He didn't stop to swear--he
just bit his old cigar right square in two in the middle, dropped one
end on the floor and stamped on it." The Doctor leaned forward and
spoke to Laramie: "How's longhorn, Jim?"

Laramie looked troubled: "If it wasn't for dragging you into it, I'd
ask you to go out and see him."

"Jim, a doctor's place is where he's needed."

"I left a twenty dollar gold piece in your medicine chest for the stuff
I took."

"You go to hell!" The Doctor pulled a handful of money from his pocket
and threw a double eagle at Laramie. "There's your gold piece."

"Belle, look at them fellows," exclaimed Sawdy moodily, "pockets
loaded. I never had more than twenty dollars at one time in my life.
My mother told me to take care of the pennies and the dollars would
take care of themselves. The blamed dollars wouldn't do it. I took
care of the pennies. I've got 'em yet--that's all I have got. Jim,
I'll match you for that gold piece."

"Gamblers never have a cent," commented Belle darkly.

"That gold piece," explained Laramie, "is not my money, Harry. It's
Carpy's money and he'll keep it if I have to make him swallow it."

"That's not the question," declared Carpy. "Did you get what you
wanted?" Laramie told him he did. "And by the great Jehosaphat,"
added the doctor, "you bumped into Kate Doubleday!"

"What else did you expect?" retorted Laramie, not pleased at the
recollection.

Carpy, throwing back his head, laughed well: "After Kate Doubleday told
me she was going for the dressings herself, I says to myself, 'There'll
be two people in my house tonight--a man and a woman--I hope to God
they don't meet.'"

"Jim," intervened Belle, "you ought to get Abe Hawk to a hospital."

"He's got to get him to one," affirmed Lefever. "I've seen that man,"
he added emphatically, "I know."

"How's he going to do it," inquired Carpy, "without starting the fight
all over again?"

Lefever stuck to his ground: "Get him down to Sleepy Cat in the night,"
he insisted.

"Can he ride?" asked Sawdy.

"He may have to have help," said Laramie.

"There's a moon right now. They'd pick you off like rabbits," objected
Sawdy, "and they've got that whole trail patroled to the Crazy Woman.
They're watching this town like cats. You'll have to waste a lot of
ammunition to get Abe to a hospital."

"From all I hear," observed Carpy, "if Abe gets any more lead in him
you won't need to take him to the hospital. He'll b