "Then we can come out herepart of the time and live, and we can invite a lot of girls out for thesummer--I just know oodles of nice girls--and Tex can manage the ranch, and----"

"Match-making already!" laughed Endicott. "Why buy a ranch? Why notmove into Wolf River, or Timber City, and start a regular matrimonialagency--satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back. It would be moreprac----"

"Winthrop Adams Endicott!"

"Oh, I forgot! I'm not practical. I'm romantic, and red-blooded, and--" they had the little dining-room to themselves; he rose swiftlyfrom his chair and, crossing to her side, stooped and kissed her, notonce, but twice, and thrice, --"I'm glad of it! And that reminds me, Ihave a couple of errands to attend to, so you will have to manage toworry along without me for fifteen minutes or so. "

She laughed up into his face: "How can I ever stand it? I've worriedalong without you all my life. I guess I'll survive. "

"You won't have to much longer, " he smiled, and hastened from the room. A half-hour later he returned to find her waiting in the hotel"parlour. " She saw that his eyes were shining as he crossed eagerly, seated himself upon the haircloth sofa beside her, and whispered in herear. 

"Winthrop! Indeed we won't do anything of the kind! Whyit's--it's----"

"It's impractical, and it's romantic, " he finished for her. "Also, it's unconventional. Now, refuse if you dare! The stage leaves forLewiston and the railroad at five. He seems to be a regular chap--theparson. Both he and his wife insisted that the event take place intheir house. Said it would be much pleasanter than the hotel--and Iheartily agreed with them. We figured that half-past four would giveus just about time. "

"Well, of all things!" blushed the girl. "You two arranged the wholeaffair, and of course, as I'm only the bride, it wasn't necessary toconsult me at all!"

"Exactly, " smiled Endicott; "I'm red-blooded, you know, andromantic--and when I go in for little things like unconventionality, and romance, I go the limit. And you don't dare refuse!"

She looked up into his eyes, shining with boyish enthusiasm: "I don'tdare, " she whispered. "I don't want to dare. Oh, Win, I--I'm justcrazy about it!"

A few moments later she drew away from him and smoothed her hair. 

"You must go right this minute and find Tex. And, oh, I hope Bat willbe here in time! I just love old Bat!" She ceased speaking and lookedquestioningly into his eyes which had suddenly become grave. 

"I have been looking for Tex, and I couldn't find him anywhere. Then Iwent to the stable across the street. His horse is gone. "

For some moments both were silent. "He never even said good-bye, "faltered the girl, and in her voice was a note of real hurt. 

"No, " answered Endicott, softly, "he should have said good-bye. "

Alice rose and put on her hat: "Come on, let's get out of this hatefulstuffy little room. Let's walk and enjoy this wonderful air while wecan. And besides, we must find some flowers--wild flowers they must befor our wedding, mustn't they, dear? Wild flowers, right from God'sown gardens--wild, and free, and uncultivated--untouched by humanhands. I saw some lovely ones, blue and white, and some wild-cherryblossoms, too, down beside that little creek that crosses the trailalmost at the edge of the town. " Together they walked to the creekthat burbled over its rocky bed in the shadow of the bull-pine forestfrom which Timber City derived its name. Deeper and deeper into thepines they went, stopping here and there to gather the tiny white andblue blossoms, or to break the bloom-laden twigs from the low cherrybushes. As they rounded a huge upstanding rock, both paused andinvoluntarily drew back. There, in the centre of a tiny glade thatgave a wide view of the vast sweep of the plains, with their backgroundof distant mountains, stood the Texan, one arm thrown across the neckof his horse, and his cheek resting close against the animal's glossyneck. For a moment they watched as he stood with his eyes fixed on thefar horizon. 

"Go back a little way, " whispered Endicott. "I want to speak withhim. " The girl obeyed, and he stepped boldly into the open. 

"Tex!"

The man whirled. "What you doin' here?" his face flushed red, then, with an effort, he smiled, as his eyes rested upon the blossoms. "Pickin' posies?"

"Yes, " answered Endicott, striving to speak lightly, "for a veryspecial occasion. We are to be married at half-past four, and we wantyou to be there--just you, and Bat, and the parson. I hunted the townfor you and when I found your horse gone I--we thought you had riddenaway without even saying good-bye. "

"No, " answered the cowboy slowly, "I didn't do that. I was goin'back--just for a minute--at stage time. But, it's better this way. Inrooms--like at dinner, I ain't at home, any more. It's better out herein the open. I won't go to your weddin'. Damn it, man, I _can't_!I'm more than half-savage, I reckon. By the savage half of me, I oughtto kill you. I ought to hate you--but I can't. About a lot of thingsyou're green as hell. You can't shoot, nor ride, nor rope, nor dohardly any other damn thing a man ought to do. But, at that, you whirla bigger loop than I do. You've got the nerve, an' the head, an' theheart. You're a man. The girl loves you. An' I love her. My God, man! More than all the world, I love the woman who is to be yourwife--an' I have no right to! I tell you I'm half-savage! Take her, an' go! Go fast, an' go a long time! I never want to hear of youagain. But--I can still say--good luck!" he extended his hand andEndicott seized it. 

"I shall be sorry to think that we are never to meet again, " he saidsimply. 

The shadow of a smile flickered on the Texan's lips: "After a while, maybe--but not soon. I've got to lick a savage, first--and they diehard. "

Endicott turned to go, when the other called to him: "Oh, Win!" Heturned. "Is she here--anywhere around? I must tell her good-bye. "

"Yes, she is down the creek a way. I'll send her to you. "

The Texan advanced to meet her, Stetson in hand: "Good-bye, " he said, "an' good luck. I can't give you no regular weddin' present--there'snothin' in the town that's fit. But, I'll give you this--I'll give youyour man clean-handed. He ain't wanted. There's no one wants him--butyou. He didn't kill Purdy that night. It's too bad he didn't--but hedidn't. We all thought he did, but he only creased him. He came to, after we'd pulled out. I heard it from the puncher I had the fightwith in the coulee--an' it's straight goods. " He paused abruptly, andthe girl stared wide-eyed into his face. The wild flowers dropped fromher hands, and she laid trembling fingers upon his arm. 

"What are you saying?" she cried, fiercely. "That Purdy is not dead?That Win didn't kill him? That----"

"No. Win didn't kill him, " interrupted the Texan, with a smile. 

"Have you told Win?"

"No. Weddin' presents are for the bride. I saved it for you. "

Tears were streaming from the girl's eyes: "It's the most wonderfulwedding present anybody ever had, " she sobbed. "I know Win did it forme, and if he had killed him it would have been justifiable--right. But, always, we would have had that thing to think of. It would havebeen like some hideous nightmare. We could have put it away, but itwould have come again--always. I pretended I didn't care. I wouldn'tlet him see that it was worrying me, even more than it worried him. "

The cowboy stooped and recovered the flowers from the ground. As Alicetook them from him, her hand met his: "Good-bye, " she faltered, "and--may God bless you!"

At the rock she turned and saw him still standing, hat in hand, as shehad left him. Then she passed around the rock, and down the creek, where her lover waited with his arms laden with blossoms. 

AN EPILOGUE

At exactly half-past four the Texan galloped to the door of the RedFront Saloon, and swinging from his horse, entered. Some men wereplaying cards at a table in the rear, but he paid them no heed. Verydeliberately he squared himself to the bar and placed his foot upon thebrass rail: "Give me some red liquor, " he ordered. And when thebartender set out the bottle and the glass the cowboy poured it fulland drank it at a gulp. He poured out another, and then a third, and afourth. The bartender eyed him narrowly: "Ain't you goin' it a littlestrong, pardner?" he asked. The Texan stared at him as if he had notheard, and answered nothing. A smile bent the white aproned one's lipsas he glanced into his customer's eyes still black from the blow Curthad dealt him in the coulee. 

"Them lamps of yourn was turned up too high, wasn't they?" he asked. 

The cowboy nodded, thoughtfully: "Yes, that's it. They was turned uptoo high--a damn sight too high for me, I reckon. "

"Git bucked off?"

The blackened eyes narrowed ever so slightly: "No. A guard done that. "

"A guard?"

"Yes, a guard. " The Texan poured out his fifth drink. "In the pen, itwas. "

"In the pen!" The bartender was itching with curiosity. "You don'tlook like a jail-bird. They musta got the wrong guy?" he suggested. 

"No. I killed him, all right. I shot his ears off first, an' thenplugged him between the eyes before he could draw. It was fun. I canshoot straight as hell--an' quick! See that mouse over by the wall?"Before the words were out of his mouth his Colt roared. The bartenderstared wide-eyed at the ragged bit of fur and blood that was plasteredagainst the base-board where a moment before a small mouse had beennibbling a bit of cheese. The men at the card table paused, looked up, and resumed their game. 

"Man, that's shootin'!" he exclaimed. "Have one on me! This geezerthat you bumped off--self defence, I s'pose?"

"No. He was a bar-keep over on the Marias. He made the mistake oftakin' ondue notice of a pair of black eyes I'd got--somehow theylooked mirthful to him, an'--" The Texan paused and gazedreproachfully toward a flick of a white apron as the loquacious onedisappeared through the back door. 

A loud shouting and a rattling of wheels sounded from without. Thecard game broke up, and the players slouched out the door. Through thewindow the Texan watched the stage pull up at the hotel, watched theexpress box swung off, and the barn-dogs change the horses; saw theexchange of pouches at the post office; saw the stage pull out slowlyand stop before a little white cottage next door to the steeplelesschurch. Then he reached for the bottle, poured another drink, anddrank it very slowly. Through the open door came the far-away rattleof wheels. He tossed some money onto the bar, walked to the door, andstood gazing down the trail toward the cloud of grey dust that grewdimmer and dimmer in the distance. At last, it disappeared altogether, and only the trail remained, winding like a great grey serpent towardthe distant black buttes of the Judith Range. He started to re-enterthe saloon, paused with his foot on the threshold and stared down theempty trail, then facing abruptly about he swung into the saddle, turned his horse's head northward, and rode slowly out of town. At thelittle creek he paused and stared into the piney woods. A tiny whiteflower lay, where it had been dropped in the trail, at the feet of hishorse, and he swung low and recovered it. For a long time he satholding the little blossom in his hand. Gently he drew it across hischeek. He remembered--and the memory hurt--that the last time he hadreached from the saddle had been to snatch _her_ handkerchief from theground, and he had been just the fraction of a second too late. 

"My luck's runnin' mighty low, " he muttered softly, and threw back hisshoulders, as his teeth gritted hard, "but I'm still in the game, an'maybe this will change it. " Very carefully, very tenderly, he placedthe blossom beneath the band inside his hat. "I must go an' hunt forBat, the old renegade! If anything's happened to him--if that damnedLong Bill has laid for him--I will kill a man, sure enough. " Hegathered up his reins and rode on up the trail, and as he rode theshadows lengthened. Only once he paused and looked backward at thelittle ugly white town. Before him the trail dipped into a wide valleyand he rode on. And, as the feet of his horse thudded softly in thegrey dust of the trail, the sound blended with the low, wailing chantof the mournful dirge of the plains:

 "O bury me not on the lone prairie Where the wild coyotes will howl o'er me, Where the rattlesnakes hiss and the crow flies free, O bury me not on the lone prairie. "