eral officer!" he began, waggling his finger
at Casey. "Pap thinks you come here spyin' around t' see what we're up
to on this here butte. Now, you can't pull nothin' like that! You
can't get away with it.

"Hank, he wants t' bump yuh off an' say nothin' to anybody. Now, I
come t' have it out with yuh. If you're a Federal officer we're goin'
t' settle with yuh an' take no chances. Mart, he's more easy-goin' in
some ways, on account of havin' his crazy ol' mother on 'is hands t'
take care of. Mart don't want no killin'--on account of his mother
goin' loony when 'is dad got killed. But Mart ain't here. Pap an'
Hank, they been at me all mornin' t' let 'em bump yuh off.

"But Pap an' Hank, they're drunk, see? I'm the only sober man left on
the job. So I come up here t' settle with yuh myself. Takes a sober
man with a level head t' settle these things. Now, if you come up here
spyin' an' snoopin', you git bumped off an' no argument about it.
Mart's got his mother t' take care of--an' we aim t' pertect Mart. If
you're a Federal officer, I want t' know it here an' now. If yuh
ain't, I want yuh t' sample some uh the out-kickin'est 'White Mule' yuh
ever swallered. Now which are yuh, and what yuh goin' t' do? I want
my answer here an' now, an' no argument an' no foolin'!"

Casey blinked but his mouth widened in a grin. "Me, I never went
lookin' fer nothin, I wouldn't put under my vest, Joe," he declared
convincingly. So that was it! He was thinking against time.
Moonshiners as well as would-be murderers they were--and Joe drunk and
giving them away like a fool. Casey wished that he knew where Hank and
Paw were at this moment. He hoped, too, that Joe was right--that Hank
and Paw were drunk. He'd have the three of them tied in a row before
dark, in any case. The thing to do now was to humor Joe along--leave
it to Casey Ryan!

Joe was uncorking a small, flat bottle of pale liquor. Now he held it
out to Casey. Casey took it, thinking he would pretend to drink, would
urge Joe to take a drink; it would be simple, once he got Joe started.
But Joe had a few ideas of his own concerning the celebration. He
pulled a gun unexpectedly, leaned against the closed door to steady
himself and aimed it full at Casey.

"In just two minutes I'm goin' t' shoot if that there bottle ain't
empty," he stated gravely, nodding his head with intense pride in his
ability to handle the situation. "If you're a Federal officer, yuh