ly let the preacher part slide,
and say just what you have to say as man to man."

Wynkoop stiffened perceptibly in his chair, his face paling somewhat,
but his eyes unwavering. Realizing the reckless nature before him, he
was one whom opposition merely inspired.

"I prefer to do so," he continued, more calmly. "It will render my
unpleasant task much easier, and yield us both a more direct road for
travel. I have been laboring on this field for nearly three years.
When I first came here you were pointed out to me as a most dangerous
man, and ever since then I have constantly been regaled by the stories
of your exploits. I have known you merely through such unfriendly
reports, and came here strongly prejudiced against you as a
representative of every evil I war against. We have never met before,
because there seemed to be nothing in common between us; because I had
been led to suppose you to be an entirely different man from what I now
believe you are."

Hampton stirred uneasily in his chair.

"Shall I paint in exceedingly plain words the picture given me of you?"

There was no response, but the speaker moistened his lips and proceeded
firmly. "It was that of a professional gambler, utterly devoid of
mercy toward his victims; a reckless fighter, who shot to kill upon the
least provocation; a man without moral character, and from whom any
good action was impossible. That was what was said about you. Is the
tale true?"

Hampton laughed unpleasantly, his eyes grown hard and ugly.

"I presume it must be," he admitted, with a quick side glance toward
the closed door, "for the girl out yonder thought about the same. A
most excellent reputation to establish with only ten years of strict
attendance to business."

Wynkoop's grave face expressed his disapproval.

"Well, in my present judgment that report was not altogether true," he
went on clearly and with greater confidence. "I did suppose you
exactly that sort of a man when I first came into this room. I have
not believed so, however, for a single moment since. Nevertheless, the
naked truth is certainly bad enough, without any necessity for our
resorting to romance. You may deceive others by an assumption of
recklessness, but I feel convinced your true nature is not evil. It
has been warped through some cause which is none of my business. Let
us deal alone with facts. You are a gambler, a professional gambler,
with all that that implies; your life is,