killin' mad. Bah! Did you think
I'd give you a chance, you short-horned maverick! There's Selden behind
that curtain, there--back of the cupboard. An' Krell watchin' you from
the door of that room, on the side. They've got you between them, an' if
you bat an eyewinker they'll down you. I'm goin' to gas to you--I'm
goin' to tell you what I think of you for ropin' me an' draggin' me back
to Willets, to show to the damned yaps on the station platform. An'
after that I'm goin' to hog-tie you an'--Ah!"

Antrim's exclamation was a mere gasp. It escaped his lips as Lawler
jumped backward, landing outside the door, overbalanced, trying to stand
upright while he snapped a shot at Antrim.

Antrim, however, had reached for his gun. It came out before Lawler
could steady himself, and Lawler saw it. Lawler saw the weapon belch
smoke and fire as it cleared Antrim's hip; he felt a shock as the bullet
struck him; felt still another sear his flesh near the arm as he let his
own pistol off. He saw the outlaw plunge forward and fall prone, his
arms outstretched. He was motionless, inert.

From inside the cabin came the sounds of steps--Antrim's confederates,
Lawler supposed. He heard them approach the door and he leaped, swaying
a little, toward the corner of the cabin nearest him. He had reached it,
had just dodged behind it, when Selden and Krell rushed out. At the same
instant Shorty thundered up, slipped out of the saddle and ran toward
Lawler, drawing his guns.

Shorty had approached the cabin from the rear, having cut across the
space behind the bunkhouses when he heard the shooting. He could not be
seen by Selden and Krell as they plunged out of the door; but he had
seen Lawler when the latter dodged behind the corner of the cabin, and
as he ran toward Lawler he drew his guns.

As yet Shorty had seen no one but Lawler. He supposed Antrim and Lawler
had exchanged shots and he knew Lawler had been hit--his swaying as he
came around the corner of the cabin proved it. Knowing something of the
terrible rage that had seized the man, he suspected Lawler had burst
into the cabin, recklessly exposing himself to Antrim's fire.

And as Shorty ran toward the spot where Lawler was standing, he
expected to see Antrim follow, to complete his work.

Within a dozen feet of Lawler he halted, facing the corner. He had not
long to wait. For Selden and Krell, guns in hand, appeared almost
instantly--their faces hideous with passion. As they rush