estate?"

"Good! Tell him some more, Sarge," came from Dietz.

"Do you hear that?" raged Hinkey, turning and catching his new leader's
eye. "Do you hear what the boot-lick insinuates about the new crowd I've
joined?"

"It's your affair--your battle, Hinkey," replied the leader grimly.
"Don't try to drag us in."

"You're making such a beast of yourself, Hinkey, that even your own gang
don't respect you," taunted Johnson.

"A crowd of Colorado wild-cats couldn't respect such a fellow," supplied
Dietz.

With a snarl Hinkey ran over to where Dietz and Johnson lay, giving each
a hard kick. The soldiers suffered the violence in silence.

"You two mind your own affairs," warned Hinkey savagely. "Don't turn me
against you. I don't want to give either of you as bad a dose as I've
planned for this sergeant boy."

"Hurry up, Hinkey," warned the leader impatiently. "You're wasting time
that's worth more to us than money. You said that if we'd capture this
boy for you, you'd cart him away on your back, to settle with him later.
Now do it!"

"All in a minute," promised the deserter. "But, first of all, are you
going to take the other two soldiers with you?"

"No. We don't need 'em."

"Then I don't want this fellow Overton to go along with us with his eyes
open. He'd know our whole route if he managed to get away from us, and
then he'd bring the regulars down on us. You don't want that?"

"Of course not."

"Then I'll stun this sergeant boy, and I'll do it so hard that he won't
open his eyes in ten miles of traveling," promised Hinkey.

With that he turned to Hal.

"Overton, I'm going to hit you, and I'm going to hit you so hard that
you won't even see stars. Close your eyes if you're afraid to see the
blow coming!"

But Hal merely opened his eyes the wider, smiling back with a confidence
in himself that maddened the brute.

With a snarl like a panther's Hinkey crouched over the young sergeant,
holding his hand high before striking.

CHAPTER XXII

THE NAVY HEARD FROM

LOOKING up at that hand Hal Overton saw a spot of blood appear suddenly
in the middle of the palm.

In the same moment there came the sharp crack of a rifle.

The blow never descended on Overton's upturned face.

Instead, Hinkey uttered a startled yell, tottered to his feet, then
threw himself over on his face.

For, following that first shot, came a volley of them, accompanied by
the whistling of bullets through the camp.

The l