time to give
the Swede a great push which sent him staggering back. The men found
tongue together, and hoarse shouts of rage, appeal, or fear burst from
every throat. The cowboy pushed and jostled feverishly at the Swede,
and the Easterner and Scully clung wildly to Johnnie; but, through the
smoky air, above the swaying bodies of the peace-compellers, the eyes
of the two warriors ever sought each other in glances of challenge
that were at once hot and steely.

Of course the board had been overturned, and now the whole company of
cards was scattered over the floor, where the boots of the men
trampled the fat and painted kings and queens as they gazed with their
silly eyes at the war that was waging above them.

Scully's voice was dominating the yells. "Stop now? Stop, I say! Stop,
now--"

Johnnie, as he struggled to burst through the rank formed by Scully
and the Easterner, was crying, "Well, he says I cheated! He says I
cheated! I won't allow no man to say I cheated! If he says I cheated,
he's a ------ ------!"

The cowboy was telling the Swede, "Quit, now! Quit, d'ye hear--"

The screams of the Swede never ceased: "He did cheat! I saw him! I saw
him--"

As for the Easterner, he was importuning in a voice that was not
heeded: "Wait a moment, can't you? Oh, wait a moment. What's the good
of a fight over a game of cards? Wait a moment--"

In this tumult no complete sentences were clear. "Cheat"--"Quit"--"He
says"--these fragments pierced the uproar and rang out sharply. It was
remarkable that, whereas Scully undoubtedly made the most noise, he
was the least heard of any of the riotous band.

Then suddenly there was a great cessation. It was as if each man had
paused for breath; and although the room was still lighted with the
anger of men, it could be seen that there was no danger of immediate
conflict, and at once Johnnie, shouldering his way forward, almost
succeeded in confronting the Swede. "What did you say I cheated for?
What did you say I cheated for? I don't cheat, and I won't let no man
say I do!"

The Swede said, "I saw you! I saw you!"

"Well," cried Johnnie, "I'll fight any man what says I cheat!"

"No, you won't," said the cowboy. "Not here."

"Ah, be still, can't you?" said Scully, coming between them.

The quiet was sufficient to allow the Easterner's voice to be heard.
He was repealing, "Oh, wait a moment, can't you? What's the good of a
fight over a game of cards? Wait a moment!"

John