rd the roof of the car.

"A popgun like that is a whole lot dangerous for fools to play with,"
observed this person who had interrupted. "You ought to be turned over
some one's knee and spanked a-plenty. That's whatever!"

"Great Juniper!" squawked Ephraim Gallup, flourishing his arms with a
wild gesture of delight. "It's Buck--it's old Buck, by gum!"

"Hooroo, Badger, me bhoy!" laughed Barney. "Wherever did yez come from
so suddint, Oi dunno?"

"In truth, it is my old college mate from Kansas!" breathed Carker.

Badger had twisted the pistol out of Murillo's fingers, with one hand
while he easily held the Mexican helpless with the other hand. Badger
was a big man. He stood six feet tall, and every inch of him was put up
for strength and endurance. He was a fine-looking man, too, bronzed and
weather-beaten, as if he had seen much outdoor life, yet having a
certain atmosphere of ease and refinement about him which proclaimed him
no ordinary cow-puncher or laborer. There was command and
self-confidence in every glance of his eyes, in every movement of his
person. In spite of his youth, a critical, discerning stranger would
have pronounced him a man of much experience who feared nothing made of
flesh and blood.

Murillo snarled at the Kansan in Spanish:

"_Santissima! Caramba! Caraj----_"

Like a flash Badger snapped the revolver out through the open window,
and his hand closed on the throat of the furious Mexican, cutting the
vile word short.

"Here, you low-mouthed spawn of sin," grated the big Westerner, "there
are ladies present! If you use that word before them, I'll shut off your
wind a-plenty and let it stay shut! You hear me murmur!"

Murillo made one last furious struggle, but it was quite ineffectual,
and he finally subsided, lying limp in the grasp of the big man.

"Who is this greaser coyote?" asked Badger, as he relaxed his hold on
the man's throat, allowing him to catch a painful breath. "Whatever was
he doing a-pulling a popgun that fashion?"

"Oh, he ees the veree bad man, senyor!" exclaimed Teresa. "He annoy my
dear friend, Juanita! He follow her all the way from Mexico! He threaten
her eef she do not marry heem!"

Badger took a look at Juanita, and something like a gleam of admiration
came into his big brown eyes.

"Juanita, you sure have my sympathy a-plenty," he observed. "You don't
want to marry him?"

"Oh, no, no, senyor!" replied the frightened girl.

"Well, then I opine I'll drop