it showed above the sill of a window in
the blacksmith shop opposite. Bear Cat was all set for action.

A man was standing beside some horses near the back door of Platt &
Fortner's. He was partially screened from Bob's view by one of the
broncos and by a freight wagon, but the young cattleman had a fleeting
impression that he was Bandy Walker. Was he, too, waiting to get a shot
at the bandits? Probably so. He had a rifle in his hands. But it struck
Dillon he was taking chances. When the robbers came out of the bank they
would be within thirty feet of him.

Out of the front door of the bank a little group of men filed. Two of
them were armed. The others flanked them on every side. Ferril the
cashier carried a gunnysack heavily loaded.

A man stepped out upon the platform in front of Platt & Fortner's. From
his position he looked down on the little bunch of men moving toward the
horses. Bandy Walker, beside the horses, called on Houck to hurry, that
they were being surrounded.

"I've got you covered. Throw down yore guns," the man on the platform
shouted to the outlaws, rifle at shoulder.

Houck's revolver flashed into the air. He fired across the shoulder of
the man whom he was using as a screen. The rifleman on the store porch
sat down suddenly, his weapon clattering to the ground.

"Another of 'em," Houck said aloud with a savage oath. "Any one else
lookin' for it?"

Walker moved forward with the horses. Afraid that general firing would
begin at any moment, Ferril dropped the sack and ran for the shelter of
the wagons. His flight was a signal for the others who had been marshaled
out of the bank. They scattered in a rush for cover.

Instantly Houck guessed what would follow. From every side a volley of
bullets would be concentrated on him and his men. He too ran, dodging
back into the bank.

He was not a tenth part of a second too soon. A fusillade of shots poured
down. It seemed that men were firing from every door, window, and street
corner. Bandy Walker fell as he started to run. Two bullets tore through
his heart, one from each side. The big cowpuncher never stirred from his
tracks. He went down at the first volley. Five wounds, any one of which
would have been mortal, were later found in his body and head.

All told, the firing had not lasted as long as it would take a man to run
across a street. Bear Cat had functioned. The bank robbers were out of
business.

The news spread quicker than the tongue