im shudder as he looked at the torn
throat. "My God!" he muttered, an' then he started to git up, his voice
fairly snarlin' with rage. "Monody, you beast!" he yelled, snap-pin'
back the hammer of his gun, "I'll--"

He never finished it. With a queer, guttural cry Monody took a step
forward with his left foot an' kicked him under the chin, lifted him
clear from the ground, an' rolled him over, a crumpled an' broken
thing, on top o' the sub-cook The man with the lantern began to
fan-shoot into Monody, an' I jumped for him an' hit him in the temple
with the butt, o' my gun. He went down with a crash an' the lantern
went out.

"Monody!" I called. "Monody, are you hurt?" The' wasn't no answer; the'
wasn't a sound. I felt like the last man on earth. Then I thought of
the girl. I waited a moment to quiet my voice, an' then I sez, "Are you
all right, little Barbie?" Still the' wasn't no answer, an' I fairly
yelled to her.

"Yes, I'm all right, Happy, but I want to get out. Are you all right?"
Her voice was steady, but it sounded a long ways off.

"Yes, Honey Bird, I'm all right," I sez.

"And is my Daddy all right?" she asked.

My! but it was a world o' comfort to hear the child's voice again, an'
some way I felt unreasonable tickled to think 'at she had asked about
me first. "Your Daddy ain't here just now, Barbie," I sez. "You'd
better just stay where you are until we make sure 'at they're all gone."

"Well, all right," she said in the same muffled voice; "but I'd like to
get out."

I hunted through my pockets for a match, but I couldn't find one, an'
what I wanted just then was light--Lord, how I did want a light!

And then I heard a tramplin' an' a poundin' as the herd swept down the
ravine an' into the corral, an' next minute I heard George Hendricks
give the yell he allus give when a job was done, an' I yelled
back--yelled till my voice cracked; an' it was the biggest relief I
ever had.

CHAPTER FOUR

PROFESSIONAL DUTY

I kept on yellin' until they got to the cook shack. "What the bloomin'
blue blasted blazes is the matter?" sez Spider Kelley. "An' who the
fiber fingered flub-dub are ya?"

"Get a light, get a light an' see!" I yells, hatin' to move.

"It's Happy Hawkins!" yells the whole bunch, an' the tone they used was
all-fired welcome.

Purty soon they come in with a lantern, an' then they stopped askin'
questions. For a moment we all just looked at that floor, an' it was
sure a hideous si