are Mr. Christopher Nest?"

The man looked up and stared for a moment at Hanstark. "Yep," he
answered. Then he turned and stared at the grass again.

"And may I ask you what you are doing?"

Nest answered without looking up. "Guardin' the pass."

Hanstark scribbled something in his notebook. "And why are you guarding
the pass?"

Nest rose to his feet and stared down at Hanstark. "Just what are you
askin' all of these questions for, stranger?"

Hanstark saw Nest was bigger than he and decided to play along for a
while. After all, strategy ...

"I'm just interested in your welfare, Mr. Nest."

Nest shrugged his shoulders. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled
out a sack of tobacco and some paper. Holding a piece of paper in one
hand, he carefully poured a little tobacco onto it. In one quick
movement he rolled the paper and tobacco into a perfect cylinder.

He put the sack of tobacco and paper back into his pocket and took out a
wooden kitchen match. He scraped it to life on the sole of his shoe and
applied the flame to the tip of the cigarette. He puffed it into life
and threw the match away. It burned for a few moments in the moist
grass, then went out. A thin trail of smoke rose from it, and then was
gone.

"Why are you guarding the pass?" Hanstark asked again.

Nest resumed his crouch on the grass. "News is around that Dirty Dan the
cattle rustler is gonna try to steal some of my cattle." He patted an
imaginary holster at his side. "And I aim to stop him."

Hanstark thought for a moment. Strategy--he must use strategy ... "Mr.
Nest." He waited until Nest had turned to him. "Mr. Nest. What would you
say if I told you that there was no pass down there?"

"Why shucks, pardner. I'd say you'd been chewin' some loco weed."

"And if I could prove it?"

Nest answered after a moment's pause. "Why then, I guess _I'd_ be loco."

Hanstark thought it was going to be easy. "Mr. Nest, it is a well known
fact that no one can walk in mid-air. Is that not true?"

Nest took a deep drag on his cigarette and blew the smoke out of his
nostrils. "Shore."

"Then if I were to walk out above your pass you'd have to admit there is
no pass."

"Reckon so."

Hanstark began to walk in the direction of Nest's "cliff." Nest jumped
to his feet and grabbed the official psychiatrist by the arm.

"What're you tryin' to do," Nest said angrily, "kill yourself?"

Hanstark shook free of his grasp. "Mr. Nest, I am not going t