der the guns of the
last squad. They were taken to the rear and, after being bound, were
placed under a guard. There were seven in the party and they looked worn
out.

When the huts were burning the fiercest the uproar in the corral arose
to such a pitch as to drown all other sounds. There were left within its
walls a few hundred cattle whose brands had not yet been blotted out,
and these, maddened to frenzy by the shooting and the flames, tore from
one end of the enclosure to the other, crashing against the alternate
walls with a noise which could be heard far out on the plain. Scores
were trampled to death on each charge and finally the uproar subsided
in sheer want of cattle left with energy enough to continue. When the
corral was investigated the next day there were found the bodies of four
rustlers, but recognition was impossible.

Several of the defenders were housed in cabins having windows in the
rear walls, which the occupants considered fortunate. This opinion
was revised, however, after several had endeavored to escape by these
openings. The first thing that occurred when a man put his head out was
the hum of a bullet, and in two cases the experimenters lost all need of
escape.

The volley firing had the desired effect, and at dusk there remained
only one cabin from which came opposition. Such a fire was concentrated
on it that before an hour had passed the door fell in and the firing
ceased. There was a rush from the side, and the Barred Horseshoe men
who swarmed through the cabins emerged without firing a shot. The
organization that had stirred up the Pecos Valley ranches had ceased to
exist.

CHAPTER XXII. The Showdown

A fire burned briskly in front of Mr. Trendley's cabin that night and
several punchers sat around it occupied in various ways. Two men leaned
against the wall and sang softly of the joys of the trail and the range.
One of them, Lefty Allen, of the O-Bar-O, sang in his sweet tenor, and
other men gradually strolled up and seated themselves on the ground,
where the fitful gleam of responsive pipes and cigarettes showed like
fireflies. The songs followed one after another, first a lover's plea in
soft Spanish and then a rollicking tale of the cow-towns and men. Supper
had long since been enjoyed and all felt that life was, indeed, well
worth living.

A shadow loomed against the cabin wall and a procession slowly made its
way toward the open door. The leader, Hopalong, disappeared