man
you intended to kill. Blome, you're one of these dandy, cock-of-the-walk
four-flushers. I'll tell you how I know. Because I've met the real
gun-fighters, an' there never was one of them yet who bragged or talked.
Now don't you go round blowin' any more.'

"Then Steele deliberately stepped forward an' slapped Blome on one side
of his face an' again on the other.

"'Keep out of my way after this or I'm liable to spoil some of your
dandy looks.'

"Blome got up an' walked straight out of the place. I had my eyes on
him, kept me from seein' Steele. But on hearin' somethin', I don't know
what, I turned back an' there Steele had got a long arm on Bo Snecker,
who was tryin' to throw a gun.

"But he wasn't quick enough. The gun banged in the air an' then it went
spinnin' away, while Snecker dropped in a heap on the floor. The table
was overturned, an' March, the other rustler, who was on that side, got
up, pullin' his gun. But somebody in the crowd killed him before he
could get goin'. I didn't see who fired that shot, an' neither did
anybody else. But the crowd broke an' run. Steele dragged Bo Snecker
down to jail an' locked him up."

Morton concluded his narrative, and then evidently somewhat dry of
tongue, he produced knife and tobacco and cut himself a huge quid.
"That's all, so far, to-day, Russ, but I reckon you'll agree with me on
the main issue--Steele's game's opened."

I had felt the rush of excitement, the old exultation at the prospect of
danger, but this time there was something lacking in them. The wildness
of the boy that had persisted in me was gone.

"Yes, Steele has opened it and I'm ready to boost the game along. Wait
till I see him! But Morton, you say someone you don't know played a hand
in here and killed March."

"I sure do. It wasn't any of our men. Zimmer was outside. The others
were at different places."

"The fact is, then, Steele has more friends than we know, perhaps more
than he knows himself."

"Right. An' it's got the gang in the air. There'll be hell to-night."

"Steele hardly expects to keep Snecker in jail, does he?"

"I can't say. Probably not. I wish Steele had put both Blome and Snecker
out of the way. We'd have less to fight."

"Maybe. I'm for the elimination method myself. But Steele doesn't follow
out the gun method. He will use one only when he's driven. It's hard to
make him draw. You know, after all, these desperate men aren't afraid of
guns or fights. Yet they ar