Tex""

hen rode slowly toward the station where, after a few words with Jer

was working in the yeasty turbulence of his heart and mind. Taking off his perforated sombrero he gazed at it as though it were something sacred. There they were, two of them, made by her blessed bullets! Reverently pu

. As he made the decision, he idly observed Bud Haines emerge from the door of the general store and start toward him on the peculiar, bow-legged, choppy stride he so much

ether there were six or two dozen men in the room; nor that their eager and low-voiced conversation abruptly ceased upon his entry, and that there was an air of expectancy which seemed to fill the room. He passed Henry Williams, who was se

he said in a low, tense

oom, buried in his abstractions. He neither saw nor heard the quiet, quick entry of Bud Haines through the front door, nor knew that the gun

s warning totally ignored,

d. "I'm talking

roundings. The meanness in the voice, the deadly timbre of it, warned

dly sensing the hostility in the air. "I

aning forward on the table. "You don't want to stop thinkin' about it, neither--unless

A fenced range. He was to keep off. "I ain't gettin' th' drift of that," he sai

yes beginning to flame. "I wouldn't have nobody say you wasn't warned plain. I'm tellin' you for th'

or read them somewhere. Certainly they did not by right belong to his direct method of conveying thought. He knew Henry Williams, his baseness, his petty villainies, his bestial

me to admire a rose; but I'm d--d i

is own Colt at his hip, the deadly muzzle covering the two in front of the bar, without a tremble of its steely barrel. His gripping fingers kept on twisting, while one knee held the killer from writhing sidewise to escape the grip of the punishing bending of the imprisoned arm. Slowly the tortured muscles grew numb, slowly beads of persp

come back till you know how to act! Runnin' around like a mad dog, tryin' to kill men that never done you no harm! G'wan, or I'll let Hennery loose at you! I heard what you said, an' I wouldn't

utt of his own. Bud Haines leaned forward, balanced on the balls of his feet, but not daring to leap. The spec

e went out, mounted and rode toward the ranch; and it was half an hour later before he came to the realization tha

ossed it, butt first, to the killer. "I shore am apologizin' to you, Bud,

bullet cutting Tex's vest under the armpit. Before a second shot could

, an' he shot at me with it. Clipped my vest under my left shoulder. I couldn't do nothin' else. I'm sayin' that doin' favors for strangers is risky business--but is anybody findin' any fault with this shootin'?"

r was there any friendliness. The killing had been justified. This seemed to be the collective opinion, for in no way could the facts be changed. Bud had been man-handled in a manner which to hi

his gun into its sheath and went over to Henry's tab

l voice. "'Tain't for everybody's ears, neither; so sit down a minute. That f

He motioned to the bartender for drinks and then let his suspicious eye

momentary gleam showing. "That's a habit of yourn, too

t foot forward. I'm allus bunglin' things; an' just when I was beginnin' to make a few friends, Bud had to go an'

ctin' to, Jones, is th' way you spoiled my plans. Don't you never cut into my affairs like you did just now. I'

f you want that C Bar fool, go git him. It ain't none of my business. But I'm worryin' about what yore uncle's goin' to say a

d Henry, "after he cools down.

couldn't hit it. I sort of egged him on, not believin' him; an' shore enough he couldn't--an', Hennery, it was near as big as a house! I cut loose an' made a sieve of it--you must 'a' heard th' shootin'? His eyes plumb stuck out, an' we got to talkin' shootin'. Finally he ups an' asks me can I show his sister how to throw a gun an', seein' my chance to learn somethin' about her, I said I shore could show anybody that wasn't scared to dea

ed Henry, grin

started back ag'in, an' I was just gettin' set to swing th' conversation in yore direction, carelesslike, but real careful, an' see what I could find out for you, when cussed if that C Bar coyote didn't come dustin' up, an' I don't know any more than I did before. But I'm riskin' one thing, Hennery: I'm near shore she ain't got nothin' ag'in' you; an' on th' w

ompanion's bland eyes. "Her brother's dead set ag'in' it. He knows he done me a dirty trick, stealin' my job, an' li

r. Seems to me yo're doin' a lot of foolish worryin' about losin' that job. That ain't no job to worry about. If I was Gus Williams'

day would die, "that is one way of lookin' at it; bu

ers like Saunders. It ain't worth th' risk of spoilin' yore disposition. Let him have his dried-out bone: you would 'a' dropped it quick enough, anyhow. An' if it wasn't for him gettin' that two-by-nothin' old job you woul

affair?" questioned Henry, his glance resti

coyote. He lets me come out here, near th' end of th' track, an' then lets me hold th' sack. Time's comin' when I'll be ne

kind of a job you ought to have. There's good jobs, an' poor jobs. An' while I think of it, Tex, you'd mebby better go ridi

d sensing danger, Tex pushed back quietly and followed his companion's gaze. Jake, under the influence of liqu

Tex. "I've done too much kil

shot through him and his hand chopped down, but Henry knocked it aside and the heavy bullet scored the wall. Two men near the

obliged, Hennery," he said. "I've been expectin' him most every minute an

ed up ag'in' you, Tex, an' it'll smolder an' smolder, no tellin' how long. Then it'll bust out ag

n't got no grudge ag'in' Jake. It's th' other way '