verything."

Again Raoul's hand tightened convulsively on the pistol grip. He'd
wasted enough words on this walking skeleton from Sangamon County. He
was quivering with rage.

There was one quick way to put an end to the arguing.

He swung around and stepped close to Little Foot, holding his pistol
less than a foot from the red-turbaned head. With his left hand he
pulled the hammer back to half-cock, then full. The double click sounded
loud in a sudden, astonished silence.

And Little Foot's arms, unbound, shot up. Both his hands gripped the
barrel of the pistol and yanked it to one side. About to pull the
trigger, Raoul froze his finger as the muzzle was pulled aside from its
target.

--And knew with a sudden sinking of his heart what a deadly mistake he
had made in that instant.

The Potawatomi's powerful two-handed grip tore the pistol from his
fingers.

_I should have fired. Now I am a dead man._

Raoul saw a coil of rope lying on the ground beside Little Foot. The
Indian must have been working his wrists loose while everyone's
attention was on the argument.

Little Foot had already turned the loaded and cocked pistol around in
his hands and pointed it at Raoul's heart. Raoul stared into black eyes
that had no mercy for him.

A blurred figure seemed to fly across Raoul's vision.

The pistol went off with a boom.

Coughing, blinded, Raoul saw dimly through the gunsmoke that the skinny
captain had thrown himself at Little Foot and thrust the pistol aside.
Now Lincoln and Little Foot were wrestling, thrashing about like two
wild animals.

By the time the smoke had cleared, the lean man had full control. Little
Foot's ankles, Raoul saw, were still tied, and Lincoln's arms had snaked
up under the Indian's. The Sangamon County man's big hands were behind
Little Foot's head, pushing his chin down into his chest. His long legs
were wrapped around Little Foot's middle, holding him in a crushing
scissors grip.

Raoul stood shaking, his eyes watering from the faceful of powder smoke
he'd taken. His heart was pounding frantically against his breastbone.

"Nicely done, sir!" Justus Bennett said to Lincoln.

_And what the hell were you doing?_ Raoul thought, furious at Bennett.

With a trembling hand Raoul seized Bennett's pistol.

The four guards had their rifles pointed at Little Foot. Any one of them
could have saved Raoul's life by shooting, but none of them had reacted
quickly enough.

Only Lincoln