ll at any moment.
And the worst of it is, if they ever do recall it, you are worse off
than when before they extended the brittle bauble to you."

"Jingo, John! For a stage blacksmith you are some spieler." De Spain
added an impatient, not to say contumelious exclamation concerning
the substance of Lefever's talk. "I didn't ask them for a reputation.
This man interfered with my guard--in fact, tried to cut his throat,
didn't he?"

"Would have done it if Frank had been an honest man."

"That is all there is to it, isn't it? If Sassoon or anybody else gets
in the way of the stages, I'll go after them again--that's all there
is to it, isn't it?"

Lefever tapped the second finger of one fat hand gently on the table.
"Practically; practically all, Henry, yes. You don't quite understand,
but you have the right idea. What I am trying to hammer into your
dense cocoanut is, that when a man has, gets, or is given a reputation
out in this country, he has got to live up to it."

"What do you want me to do--back a horse and shoot two guns at once up
and down Main Street, cowboy style?"

Lefever kept his patience without difficulty. "No, no. You'll
understand."

"Scott advised me to run down to Medicine Bend for a few days to let
the Morgans cool off."

"Right. That was the first step. The few days are a thing of the past.
I suppose you know," continued Lefever, in as well-modulated a tone
as he could assume to convey information that could not be regarded as
wholly cheerful, "that they expect to get you for this Sassoon job."

De Spain flushed. But the red anger lasted only a moment. "Who are
'they'?" he asked after a pause.

"Deaf Sandusky, Logan, of course, the Calabasas bunch, and the
Morgans."

De Spain regarded his companion unamiably. "What do they expect I'll
be doing while they are getting me?"

Lefever raised a hand deprecatingly. "Don't be overconfident, Henry;
that's your danger. I know you can take care of yourself. All I want
to do is to get the folks here acquainted with your ability, without
taking unnecessary chances. You see, people are not now asking
questions of one another; they are asking them of themselves. Who and
what is this newcomer--an accident or a genuine arrival? A common
squib or a real explosion? Don't get excited," he added, in an effort
to soothe de Spain's obvious irritation. "You have the idea, Henry.
It's time to show yourself."

"I can't very well do business here without showi