The next moment the man in the cart was crouching down, all but the
crown of his head and his gleaming eyes well sheltered by the
loose-hanging canvas hood.

"I'm 'most allus ready to put my hands up!" he snarled. "Come on!"

CHAPTER XXXI

THE BATTLE

A shout of fury. A wild chorus of meaningless blasphemy. A thundering
of hoofs. A shriek of pain--an appalling death-cry. The fight has
begun--such a fight, in its wanton savagery, as might shame even the
forest beasts. In a moment the human lusting for the blood of its
fellows is let loose, than which there is no more terrible madness on
earth.

Yet there was a difference. There was a difference of motive widely
separating the combatants; and it was a difference that left the
balance of offense doubtful.

To analyze the mental attitude of these people adequately would be
well-nigh impossible. Their outlook possessed distortions which
changed with chameleon-like rapidity. On the one hand was a band of
lawless ruffians, steeped to their very souls in every sort of crime,
in whose minds all law was anathema, in whose understanding all
possession was a deliberate challenge, in whose hearts was no pity, no
mercy, no feeling which belongs to the gentler side of human life; to
whose comprehension death has no meaning until its relentless grip is
fixed, and they feel the last spark of life crushing out of their own
bodies. Then--But the analysis becomes hopelessly chaotic.

On the other hand motive is perhaps even more difficult still, though
a shade less hopeless. The gambler was a man of strong thought, of
strong forces. Nor was he devoid of the gentler feelings of life. Yet
here lies the difficulty of associating the various sides of his
character with his actions. He had set out for this encounter. He had
yearned for it, as a child might yearn for a plaything. The
contemplation of it gave him ecstasy. With an inhuman joy he desired
the lives of these men. Not one, but all; and one even more than all.
Then, too, his purpose was in face of overwhelming odds--in face of
almost a certainty of death for himself. Such actions have been
performed before in noble cases, but here--?

Was it simply his purpose to yield himself a martyr to the public
welfare? Was it that he truly desired to avenge a wronged man? Was he
setting himself up as the avenger of Sid Morton's cruel death, a man
in whom he had no interest whatever? No. It would be absurd to believe
that thes