"I'm glad the trip is over. My temper never has been more tried," said
Chichester. "The most of the men have had their own way, though when we
started they promised on honor to obey me as captain. But honor is a
scarce article with the majority of them. Now they're here, they'll go
it with a looseness."

"You bet," was Crawford's sententious remark. "Wild Bill will be in his
element. Look at the signs. Rum, faro, monte, all have a swing here, you
can swear."

"Men, into line one minute, and then we part!" shouted Captain
Chichester to his party.

For a wonder, with temptation on every side, the weary riders obeyed,
and drew up in a straggling line to hear their leader's parting speech.

"Men, I promised to bring you here safely if I could, but to get all of
you here that I could, any way. I've kept my promise we're here."

"Ay! Three cheers for Sam Chichester!" shouted Wild Bill.

The cheers were given, and Chichester said:

"Thank you, boys. Now do me one favor. You are here in a busy place, and
I see by the sign that benzine is about as plenty as water. Touch it
light, and do behave, yourselves, that my name will not be disgraced by
any of Sam Chichester's crowd. Every man is his own master now, and must
look out for himself. I wish you all good luck, and shall work hard for
it myself."

The speech was over, and in a second the line melted away and every man
was seeking quarters or pitching into the benzine shops.

Wild Bill would have been the first to go there, had not his companion,
Willie Pond, said, in a low tone:

"Bill, please get quarters for you and me before you do anything else.
You know what you have promised. Remember, if it had not been for me,
neither you nor one of this party would ever have got here."

"You're right. But I'm so cussed dry!" muttered Bill. "You're right,
I'll find housing for us two before a drop passes my lips."

And Bill rode on to the upper part of the town, as it might be called,
where some men were putting up a new shanty, in fact, just putting the
finishing touch on it by hanging a door.

"Will you sell that shebang?" asked Bill, of the man who seemed to be
the head workman.

"Yes, if we get enough. We can build another. What will you give?"

"These two horses, and a century," said Bill, pointing to the animals
ridden by himself and companion, and holding up a hundred-dollar bill
which Pond had furnished him.

"O. K. The house is yours!" said the man. "Boys,