weight overbalancing him. He struggled to recover
himself, plunged over backward, and down,
striking the earth heavily. Hurriedly he regained
his feet, but not so the man, not till the
others sprang to his assistance. Then he realized
what he had done, realized it fully as he caught
the venomous gleam in the man's eyes and heard
the storm of abuse volleying from his lips. Then,
looking at the man, and listening to his raging
outburst, he conjured up out of the dim past
memories of the Mexican hostler and of that single
encounter in the white corral. And now his fear
for the man left him.

"I'll kill him! I'll shoot the horse!" roared
Johnson, his face yellow underneath the tan, He
reached toward his side-arms.

But he did not shoot. With his face white.and
drawn Jim strode to Pat's head, while Glover,
quick to understand, played the solicitous attendant,
assisting the limping Johnson into the saddle.
And that closed the incident. Presently all were
riding along again, with Johnson, wincing under
internal distress, holding his reins more loosely
than before.

But it was not without its good. As on that
other occasion in the corral, Pat had learned something.
He had measured a man, and he knew,
and knew that the man knew, that he had come
off victor. But it gave him no secret gratification.
He continued to trot along, holding steadily
to the gait, subtly aware of the slackened rein
and of the wrenched and loosened girdle, until,

[[189]]

p188 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p189w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p190

v?