ee different directions. Now, any
of the hunters that hear a lot of firing will only think that one of the
other parties has run into a lot of game."

This was true. Hal Overton hadn't thought of it before in that light.
And, in addition, it was rather unlikely that any of the hunters had
chanced to see his mirror-thrown signals in the short time that had
passed before the glass had been shot from his hands.

The rascal floored by the revolver which the sergeant had thrown was now
coming to, for one of the crew had been dashing water in his face.

Not far away sat the man whose jaw Hal had damaged. He was groaning a
bit, despite his efforts to make no fuss.

"Look at our two mates this sergeant boy has put out of action,"
growled Hinkey, trying to inflame his comrades.

"They were hit in fair fight," replied the leader. "The sergeant kid
doesn't belong to our side, but I don't hold his fighting grit against
him."

"You'd hold anything and everything against him if you knew him as well
as I do," retorted Hinkey.

He was still standing over his young victim, gazing down gloatingly at
him.

"And now the time has come to square matters up with you, younker," went
on Hinkey tauntingly. "It's all my way now."

Hal looked up at him steadily, but without speaking. The boy knew better
than to say anything foolish that would needlessly anger this brute, who
now held the situation all in his own hands.

"Well, why don't you talk back, Overton?" demanded Hinkey sneeringly.

Just the ghost of a smile flickered over Overton's face.

"Laughing at me, are you?" yelled Hinkey, trying to work himself into a
more brutal rage.

Hal spoke at last.

"No," he answered.

"If you ain't laughing," continued the brute, "what are you doing?"

"Just thinking how sorry I am for you," Hal flashed back coolly.

"Sorry?" echoed the fellow bitterly. "You'd better waste your sorrow on
yourself! What are you feeling badly about me for?"

"I was thinking," went on Hal slowly, and with no trace of taunt in his
voice, "what a sad come-down you have had. You were in the Army, wearing
its uniform, and with every right to look upon yourself as a man. You
could have gone on being trusted. You could have raised yourself.
Instead, you have followed a naturally bad bent and made yourself a
thousand times worse than you ever needed to be. Hinkey, do you wonder
that I'm sorry for you, when I find that you have fallen outside of an
honest man's