king and his eyes lighting.
"Thet was a race! Lord, I'd like to hev seen Wrangle jump the cliff with
Jerry. An' thet was good-by to the grandest hoss an' rider ever on the
sage!... But, Bern, after you got the hosses why'd you want to bolt right
in Tull's face?"

"I want him to know. An' if I can get to him I'll--"

"You can't get near Tull," interrupted Judkins. "Thet vigilante bunch
hev taken to bein' bodyguard for Tull an' Dyer, too."

"Hasn't Lassiter made a break yet?" inquired Venters, curiously.

"Naw!" replied Judkins, scornfully. "Jane turned his head. He's mad in
love over her--follers her like a dog. He ain't no more Lassiter! He's
lost his nerve, he doesn't look like the same feller. It's village talk.
Everybody knows it. He hasn't thrown a gun, an' he won't!"

"Jud, I'll bet he does," replied Venters, earnestly. "Remember what I
say. This Lassiter is something more than a gun-man. Jud, he's big--he's
great!... I feel that in him. God help Tull and Dyer when Lassiter does
go after them. For horses and riders and stone walls won't save them."

"Wal, hev it your way, Bern. I hope you're right. Nat'rully I've been
some sore on Lassiter fer gittin' soft. But I ain't denyin' his nerve,
or whatever's great in him thet sort of paralyzes people. No later 'n
this mornin' I seen him saunterin' down the lane, quiet an' slow. An'
like his guns he comes black--black, thet's Lassiter. Wal, the crowd
on the corner never batted an eye, en' I'll gamble my hoss thet there
wasn't one who hed a heartbeat till Lassiter got by. He went in Snell's
saloon, an' as there wasn't no gun play I had to go in, too. An' there,
darn my pictures, if Lassiter wasn't standin' to the bar, drinking en'
talkin' with Oldrin'."

"Oldring!" whispered Venters. His voice, as all fire and pulse within
him, seemed to freeze.

"Let go my arm!" exclaimed Judkins. "Thet's my bad arm. Sure it was
Oldrin'. What the hell's wrong with you, anyway? Venters, I tell you
somethin's wrong. You're whiter 'n a sheet. You can't be scared of the
rustler. I don't believe you've got a scare in you. Wal, now, jest let
me talk. You know I like to talk, an' if I'm slow I allus git there
sometime. As I said, Lassiter was talkie' chummy with Oldrin'. There
wasn't no hard feelin's. An' the gang wasn't payin' no pertic'lar
attention. But like a cat watchin' a mouse I hed my eyes on them two
fellers. It was strange to me, thet confab. I'm gittin' to think a lot,
fer a f