t suicide with
none of their friends here to say, 'Don't he look natural?'"

Elliot brought back the pack-ropes and cut them into suitable lengths.
Holt's monologue rambled on. He was garrulous and affable. Not for a
long time had he enjoyed himself so much.

"Better begin with Chief Big Bill," he suggested. "No, I wouldn't make
that move if I was you, Mr. Macy. This old gun is liable to go off
accidental in your direction and she spatters like hell. That's the
idee. Be reasonable. Not that I give a hoot, but a man hadn't ought to
let his impulses run away with his judgment, as the old sayin' is."

Gordon tied the hands of Big Bill behind him, then roped his feet
together, after which he did the same for Holway. The old miner
superintended the job and was not satisfied till he had added a few
extra knots on his own behalf.

"That'll hold them for awhile, I shouldn't wonder. Now if you'll just
cover friend chef with this sawed-off gat, Elliot, I'll throw the
diamond hitch over what supplies we'll need to get back to Kamatlah.
I'll take one bronch and leave the other to the convicts," said Holt
cheerfully.

"Forget that convict stuff," growled Macy. "With Macdonald back of us
and the Guttenchilds back of him, you'll have a hectic time getting
anything on us."

"That might be true if these folks were back of you. But are they?
Course I ain't any Sherlock Holmes, but it don't look to me like they'd
play any such fool system as this."

Big Bill opened his mouth to answer--and said nothing. He had caught a
look flashed at him by Holway, a look that warned him he was talking too
much.

After Holt had packed one of the animals he turned to Elliot.

"I reckon we're ready."

Under orders from Elliot, Dud fixed up the smudges and arranged the
mosquito netting over the bound men so as to give them all the
protection possible.

"We're going to take Dud with us for a part of the trip. We'll send him
back to you later in the day. You'll have to fast till he gets back, but
outside of that you'll do very well if you don't roll around trying to
get loose. Do that, and you'll jar loose the mosquito netting. You know
what that means," explained Gordon.

"It ain't likely any grizzlies will come pokin' their noses into camp.
But you never can tell. Any last words you want sent to relatives?"
asked Gideon Holt.

The last words they heard from Big Bill as they moved down the draw were
sulphuric.

"Macy he ain't wearin' any