ng except misery. You wrecked my life. I suffered for you an'
kept my mouth padlocked. I was coyote enough to sit back an' let you
torment my li'l' girl because I was afraid for to have the truth come out
an' hurt her. I'd ought to have gone after you with a forty-five. I'm
through. They can't hang you any too soon to suit me. If they don't--an'
if my June don't get well--I'll gun you sure as God made li'l' apples."

He turned and walked out of the room with Dud Hollister.

In the passage they met Mollie Gillespie and Blister Haines. The first
words the landlady heard were from Houck.

"No, sir, I've got nothing to say. What'd be the use? You've made up yore
minds to go through with this thing. A fool could see that. Far as
Tolliver goes, I reckon I'll go it alone an' not do any beefin' about
him. He threw me down hard, but he was considerable strung up about June.
Wouldn't do any good for me to tell what I know."

"Not a bit," assented Reeves. "Might as well game it out."

Houck's hard, cold eye looked at him steadily. "Who said anything about
not gaming it out? If you're expectin' me to beg an' crawl you've got
hold of the wrong man. I'm a damned tough nut an' don't you forget it.
Whenever you're ready, gents."

From the door Mrs. Gillespie spoke. "What's all this?"

She became at once the center of attention. The punchers grouped around
Houck were taken by surprise. They were disconcerted by this unexpected
addition to the party. For though Mrs. Gillespie led an irregular life,
no woman on the river was so widely loved as she. The mother of Bear Cat,
the boys called her. They could instance a hundred examples of the
goodness of her heart. She never tired of waiting on the sick, of giving
to those who were needy. It was more than possible she would not approve
the summary vengeance about to be executed upon the Brown's Park man.

The prisoner was the first to answer. "Just in time, ma'am. The boys are
stagin' an entertainment. They're fixin' to hang me. If you'll accept an
invite from the hangee I'll be glad to have you stay an'--"

"Hanging him? What for? What's he done?"

Tom Reeves found his voice. "He's the fellow done dirt to the li'l'
Tolliver girl, ma'am. We've had a kinda trial an'--"

"Fiddlesticks!" interrupted the woman. She swept the group with an
appraising eye. "I'm surprised to see you in this, Larson. Thought you
had more sense. Nobody would expect anything better of these flyaway
boys."