od flipped into
the air at Annixter's feet.

"Time!" he shouted, while the buckskin reared to the report. "Hold
on--wait a minute. This place is too light to suit. That big light
yonder is in my eyes. Look out, I'm going to throw lead."

A second shot put out the lamp over the musicians' stand. The assembled
guests shrieked, a frantic, shrinking quiver ran through the crowd like
the huddling of frightened rabbits in their pen.

Annixter hardly moved. He stood some thirty paces from the buster,
his hands still in his coat pockets, his eyes glistening, watchful.
Excitable and turbulent in trifling matters, when actual bodily danger
threatened he was of an abnormal quiet.

"I'm watching you," cried the other. "Don't make any mistake about that.
Keep your hands in your COAT pockets, if you'd like to live a little
longer, understand? And don't let me see you make a move toward your hip
or your friends will be asked to identify you at the morgue to-morrow
morning. When I'm bad, I'm called the Undertaker's Friend, so I am, and
I'm that bad to-night that I'm scared of myself. They'll have to revise
the census returns before I'm done with this place. Come on, now, I'm
getting tired waiting. I come to see a dance."

"Hand over that horse, Delaney," said Annixter, without raising his
voice, "and clear out."

The other affected to be overwhelmed with infinite astonishment, his
eyes staring. He peered down from the saddle.

"Wh-a-a-t!" he exclaimed; "wh-a-a-t did you say? Why, I guess you must
be looking for trouble; that's what I guess."

"There's where you're wrong, m'son," muttered Annixter, partly to
Delaney, partly to himself. "If I was looking for trouble there wouldn't
be any guess-work about it."

With the words he began firing. Delaney had hardly entered the barn
before Annixter's plan had been formed. Long since his revolver was
in the pocket of his coat, and he fired now through the coat itself,
without withdrawing his hands.

Until that moment Annixter had not been sure of himself. There was
no doubt that for the first few moments of the affair he would
have welcomed with joy any reasonable excuse for getting out of the
situation. But the sound of his own revolver gave him confidence. He
whipped it from his pocket and fired again.

Abruptly the duel began, report following report, spurts of pale blue
smoke jetting like the darts of short spears between the two men,
expanding to a haze and drifting overhead