if I did let my foot slip. Come on over to
Jennings's with me and I'll get that hat."

"All right!" And Pete rolled a smoke as the sheriff picked up several
addressed letters and tucked them in his pocket. "I was goin' over to
the post-office, anyway."

They crossed to the shady side of the street, the short, ruddy little
sheriff and the tall, dark cowboy, each more noticeable by contrast,
yet neither consciously aware of the curious glances cast at them by
occasional townsfolk, some of whom were small enough to suspect that
Pete and the sheriff had collaborated in presenting the evidence which
had made Pete a free man; and that they were still collaborating, as
they seemed very friendly toward each other.

Pete tried on several hats and finally selected one. "Let's see how it
looks on you," he said, handing it to the sheriff. "I don't know how
she looks."

Owen tried the hat on, turning to look into the mirror at the end of
the counter. Pete casually picked up the sheriff's old hat and glanced
at the size.

"Reckon I'll take it," said Pete, as Owen returned it. "This here one
of mine never did fit too good. It was Andy's hat."

Certain male gossips who infested the groceries, pool-halls, and
post-office of Sanborn, shook their heads and talked gravely about
bribery and corruption and politics and what not, when they learned
that the sheriff had actually bought a hat for that young outlaw that
he was so mighty thick with. "And it weren't no fairy-story neither.
Bill Jennings sold the hat hisself, and the sheriff paid for it, and
that young Annersley walked out of the store with said hat on his
_head_. Yes, sir! Things looked mighty queer."

"Things would 'a' looked a mighty sight queerer if he'd 'a' walked out
with it on his foot," suggested a friend of Owen's who had been
buttonholed and told the alarming news.

Meanwhile Pete attended to his own business, which was to get his few
things together, pay his hotel-bill, settle his account with the
sheriff--which included cab-hire in El Paso--and write a letter to
Doris Gray--the latter about the most difficult task he had ever faced.
He thought of making her some kind of present--but his innate good
sense cautioned him to forego that pleasure for a while, for in making
her a present he might also make a mistake--and Pete was becoming a bit
cautious about making mistakes, even though he did think that that
green velvet hat with a yellow feather, in th