wondered if
Flores were afraid of Malvey or simply indifferent to his raw talk.
And Pete--who had never gone out of his way to make a friend--decided
to be as careful of what he said as Malvey was careless. Pete had
never lacked nerve, but he was endowed with considerable caution--a
fact that The Spider had realized and so had considered him worth the
trouble of hiding--as an experiment.

After supper the men sat out beneath the vine-covered portal--Malvey
and Flores with a wicker-covered demijohn of wine between them--and
Pete lounging on the doorstep, smoking and gazing across the canon at
the faint stars of an early evening. With the wine, old Flores's
manner changed from surly indifference to a superficial politeness
which in no way deceived Pete. And Malvey, whose intent was plainly to
get drunk, boasted of his doings on either side of the line. He hinted
that he had put more than one Mexican out of the way--and he slapped
Flores on the back--and Flores laughed. He spoke of raids on the
horse-herds of white men, and through some queer perversity inspired in
his drink, openly asserted that he was the "slickest hoss-thief in
Arizona," turning to Pete as he spoke.

"I'll take your word for it," said Pete.

"But what's the use of settin' out here like a couple of dam' buzzards
when the ladies are waitin' for us in there?" queried Malvey, and be
leered at Flores.

The old Mexican grunted and rose stiffly. They entered the 'dobe,
Malvey insisting that Pete come in and hear Boca sing.

"I can listen out here." Pete was beginning to hate Malvey, with the
cold, deliberate hatred born of instinct. As for old Flores, Pete
despised him heartily. A man that could hear his countrymen called "a
dirty bunch of Greasers," and have nothing to say, was a pretty poor
sort of a man.

Disgusted with Malvey's loud talk and his raw attitude toward Boca,
Pete sat in the moon-flung shadows of the portal and smoked and gazed
at the stars. He was half-asleep when he heard Boca tell Malvey that
he was a pig and the son of a pig. Malvey laughed. There came the
sound of a scuffle. Pete glanced over his shoulder. Malvey had his
arm around the girl and was trying to kiss her. Flores was watching
them, grinning in a kind of drunken indifference.

Pete hesitated. He was there on sufferance--a stranger. After all,
this was none of his business. Boca's father and mother were also
there . . .

Boca screamed. Malvey let go