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"Las Vegas, I reckon I hear hosses," he said, suddenly

"Me, too," replied Las Vegas, with his head high like that of a listening deer Apparently he forgot the cigarette and also his friend Abe hurried back to the store, where he disappeared

Las Vegas began his stalking up and down, and his action noas an exaggeration of all his former movements A rational, ordinaryto meet this red-faced cowboy, would have considered hias looked both But all the sa and efficient instru issue How many thousands of times, on the trails, and in the wide-streeted little towns all over the West, had this stalk of the cowboy's been perpetrated! Violent, bloody, tragic as it was, it had an importance in that pioneer day equal to the use of a horse or the need of a plow

At length Pine was apparently a deserted village, except for Las Vegas, who patrolled his long beat in ed while he watched; he stalked like aIndian fashion, stealthily, from tree to tree, from corner to corner; he disappeared in the saloon to reappear at the back; he slipped round behind the barns to coain in the main road; and ti to mount

The last visit he ely he pounded on the bar with his gun He got no response Then the long-pent-up rage burst With hoops he pulled another gun and shot at the mirror, the lamps He shot the neck off a bottle and drank till he choked, his neck corded, bulging, and purple His only slow and deliberate action was the reloading of his gun Then he crashed through the doors, and with a wild yell leaped sheer into the saddle, hauling his horse up high and goading hi to the door and s of the store saw a streak of dust flying down the road And then they trooped out to see it disappear The hour of suspense ended for theas had lived up to the code of the West, had dared his er than needful to prove that man a coward Whatever the issue now, Beasley was branded forever That moment saw the decline of whatever power he had wielded He and his ht kill the coho had ridden out alone to face hie the brand