s Red lounged languidly into sight; the sweat
poured down his cheeks in a stream and his lips opened and shut
convulsively. He was trembling all over as Red unconcernedly walked
behind him and relieved him of the weapon, which he put in his own
pocket. On Don Luis's face was a great contempt and Ballard was grinning
broadly.

"Now the derringers, Red, two of them, in his pants' pockets. You will
excuse the liberty, Mr. Coogan, but accidents will happen occasionally
and I wouldn't have you hurt yourself for the world! We are going to
have a quiet little gentlemen's game of cards, you and I, and we don't
want our foreign friends here to get a false impression about the ethics
of our great national game. Sit down, please!" Coogan dropped
nervelessly into his chair.

At a sign from Douglass, there entered into the room a cowboy bearing
three beef-hides which he laid on the table. As Douglass spread them
flesh side up the Mexicans looked significantly at each other; they were
both experienced cowmen and the altered brands told their own tale.

Upon the skins Douglass laid successively a handful of gold coin and a
packet of letters; opening the string which bound the latter he spread
them out separately so that their signatures were easily read by the
white-faced fellow sitting opposite to him. Then he turned to Strang,
who was standing in the door behind him, watching his actions with
deceptively mild interest.

"Dave, could you manage to get us a new deck of cards and something to
smoke?"

Strang soon returned with a box of really excellent cigars and an
unbroken package of cards. The former he had secured at the "Palace"
bar, Coogan's weeds being the best in the city, a thing characteristic
of all gambling hells whose whiskey and tobacco is always
unexceptionable, but the cards he bought at the little drug store across
the way. He had reason to be suspicious of the ornately-backed
pasteboards affected by the Coogan establishment.

In the combined gambling hall and bar adjacent to the private room, four
Lazy K cowpunchers were languidly lounging about with disconsolation
written all over their faces; but Strang's orders had been imperative,
so they had to content themselves with smoking innumerable cigarettes
and hoping that something might occur to enliven the monotony of their
vigil.

"It's up to yuh mugs to see that nobody gets offishus an' interrupts thu
perceedin's!" had been his instructions; nevertheless the