at the side, raisin' and cross-liftin' each other, him having
drawed one card whilest I took two to a pair of tens and a kicker,
and made four tens--a shadder fell on the blanket. Percy was too
busy wondering whether he'd better see my last raise to notice, but
your Uncle Zeke has lived so long in lonesome and sometimes
unhealthy places that the chill of that shadder, comin' so
noiseless and unexpected, fell on his soul. Before I raised my
eyes I looked at the shadder close; yes, there was a gun, and it
was also an Injun.

"There ain't anything an Injun likes better than to sit tight and
enjoy a cinch. He won't kill you as long as he can get some fun
out of you.

"I ain't savin' what I felt, but old pink-and-white Percival was
there, babe in the woods dependin' on me, and me covered by an
Apache rifle!

"'How!' says I, throwin' it careless over my shoulder.

"There was a still second. Then the Injun answers, 'Huh!'

"Percy looked up, pleased and surprised.

"'Why, there's an Indian!' says he.

"'Go on with the game,' says I, cross. 'Don't stare at him--he has
feelin's.'

"Percy got red. 'I beg your pardon!' he says to the Injun--then to
me: 'What does he want?'

"I made up my mind Percy wasn't goin' to be scart if I could help
it. If he _had_ to go let him go quick, without waiting. They
made me wait once, and while it didn't come to nothing, I don't
think I should ever really care for it.

"'He wants to rassel me,' I answers. 'Great people for sports,
Injuns, and curious how they go at it. He expects me to surprise
him--let's see, how many have you got there?'

"I bent over, to get my legs loose, so I could jump, and also to
get a quick peep at circumstances. There wasn't but the lone buck.
I worked the cat racket. You know how a cat does? She sits still,
thinkin' 'I'm goin' to move fast in a minute--I sure _am_ goin' to
move fast in a minute,' until she gets such a head of steam on,
she's off before she knows it. That's just what I done, exactly.
I was all over that Injun, kicked his gun out of reach and heaved
him over the steepest side before you could say 'Keno.'

[Illustration: "I was all over that Injun."]

"Percy was surprised and displeased. He put on his specks and
trotted quick to the edge.

"'Washington,' says he, 'you have hurt that man!'

"'Oh, I guess not,' says I. 'He's used to this country.'

"I hadn't hurt him half as much as I'd liked. If you slapped a
white man