pot-bellied man with mean little eyes and a ludicrous air of importance.
'I'm the town marshal o' thisyer city,' he began pompously.
Sudden regarded him gravely. 'That so? What am I s'posed to do--throw a fit--or somethin'?' he inquired.
The marshal's bloated face got redder. 'I can tell yu what yu ain't s'posed to do an' that's wear them guns,' he snapped. 'It's agin the law. I'll trouble yu to hand 'em to me.'
Sudden's eyes narrowed. 'I hate trouble,' he said. His gaze swept over the room, noting that nearly every man in it wore a weapon. 'Why start on me? Clean up on them others an'--I'll think about it.'
'yo're a new-comer ; I know them fellas,' was the lame reply. 'yeah, that's where the rope rubs--I don't know 'em,' the cowboy said quietly. 'See here, marshal, I'm attached to my guns an' they're attached to me'--he smiled--'partin' would be--difficult. Don't yu reckon yu'd better take a drink instead?'
Looking into those frosty grey-blue eyes and observing the lean, out-thrust jaw, the officer discovered that he was thirsty
'I'm trustin' yu not to raise no ruckus,' he said.
'Marshal, I'm a li'I woolly lamb long as folks treat me right,' the cowboy assured him.
Having absorbed his liquor, the keeper of the peace went in search of another, and presently Sudden saw him in converse with two men whose entrance he had not noticed-Baudry and Dutt. Even as he caught sight of them they were moving towards him. The gambler opened the ball:
'Yes, marshal, that's the man,' he said. 'Known as `Sudden' in Texas, and wanted for cold-blooded murder and robbery.'
'An' that fella, marshal,' parodied the cowboy, 'is Monte Jack, a tin-horn who was run outa Kansas City for shootin' a pilgrim he had cheated.'
Baudry drew himself up. 'That's not true,' he protested. 'This is,' Sudden rasped, his open hand striking the gambler on the cheek with a crack like a pistol-shot.
Staggering back under the force of the blow, his face livid with passion, Baudry clawed at his shoulder- holster. Dutt flung his arms round him.
'Don't be a fool, Monte, he'll get yu,' he cried.
At the name unwittingly used the marshal's pig-like eyes widened. He snatched out his own gun.
'If there's any shootin' here, gents, I'm doin' it,' he announced. 'Settle yore differences outside.'
'Good enough,' Sudden said, and looked at Baudry. 'At eight to-morrow mornin' I'm walkin' down the street ; if yu ain't lost yore nerve an' skipped by then, yu can come an' meet me.'
'I'll be there,' Baudry spat out.
Followed by curious glances--for the fracas had attracted attention--Sudden left the saloon. At the hotel he found Eden and told him only that the gambler was in town.
'Glad of it,' the rancher said. 'I can square my account with the dirty sneak an' be a free man again.'
Abilene, on the following morning, presented an unwonted appearance of emptiness, save on the sidewalks of the principal street where a number of daring souls had lined up ; others, whose courage did not equal their curiosity, contented themselves with the windows and doors of the buildings. For the news of the challenge had quickly spread and a crowd hadcome to see one man kill another, and to wager on the result.
An excited whisper ran through the throng when, on the stroke of eight, the cowboy walked from the hotel to the middle of the street. That he was a famous gunman from the south was already known to all. For an instant he stood there, his arms hanging down, fingers almost touching the butts of his guns. Silence seized the spectators as, a hundred yards away, another man was seen to be unhurriedly approaching. So the gambler had not gone. Sudden's lips tightened.
The seconds ticked on, each bringing one of the men, or both, nearer eternity. The onlookers gazed breathlessly as the gap between the combatants lessened. Then the angry bark of a pistol smashed into the silence and Sudden's hat was swept from his head. Almost without looking, the cowboy drew and fired, and a man who had stepped into view round the corner of a store reeled and went down, his smoking gun clattering on the boards, It was David Dutt, and a howl of disgust came from the nearest. spectators when they realized the treachery he had attempted. Sudden himself, bareheaded and swinging the revolver loosely in his fingers, paced steadily on. He had eyes only for the man he was going to meet.
To Jethro Baudry, the failure of the plot was a crushing blow ; it had seemed so sure and easy to explain : an unknown enemy, seizing the opportunity to pay a debt. Why had Dutt let himself be seen, and above all, why had he missed? Savagely he cursed the man who had died for him, and gazed with anxious, haggard eyes at the advancing figure.
Step by step the cowboy came on, relentless, inevitable as death itself. A cold sweat oozed from the gambler's forehead and his heart seemed to become a lump of ice. He had killed, and was no novice in gunfights, but they had been quick affairs, over in a moment or two, allowing no time for thought ; the deliberation of this encounter called for a courage he did not possess. Forty yards--thirty--twenty--damnation, would the fellow never stop? He felt like a condemned criminal. awaiting execution, and watching the leaden hours creep by, but in his case they were moments, seconds, and at that thought he pulled up.
'Can't miss at this distance,' he muttered, and wondered who had spoken.
He tried to raise the gun he was carrying but found he could not ; it seemed to weigh a ton. His antagonist was now only a dozen paces away and he could see the grim, grey face and narrowed ice-cold eyes. A shiver shook him as he realized that he was nothing more than a target. Already he seemed to feel the scorching, blinding pain of lead tearing through his body. Desperately he made another effort to fire but his paralysed muscles refused to act, and in a panic of frenzied fear, he dropped the weapon, flung up his arms, and bolted. Staggering, slipping in the loose dust, expecting every instant the numbing jar of a bullet in his back, he did not hear the yell of derision which followed him as he vanished behind a convenient building.
The cowboy watched him go, a mingled expression of contempt and doubt on his face.
'I figured him right,' he said to himself. 'Allasame, I'd oughta got him.'
Men crowded round the victor, patted him on the back, invited him to drink, and hailed him as a good fellow. Dutt, they told him, was dead, with a bullet between the eyes, and all agreed that it was less than he deserved. Sudden had hard work to get away from his admirers, but he pleaded that he had a job, and his boss was waiting for him. Which was no more than the truth, for on returning to the hotel, he found Eden and the buyer ready to ride out and inspect the herd.
'I'm glad yu didn't kill him, Jim,' the rancher said. 'It would 'a' looked like yu were payin' my debt.'
'It may come to that yet,' Sudden told him.
'yu don't think he's finished?' Eden asked.
'There's on'y one way to keep a rattler from bitin',' was the meaning reply.
Karson was evidently of the same opinion, for as they passed the scene of the gambler's humiliation, he said:
'yu oughta rubbed that fella out like a dirty mark, which is what he is ; it was a plain frame-up.'
'I expect yo're right, seh,' Sudden agreed.
When they reached the camp, Eden had the cattle lined out and driven past, he and the buyer counting independently. Their figures nearly tallied.
'Call it two thousand, two hundred,' the rancher offered. 'Good enough,' Karson nodded. 'They're a likely lot an' in fair fettle, but I on'y want four-year-olds--twenty-five a head.'
Eden's face fell ; this meant taking the pick of his herd and leaving him with the less saleable residue.
'That ain't a square offer an' yu know it, Karson,' he said bluntly. 'Gimme an all-over price of twenty an' take the lot. With the northern ranches yelpin' for stock, yu can't lese.'
The buyer took one look at the cattleman's stubborn jaw. 'Yu know yore business,' he smiled. 'I was hopin' yu'd let 'em go for fifteen.'
'I've been lookin' at cows' rumps since I was weaned,' Eden grinned. 'Well, what do yu say?'
'It's a deal,' Karson replied, aware that he had made a good bargain. 'Of course, yore boys'll hold the herd here till I can arrange for shippin'? Good.'
The news that the steers they had safeguarded through so many vicissitudes were actually sold caused great jubilation among the cowboys, and the difficuLties of the trail were made light of in a way which vastly amused the buyer.
