at," she cried. "Brace
up. You'll get a good wife some day. There's lots of good fish in the
sea."

Slim glanced at her ruefully. "I don't feel much like goin' fishin'
jest now. Would you mind tellin' me if I lose out on this deal along
of somebody else a-holdin' all the cards?" Slim waited for Polly's
answer.

"Why, don't you know?"

"No," he said simply.

"But he told me--"

"Who is it?" he insisted.

"No--if you don't know his name, I won't tell you," decided Polly.

"Mebbe it's jest as well, too," assented Slim. "I don't think I'd feel
any too friendly toward him."

Slim moved toward the wagon. The action was purely involuntary, but it
frightened Polly so that she cried aloud.

Slim grasped at once the reason for her fear. "Is the feller in that
wagon?" he shouted.

"You wouldn't do him any harm, would you?" cried Polly.

"Is he in that wagon?" Slim repeated angrily.

Polly caught hold of his arm.

"What's he hiding for?" he demanded.

Slim pulled his gun and covered the opening. "Come out, you coward,"
he shouted. Polly caught Slim by the right wrist, so he could not fire.

Bud leaped from the wagon, drawing his gun as he did so. "You sha'n't
call me a coward," he shouted to Slim.

Polly ran behind Bud, and, reaching her arms about his waist, held down
his hands, depressing the muzzle of his revolver. Slim danced up and
down in the excitement with his revolver in his hand. Polly kept
calling on both of the men not to shoot.

"Let him alone," shouted Slim excitedly. "Let him alone, Miss Polly.
He's only four-flushin', and I ain't gun shy."

"Now, look a yeah, sonny," he cried to Bud, "if that squirt-gun of
yours goes off an' hits me, an' I find it out--well, I reckon I'll have
to spank you."

Bud tried to break away from Polly, begging her to "Let go."

The girl laid her hands on his shoulder, gazing pleadingly into his
flushed face. "Don't, don't," she cried; "it's all right. Slim knows
all about it. He knows I love you, and he wouldn't hurt any one that I
love, would you, Slim?"

Polly smiled at the Sheriff, completely disarming him.

Shoving his gun back into the holster, Slim grinned, and said: "I
reckon I wouldn't."

"We've been engaged forever so long now, waitin' for Bud to get rich,
and now--and now it's come."

Her face radiated her happiness. Bud showed his alarm, motioning her
to be silent, but Polly rattled on: "Bud's been saving and saving,
'till he's