raggart, a rogue, a villain, that fights by the
book of arithmetic!"]

"I never heard," mentioned Broncho, "about any of Dibble's ways of
mixin' scrappin' and cipherin'."

"Triggernometry?" suggested the Nueces infant.

"That's rather better than I hoped from you," nodded the Easterner,
approvingly. "The other meaning is that Buckley never goes into
a fight without giving away weight. He seems to dread taking the
slightest advantage. That's quite close to foolhardiness when you are
dealing with horse-thieves and fence-cutters who would ambush you any
night, and shoot you in the back if they could. Buckley's too full of
sand. He'll play Horatius and hold the bridge [50] once too often some
day."

[FOOTNOTE 50: Livy (_History of Rome_, Book II) tells the story of
Horatius Cocles. Shortly after the Romans threw out
Tarquin and the Etruscans (about 509 B.C.), Lars
Porsenna, an Etruscan King, attacked the city. His
army had to cross a narrow wooden bridge over the
Tiber. Horatius and two companions blocked the way of
the Etruscan army while their comrades dismantled the
bridge behind them. Horatius' companions retreated
to safety just before the bridge collapsed. When
Horatius was certain the Etruscans could not cross
the river, he prayed to the god of the Tiber, then
jumped from the bridge into the river in full armor
and swam to safety. For a more complete account,
read the original in Project Gutenberg's library:
http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/10828.]

"I'm on there," drawled the Kid; "I mind that bridge gang in the
reader. Me, I go instructed for the other chap--Spurious Somebody
[51]--the one that fought and pulled his freight, to fight 'em on some
other day."

[FOOTNOTE 51: Spurius Lartius was one of Horatius' two companions
defending the Sublician Bridge. O. Henry exaggerates
the time devoted to study of the classics in the
curriculum for Ranger training.]

"Anyway," summed up Broncho, "Bob's about the gamest man I ever see
along the Rio Bravo [52]. Great Sam Houston! If she gets any hotter
she'll sizzle!" Broncho whacked at a scorpion with his four-pound
Stetso