r and
blinded him. In the dusk that had fallen he could only dimly see the
man's head and he swung his right fist at it, putting every ounce of his
strength into the blow. He felt the fist strike, realized that it had
glanced, and tried to recover for a second blow.

But the terrific swing had carried him off his balance. He whirled clear
around, slipped, and came down to the floor flat on his face. He was up
in an instant, however, his brain afire with rage, his muscles tingling
with eagerness. He did not think of the gun at his hip, for the lust of
murder was in his soul and he wanted only to hit the man--to seize him
and tear him apart--to crush and smash the vile hands that he had seen
at the girl's throat.

Five feet from him, facing him, on his hands and knees and scrambling to
rise, was the man. He recognized Yuma, and even as he bounded forward
the latter gained his feet and tugged at his gun-holster. The weapon had
not yet cleared the holster when Hollis was upon him. He struck again
with his right fist and missed, crashing against Yuma in his eagerness
and carrying him down to the floor with a force that shook the cabin. As
they fell Hollis felt a sharp, agonizing pain in his left wrist, from
which the splints had been only recently removed, and the hand hung limp
at his side, entirely useless.

For an instant after the fall Yuma lay still, breathing heavily. Then he
made a sudden movement with his right arm and Hollis caught a glint of
metal. He threw himself at the arm, catching it with his right hand just
above the wrist and jamming it tight to the floor. Yuma tried to squirm
free, failed, and with a curse drove his left fist into the side of
Hollis's face. Again he tried to squirm free and during the struggle
that followed the hand holding the pistol was raised from the floor.
Hollis saw it and wrenched desperately at the arm, twisting it and
dragging it furiously downward to the floor. Yuma shrieked with rage and
pain as the force of the impact cracked his knuckles and sent the weapon
clattering ten feet away.

For an instant both men lay silent, panting from their exertions. Then
Yuma succeeded in getting one leg over Hollis's body and one arm around
his neck. With a quick motion--successful because of Hollis's injured
wrist--he turned the latter over on his back. His eyes alight with an
exultant, malevolent fire, he gripped Hollis's throat with one hand and
drove at his face with the other. A quick