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"If you're the thafe, begorra, I'll find the rope, tie the knot, and give the first pull." The laugh which followed this repartee showed that the men were in excellent humour, and enjoying the whole proceedings. "Tim Slater, I spot you," continued Pritchen. "Is it a go?" "Very well, pard, ye may bank on me," came the reply. "Jim, how does your pulse beat?" and Pritchen threw a wink at Perdue.
His small, swinish eyes blazed, his brutal features twitched, and his hands clinched together as he brooded over the interview. "He warned me, d him, he warned me! Me me, Bill Pritchen, the lawless, who never took such words from any man which I have taken from him! But I'll fix him! I'll bring him down from his high horse. He's got the cinch on me now through those d Injuns, but my time'll come.
During this conversation Pritchen was thinking hard. When the laugh which followed the saloon-keeper's retort had subsided, he turned to him and said: "Jim, I'll take your bet." "What, to stop the bell, and to bring the Injuns here fer a drink?" "Yes, but only for to-morrow night, remember." "Oh, that'll do," replied Perdue. "I'll do the rest." The next day Pritchen was unusually busy.
"The sneak!" spoke up another, "shooting's too good for him." "Hanging would be better," remarked a third. "Shooting'd be a cinch." In the meantime the rest of the men had arrived, among whom was Pritchen, and joined in the conversation. There were several miners in the room calmer than the rest, of whom Caribou Sol was one.
Name yer men, and let's get this business fixed up." Pritchen's eye gleamed with a triumphant light at this turn of affairs. He made a show of refusing such an important task, but the men would not listen. "Come, man," said Perdue, "stick to yer job. Ye kin do it, and all 'ill be satisfied." "Well, if you want me to do it," replied Pritchen, "you'll have to put up with my choice.
Pritchen's followers with a cry of rage surged forward and bore down upon the gray-haired giant, while the rest of the men sprang to his assistance. So quickly had everything taken place that Keith stood dumbfounded. He had noticed the presence of Pritchen and his gang, and felt rather uneasy as to their purpose in attending.
During this disclosure Pritchen had stood with his eyes fixed upon the ground, to all outward appearance abashed and confounded. But such was not the case. He was thinking hard and fast, while from the corner of his left eye he beheld a sight which filled him with a new determination.
Pritchen noted how quick Sol was to persuade Keith to accept, and the look upon his face, so the little scene pleased him immensely. "Now, gentlemen," he announced, "I think one more will do. Five should make a good number. Let me see," and he hesitated as he looked around the room. "What about yourself, Bill?" spoke up several. "You'll do."
Stung to the quick by these words, spoken so deliberately by the man he bitterly hated, with an oath, Pritchen grasped his revolver more firmly than ever. His face was livid with rage, and his teeth ground together. Just when the miners expected to see another dead or wounded man in their midst, the weapon was suddenly dropped into its case, and, without a word, Pritchen left the building.
"But I tell ye ye do know, an' what's more, I'm here to find out." "Then you'll find out something else!" cried Pritchen, as his hand dropped to his hip pocket. He was quick, but Pete was quicker, for almost like a flash a huge hand reached out, seized the revolver, and wrenched it from the villain's grasp.
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