e laying around with nothing to do, and I know
he had to keep his hand in, or he'd make a fizzle of it. Of course," he
conceded, "you didn't miss--but if you had--Wow!" He shook his head at
the bare possibility.

Jack grinned at him. "I'm not saying how much moonlight I used up,
practicing out in the orchard when everybody else was asleep. I reckon
I've made that corkscrew five thousand times in the last three weeks!"

"Where you belong," bantered Dade, "is on the stage. You do love to
create a sensation, better than any one I ever--"

"Senors--" Diego came hurriedly out of the shadows behind them. "The
patron begs that you will honor his table by dining with him to-night.
In one little half-hour will he hope to see you; and Don Jose Pacheco
will also be happy to meet the senors, if it is the pleasure of the
senors to meet him and dine in his company. The patron," added Diego,
with the faintest suspicion of a twinkle in his pensive black eyes,
"desires also that I shall extend to you the deep regret of the senora
and the senorita because it will be impossible for them to be present."

The three looked at one another, and in Bill's eyes dawned slowly the
light of understanding.

"Tell the patron we are honored by the invitation, and that it gives us
much pleasure to accept," Dade replied for the three of them, after a
moment spent in swift, mental measuring of the situation. "Jack, you've
got to get them bloody clothes off, and some decent ones on. Come on,
Bill; half an hour ain't any too much time to get ready in."

Half-way to the house they walked without saying a word. Then Dade,
walking between the two, suddenly clapped a hand down upon the shoulder
of each.

"Say, I could holler my head off!" he exulted. "I'm going to quit
worrying about anything, after this; the nights I've laid awake and
worried myself purple over this darned fiesta--or the duel, rather! And
things are turning out smooth as a man could ask.

"Jack, I'm proud to death of you, and that's a fact. With that temper of
yours, I kinda looked for you to get this whole outfit down on you; but
the way you acted, I don't believe there's a man here, except Manuel,
that's got any real grudge against you, even if they did lose a lot of
money on the fight. And it's all the way you behaved, old boy--like a
prince! Just--like a--blamed prince!"

"Oh, I don't know--Jose acted pretty white, himself. You've got to admit
that it's Jose that took the fight