ut over the head of the startled buckskin. Like a lightning
gleam slashing through the dark he saw Dade's plan, and played his own
part unhesitatingly.

Two movements he made while the buckskin sat back upon his haunches
and gathered his muscles for a forward spring. The first was to lean
and send a downward sweep of the dagger across the rope by which
Shorty was leading the horse, and the second was a backward lunge that
drove the knife deep into the bared throat of the Captain, stunned
into momentary inaction by the suddenness of Dade's assault.

The buckskin gave a mighty leap that caught Shorty unawares and
sent him into a crumpled heap in the sand. Dade's riata, tight as a
fiddle-string at first, slackened as the buckskin, his breath coming
in snorts, surged alongside. Jack leaned again--this time to snatch
the ivory-handled revolver from the holster on Dade's saddle. As well
as he could with his legs held rigid by the rope that tied his ankles,
he twisted in the saddle and sent leaden answer to the spiteful
barking of the guns that called upon them to halt.

[Illustration: He twisted in the saddle and sent leaden answer to the
spiteful barking of the guns.]

Davis he shot, and saw him sway and fall flat, with a smoking gun in
his hand. Another crumpled forward; and Shorty, just getting painfully
upon his feet, he sent into the sand again to stay; for his skill with
small arms was something uncanny to witness, and his temper was up and
turning him into a savage like the rest.

But the range was rapidly growing to rifle-length, and death fell
short of his enemies after Shorty went down. When he saw his fourth
bullet kick up a harmless little geyser of sand two rods in advance of
the agitated crowd, he left off and turned to his friend.

"I thought you were drunk," he observed inanely, as is common to men
who have just come through situations for which no words have been
coined.

"You ain't the only one who made that mistake," Dade retorted grimly,
and looked back. "Good thing those hombres are afoot. We'll get on a
little farther and then we'll fix a hackamore so you can do your own
riding,"

"I can't stand it to ride any farther--"

"Are you shot?" Dade pulled in a little and looked anxiously into his
face.

"It's the rope. They tied it so tight it's torture. I'd never have
believed it could hurt so--but they gave me an extra twist or two to
show their friendship, I reckon."

Dade rode on beyond a li