Mexico, came to grief at Galeyville because he did
not understand Breckenbridge's status in the rustlers' metropolis.
This bad man from the Pecos had a pretty sorrel pony and the deputy,
who was in the place on civil business, happened to notice the animal
at the hitching-rack in front of the hotel.

"Say," he said to its possessor, who was standing near by, "that's a
nice horse; where'd you get him?"

The remark was a careless one in a country where ponies often changed
owners overnight, and the man from the Pecos was sensitive enough on
the subject to resent the question from one who wore a star. He
answered it by drawing his gun.

Breckenbridge, who was as dexterous with his left hand as with his
right, reached down as the weapon came forth from its holster and
gripped the stranger's wrist. He gave a sharp wrench and the revolver
clattered down on the sidewalk. And then Curly Bill, who had
witnessed the incident, stepped forward and ordered the visitor out of
Galeyville.

"Yo'-all don't need to think," the desperado added, "that you can come
here and make a gun-play on our deputy. We get along all right with
him and I reckon we ain't going to stand for any cow-thieves from
Lincoln County gettin' brash with him."

Something like two years had passed now since young Billy Breckenbridge
first rode across the Dragoon Mountains into no-man's-land and, as the
old-timers who had been watching him all this time well knew, things
could not go on in this way forever. The show-down was bound to come. It
came one day at the Chandler ranch and the old-timers got the answer
to their question.

There were two young fellows by the name of Zwing Hunt and Billy
Grounds who had been working at Philip Morse's sawmill over in the
Chiracahua Mountains.

Somehow or other they had got mixed up with the stock-rustlers and the
temptation to make easy money proved too strong for them. One evening
they went over to the Contention mill and held up the place, killing
the man in charge.

Johnny Behan was out of town at the time with several deputies after
the Earps who had departed from Tombstone. The under-sheriff detailed
Breckenbridge on the case and drafted a posse of three men to help
him.

"No, sir," the former said when the young deputy remonstrated against
the presence of these aides. "This ain't a case of talking John Ringo
into coming over and putting up a bond. This here's murder and those
lads are going to show fight."