Ther' ain't no moon till
nigh on daylight. Howsum, ther' ain't no argyfyin' the weather."

Tresler was watching his comrade closely. There was something peculiar
in his manner. He seemed almost fanciful, yet there was a wonderful
alertness in the rapidity of his talk. He remained silent, and,
presently, the other went on again, but he had switched off to a fresh
topic.

"Say, I never ast you how you figgered to settle wi' Jake," he said.
"I guess it'll be all"--he broke off, and glanced out prairieward, but
went on almost immediately,--"a settlin'. I've seen you kind o' riled.
And I've seen Jake." He stood up and peered into the darkness while he
talked in his even monotone. "Yup," he went on, "ther's ways o'
dealin' wi' men--an' ways. Guess, now, ef you wus dealin' wi' an
honest citizen you'd jest talk him fair. Mind, I figger to know you a
heap." His eyes suddenly turned on the man he was addressing, but
returned almost at once to their earnest contemplation of the black
vista of grass-land. "You'd argyfy the point reas'nable, an' leave the
gal to settle for you. But wi' Jake it's diff'rent." His hand slowly
went round to his right hip, and suddenly he turned on his friend with
a look of desperate meaning. "D'you know what it'll be 'tween you two?
This is what it means;" and he whipped out the heavy six that had once
been "Tough" McCulloch's, and leveled it at arm's length out
prairieward. Tresler thought it was coming at him, and sprang back,
while Arizona laughed. "This is what it'll be. You'll take a careful
aim, an' if you've friends around they'll see fair play, sure. I guess
they'll count 'three' for you, so. Jest one, two, an' you'll both fire
on the last, so. Three!"

There was a flash, and a sharp report, and then a cry split the still
night air. Tresler sprang at the man whom he now believed was mad, but
the cry stayed him, and the next moment he felt the grip of Arizona's
sinewy hand on his arm, and was being dragged round the corral as the
sound of horses' hoofs came thundering toward him.

"It's them!"

It was the only explanation Arizona vouchsafed. They reached the
horses and both sprang into the saddle, and the American's voice
whispered hoarsely--

"Bend low. Guess these walls'll save us, an' we've got a sheer sight
o' all the corral gates. Savee? Shoot careful, an' aim true. An' watch
out on the bluff. The sheriff's around."

And now the inexperienced Tresler saw the whole scheme. The master