idge felt a thrill of
pride when, as if in tribute to his comrade's fearlessness, a sudden
silence followed. Larry stood alone, statuesque in poise, with arm
stretched out in the face of the hostile crowd, and once more the respect
the men had borne him asserted itself.

"You will listen to me, boys, and it may be the last time I shall speak to
you," he said. "You know that right back from the beginning I have done
the best I could for you, and now I feel it in me that if you will wait
just a little longer the State will do more than I could ever do. Can't
you understand that if you go round destroying railroad-trestles, shooting
cattle, and burning ranches, you are only playing into the hand of your
enemies, and the very men in the legislature who would, if you kept your
patience, make your rights sure to you, will be forced to turn the cavalry
loose on you? Can't you sit tight another month or two, instead of
throwing all we have fought for away?"

The silence that followed the speech lasted for a space of seconds, and
then, when Breckenridge hoped Grant might still impose prudence upon the
crowd, there were murmurs of doubt and suspicion. They grew rapidly
louder, and a man stepped out from the rest.

"The trouble is that we don't believe in you, Larry," he said. "You were
with us solid one time, but that was before the cattle-barons bought
you."

A derisive laugh followed, and when Grant turned a little Breckenridge saw
his face. The bronze in it had faded, and left paler patches, that seemed
almost grey, while the lad, who knew his comrade's pride and uprightness,
fancied he could guess how that taunt, made openly, had wounded him.

"Well," he said, very slowly, "I can only hope you will have more
confidence in your next leader; but I am on the list of the executive
still, and if the house was full of dollars I wouldn't give you one of
them with which to make trouble that you'll most surely be sorry for. Any
way, those I had are safe in a place where, while your committee keep
their heads, you will not lay hands on them."

A shout of disbelief was followed by uproar, through which there broke
detached cries: "Pull him down! He has them all the time! Pound them out
of him! Burn the place down for a warning to the cattle-men!"

They died away when one of the men, with emphatic gestures, demanded
attention. Moving out from the rest, he turned to Grant. "You have rifles
and cartridges here, and after all, those