hip at
the yelling Apaches, snapping the rifle-like reports at their faces,
cursing them in shouted words; hot, joyous, cynical, taunting words
fresh from the soul of him, throbbing with his hatred; venomous,
contemptuous, scathing, too heartfelt to be over-profane.

"Come _on_, d----n you! Your slide to h--l is greased _now!_ Come on,
you wolves! You cheap, blind vultures! Come on! _Come on!!_" he yelled,
well nigh out of his senses from the reaction. "Yes, yell! Yell, d----n
you!" he shouted as they replied to his taunts. "Yell! Shoot your tin guns
while you can, for you'll soon be so full of lead you'll stop forever!
_Come on!_ COME ON!"

They came. All their energies were bent toward the grotesque figure that
reviled them. They could not catch his words, but their eyes flashed at
what they could see. Dust arose in huge, low clouds behind them, and they
gained rapidly for a time, but only for a time, for their mounts had
covered many miles in the last few days and were jaded and without their
usual strength because of insufficient food. But they gained enough to
drop their shots on the coach, although accurate shooting at the pace they
were keeping was beyond their skill.

Puffs of dust spurted from the plain in front of the team and arose
beside it, and a jagged splinter of seasoned ash whizzed past the driver's
ear. A long, gray furrow suddenly appeared in the end of the seat and
holes began to show in the woodwork of the stage. One bullet, closer than
the others, almost tore the reins from the driver's hands as it hit the
loose end of leather which flapped in the air. Its jerk caused him to
turn again and renew his verbal cautery, tears in his eyes from the
fervor of his madness.

"Hi-yi! Whoop-e-e!" he shouted at his straining, steaming sextet. "Keep it
up, bronchs! Hold her for ten minutes more, boys! We'll win! We'll win!
We'll laugh them into h--l yet! We'll dance on their painted faces! Keep
her steady! You're all right, every d----d one of you! Hold her steady!
Whoop-e-e!"

A new factor had drawn cards, and the new factor could play his cards
better than any two men under that washed-out, faded blue sky.

CHAPTER VI

THE ORPHAN OBEYS AN IMPULSE

When Sneed promised to try to restrain his men he spoke in good faith,
and when he discovered that half of them were missing his anger began to
rise. But he was helpless now because they were beyond his reach, so he
could only hope that they would n