wn into
the hollow of his arm. French walked deliberately toward him.

"Give me that gun, you dog!" he said with an oath, "or I'll kill
you where you stand."

Mackenzie hesitated but only for a moment, and without a word
surrendered the gun, the fiendish rage fading out of his face, the
aboriginal blood lust dying in his eyes like the snuffing out of a
candle. In a few brief moments he became once more a civilized man,
subject to the restraint of a thousand years of life ordered by law.

"Kalman, come here," French called to the boy, who stood far off.

"Mackenzie," said French with great dignity as Kalman drew near,
"I want you to know that this boy is a ward of a dear friend, and is
to me like my own son. Remember that. Kalman, Mackenzie is my friend,
and you are to treat him as such. Where did you get that?" he
continued, pointing to the bottle which Kalman had kept clutched
in his hand through all the exciting pursuit.

The boy stood silent, looking at Mackenzie.

"Speak, boy," said French sharply.

Kalman remained still silent, his eyes on Mackenzie.

"It iss a bottle myself had," said Mackenzie.

"Ah, I understand. All right, Kalman, it's none of your business
what Mackenzie drinks. Now, Mackenzie, get dinner, and no more of
this nonsense."

Without a word of parley or remonstrance Mackenzie shuffled off
toward the field to bring in the team. French turned to the boy
and, taking the bottle in his hand, said, "This is dangerous stuff,
my boy. A man like Mackenzie is not to be trusted with it, and of
course it is not for boys."

Kalman made no reply. His mind was in a whirl of perplexed
remembrances of the sickening scenes of the past three days.

"Go now," said French, "and help Mackenzie. He won't hurt you any
more. He never keeps a grudge. That is the Christian in him."

During the early part of the afternoon Mackenzie drove the harrows
while French moved about the ranch doing up odds and ends. But
neither of the men was quite at ease. At length French disappeared
into the house, and almost immediately afterwards Mackenzie left
his team in Kalman's hands and followed his boss. Hour after hour
passed. The sun sank in the western sky, but neither master nor man
appeared, while Kalman kept the team steadily on the move, till at
length the field was finished. Weary and filled with foreboding,
the boy drove the horses to the stable, pulled off the harness as
best he could, gave the horses food and dri