s if to give weight to his words.

The cowboy stopped cleaning his rifle and stood up, covering the sheriff,
a sneer on his face and anger in his eyes.

"If you're a-scared, we ain't, by God!" he cried. "The Orphan has got
away too many times already, and here is where he gets stopped for good!
When we gets through with him he won't shoot no more friends of ourn,
nor nobody else's!"

Shields looked him squarely in the eyes: "If you don't drop that gun I'll
drop you, Bucknell," he said pleasantly, and his eyes proclaimed that he
meant what he said.

Sneed sprang forward and knocked the gun aside; "You d----n fool!" he
cried. "You ornery, silly fool! Get back to the bunk house or I'll make
you wish you had never seen that gun! Go on, get the h--l out of here
before you join Jimmy!"

Then the foreman turned to Shields, feeling that he had lost much through
the rashness of his man.

"Don't pay any attention to that crazy yearling, Sheriff," he said
earnestly. "He's only feeling his oats. But we only wanted to round him
up," he continued on the main topic. "We meant to turn him over to you
after we'd got him. He's a blasted, thieving, murdering dog, that's what
he is, and he oughtn't get away this time!"

"You keep out of this, and keep your men out of it, too," responded
Shields, turning away. "I mean what I say. Jimmy started the mess and
got the worst of it. I'll get The Orphan, or nobody will. As long as I'm
sheriff of this county I'll take care of my job without any lynching
parties. Come on, Charley."

"Deputize some of my boys, Sheriff!" he begged. "Let 'em think they're
doing something. The Orphan is a bad man to go after alone. The boys are
so mad that they'll get him if they have to ride through hell after him.
Swear them in and let them get him lawfully."

"Yes?" retorted Shields cynically. "And have to shoot them to keep them
from shooting him?"

"By God, Sheriff," cried Sneed, losing control of his temper, "this is
our fight, and we're going to see it through! We'll get that cur, sheriff
or no sheriff, and when we do, he'll stretch rope! And anybody who tries
to stop us will get hurt! I ain't making any threats, Sheriff; only
telling plain facts, that's all."

"Then I'll be a wreck," responded Shields, still smiling. "For I'll stop
it, even if I have to shoot you first, which are also plain facts."

Sneed's men had been coming up while they talked and were freely voicing
their opinions of sheriffs