from the table, and as I made a lunge forward, old man Don was hurled
backward into my arms. He could not whip a sick chicken, yet his
uncontrollable anger had carried him into the general melee and he had
been roughly thrown out by some of his own men. They didn't want him in
the fight; they could do all that was necessary. A number of soldiers
were present, and while the officers were frantically commanding them
to restore order, the scrap went merrily on. Old man Don struggled with
might and main, cursing me for refusing to free him, and when one of the
contractors was knocked down within easy reach, I was half tempted to
turn him loose. The "major-domo" had singled out Sponsilier and was
trying issues with him, Bob Quirk was dropping them right and left, when
the deposed commandant sprang upon a table, and in a voice like the hiss
of an adder, commanded peace, and the disorder instantly ceased.

The row had lasted only a few seconds. The opposing sides stood glaring
daggers at each other, when the commissioner took occasion to administer
a reproof to all parties concerned, referring to Texas in not very
complimentary terms. Dave Sponsilier was the only one who had the
temerity to offer any reply, saying, "Mr. Yank, I'll give you one
hundred dollars if you'll point me out the grave of a man, woman, or
child who starved to death in that state."

A short recess was taken, after which apologies followed, and the
commissioner resumed the hearing. A Western lawyer, named Lemeraux,
made a very plausible plea for the immediate acceptance of the tender of
Field, Radcliff & Co. He admitted that the cattle, at present, were not
in as good flesh as his clients expected to offer them; that they had
left the Platte River in fine condition, but had been twice quarantined
en route. He was cautious in his remarks, but clearly intimated that had
there been no other cattle in competition for delivery on this award,
there might have been no quarantine. In his insinuations, the fact was
adroitly brought out that the isolation of their herds, if not directly
chargeable to Lovell and his men, had been aided and abetted by them,
retarding the progress of his clients' beeves and forcing them to travel
as fast as twenty-five miles a day, so that they arrived in a jaded
condition. Had there been no interference, the tender of Field, Radcliff
& Co. would have reached this post ten days earlier, and rest would soon
have restored the cattle to