"
The deputy sprang to his feet. "Quick, now, Bat!" he roared loudly.
"You slip these irons on him, an' I'll catch up the horses. Don't take
no chances!" He tossed the half-breed a pair of hand-cuffs, and
started after his own horse. "Kill him if he makes a crooked move.
Tell him you're actin' under my authority an' let him understand we're
hard men to tamper with--us sheriffs. We don't stand fer no foolin'."
In Curly Hardee's dance-hall Tex Benton leaned against the wall and
idly watched the couples weave in and out upon the floor to the whining
accompaniment of the fiddles and the clanging piano.
Apparently the cowboy's interest centred solely upon the dancers, but a
close observer would have noticed the keen glance with which he scanned
each new arrival--noticed too, that after a few short puffs on a
cigarette the man tossed it to the floor and immediately rolled
another, which is not in the manner of a man with a mind at ease.
The Texan saw Endicott enter the room, watched as the man's eyes swept
the faces of dancers and spectators, and smiled as he turned toward the
door.
"Three of us," mused the cowboy, with the peculiar smile still twisting
the corners of his lips, "Purdy, an' me, an' the pilgrim. Purdy's
work's so coarse he'll gum his own game, an' that's where I come in.
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