off about every so often," commented Albeen to the world at large.

"Meanin' me?"

Albeen carefully raked a live coal from the fire and pressed it down into
the bowl of his pipe. The eyes in his leathery, brown face had grown hard
as jade. For some time he and Dave Roush had been ready for an explosion.
It could not come any too soon to suit the one-armed man.

"Meanin' you if you want to take it that way." Albeen looked straight at
him with an unwinking gaze. "You're not the only man on the reservation
that wears his gun low, Roush. Maybe you're a wolf for fair. I've sure
heard you claim it right often. You're a two-gun man. I pack only one,
seem' as I'm shy a wing. But don't git the notion you can ride me. I
won't stand for it a minute."

"Sho! Dave didn't mean anything like that. Did you, Dave?" interposed
Dumont hastily. "You was just kind o' jokin', wasn't you?"

"Well, I'm servin' notice right now that when any one drops around any
jokes about me bein' buffaloed, he's foolin' with dynamite. No man
alive can run a sandy on me an' git away with it."

The chill eyes of Albeen, narrowed to shining slits, focused on Roush
menacingly. All present understood that he was offering Devil Dave a
choice. He could draw steel, or he could side-step the issue.

The campers had been playing poker with white navy beans for chips.
Roush, undecided, gathered up in his fingers the little pile of them in
front of him and let them sift down again to the blanket on the edge of
which he sat. Some day he and Albeen would have to settle this quarrel
once for all. But not to-night. Dave wanted the breaks with him when that
hour came. He intended to make a sure thing of it. Albeen was one of
those fire-eaters who would play into his hand by his reckless courage.
Better have patience and watch for his chance against the one-armed
gunman.

"I ain't aimin' to ride you any, Albeen," he said sulkily.

"Lay off'n me, then," advised the other curtly.

Roush grumbled something inaudible. It might have been a promise. It
might have been a protest. Yankie jumped into the breach and began
to talk.

"I couldn't git away from the old man yesterday. I think he's suspicious
about me. Anyhow, he acts like he is. I came in to Live-Oaks to-night
without notifyin' him an' I got to be back in camp before mornin'.
Here's my plan. I've got a new rider out from Kansas for his health. He's
gun-shy. I'll leave him in charge of this bunch of stock overnig