d cigars. If you should
hear shooting, and Gabriel gets anxious about it, you can send the boy
to find out what it's about. That will give us a few minutes more to get
away."

"Sure your dope is strong enough?"

"The man who fixed it ought to know. He's a registered druggist at
Phoenix," replied the range-rider.

Yeager had never before sat in the anxious seat as nervously as he did
during the next few hours. His nature was not of the kind to borrow
trouble. Usually he could accept responsibility without letting it worry
him. But to-night he was playing for big stakes--his own life certainly
was in the hazard, probably those of Farrar and Threewit, possibly that
of the Texan. And what weighed with him more than all these was the fate
of the young girl in the back room upstairs waiting with a leaden heart
for this dreadful thing that was to befall her. It was in the game that
a man must take his fighting chance. But a girl--and above all girls
Ruth--the thought of it stabbed his heart like a knife.

CHAPTER XXII

A CONSPIRACY

In settling accounts with Harrison the Mexican general had prepared the
scene, had arranged every detail of it carefully so as to eliminate any
possible chance the heavyweight might otherwise have. Yeager had no
intention of letting Pasquale fix the conditions against him as he had
against the prizefighter.

"Old Gabriel was holding four aces and Chad only a busted flush.
Pasquale knew it all the time. Harrison must 'a' guessed it too. But if
he did, I don't see why he waited for the old man to spring his trap,"
said Steve.

"It's a matter of temperament, I reckon. Some fellows are game enough
when you put 'em up against trouble good and hard, but they hang back
and wait for it to come to 'em. I expect Harrison didn't know how to
play his hand. Looked that way to me when he talked with me. Likely he
figured he had better wait and see what happened," surmised the captain.

"He waited too long."

"Till it was too late to call for a new deal. He had to play those dealt
him."

"Different here. We'll do the dealing ourselves, captain. Pasquale has
been through the deck and taken out all the big picture cards, but I
expect I can rustle up a six-full that will come handy." Yeager smiled
as he spoke at the .45 he was bestowing about his person.

Together they set the table for poker, putting on it two new decks, one
blue and one red, and a box of chips that had seen service in many