e grasped a bottle and poured out a drink, his Colt
slipping from his hand and dangling from his wrist by a thong. As the
weapon started to fall several of the audience involuntarily moved as if
to pick it up. Hopalong noticed this and paused with the glass half
way to his lips. "Don't bother yoreselves none; I can git it again," he
said, tossing off the liquor.

"Wow! Holy smoke!" he yelled. "This ain't drink! Sufferin' coyotes,
nobody can accuse yu of sellin' liquor! Did yu make this all by
yoreself?" He asked incredulously of the proprietor, who didn't know
whether to run or to pray. Then he noticed that the crowd was spreading
out and his Colts again became the center of interest.

"Yu with th' lovely face, sit down!" he ordered as the person addressed
was gliding toward the door. "I ain't a-goin' to let yu pot me from th'
street. Th' first man who tries to get scarce will stop somethin' hot.
An' yu all better sit down," he suggested, sweeping them with his guns.
One man, more obdurate than the rest, was slow in complying and Hopalong
sent a bullet through the top of his high sombrero, which had a most
gratifying effect.

"You'll regret this!" hissed a man in the rear, and a murmur of
assent arose. Some one stirred slightly in searching for a weapon and
immediately a blazing Colt froze him into a statue.

"Yu shore looks funny; eeny, meeny, miny, mo," counted off the daring
horseman; "move a bit an' off yu go," he finished. Then his face broke
out in another grin as he thought of more enjoyment.

"That there gent on th' left," he said, pointing out with a gun the man
he meant. "Yu sing us a song. Sing a nice little song."

As the object of his remarks remained mute he let his thumb
ostentatiously slide back with the hammer of the gun under it. "Sing!
Quick!" The man sang.

As Hopalong leaned forward to say something a stiletto flashed past his
neck and crashed into the bottle beside him. The echo of the crash was
merged into a report as Hopalong fired from his waist. Then he backed
out into the Street and, wheeling, galloped across the plaza and again
faced the saloon. A flash split the darkness and a bullet hummed over
his head and thudded into an adobe wall at his back. Another shot and he
replied, aiming at the flash.

From down the Street came the sound of a window opening and he promptly
caused it to close again. Several more windows opened and hastily
closed, and he rode slowly toward the far end of t