kill him now."

"Blaisdell's talkin'," put in Blue, and his voice had a cold ring. "Lee
Jorth will never see the sun rise ag'in!"

These calls to the primitive in Jean, to the Indian, were not in vain.
But even so, when the dark tide rose in him, there was still a haunting
consciousness of the cruelty of this singular doom imposed upon him.
Strangely Ellen Jorth's face floated back in the depths of his vision,
pale, fading, like the face of a spirit floating by.

"Blue," said Blaisdell, "let's get Isbel's body soon as we dare, an'
bury it. Reckon we can, right after dark."

"Shore," replied Blue. "But y'u fellars figger thet out. I'm thinkin'
hard. I've got somethin' on my mind."

Jean grew fascinated by the looks and speech and action of the little
gunman. Blue, indeed, had something on his mind. And it boded ill to
the men in that dark square stone house down the road. He paced to and
fro in the yard, back and forth on the path to the gate, and then he
entered the cabin to stalk up and down, faster and faster, until all at
once he halted as if struck, to upfling his right arm in a singular
fierce gesture.

"Jean, call the men in," he said, tersely.

They all filed in, sinister and silent, with eager faces turned to the
little Texan. His dominance showed markedly.

"Gordon, y'u stand in the door an' keep your eye peeled," went on Blue.
"... Now, boys, listen! I've thought it all out. This game of man
huntin' is the same to me as cattle raisin' is to y'u. An' my life in
Texas all comes back to me, I reckon, in good stead fer us now. I'm
goin' to kill Lee Jorth! Him first, an' mebbe his brothers. I had to
think of a good many ways before I hit on one I reckon will be shore.
It's got to be SHORE. Jorth has got to die! Wal, heah's my plan....
Thet Jorth outfit is drinkin' some, we can gamble on it. They're not
goin' to leave thet store. An' of course they'll be expectin' us to
start a fight. I reckon they'll look fer some such siege as they held
round Isbel's ranch. But we shore ain't goin' to do thet. I'm goin'
to surprise thet outfit. There's only one man among them who is
dangerous, an' thet's Queen. I know Queen. But he doesn't know me.
An' I'm goin' to finish my job before he gets acquainted with me. After
thet, all right!"

Blue paused a moment, his eyes narrowing down, his whole face setting
in hard cast of intense preoccupation, as if he visualized a scene of
extraordinary nature