I live a dozen miles
from here, at Eagle's Court," returned Hale scornfully.

"Then you're the chap that's doin' that fancy ranchin' over at Eagle's,"
continued the man lazily.

"Whatever I'm doing at Eagle's Court, I'm not ashamed of it," said Hale
tartly; "and that's more than I can say of what I've done--or HAVEN'T
done--to-night. I've been one of six men over-awed and robbed by THREE."

"As to the over-awin', ez you call it--mebbee you know more about
it than us. As to the robbin'--ez far as I kin remember, YOU haven't
onloaded much. Ef you're talkin' about what OUGHTER have been done,
I'll tell you what COULD have happened. P'r'aps ye noticed that when he
pulled up I made a kind of grab for my wepping behind me?"

"I did; and you wern't quick enough," said Hale shortly.

"I wasn't quick enough, and that saved YOU. For ef I got that pistol out
and in sight o' that man that held the gun--"

"Well," said Hale impatiently, "he'd have hesitated."

"He'd hev blown YOU with both barrels outer the window, and that before
I'd got a half-cock on my revolver."

"But that would have been only one man gone, and there would have been
five of you left," said Hale haughtily.

"That might have been, ef you'd contracted to take the hull charge of
two handfuls of buck-shot and slugs; but ez one eighth o' that amount
would have done your business, and yet left enough to have gone round,
promiskiss, and satisfied the other passengers, it wouldn't do to
kalkilate upon."

"But the express messenger and the driver were armed," continued Hale.

"They were armed, but not FIXED; that makes all the difference."

"I don't understand."

"I reckon you know what a duel is?"

"Yes."

"Well, the chances agin US was about the same as you'd have ef you was
put up agin another chap who was allowed to draw a bead on you, and the
signal to fire was YOUR DRAWIN' YOUR WEAPON. You may be a stranger to
this sort o' thing, and p'r'aps you never fought a duel, but even then
you wouldn't go foolin' your life away on any such chances."

Something in the man's manner, as in a certain sly amusement the other
passengers appeared to extract from the conversation, impressed Hale,
already beginning to be conscious of the ludicrous insufficiency of his
own grievance beside that of his interlocutor.

"Then you mean to say this thing is inevitable," said he bitterly, but
less aggressively.

"Ez long ez they hunt YOU; when you hunt THEM you've got