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肩書を与える: The 孤独な 星／主役にする 特別奇襲隊員 Author: Zane Grey * A 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBook * eBook No.: w00051.html Language: English Date first 地位，任命するd: Apr 2005 Most 最近の update: Aug 2015 This eBook was produced by Colin Choat and Roy Glashan. 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed 版s which are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright notice is 含むd. We do NOT keep any eBooks in 同意／服従 with a particular paper 版. Copyright 法律s are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright 法律s for your country before downloading or redistributing this とじ込み／提出する. This eBook is made 利用できる at no cost and with almost no 制限s どれでも. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the 条件 of the 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia License which may be 見解（をとる）d online at /licence.html To 接触する 事業／計画（する） Gutenberg of Australia go to http://gutenberg.逮捕する.au
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All-Story 週刊誌, May 9, 1914, with "The Last of the Duanes"
"The 孤独な 星／主役にする 特別奇襲隊員," Harper & Brothers, New York, 1915
It may seem strange to you that out of all the stories I heard on the Rio Grande I should choose as first that of Buck Duane— 無法者 and 銃器携帯者／殺しや.
But, indeed, 特別奇襲隊員 Coffee's story of the last of the Duanes has haunted me, and I have given 十分な rein to imagination and have retold it in my own way. It 取引，協定s with the old 法律—the old 国境 days—therefore it is better first. Soon, perchance, I shall have the 楽しみ of 令状ing of the 国境 of to-day, which in Joe Sitter's laconic speech, "Shore is 'most as bad an' wild as ever!"
In the North and East there is a popular idea that the frontier of the West is a thing long past, and remembered now only in stories. As I think of this I remember 特別奇襲隊員 Sitter when he made that 発言／述べる, while he grimly 一打／打撃d an unhealed 弾丸 負傷させる. And I remember the 巨大（な） Vaughn, that typical son of stalwart Texas, sitting there 静かに with 包帯d 長，率いる, his thoughtful 注目する，もくろむ boding ill to the 無法者 who had 待ち伏せ／迎撃するd him. Only a few months have passed since then—when I had my memorable sojourn with you—and yet, in that short time, Russell and Moore have crossed the Divide, like 特別奇襲隊員s.
Gentlemen,—I have the 栄誉（を受ける） to dedicate this 調書をとる／予約する to you, and the hope that it shall 落ちる to my lot to tell the world the truth about a strange, unique, and misunderstood 団体／死体 of men—the Texas 特別奇襲隊員s—who made the 広大な／多数の／重要な 孤独な 星／主役にする 明言する／公表する habitable, who never know 平和的な 残り／休憩（する） and sleep, who are passing, who surely will not be forgotten and will some day come into their own.
Zane Grey
Coloured frontispiece from first US 版.
SO it was in him, then—an 相続するd fighting instinct, a 運動ing intensity to kill. He was the last of the Duanes, that old fighting 在庫／株 of Texas. But not the memory of his dead father, nor the pleading of his soft-発言する／表明するd mother, nor the 警告 of this uncle who stood before him now, had brought to Buck Duane so much 現実化 of the dark 熱烈な 緊張する in his 血. It was the 再発, a hundred-倍の 増加するd in 力／強力にする, of a strange emotion that for the last three years had arisen in him.
"Yes, Cal Bain's in town, 十分な of bad whisky an' huntin' for you," repeated the 年上の man, 厳粛に.
"It's the second time," muttered Duane, as if to himself.
"Son, you can't 避ける a meetin'. Leave town till Cal sobers up. He ain't got it in for you when he's not drinkin'."
"But what's he want me for?" 需要・要求するd Duane. "To 侮辱 me again? I won't stand that twice."
"He's got a fever that's はびこる in Texas these days, my boy. He wants gun-play. If he 会合，会うs you he'll try to kill you."
Here it stirred in Duane again, that bursting 噴出する of 血, like a 勝利，勝つd of 炎上 shaking all his inner 存在, and 沈下するing to leave him strangely 冷気／寒がらせるd.
"Kill me! What for?" he asked.
"Lord knows there ain't any 推論する／理由. But what's that to do with most of the shootin' these days? Didn't five cowboys over to Everall's kill one another dead all because they got to jerkin' at a quirt の中で themselves? An' Cal has no 推論する／理由 to love you. His girl was 甘い on you."
"I やめる when I 設立する out she was his girl."
"I reckon she ain't やめる. But never mind her or 推論する／理由s. Cal's here, just drunk enough to be ugly. He's achin' to kill somebody. He's one of them four-紅潮／摘発する gun-闘士，戦闘機s. He'd like to be thought bad. There's a lot of wild cowboys who're ambitious for a 評判. They talk about how quick they are on the draw. T hey ape Bland an' King Fisher an' Hardin an' all the big 無法者s. They make 脅しs about joinin' the ギャング（団）s along the Rio Grande. They laugh at the 郡保安官s an' brag about how they'd 直す／買収する，八百長をする the 特別奇襲隊員s. Cal's sure not much for you to bother with, if you only keep out of his way."
"You mean for me to run?" asked Duane, in 軽蔑（する）.
"I reckon I wouldn't put it that way. Just 避ける him. Buck, I'm not afraid Cal would get you if you met 負かす／撃墜する there in town. You've your father's 注目する，もくろむ an' his 悪賢い 手渡す with a gun. What I'm most afraid of is that you'll kill Bain."
Duane was silent, letting his uncle's earnest words 沈む in, trying to realize their significance.
"If Texas ever 回復するs from that fool war an' kills off these 無法者s, why, a young man will have a 警戒／見張り," went on the uncle. "You're twenty-three now, an' a powerful sight of a 罰金 fellow, barrin' your temper. You've a chance in life. But if you go gun-fightin', if you kill a man, you're 廃虚d. Then you'll kill another. It'll be the same old story. An' the 特別奇襲隊員s would make you an 無法者. The 特別奇襲隊員s mean 法律 an' order for Texas. This even-break 商売／仕事 doesn't work with them. If you resist 逮捕（する） they'll kill you. If you 服従させる／提出する to 逮捕（する）, then you go to 刑務所，拘置所, an' mebbe you hang."
"I'd never hang," muttered Duane, darkly.
"I reckon you wouldn't," replied the old man. "You'd be like your father. He was ever ready to draw—too ready. In times like these, with the Texas 特別奇襲隊員s enforcin' the 法律, your Dad would have been driven to the river. An', son, I'm afraid you're a 半導体素子 off the old 封鎖する. Can't you 持つ／拘留する in—keep your temper—run away from trouble? Because it'll only result in you gettin' the worst of it in the end. Your father was killed in a street-fight. An' it was told of him that he 発射 twice after a 弾丸 had passed through his heart. Think of the terrible nature of a man to be able to do that. If you have any such 血 in you, never give it a chance."
"What you say is all very 井戸／弁護士席, uncle," returned Duane, "but the only way out for me is to run, and I won't do it. Cal Bain and his outfit have already made me look like a coward. He says I'm afraid to come out and 直面する him. A man 簡単に can't stand that in this country. Besides, Cal would shoot me in the 支援する some day if I didn't 直面する him."
"井戸／弁護士席, then, what're you goin' to do?" 問い合わせd the 年上の man.
"I 港／避難所't decided—yet."
"No, but you're comin' to it mighty 急速な／放蕩な. That damned （一定の）期間 is workin' in you. You're different to-day. I remember how you used to be moody an' lose your temper an' talk wild. Never was much afraid of you then. But now you're gettin' 冷静な／正味の an' 静かな, an' you think 深い, an' I don't like the light in your 注目する，もくろむ. It reminds me of your father."
"I wonder what Dad would say to me to-day if he were alive and here," said Duane.
"What do you think? What could you 推定する／予想する of a man who never wore a glove on his 権利 手渡す for twenty years?"
"井戸／弁護士席, he'd hardly have said much. Dad never talked. But he would have done a lot. And I guess I'll go 負かす／撃墜する-town and let Cal Bain find me."
Then followed a long silence, during which Duane sat with downcast 注目する，もくろむs, and the uncle appeared lost in sad thought of the 未来. Presently he turned to Duane with an 表現 that denoted 辞職, and yet a spirit which showed wherein they were of the same 血.
"You've got a 急速な／放蕩な horse—the fastest I know of in this country. After you 会合，会う Bain hurry 支援する home. I'll have a saddle-捕らえる、獲得する packed for you and the horse ready."
With that he turned on his heel and went into the house, leaving Duane to 回転する in his mind his singular speech. Buck wondered presently if he 株d his uncle's opinion of the result of a 会合 between himself and Bain. His thoughts were vague. But on the instant of final 決定／判定勝ち（する）, when he had settled with himself that he would 会合，会う Bain, such a 嵐／襲撃する of passion 攻撃する，非難するd him that he felt as if he was 存在 shaken with ague. Yet it was all 内部の, inside his breast, for his 手渡す was like a 激しく揺する and, for all he could see, not a muscle about him quivered. He had no 恐れる of Bain or of any other man; but a vague 恐れる of himself, of this strange 軍隊 in him, made him ponder and shake his 長，率いる. It was as if he had not all to say in this 事柄. There appeared to have been in him a 不本意 to let himself go, and some 発言する／表明する, some spirit from a distance, something he was not accountable for, had compelled him. That hour of Duane's life was like years of actual living, and in it he became a thoughtful man.
He went into the house and buckled on his belt and gun. The gun was a Colt .45, six-発射, and 激しい, with an ivory 扱う. He had packed it, on and off, for five years. Before that it had been used by his father. There were a number of notches とじ込み／提出するd in the bulge of the ivory 扱う. This gun was the one his father had 解雇する／砲火／射撃d twice after 存在 発射 through the heart, and his 手渡す had 強化するd so tightly upon it in the death-支配する that his fingers had to be 調査するd open. It had never been drawn upon any man since it had come into Duane's 所有／入手. But the 冷淡な, 有望な polish of the 武器 showed how it had been used. Duane could draw it with 信じられない rapidity, and at twenty feet he could 分裂（する） a card pointing edgewise toward him.
Duane wished to 避ける 会合 his mother. Fortunately, as he thought, she was away from home. He went out and 負かす／撃墜する the path toward the gate. The 空気／公表する was 十分な of the fragrance of blossoms and the melody of birds. Outside in the road a neighbor woman stood talking to a 同国人 in a wagon; they spoke to him; and he heard, but did not reply. Then he began to stride 負かす／撃墜する the road toward the town.
Wellston was a small town, but important in that unsettled part of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 明言する／公表する because it was the 貿易（する）ing-中心 of several hundred miles of 領土. On the main street there were perhaps fifty buildings, some brick, some でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる, mostly adobe, and one-third of the lot, and by far the most 繁栄する, were saloons. From the road Duane turned into this street. It was a wide thoroughfare lined by hitching-rails and saddled horses and 乗り物s of さまざまな 肉親，親類d. Duane's 注目する，もくろむ 範囲d 負かす／撃墜する the street, taking in all at a ちらりと見ること, 特に persons moving leisurely up and 負かす／撃墜する. Not a cowboy was in sight. Duane slackened his stride, and by the time he reached Sol White's place, which was the first saloon, he was walking slowly. Several people spoke to him and turned to look 支援する after they had passed. He paused at the door of White's saloon, took a sharp 調査する of the 内部の, then stepped inside.
The saloon was large and 冷静な／正味の, 十分な of men and noise and smoke. The noise 中止するd upon his 入り口, and the silence 続いて起こるing presently broke to the clink of Mexican silver dollars at a monte （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. Sol White, who was behind the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, straightened up when he saw Duane; then, without speaking, he bent over to rinse a glass. All 注目する，もくろむs except those of the Mexican gamblers were turned upon Duane; and these ちらりと見ることs were keen, 思索的な, 尋問. These men knew Bain was looking for trouble; they probably had heard his 誇るs. But what did Duane ーするつもりである to do? Several of the cowboys and ranchers 現在の 交流d ちらりと見ることs. Duane had been 重さを計るd by unerring Texas instinct, by men who all packed guns. The boy was the son of his father. その結果 they 迎える／歓迎するd him and returned to their drinks and cards. Sol White stood with his big red 手渡すs out upon the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業; he was a tall, raw-boned Texan with a long mustache waxed to sharp points.
"Howdy, Buck," was his 迎える／歓迎するing to Duane. He spoke carelessly and 回避するd his dark gaze for an instant.
"Howdy, Sol," replied Duane, slowly. "Say, Sol, I hear there's a gent in town looking for me bad."
"Reckon there is, Buck," replied White. "He （機の）カム in heah aboot an hour ago. Shore he was some riled an' a-roarin' for 血の塊／突き刺す. Told me confidential a 確かな party had given you a white silk scarf, an' he was hell-bent on wearin' it home spotted red."
"Anybody with him?" queried Duane.
"Burt an' Sam Outcalt an' a little cowpuncher I never seen before. They-all was coaxin' 削減する to leave town. But he's looked on the flowin' glass, Buck, an' he's heah for keeps."
"Why doesn't 郡保安官 Oaks lock him up if he's that bad?"
"Oaks went away with the 特別奇襲隊員s. There's been another （警察の）手入れ，急襲 at Flesher's ranch. The King Fisher ギャング（団）, likely. An' so the town's shore wide open."
Duane stalked outdoors and 直面するd 負かす／撃墜する the street. He walked the whole length of the long 封鎖する, 会合 many people—農業者s, ranchers, clerks, merchants, Mexicans, cowboys, and women. It was a singular fact that when he turned to retrace his steps the street was almost empty. He had not returned a hundred yards on his way when the street was wholly 砂漠d. A few 長，率いるs protruded from doors and around corners. That main street of Wellston saw some such 状況／情勢 every few days. If it was an instinct for Texans to fight, it was also 直感的に for them to sense with remarkable quickness the 調印するs of a coming gun-play. 噂する could not 飛行機で行く so 速く. In いっそう少なく than ten minutes everybody who had been on the street or in the shops knew that Buck Duane had come 前へ／外へ to 会合，会う his enemy.
Duane walked on. When he （機の）カム to within fifty paces of a saloon he swerved out into the middle of the street, stood there for a moment, then went ahead and 支援する to the sidewalk. He passed on in this way the length of the 封鎖する. Sol White was standing in the door of his saloon.
"Buck, I'm a-tippin' you off," he said, quick and low-発言する／表明するd. "Cal Bain's over at Everall's. If he's a-huntin' you bad, as he brags, he'll show there."
Duane crossed the street and started 負かす／撃墜する. Notwithstanding White's 声明 Duane was 用心深い and slow at every door. Nothing happened, and he 横断するd almost the whole length of the 封鎖する without seeing a person. Everall's place was on the corner.
Duane knew himself to be 冷淡な, 安定した. He was conscious of a strange fury that made him want to leap ahead. He seemed to long for this 遭遇（する） more than anything he had ever 手配中の，お尋ね者. But, vivid as were his sensations, he felt as if in a dream.
Before he reached Everall's he heard loud 発言する／表明するs, one of which was raised high. Then the short door swung outward as if impelled by a vigorous 手渡す. A 屈服する-legged cowboy wearing wooley chaps burst out upon the sidewalk. At sight of Duane he seemed to bound into the 空気／公表する, and he uttered a savage roar.
Duane stopped in his 跡をつけるs at the outer 辛勝する／優位 of the sidewalk, perhaps a dozen 棒s from Everall's door.
If Bain was drunk he did not show it in his movement. He swaggered 今後, 速く の近くにing up the gap. Red, sweaty, disheveled, and hatless, his 直面する distorted and expressive of the most malignant 意図, he was a wild and 悪意のある 人物／姿／数字. He had already killed a man, and this showed in his demeanor. His 手渡すs were 延長するd before him, the 権利 手渡す a little lower than the left. At every step he bellowed his rancor in speech mostly 悪口を言う／悪態s. 徐々に he slowed his walk, then 停止（させる）d. A good twenty-five paces separated the men.
"Won't nothin' make you draw, you—!" he shouted, ひどく.
"I'm waitin' on you, Cal," replied Duane.
Bain's 権利 手渡す 強化するd—moved. Duane threw his gun as a boy throws a ball underhand—a draw his father had taught him. He pulled twice, his 発射s almost as one. Bain's big Colt にわか景気d while it was pointed downward and he was 落ちるing. His 弾丸 scattered dust and gravel at Duane's feet. He fell loosely, without contortion.
In a flash all was reality for Duane. He went 今後 and held his gun ready for the slightest movement on the part of Bain. But Bain lay upon his 支援する, and all that moved were his breast and his 注目する，もくろむs. How strangely the red had left his 直面する—and also the distortion! The devil that had showed in Bain was gone. He was sober and conscious. He tried to speak, but failed. His 注目する，もくろむs 表明するd something pitifully human. They changed—rolled —始める，決める blankly.
Duane drew a 深い breath and sheathed his gun. He felt 静める and 冷静な／正味の, glad the fray was over. One violent 表現 burst from him. "The fool!"
When he looked up there were men around him.
"Plumb 中心," said one.
Another, a cowboy who evidently had just left the gaming-（米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, leaned 負かす／撃墜する and pulled open Bain's shirt. He had the エース of spades in his 手渡す. He laid it on Bain's breast, and the 黒人／ボイコット 人物／姿／数字 on the card covered the two 弾丸-穴を開けるs just over Bain's heart.
Duane wheeled and hurried away. He heard another man say:
"Reckon Cal got what he deserved. Buck Duane's first gunplay. Like father like son!"
A THOUGHT kept repeating itself to Duane, and it was that he might have spared himself 関心 through his imagining how awful it would be to kill a man. He had no such feeling now. He had rid the community of a drunken, bragging, quarrelsome cowboy.
When he （機の）カム to the gate of his home and saw his uncle there with a mettlesome horse, saddled, with canteen, rope, and 捕らえる、獲得するs all in place, a subtle shock pervaded his spirit. It had slipped his mind—the consequence of his 行為／法令／行動する. But sight of the horse and the look of his uncle 解任するd the fact that he must now become a 逃亡者／はかないもの. An 不当な 怒り／怒る took 持つ／拘留する of him.
"The d—d fool!" he exclaimed, hotly. "会合 Bain wasn't much, Uncle Jim. He dusted my boots, that's all. And for that I've got to go on the dodge."
"Son, you killed him—then?" asked the uncle, huskily.
"Yes. I stood over him—watched him die. I did as I would have been done by."
"I knew it. Long ago I saw it comin'. But now we can't stop to cry over spilt 血. You've got to leave town an' this part of the country."
"Mother!" exclaimed Duane.
"She's away from home. You can't wait. I'll break it to her—what she always 恐れるd."
Suddenly Duane sat 負かす／撃墜する and covered his 直面する with his 手渡すs.
"My God! Uncle, what have I done?" His 幅の広い shoulders shook.
"Listen, son, an' remember what I say," replied the 年上の man, 真面目に. "Don't ever forget. You're not to 非難する. I'm glad to see you take it this way, because maybe you'll never grow hard an' callous. You're not to 非難する. This is Texas. You're your father's son. These are wild times. The 法律 as the 特別奇襲隊員s are laying it 負かす／撃墜する now can't change life all in a minute. Even your mother, who's a good, true woman, has had her 株 in making you what you are this moment. For she was one of the 開拓するs—the fightin' 開拓するs of this 明言する／公表する. Those years of wild times, before you was born, developed in her instinct to fight, to save her life, her children, an' that instinct has cropped out in you. It will be many years before it dies out of the boys born in Texas."
"I'm a 殺害者," said Duane, shuddering.
"No, son, you're not. An' you never will be. But you've got to be an 無法者 till time makes it 安全な for you to come home."
"An 無法者?"
"I said it. If we had money an' 影響（力） we'd 危険 a 裁判，公判. But we've neither. An' I reckon the scaffold or 刑務所，拘置所 is no place for Buckley Duane. Strike for the wild country, an' wherever you go an' whatever you do-be a man. Live honestly, if that's possible. If it isn't, be as honest as you can. If you have to herd with 無法者s try not to become bad. There are 無法者s who 're not all bad—many who have been driven to the river by such a 取引，協定 as this you had. When you get の中で these men 避ける brawls. Don't drink; don't 賭事. I needn't tell you what to do if it comes to gun-play, as likely it will. You can't come home. When this thing is lived 負かす／撃墜する, if that time ever comes, I'll get word into the unsettled country. It'll reach you some day. That's all. Remember, be a man. Goodby."
Duane, with blurred sight and 契約ing throat, gripped his uncle's 手渡す and bade him a wordless 別れの（言葉，会）. Then he leaped astride the 黒人／ボイコット and 棒 out of town.
As 速く as was 一貫した with a care for his steed, Duane put a distance of fifteen or eighteen miles behind him. With that he slowed up, and the 事柄 of riding did not 要求する all his faculties. He passed several ranches and was seen by men. This did not 控訴 him, and he took an old 追跡する across country. It was a flat 地域 with a poor growth of mesquite and prickly-pear cactus. Occasionally he caught a glimpse of low hills in the distance. He had 追跡（する）d often in that section, and knew where to find grass and water. When he reached this higher ground he did not, however, 停止（させる） at the first 都合のよい （軍の）野営地，陣営ing-位置／汚点／見つけ出す, but went on and on. Once he （機の）カム out upon the brow of a hill and saw a かなりの stretch of country beneath him. It had the gray sameness characterizing all that he had 横断するd. He seemed to want to see wide spaces—to get a glimpse of the 広大な／多数の／重要な wilderness lying somewhere beyond to the 南西. It was sunset when he decided to （軍の）野営地，陣営 at a likely 位置／汚点／見つけ出す he （機の）カム across. He led the horse to water, and then began searching through the shallow valley for a suitable place to （軍の）野営地，陣営. He passed by old （軍の）野営地，陣営-場所／位置s that he 井戸／弁護士席 remembered. These, however, did not strike his fancy this time, and the significance of the change in him did not occur at the moment. At last he 設立する a secluded 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, under cover of 厚い mesquites and oaks, at a goodly distance from the old 追跡する. He took saddle and pack off the horse. He looked の中で his 影響s for a hobble, and, finding that his uncle had failed to put one in, he suddenly remembered that he seldom used a hobble, and never on this horse. He 削減（する） a few feet off the end of his lasso and used that. The horse, 未使用の to such 妨害するing of his 解放する／自由な movements, had to be driven out upon the grass.
Duane made a small 解雇する／砲火／射撃, 用意が出来ている and ate his supper. This done, ending the work of that day, he sat 負かす／撃墜する and filled his 麻薬を吸う. Twilight had 病弱なd into dusk. A few 病弱な 星／主役にするs had just begun to show and brighten. Above the low continuous hum of insects sounded the evening carol of コマドリs. Presently the birds 中止するd their singing, and then the 静かな was more noticeable. When night 始める，決める in and the place seemed all the more 孤立するd and lonely for that Duane had a sense of 救済.
It 夜明けd upon him all at once that he was nervous, watchful, sleepless. The fact 原因（となる）d him surprise, and he began to think 支援する, to take 公式文書，認める of his late 活動／戦闘s and their 動機s. The change one day had wrought amazed him. He who had always been 解放する／自由な, 平易な, happy, 特に when out alone in the open, had become in a few short hours bound, serious, preoccupied. The silence that had once been 甘い now meant nothing to him except a medium whereby he might the better hear the sounds of 追跡. The loneliness, the night, the wild, that had always been beautiful to him, now only 伝えるd a sense of safety for the 現在の. He watched, he listened, he thought. He felt tired, yet had no inclination to 残り／休憩（する）. He ーするつもりであるd to be off by 夜明け, 長，率いるing toward the 南西. Had he a 目的地? It was vague as his knowledge of that 広大な／多数の／重要な waste of mesquite and 激しく揺する 国境ing the Rio Grande. Somewhere out there was a 避難. For he was a 逃亡者／はかないもの from 司法（官）, an 無法者.
This 存在 an 無法者 then meant eternal vigilance. No home, no 残り／休憩（する）, no sleep, no content, no life 価値（がある） the livingl He must be a 孤独な wolf or he must herd の中で men obnoxious to him. If he worked for an honest living he still must hide his 身元 and take 危険s of （犯罪，病気などの）発見. If he did not work on some distant 辺ぴな ranch, how was he to live? The idea of stealing was repugnant to him. The 未来 seemed gray and somber enough. And he was twenty-three years old.
Why had this hard life been 課すd upon him?
The bitter question seemed to start a strange iciness that stole along his veins. What was wrong with him? He stirred the few sticks of mesquite into a last flickering 炎. He was 冷淡な, and for some 推論する／理由 he 手配中の，お尋ね者 some light. The 黒人／ボイコット circle of 不明瞭 重さを計るd 負かす／撃墜する upon him, の近くにd in around him. Suddenly he sat bolt upright and then froze in that position. He had heard a step. It was behind him—no—on the 味方する. Some one was there. He 軍隊d his 手渡す 負かす／撃墜する to his gun, and the touch of 冷淡な steel was another icy shock. Then he waited. But all was silent—silent as only a wilderness arroyo can be, with its low murmuring of 勝利，勝つd in the mesquite. Had he heard a step? He began to breathe again.
But what was the 事柄 with the light of his （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃? It had taken on a strange green luster and seemed to be waving off into the outer 影をつくる／尾行するs. Duane heard no step, saw no movement; にもかかわらず, there was another 現在の at that （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃 徹夜. Duane saw him. He lay there in the middle of the green brightness, prostrate, motionless, dying. Cal Bain! His features were wonderfully 際立った, clearer than any cameo, more はっきりと 輪郭（を描く）d than those of any picture. It was a hard 直面する 軟化するing at the threshold of eternity. The red tan of sun, the coarse 調印するs of drunkenness, the ferocity and hate so characteristic of Bain were no longer there. This 直面する 代表するd a different Bain, showed all that was human in him fading, fading as 速く as it blanched white. The lips 手配中の，お尋ね者 to speak, but had not the 力／強力にする. The 注目する，もくろむs held an agony of thought. They 明らかにする／漏らすd what might have been possible for this man if he lived—that he saw his mistake too late. Then they rolled, 始める，決める blankly, and の近くにd in death.
That haunting visitation left Duane sitting there in a 冷淡な sweat, a 悔恨 gnawing at his 決定的なs, realizing the 悪口を言う／悪態 that was on him. He divined that never would he be able to keep off that phantom. He remembered how his father had been eternally 追求するd by the furies of 告発する／非難するing 犯罪, how he had never been able to forget in work or in sleep those men he had killed.
The hour was late when Duane's mind let him sleep, and then dreams troubled him. In the morning he bestirred himself so 早期に that in the gray gloom he had difficulty in finding his horse. Day had just broken when he struck the old 追跡する again.
He 棒 hard all morning and 停止（させる）d in a shady 位置／汚点／見つけ出す to 残り／休憩（する） and graze his horse. In the afternoon he took to the 追跡する at an 平易な trot. The country grew wilder. Bald, rugged mountains broke the level of the monotonous horizon. About three in the afternoon he （機の）カム to a little river which 示すd the 境界 line of his 追跡（する）ing 領土.
The 決定／判定勝ち（する） he made to travel up-stream for a while was 借りがあるing to two facts: the river was high with quicksand 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s on each 味方する, and he felt 気が進まない to cross into that 地域 where his presence alone meant that he was a 示すd man. The 底（に届く）-lands through which the river 負傷させる to the 南西 were more 招待するing than the barrens he had 横断するd. The 残り／休憩（する） or that day he 棒 leisurely up-stream. At sunset he 侵入するd the ブレーキs of willow and cottonwood to spend the night. It seemed to him that in this lonely cover he would feel 平易な and content. But he did not. Every feeling, every imagining he had experienced the previous night returned somewhat more vividly and accentuated by newer ones of the same intensity and color.
In this 肉親，親類d of travel and （軍の）野営地，陣営ing he spent three more days, during which he crossed a number of 追跡するs, and one road where cattle—stolen cattle, probably—had recently passed. Thus time exhausted his 供給（する） of food, except salt, pepper, coffee, and sugar, of which he had a 量. There were deer in the. ブレーキs; but, as he could not get の近くに enough to kill them with t a revolver, he had to 満足させる himself with a rabbit. He knew he might 同様に content himself with the hard fare that assuredly would be his lot.
Somewhere up this river there was a village called Huntsville. It was distant about a hundred miles from Wellston, and had a 評判 throughout southwestern Texas. He had never been there. The fact was this 評判 was such that honest 旅行者s gave the town a wide 寝台／地位. Duane had かなりの money for him in his 所有／入手, and he 結論するd to visit Huntsville, if he could find it, and buy a 在庫／株 of 準備／条項s.
The に引き続いて day, toward evening, he happened upon a road which he believed might lead to the village. There were a good many fresh horse-跡をつけるs in the sand, and these made him thoughtful. にもかかわらず, he followed the road, 訴訟／進行 慎重に. He had not gone very far when the sound of 早い hoof-（警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域s caught his ears. They （機の）カム from his 後部. In the darkening twilight he could not see any 広大な／多数の／重要な distance 支援する along the road. 発言する／表明するs, however, 警告するd him that these riders, whoever they were, had approached closer than he liked. To go さらに先に 負かす／撃墜する the road was not to be thought of, so he turned a little way in の中で the mesquites and 停止（させる）d, hoping to escape 存在 seen or heard. As he was now a 逃亡者／はかないもの, it seemed every man was his enemy and pursuer.
The horsemen were 急速な／放蕩な approaching. Presently they were abreast of Duane's position, so 近づく that he could hear the creak of saddles, the clink of 刺激（する）s.
"Shore he crossed the river below," said one man.
"I reckon you're 権利, 法案. He's slipped us," replied another.
特別奇襲隊員s or a posse of ranchers in 追跡 of a 逃亡者／はかないもの! The knowledge gave Duane a strange thrill. Certainly they could not have been 追跡（する）ing him. But the feeling their proximity gave him was 同一の to what it would have been had he been this particular 追跡（する）d man. He held his breath; he clenched his teeth; he 圧力（をかける）d a 静かなing 手渡す upon his horse. Suddenly he became aware that these horsemen had 停止（させる）d. They were whispering. He could just make out a dark group closely 集まりd. What had made them 停止（させる） so suspiciously?
"You're wrong, 法案," said a man, in a low but 際立った 発言する／表明する.
"The idee of hearin' a hoss heave. You're wuss'n a 特別奇襲隊員. And you're hell-bent on killin' that rustler. Now I say let's go home and eat."
"Wal, I'll just take a look at the sand," replied the man called 法案.
Duane heard the clink of 刺激（する）s on steel stirrup and the thud of boots on the ground. There followed a short silence which was broken by a はっきりと breathed exclamation.
Duane waited for no more. They had 設立する his 追跡する. He spurred his horse straight into the 小衝突. At the second 衝突，墜落ing bound there （機の）カム yells from the road, and then 発射s. Duane heard the hiss of a 弾丸 の近くに by his ear, and as it struck a 支店 it made a peculiar singing sound. These 発射s and the proximity of that lead ミサイル roused in Duane a quick, hot 憤慨 which 機動力のある into a passion almost ungovernable. He must escape, yet it seemed that he did not care whether he did or not. Something grim kept 勧めるing him to 停止（させる） and return the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of these men. After running a couple of hundred yards he raised himself from over the 鞍馬, where he had bent to 避ける the stinging 支店s, and tried to guide his horse. In the dark 影をつくる／尾行するs under mesquites and cottonwoods he was hard put to it to find open passage; however, he 後継するd so 井戸／弁護士席 and made such little noise that 徐々に he drew away from his pursuers. The sound of their horses 衝突，墜落ing through the thickets died away. Duane reined in and listened. He had distanced them. Probably they would go into （軍の）野営地，陣営 till daylight, then follow his 跡をつけるs. He started on again, walking his horse, and peered はっきりと at the ground, so that he might take advantage of the first 追跡する he crossed. It seemed a long while until he （機の）カム upon one. He followed it until a late hour, when, striking the willow ブレーキs again and hence the 近隣 of the river, he picketed his horse and lay 負かす／撃墜する to 残り／休憩（する）. But he did not sleep. His mind 激しく 回転するd the 運命／宿命 that had come upon him. He made 成果／努力s to think of other things, but in vain.
Every moment he 推定する／予想するd the 冷気／寒がらせる, the sense of loneliness that yet was ominous of a strange visitation, the peculiarly imagined lights and shades of the night—these things that presaged the coming of Cal Bain. Doggedly Duane fought against the insidious phantom. He kept telling himself that it was just imagination, that it would wear off in time. Still in his heart he did not believe what he hoped. But he would not give up; he would not 受託する the ghost of his 犠牲者 as a reality.
Gray 夜明け 設立する him in the saddle again 長，率いるd for the river. Half an hour of riding brought him to the dense chaparral and willow thickets. These he threaded to come at length to the ford. It was a gravel 底（に届く）, and therefore an 平易な crossing. Once upon the opposite shore he reined in his horse and looked darkly 支援する. This 活動／戦闘 示すd his acknowledgment of his 状況／情勢: he had 任意に sought the 避難 of the 無法者s; he was beyond the pale. A bitter and 熱烈な 悪口を言う／悪態 passed his lips as he spurred his horse into the ブレーキs on that 外国人 shore.
He 棒 perhaps twenty miles, not sparing his horse nor caring whether or not he left a plain 追跡する.
"Let them 追跡（する） me!" he muttered.
When the heat of the day began to be oppressive, and hunger and かわき made themselves manifest, Duane began to look about him for a place to 停止（させる） for the noon-hours. The 追跡する led into a road which was hard packed and smooth from the 跡をつけるs of cattle. He 疑問d not that he had come across one of the roads used by 国境 raiders. He 長，率いるd into it, and had scarcely traveled a mile when, turning a curve, he （機の）カム point-blank upon a 選び出す／独身 horseman riding toward him. Both riders wheeled their 開始するs はっきりと and were ready to run and shoot 支援する. Not more than a hundred paces separated them. They stood then for a moment watching each other.
"Mawnin', stranger," called the man, dropping his 手渡す from his hip.
"Howdy," replied Duane, すぐに.
They 棒 toward each other, の近くにing half the gap, then they 停止（させる）d again.
"I seen you ain't no 特別奇襲隊員," called the rider, "an' shore I ain't 非，不，無."
He laughed loudly, as if he had made a joke.
"How'd you know I wasn't a 特別奇襲隊員?" asked Duane, curiously. Somehow he had 即時に divined that his horseman was no officer, or even a rancher 追跡するing stolen 在庫／株.
"Wal," said the fellow, starting his horse 今後 at a walk, "a 特別奇襲隊員'd never git ready to run the other way from one man."
He laughed again. He was small and wiry, slouchy of attire, and 武装した to the teeth, and he bestrode a 罰金 bay horse. He had quick, dancing brown 注目する，もくろむs, at once frank and bold, and a coarse, bronzed 直面する. Evidently he was a good-natured ruffian.
Duane 定評のある the truth of the 主張, and turned over in his mind how shrewdly the fellow had guessed him to be a 追跡（する）d man.
"My 指名する's Luke Stevens, an' I あられ／賞賛する from the river. Who're you?" said this stranger.
Duane was silent.
"I reckon you're Buck Duane," went on Stevens. "I heerd you was a damn bad man with a gun."
This time Duane laughed, not at the doubtful compliment, but at the idea that the first 無法者 he met should know him. Here was proof of how 速く facts about gun-play traveled on the Texas 国境.
"Wal, Buck," said Stevens, in a friendly manner, "I ain't presumin' on your time or company. I see you're headin' fer the river. But will you stop long enough to 火刑／賭ける a feller to a bite of grub?"
"I'm out of grub, and pretty hungry myself," 認める Duane.
"Been pushin' your hoss, I see. Wal, I reckon you'd better 在庫／株 up before you 攻撃する，衝突する thet stretch of country."
He made a wide sweep of his 権利 arm, 示すing the 南西, and there was that in his 活動／戦闘 which seemed 重要な of a 広大な and barren 地域.
"在庫／株 up?" queried Duane, thoughtfully.
"Shore. A feller has jest got to eat. I can rustle along without whisky, but not without grub. Thet's what makes it so embarrassin' travelin' these parts dodgin' your 影をつくる／尾行する. Now, I'm on my way to Mercer. It's a little two-bit town up the river a ways. I'm goin' to pack out some grub."
Stevens's トン was 招待するing. Evidently he would welcome Duane's companionship, but he did not 率直に say so. Duane kept silence, however, and then Stevens went on.
"Stranger, in this here country two's a （人が）群がる. It's safer. 1 never was much on this 孤独な-wolf dodgin', though I've done it of necessity. It takes a damn good man to travel alone any length of time. Why, I've been thet sick I was jest achin' fer some 特別奇襲隊員 to come along an' plug me. Give me a pardner any day. Now, mebbe you're not thet 肉親，親類d of a feller, an' I'm shore not presumin' to ask. But I just 宣言するs myself 十分な."
"You mean you'd like me to go with you?" asked Duane.
Stevens grinned. "Wal, I should smile. I'd be particular proud to be を締めるd with a man of your 評判."
"See here, my good fellow, that's all nonsense," 宣言するd Duane, in some haste.
"Shore I think modesty becomin' to a youngster," replied Stevens. "I hate a brag. An' I've no use fer these four-紅潮／摘発する cowboys thet 're always lookin' fer trouble an' talkin' gun-play. Buck, I don't know much about you. But every man who's lived along the Texas 国境 remembers a lot about your Dad. It was 推定する／予想するd of you, I reckon, an' much of your rep was 設立するd before you thronged your gun. I jest heerd thet you was lightnin' on the draw, an' when you 削減（する） loose with a gun, why the figger on the エース of spades would cover your cluster of 弾丸-穴を開けるs. Thet's the word thet's gone 負かす／撃墜する the 国境. It's the 肉親，親類d of 評判 most sure to 飛行機で行く far an' swift ahead of a man in this country. An' the safest, too; I'll 賭事 on thet. It's the land of the draw. I see now you're only a boy, though you're shore a strappin' husky one. Now, Buck, I'm not a spring chicken, an' I've been long on the dodge. Mebbe a little of my society won't 傷つける you 非，不，無. You'll need to learn the country."
There was something sincere and likable about this 無法者.
"I dare say you're 権利," replied Duane, 静かに. "And I'll go to Mercer with you."
Next moment he was riding 負かす／撃墜する the road with Stevens. Duane had never been much of a talker, and now he 設立する speech difficult. But his companion did not seem to mind that. He was a jocose, voluble fellow, probably glad now to hear the sound of his own 発言する／表明する. Duane listened, and いつかs he thought with a pang of the distinction of 指名する and 遺産 of 血 his father had left to him.
LATE that day, a couple of hours before sunset, Duane and Stevens, having 残り／休憩（する）d their horses in the shade of some mesquites 近づく the town of Mercer, saddled up and 用意が出来ている to move.
"Buck, as we're lookin' fer grub, an' not trouble, I reckon you'd better hang up out here," Stevens was 説, as he 機動力のある. "You see, towns an' 郡保安官s an' 特別奇襲隊員s are always lookin' fer new fellers gone bad. They sort of forget most of the old boys, except those as are plumb bad. Now, nobody in Mercer will take notice of me. Reckon there's been a thousand men run into the river country to become 無法者s since yours truly. You jest wait here an' be ready to ride hard. Mebbe my besettin' sin will go operatin' in spite of my good 意向s. In which 事例／患者 there'll be—"
His pause was 重要な. He grinned, and his brown 注目する，もくろむs danced with a 肉親，親類d of wild humor.
"Stevens, have you got any money?" asked Duane.
"Money!" exclaimed Luke, blankly. "Say, I 港／避難所't owned a two-bit piece since—wal, fer some time."
"I'll furnish money for grub," returned Duane. "And for whisky, too, 供給するing you hurry 支援する here—without making trouble."
"Shore you're a downright good pard," 宣言するd Stevens, in 賞賛, as he took the money. "I give my word, Buck, an' I'm here to say I never broke it yet. Lay low, an' look fer me 支援する quick."
With that he spurred his horse and 棒 out of the mesquites toward the town. At that distance, about a ４半期/4分の1 of a mile, Mercer appeared to be a cluster of low adobe houses 始める，決める in a grove of cottonwoods. Pastures of alfalfa were dotted by horses and cattle. Duane saw a sheep-herder 運動ing in a 不十分な flock.
Presently Stevens 棒 out of sight into the town. Duane waited, hoping the 無法者 would make good his word. Probably not a ４半期/4分の1 of an hour had elapsed when Duane heard the （疑いを）晴らす 報告（する）／憶測s of a Winchester ライフル銃／探して盗む, the clatter of 早い hoof-（警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域s, and yells unmistakably the 肉親，親類d to mean danger for a man like Stevens. Duane 機動力のある and 棒 to the 辛勝する／優位 of the mesquites.
He saw a cloud of dust 負かす／撃墜する the road and a bay horse running 急速な／放蕩な. Stevens 明らかに had not been 負傷させるd by any of the 発射s, for he had a 安定した seat in his saddle and his riding, even at that moment, struck Duane as admirable. He carried a large pack over the 鞍馬, and he kept looking 支援する. The 発射s had 中止するd, but the yells 増加するd. Duane saw several men running and waving their 武器. Then he spurred his horse and got into a swift stride, so Stevens would not pass him. Presently the 無法者 caught up with him. Stevens was grinning, but there was now no fun in the dancing 注目する，もくろむs. It was a devil that danced n them. His 直面する seemed a shade paler.
"Was jest comin' out of the 蓄える／店," yelled Stevens. "Run plumb into a rancher—who knowed me. He opened up with a ライフル銃／探して盗む. Think they'll chase us."
They covered several miles before there were any 調印するs of 追跡, and when horsemen did move into sight out of the cottonwoods Duane and his companion 刻々と drew さらに先に away.
"No hosses in thet bunch to worry us," called out Stevens.
Duane had the same 有罪の判決, and he did not look 支援する again. He 棒 somewhat to the fore, and was 絶えず aware of the 早い thudding of hoofs behind, as Stevens kept の近くに to him. At sunset they reached the willow ブレーキs and the river. Duane's horse was winded and 攻撃するd with sweat and lather. It was not until the crossing had been 遂行するd that Duane 停止（させる）d to 残り／休憩（する） his animal. Stevens was riding up the low, sandy bank. He reeled in the saddle. With an exclamation of surprise Duane leaped off and ran to the 無法者's 味方する.
Stevens was pale, and his 直面する bore beads of sweat. The whole 前線 of his shirt was soaked with 血.
"You're 発射!" cried Duane.
"Wal, who 'n hell said I wasn't? Would you mind givin' me a 解除する— on this here pack?"
Duane 解除するd the 激しい pack 負かす／撃墜する and then helped Stevens to dismount. The 無法者 had a 血まみれの 泡，激怒すること on his lips, and he was spitting 血.
"Oh, why didn't you say so!" cried Duane. "I never thought. You seemed all 権利."
"Wal, Luke Stevens may be as gabby as an old woman, but いつかs he doesn't say anythin'. It wouldn't have done no good."
Duane bade him sit 負かす／撃墜する, 除去するd his shirt, and washed the 血 from his breast and 支援する. Stevens had been 発射 in the breast, 公正に／かなり low 負かす／撃墜する, and the 弾丸 had gone （疑いを）晴らす through him. His ride, 持つ／拘留するing himself and that 激しい pack in the saddle, had been a feat little short of marvelous. Duane did not see how it had been possible, and he felt no hope for the 無法者. But he plugged the 負傷させるs and bound them tightly.
"Feller's 指名する was Brown," Stevens said. "Me an' him fell out over a hoss I stole from him over in Huntsville. We had a shootin'-捨てる then. Wal, as I was straddlin' my hoss 支援する there in Mercer I seen this Brown, an' seen him before he seen me. Could have killed him, too. But I wasn't breakin' my word to you. I 肉親，親類d of hoped he wouldn't 位置／汚点／見つけ出す me. But he did—an' fust 発射 he got me here. What do you think of this 穴を開ける?"
"It's pretty bad," replied Duane; and he could not look the cheerful 無法者 in the 注目する，もくろむs.
"I reckon it is. Wal, I've had some bad 負傷させるs I lived over. Guess mebbe I can stand this one. Now, Buck, get me some place in the ブレーキs, leave me some grub an' water at my 手渡す, an' then you （疑いを）晴らす out."
"Leave you here alone?" asked Duane, はっきりと.
"Shore. You see, I can't keep up with you. Brown an' his friends will foller us across the river a ways. You've got to think of number one in this game."
"What would you do in my 事例／患者?" asked Duane, curiously.
"Wal, I reckon I'd （疑いを）晴らす out an' save my hide," replied Stevens.
Duane felt inclined to 疑問 the 無法者's 主張. For his own part he decided his 行為／行う without その上の speech. First he watered the horses, filled canteens and water 捕らえる、獲得する, and then tied the pack upon his own horse. That done, he 解除するd Stevens upon his horse, and, 持つ／拘留するing him in the saddle, turned into the ブレーキs, 存在 careful to 選ぶ out hard or grassy ground that left little 調印するs of 跡をつけるs. Just about dark he ran across a 追跡する that Stevens said was a good one to take into the wild country.
"Reckon we'd better keep 権利 on in the dark—till I 減少（する）," 結論するd Stevens, with a laugh.
All that night Duane, 暗い／優うつな and thoughtful, attentive to the 負傷させるd 無法者, walked the 追跡する and never 停止（させる）d till daybreak. He was tired then and very hungry. Stevens seemed in bad 形態／調整, although he was still spirited and cheerful. Duane made （軍の）野営地，陣営. The 無法者 辞退するd food, but asked for both whisky and water. Then he stretched out.
"Buck, will you take off my boots?" he asked, with a faint smile on his pallid 直面する.
Duane 除去するd them, wondering if the 無法者 had the thought that he did not want to die with his boots on. Stevens seemed to read his mind.
"Buck, my old daddy used to say thet I was born to be hanged. But I wasn't —an' dyin' with your boots on is the next wust way to croak."
"You've a chance to-to get over this," said Duane.
"Shore. But I want to be 訂正する about the boots—an' say, pard, if I do go over, jest you remember thet I was appreciatin' of your 親切."
Then he の近くにd his 注目する，もくろむs and seemed to sleep.
Duane could not find water for the horses, but there was an 豊富 of dew-wet grass upon which he hobbled them. After that was done he 用意が出来ている himself a much-needed meal. The sun was getting warm when he lay 負かす／撃墜する to sleep, and when he awoke it was 沈むing in the west. Stevens was still alive, for he breathed ひどく. The horses were in sight. All was 静かな except the hum of insects in the 小衝突. Duane listened awhile, then rose and went for the horses.
When he returned with them he 設立する Stevens awake, 有望な-注目する，もくろむd, cheerful as usual, and 明らかに stronger.
"Wal, Buck, I'm still with you an' good fer another night's ride," he said. "Guess about all I need now is a big pull on thet 瓶／封じ込める. Help me, will you? There! thet was いじめ（る）. I ain't swallowin' my 血 this evenin'. Mebbe I've bled all there was in me."
While Duane got a hurried meal for himself, packed up the little outfit, and saddled the horses Stevens kept on talking. He seemed to be in a hurry to tell Duane all about the country. Another night ride would put them beyond 恐れる of 追跡, within striking distance of the Rio Grande and the hiding-places of the 無法者s.
When it （機の）カム time for 開始するing the horses Stevens said, "Reckon you can pull on my boots once more." In spite of the laugh …を伴ってing the words Duane （悪事，秘密などを）発見するd a subtle change in the 無法者's spirit.
On this night travel was 容易にするd by the fact that the 追跡する was 幅の広い enough for two horses abreast, enabling Duane to ride while 支持するing Stevens in the saddle.
The difficulty most 執拗な was in keeping the horses in a walk. They were used to a trot, and that 肉親，親類d of gait would not do for Stevens. The red died out of the west; a pale afterglow 勝つ／広く一帯に広がるd for a while; 不明瞭 始める，決める in; then the 幅の広い expanse of blue darkened and the 星／主役にするs brightened. After a while Stevens 中止するd talking and drooped in his saddle. Duane kept the horses going, however, and the slow hours wore away. Duane thought the 静かな night would never break to 夜明け, that there was no end to the melancholy, brooding plain. But at length a grayness blotted out the 星／主役にするs and mantled the level of mesquite and cactus.
夜明け caught the 逃亡者／はかないものs at a green （軍の）野営地，陣営ing-場所／位置 on the bank of a rocky little stream. Stevens fell a dead 負わせる into Duane's 武器, and one look at the haggard 直面する showed Duane that the 無法者 had taken his last ride. He knew it, too. Yet that cheerfulness 勝つ／広く一帯に広がるd.
"Buck, my feet are orful tired packin' them 激しい boots," he said, and seemed immensely relieved when Duane had 除去するd them.
This 事柄 of the 無法者's boots was strange, Duane thought. He made Stevens as comfortable as possible, then …に出席するd to his own needs. And the 無法者 took up the thread of his conversation where he had left off the night before.
"This 追跡する 分裂（する）s up a ways from here, an' every 支店 of it leads to a 穴を開ける where you'll find men—a few, mebbe, like yourself—some like me—an' ギャング（団）s of no-good hoss-thieves, rustlers, an' such. It's 平易な livin', Buck. I reckon, though, that you'll not find it 平易な. You'll never mix in. You'll be a 孤独な wolf. I seen that 権利 off. Wal, if a man can stand the loneliness, an' if he's quick on the draw, mebbe 孤独な-wolfin' it is the best. Shore I don't know. But these fellers in here will be 怪しげな of a man who goes it alone. If they get a chance they'll kill you."
Stevens asked for water several times. He had forgotten or he did not want the whisky. His 発言する／表明する grew perceptibly 女性.
"Be 静かな," said Duane. "Talking uses up your strength."
"Aw, I'll talk till—I'm done," he replied, doggedly. "See here, pard, you can 賭事 on what I'm tellin' you. An' it'll be useful. From this （軍の）野営地，陣営 we'll—you'll 会合，会う men 権利 along. An' 非，不，無 of them will be honest men. All the same, some are better'n others. I've lived along the river fer twelve years. There's three big ギャング（団）s of 無法者s. King Fisher —you know him, I reckon, fer he's half the time livin' の中で respectable folks. King is a pretty good feller. It'll do to tie up with him ant his ギャング（団）. Now, there's Cheseldine, who hangs out in the 縁 激しく揺する way up the river. He's an 無法者 長，指導者. I never seen him, though I stayed once 権利 in his （軍の）野営地，陣営. Late years he's got rich an' keeps 支援する pretty 井戸／弁護士席 hid. But Bland—I knowed Bland fer years. An' I 港／避難所't any use fer him. Bland has the biggest ギャング（団）. You ain't likely to 行方不明になる strikin' his place いつか or other. He's got a 正規の／正選手 town, I might say. Shore there's some gamblin' an' gun-fightin' goin' on at Bland's （軍の）野営地，陣営 all the time. Bland has killed some twenty men, an' thet's not countin' greasers."
Here Stevens took another drink and then 残り／休憩（する）d for a while.
"You ain't likely to get on with Bland," he 再開するd, presently. "You're too strappin' big an' good-lookin' to please the 長，指導者. Fer he's got women in his （軍の）野営地，陣営. Then he'd be jealous of your 可能性s with a gun. Shore I reckon he'd be careful, though. Bland's no fool, an' he loves his hide. I reckon any of the other ギャング（団）s would be better fer you when you ain't goin' it alone."
明らかに that exhausted the 基金 of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） and advice Stevens had been eager to impart. He lapsed into silence and lay with の近くにd 注目する，もくろむs. 一方／合間 the sun rose warm; the 微風 waved the mesquites; the birds （機の）カム 負かす／撃墜する to splash in the shallow stream; Duane dozed in a comfortable seat. By and by something roused him. Stevens was once more talking, but with a changed トン.
"Feller's 指名する—was Brown," he rambled. "We fell out—over a hoss I stole from him—in Huntsville. He stole it fuss. Brown's one of them こそこそ動くs—afraid of the open—he steals an' pretends to be honest. Say, Buck, mebbe you'll 会合，会う Brown some day—You an' me are pards now."
"I'll remember, if I ever 会合，会う him," said Duane.
That seemed to 満足させる the 無法者. Presently he tried to 解除する his 長，率いる, but had not the strength. A strange shade was creeping across the bronzed rough 直面する.
"My feet are pretty 激しい. Shore you got my boots off?"
Duane held them up, but was not 確かな that Stevens could see them. The 無法者 の近くにd his 注目する，もくろむs again and muttered incoherently. Then he fell asleep. Duane believed that sleep was final. The day passed, with Duane watching and waiting. Toward sundown Stevens awoke, and his 注目する，もくろむs seemed clearer. Duane went to get some fresh water, thinking his comrade would surely want some. When he returned Stevens made no 調印する that he 手配中の，お尋ね者 anything. There was something 有望な about him, and suddenly Duane realized what it meant.
"Pard, you—stuck—to me!" the 無法者 whispered.
Duane caught a hint of gladness in the 発言する／表明する; he traced a faint surprise in the haggard 直面する. Stevens seemed like a little child.
To Duane the moment was sad, elemental, big, with a 重荷（を負わせる） of mystery he could not understand.
Duane buried him in a shallow arroyo and heaped up a pile of 石／投石するs to 示す the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な. That done, he saddled his comrade's horse, hung the 武器s over the 鞍馬; and, 開始するing his own steed, he 棒 負かす／撃墜する the 追跡する in the 集会 twilight.
TWO days later, about the middle of the forenoon, Duane dragged the two horses up the last ascent of an exceedingly rough 追跡する and 設立する himself on 最高の，を越す of the 縁 激しく揺する, with a beautiful green valley at his feet, the yellow, 不振の Rio Grande 向こうずねing in the sun, and the 広大な／多数の／重要な, wild, 山地の barren of Mexico stretching to the south.
Duane had not fallen in with any 旅行者s. He had taken the likeliest-looking 追跡する he had come across. Where it had led him he had not the slightest idea, except that here was the river, and probably the inclosed valley was the 退却／保養地 of some famous 無法者.
No wonder 無法者s were 安全な in that wild 避難! Duane had spent the last two days climbing the roughest and most difficult 追跡する he had ever seen. From the looks of the 降下／家系 he imagined the worst part of his travel was yet to come. Not improbably it was two thousand feet 負かす／撃墜する to the river. The wedge-形態／調整d valley, green with alfalfa and cottonwood, and nestling 負かす／撃墜する まっただ中に the 明らかにする 塀で囲むs of yellow 激しく揺する, was a delight and a 救済 to his tired 注目する，もくろむs. Eager to get 負かす／撃墜する to a level and to find a place to 残り／休憩（する）, Duane began the 降下／家系.
The 追跡する 証明するd to be the 肉親，親類d that could not be descended slowly. He kept dodging 激しく揺するs which his horses loosed behind him. And in a short time he reached the valley, entering at the apex of the wedge. A stream of （疑いを）晴らす water 宙返り／暴落するd out of the 激しく揺するs here, and most of it ran into irrigation-溝へはまらせる／不時着するs. His horses drank thirstily. And he drank with that fullness and gratefulness ありふれた to the 砂漠 旅行者 finding 甘い water. Then he 機動力のある and 棒 負かす／撃墜する the valley wondering what would be his 歓迎会.
The valley was much larger than it had appeared from the high elevation. 井戸／弁護士席 watered, green with grass and tree, and farmed evidently by good 手渡すs, it gave Duane a かなりの surprise. Horses and cattle were everywhere. Every clump of cottonwoods surrounded a small adobe house. Duane saw Mexicans working in the fields and horsemen going to and fro. Presently he passed a house bigger than the others with a porch 大（公）使館員d. A woman, young and pretty he thought, watched him from a door. No one else appeared to notice him.
Presently the 追跡する 広げるd into a road, and that into a 肉親，親類d of square lined by a number of adobe and スピードを出す／記録につける buildings of rudest structure. Within sight were horses, dogs, a couple of steers, Mexican women with children, and white men, all of whom appeared to be doing nothing. His advent created no 利益／興味 until he 棒 up to the white men, who were lolling in the shade of a house. This place evidently was a 蓄える／店 and saloon, and from the inside （機の）カム a lazy hum of 発言する／表明するs.
As Duane reined to a 停止（させる） one of the loungers in the shade rose with a loud exclamation:
"破産した／（警察が）手入れする me if thet ain't Luke's hoss!"
The others （許可，名誉などを）与えるd their 利益／興味, if not assent, by rising to 前進する toward Duane.
"How about it, Euchre? Ain't thet Luke's bay?" queried the first man.
"Plain as your nose," replied the fellow called Euchre.
"There ain't no 疑問 about thet, then," laughed another, "fer Bosomer's nose is shore plain on the landscape."
These men lined up before Duane, and as he coolly regarded them he thought they could have been 認めるd anywhere as desperadoes. The man called Bosomer, who had stepped 今後, had a forbidding 直面する which showed yellow 注目する，もくろむs, an enormous nose, and a 肌 the color of dust, with a thatch of sandy hair.
"Stranger, who are you an' where in the hell did you git thet bay hoss?" he 需要・要求するd. His yellow 注目する，もくろむs took in Stevens's horse, then the 武器s hung on the saddle, and finally turned their glinting, hard light 上向き to Duane.
Duane did not like the トン in which he had been 演説（する）／住所d, and he remained silent. At least half his mind seemed busy with curious 利益／興味 in regard to something that leaped inside him and made his breast feel tight. He 認めるd it as that strange emotion which had 発射 through him often of late, and which had decided him to go out to the 会合 with Bain. Only now it was different, more powerful.
"Stranger, who are you?" asked another man, somewhat more civilly.
"My 指名する's Duane," replied Duane, curtly.
"An' how'd you come by the hoss?"
Duane answered 簡潔に, and his words were followed by a short silence, during which the men looked at him. Bosomer began to 新たな展開 the ends of his 耐えるd.
"Reckon he's dead, all 権利, or nobody'd hev his hoss an' guns," presently said Euchre.
"Mister Duane," began Bosomer, in low, stinging トンs, "I happen to be Luke Stevens's 味方する-pardner."
Duane looked him over, from dusty, worn-out boots to his slouchy sombrero. That look seemed to inflame Bosomer.
"An' I want the hoss an' them guns," he shouted.
"You or anybody else can have them, for all I care. I just fetched them in. But the pack is 地雷," replied Duane. "And say, I befriended your pard. If you can't use a civil tongue you'd better cinch it."
"Civil? Haw, haw!" 再結合させるd the 無法者. "I don't know you. How do we know you didn't plug Stevens, an' stole his hoss, an' jest happened to つまずく 負かす／撃墜する here?"
"You'll have to take my word, that's all," replied Duane, はっきりと.
"I ain't takin' your word! Savvy thet? An' I was Luke's pard!"
With that Bosomer wheeled and, 押し進めるing his companions aside, he stamped into the saloon, where his 発言する／表明する broke out in a roar.
Duane dismounted and threw his bridle.
"Stranger, Bosomer is shore hot-長，率いるd," said the man Euchre. He did not appear unfriendly, nor were the others 敵意を持った.
At this juncture several more 無法者s （人が）群がるd out of the door, and the one in the lead was a tall man of stalwart physique. His manner 布告するd him a leader. He had a long 直面する, a 炎上ing red 耐えるd, and （疑いを）晴らす, 冷淡な blue 注目する，もくろむs that 直す／買収する，八百長をするd in の近くに scrutiny upon Duane. He was not a Texan; in truth, Duane did not 認める one of these 無法者s as native to his 明言する／公表する.
"I'm Bland," said the tall man, authoritatively. "Who're you and what're you doing here?"
Duane looked at Bland as he had at the others. This 無法者 長，指導者 appeared to be reasonable, if he was not courteous. Duane told his story again, this time a little more in 詳細（に述べる）.
"I believe you," replied Bland, at once. "Think I know when a fellow is lying."
"I reckon you're on the 権利 追跡する," put in Euchre. "Thet about Luke wantin' his boots took off—thet 満足させるs me. Luke hed a mortal dread of dyin' with his boots on."
At this sally the 長，指導者 and his men laughed.
"You said Duane—Buck Duane?" queried Bland. "Are you a son of that Duane who was a gunfighter some years 支援する?"
"Yes," replied Duane.
"Never met him, and glad I didn't," said Bland, with a grim humor. "So you got in trouble and had to go on the dodge? What 肉親，親類d of trouble?"
"Had a fight."
"Fight? Do you mean gun-play?" questioned Bland. He seemed eager, curious, 思索的な.
"Yes. It ended in gun-play, I'm sorry to say," answered Duane,
"Guess I needn't ask the son of Duane if he killed his man," went on Bland, ironically. "井戸／弁護士席, I'm sorry you bucked against trouble in my （軍の）野営地，陣営. But as it is, I guess you'd be wise to make yourself 不十分な."
"Do you mean I'm politely told to move on?" asked Duane, 静かに.
"Not 正確に／まさに that," said Bland, as if irritated. "If this isn't a 解放する／自由な place there isn't one on earth. Every man is equal here. Do you want to join my 禁止（する）d?"
"No, I don't."
"井戸／弁護士席, even if you did I imagine that wouldn't stop Bosomer. He's an ugly fellow. He's one of the few gunmen I've met who wants to kill somebody all the time. Most men like that are fourflushes. But Bosomer is all one color, and that's red. 単に for your own sake I advise you to 攻撃する，衝突する the 追跡する."
"Thanks. But if that's all I'll stay," returned Duane. Even as he spoke he felt that he did not know himself.
Bosomer appeared at the door, 押し進めるing men who tried to 拘留する him, and as he jumped （疑いを）晴らす of a last reaching 手渡す he uttered a snarl like an angry dog. Manifestly the short while he had spent inside the saloon had been 充てるd to drinking and talking himself into a frenzy. Bland and the other 無法者s quickly moved aside, letting Duane stand alone. When Bosomer saw Duane standing motionless and watchful a strange change passed quickly in him. He 停止（させる）d in his 跡をつけるs, and as he did that the men who had followed him out piled over one another in their hurry to get to one 味方する.
Duane saw all the swift 活動／戦闘, felt intuitively the meaning of it, and in Bosomer's sudden change of 前線. The 無法者 was keen, and he had 推定する／予想するd a 縮むing, or at least a 脅すd antagonist. Duane knew he was neither. He felt like アイロンをかける, and yet thrill after thrill ran through him. It was almost as if this 状況／情勢 had been one long familiar to him. Somehow he understood this yellow-注目する，もくろむd Bosomer. The 無法者 had come out to kill him. And now, though somewhat checked by the stand of a stranger, he still meant to kill. Like so many desperadoes of his ilk, he was 犠牲者 of a passion to kill for the sake of 殺人，大当り. Duane divined that no sudden animosity was 運動ing Bosomer. It was just his chance. In that moment 殺人 would have been joy to him. Very likely he had forgotten his pretext for a quarrel. Very probably his faculties were 吸収するd in conjecture as to Duane's 可能性s.
But he did not speak a word. He remained motionless for a long moment, his 注目する，もくろむs pale and 安定した, his 権利 手渡す like a claw.
That instant gave Duane a 力／強力にする to read in his enemy's 注目する，もくろむs the thought that に先行するd 活動／戦闘. But Duane did not want to kill another man. Still he would have to fight, and he decided to 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なう Bosomer. When Bosomer's 手渡す moved Duane's gun was spouting 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Two 発射s only—both from Duane's gun—and the 無法者 fell with his 権利 arm 粉々にするd. Bosomer 悪口を言う／悪態d 厳しく and floundered in the dust, trying to reach the gun with his left 手渡す. His comrades, however, seeing that Duane would not kill unless 軍隊d, の近くにd in upon Bosomer and 妨げるd any その上の madness on his part.
OF the 無法者s 現在の Euchre appeared to be the one most inclined to lend friendliness to curiosity; and he led Duane and the horses away to a small adobe shack. He tied the horses in an open shed and 除去するd their saddles. Then, 集会 up Stevens's 武器s, he 招待するd his 訪問者 to enter the house.
It had two rooms—windows without coverings—明らかにする 床に打ち倒すs. One room 含む／封じ込めるd 一面に覆う／毛布s, 武器s, saddles, and bridles; the other a 石／投石する fireplace, rude （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and （法廷の）裁判, two bunks, a box cupboard, and さまざまな blackened utensils.
"Make yourself to home as long as you want to stay," said Euchre. "I ain't rich in this world's goods, but I own what's here, an' you're welcome."
"Thanks. I'll stay awhile and 残り／休憩（する）. I'm pretty 井戸／弁護士席 played out," replied Duane.
Euchre gave him a keen ちらりと見ること.
"Go ahead an' 残り／休憩（する）. I'll take your horses to grass." Euchre left Duane alone in the house. Duane relaxed then, and mechanically he wiped the sweat from his 直面する. He was laboring under some 肉親，親類d of a （一定の）期間 or shock which did not pass off quickly. When it had worn away he took off his coat and belt and made himself comfortable on the 一面に覆う／毛布s. And he had a thought that if he 残り／休憩（する）d or slept what difference would it make on the morrow? No 残り／休憩（する）, no sleep could change the gray 見通し of the 未来. He felt glad when Euchre （機の）カム bustling in, and for the first time he took notice of the 無法者.
Euchre was old in years. What little hair he had was gray, his 直面する clean-shaven and 十分な of wrinkles; his 注目する，もくろむs were half shut from long gazing through the sun and dust. He stooped. But his thin でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる denoted strength and endurance still unimpaired.
"Hey a drink or a smoke?" he asked.
Duane shook his 長，率いる. He had not been unfamiliar with whisky, and he had used タバコ moderately since he was sixteen. But now, strangely, he felt a disgust at the idea of 興奮剤s. He did not understand 明確に what he felt. There was that vague idea of something wild in his 血, something that made him 恐れる himself.
Euchre wagged his old 長，率いる sympathetically. "Reckon you feel a little sick. When it comes to shootin' I run. What's your age?"
"I'm twenty-three," replied Duane.
Euchre showed surprise. "You're only a boy! I thought you thirty anyways. Buck, I heard what you told Bland, an' puttin' thet with my own figgerin', I reckon you're no 犯罪の yet. Throwin' a gun in self-弁護—thet ain't no 罪，犯罪!"
Duane, finding 救済 in talking, told more about himself.
"Huh," replied the old man. "I've been on this river fer years, an' I've seen hundreds of boys come in on the dodge. Most of them, though, was no good. An' thet 肉親，親類d don't last long. This river country has been an' is the 避難 fer 犯罪のs from all over the 明言する／公表するs. I've bunked with bank cashiers, forgers, plain thieves, an' out-an'-out 殺害者s, all of which had no bizness on the Texas 国境. Fellers like Bland are exceptions. He's no Texan—you seen thet. The ギャング（団） he 支配するs here come from all over, an' they're 堅い cusses, you can bet on thet. They live fat an' 平易な. If it wasn't fer the fightin' の中で themselves they'd shore grow populous. The 縁 激しく揺する is no place for a peaceable, decent feller. I heard you tell Bland you wouldn't join his ギャング（団）. Thet'll not make him take a likin' to you. Have you any money?"
"Not much," replied Duane.
"Could you live by gamblin'? Are you any good at cards?"
"No."
"You wouldn't steal hosses or rustle cattle?"
"No."
"When your money's gone how'n hell will you live? There ain't any work a decent feller could do. You can't herd with greasers. Why, Bland's men would shoot at you in the fields. What'll you do, son?"
"God knows," replied Duane, hopelessly. "I'll make my money last as long as possible—then 餓死する."
"Wal, I'm pretty pore, but you'll never 餓死する while I got anythin'."
Here it struck Duane again—that something human and 肉親，親類d and eager which he had seen in Stevens. Duane's 見積（る） of 無法者s had 欠如（する）d this 質. He had not （許可，名誉などを）与えるd them any virtues. To him, as to the outside world, they had been 単に vicious men without one redeeming feature.
"I'm much 強いるd to you, Euchre," replied Duane. "But of course I won't live with any one unless I can 支払う／賃金 my 株."
"Have it any way you like, my son," said Euchre, good-humoredly. "You make a 解雇する／砲火／射撃, an' I'll 始める，決める about gettin' grub. I'm a sourdough, Buck. Thet man doesn't live who can （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 my bread."
"How do you ever pack 供給（する）s in here?" asked Duane, thinking of the almost inaccessible nature of the valley.
"Some comes across from Mexico, an' the 残り／休憩（する） 負かす／撃墜する the river. Thet river trip is a bird. It's more'n five hundred miles to any 供給（する） point. Bland has mozos, greaser boatmen. いつかs, too, he gets 供給（する）s in from 負かす／撃墜する-river. You see, Bland sells thousands of cattle in Cuba. An' all this 在庫／株 has to go 負かす／撃墜する by boat to 会合，会う the ships."
"Where on earth are the cattle driven 負かす／撃墜する to the river?" asked Duane.
"Thet's not my secret," replied Euchre, すぐに. "Fact is, I don't know. I've rustled cattle for Bland, but he never sent me through the 縁 激しく揺する with them."
Duane experienced a sort of 楽しみ in the 現実化 that 利益／興味 had been stirred in him. He was curious about Bland and his ギャング（団）, and glad to have something to think about. For every once in a while he had a sensation that was almost like a pang. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to forget. In the next hour he did forget, and enjoyed helping in the 準備 and eating of the meal. Euchre, after washing and hanging up the several utensils, put on his hat and turned to go out.
"Come along or stay here, as you want," he said to Duane.
"I'll stay," 再結合させるd Duane, slowly.
The old 無法者 left the room and trudged away, whistling cheerfully.
Duane looked around him for a 調書をとる／予約する or paper, anything to read; but all the printed 事柄 he could find consisted of a few words on cartridge-boxes and an 宣伝 on the 支援する of a タバコ-pouch. There seemed to be nothing for him to do. He had 残り／休憩（する）d; he did not want to 嘘（をつく） 負かす／撃墜する any more. He began to walk to and fro, from one end of the room to the other. And as he walked he fell into the lately acquired habit of brooding over his misfortune.
Suddenly he straightened up with a jerk. Unconsciously he had drawn his gun. Standing there with the 有望な 冷淡な 武器 in his 手渡す, he looked at it in びっくり仰天. How had he come to draw it? With difficulty he traced his thoughts backward, but could not find any that was accountable for his 行為／法令／行動する. He discovered, however, that he had a remarkable 傾向 to 減少（する） his 手渡す to his gun. That might have come from the habit long practice in 製図／抽選 had given him. Likewise, it might have come from a subtle sense, scarcely thought of at all, of the late, の近くに, and 必然的な relation between that 武器 and himself. He was amazed to find that, bitter as he had grown at 運命／宿命, the 願望（する） to live 燃やすd strong in him. If he had been as unfortunately 据えるd, but with the difference that no man 手配中の，お尋ね者 to put him in 刑務所，拘置所 or take his life, he felt that this 燃やすing passion to be 解放する／自由な, to save himself, might not have been so powerful. Life certainly held no 有望な prospects for him. Already he had begun to despair of ever getting 支援する to his home. But to give up like a white-hearted coward, to let himself be 手錠d and 刑務所，拘置所d, to run from a drunken, bragging cowboy, or be 発射 in 冷淡な 血 by some 国境 brute who 単に 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 追加する another notch to his gun— these things were impossible for Duane because there was in him the temper to fight. In that hour he 産する／生じるd only to 運命／宿命 and the spirit inborn in him. Hereafter this gun must be a living part of him. 権利 then and there he returned to a practice he had long discontinued—the draw. It was now a 厳しい, bitter, deadly 商売／仕事 with him. He did not need to 解雇する／砲火／射撃 the gun, for 正確 was a gift and had become 保証するd. Swiftness on the draw, however, could be 改善するd, and he 始める，決める himself to acquire the 限界 of 速度(を上げる） possible to any man. He stood still in his 跡をつけるs; he paced the room; he sat 負かす／撃墜する, lay 負かす／撃墜する, put himself in ぎこちない positions; and from every position he practiced throwing his gun—practiced it till he was hot and tired and his arm ached and his 手渡す 燃やすd. That practice he 決定するd to keep up every day. It was one thing, at least, that would help pass the 疲れた／うんざりした hours.
Later he went outdoors to the cooler shade of the cottonwoods. From this point he could see a good 取引，協定 of the valley. Under different circumstances Duane felt that he would have enjoyed such a beautiful 位置／汚点／見つけ出す. Euchre's shack sat against the first rise of the slope of the 塀で囲む, and Duane, by climbing a few 棒s, got a 見解（をとる） of the whole valley. Assuredly it was an 無法者 settle 会合，会う. He saw a good many Mexicans, who, of course, were 手渡す and glove with Bland. Also he saw enormous flat-boats, 天然のまま of structure, moored along the banks of the river. The Rio Grande rolled away between high bluffs. A cable, sagging 深い in the middle, was stretched over the wide yellow stream, and an old scow, evidently used as a フェリー（で運ぶ）, lay 錨，総合司会者d on the far shore.
The valley was an ideal 退却／保養地 for an 無法者 禁止（する）d operating on a big 規模. 追跡 scarcely need be 恐れるd over the broken 追跡するs of the 縁 激しく揺する. And the open end of the valley could be defended against almost any number of men coming 負かす／撃墜する the river. 接近 to Mexico was 平易な and quick. What puzzled Duane was how Bland got cattle 負かす／撃墜する to the river, and he wondered if the rustler really did get rid of his stolen 在庫／株 by use of boats.
Duane must have idled かなりの time up on the hill, for when he returned to the shack Euchre was busily engaged around the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃.
"Wal, glad to see you ain't so pale about the gills as you was," he said, by way of 迎える／歓迎するing. "Pitch in an' we'll soon have grub ready. There's shore one consolin' fact 一連の会議、交渉／完成する this here （軍の）野営地，陣営."
"What's that?" asked Duane.
"Plenty of good juicy beef to eat. An' it doesn't cost a short bit."
"But it costs hard rides and trouble, bad 良心, and life, too, doesn't it?"
"I ain't shore about the bad 良心. 地雷 never bothered me 非，不，無. An' as for life, why, thet's cheap in Texas."
"Who is Bland?" asked Duane, quickly changing the 支配する. "What do you know about him?"
"We don't know who he is or where he あられ／賞賛するs from," replied Euchre. "Thet's always been somethin' to 利益／興味 the ギャング（団）. He must have been a young man when he struck Texas. Now he's middle-老年の. I remember how years ago he was soft-spoken an' not rough in talk or 行為／法令／行動する like he is now. Bland ain't likely his 権利 指名する. He knows a lot. He can doctor you, an' he's shore a knowin' feller with 道具s. He's the 肉親，親類d thet 支配するs men. 無法者s are always ridin' in here to join his ギャング（団）, an' if it hadn't been fer the gamblin' an' gun-play he'd have a thousand men around him."
"How many in his ギャング（団） now?"
"I reckon there's short of a hundred now. The number 変化させるs. Then Bland has several small （軍の）野営地，陣営s up an' 負かす／撃墜する the river. Also he has men 支援する on the cattle-範囲s."
"How does he 支配（する）／統制する such a big 軍隊?" asked Duane. "特に when his 禁止（する）d's composed of bad men. Luke Stevens said he had no use for Bland. And I heard once somewhere that Bland was a devil."
"Thet's it. He is a devil. He's as hard as flint, violent in temper, never made any friends except his 権利-手渡す men, Dave Rugg an' Chess Alloway. Bland'll shoot at a wink. He's killed a lot of fellers, an' some fer nothin'. The 推論する／理由 thet 無法者s gather 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him an' stick is because he's a 安全な 避難, an' then he's 井戸／弁護士席 heeled. Bland is rich. They say he has a hundred thousand pesos hid somewhere, an' lots of gold. But he's 解放する／自由な with money. He 賭事s when he's not off with a 出荷／船積み of cattle. He throws money around. An' the fact is there's always plenty of money where he is. Thet's what 持つ／拘留するs the ギャング（団）. Dirty, 血まみれの money!"
"It's a wonder he hasn't been killed. All these years on the 国境!" exclaimed Duane.
"Wal," replied Euchre, dryly, "he's been quicker on the draw than the other fellers who hankered to kill him, thet's all."
Euchre's reply rather 冷気／寒がらせるd Duane's 利益／興味 for the moment. Such 発言／述べるs always made his mind 回転する 一連の会議、交渉／完成する facts 付随するing to himself.
"Speakin' of this here swift wrist game," went on Euchre, "there's been かなりの talk in （軍の）野営地，陣営 about your throwin' of a gun. You know, Buck, thet の中で us fellers—us 追跡（する）d men—there ain't anythin' calculated to rouse 尊敬（する）・点 like a 悪賢い 手渡す with a gun. I heard Bland say this afternoon—an' he said it serious-like an' 思索的な— thet he'd never seen your equal. He was watchin' of you の近くに, he said, an' just couldn't follow your 手渡す when you drawed. All the fellers who seen you 会合，会う Bosomer had somethin' to say. Bo was about as handy with a gun as any man in this （軍の）野営地，陣営, barrin' Chess Alloway an' mebbe Bland himself. Chess is the captain with a Colt—or he was. An' he shore didn't like the 言及／関連s made about your 速度(を上げる）. Bland was honest in acknowledgin' it, but he didn't like it, neither. Some of the fellers 許すd your draw might have been just 事故. But most of them figgered different. An' they all shut up when Bland told who an' what your Dad was. 'Pears to me I once seen your Dad in a gunscrape over at Santone, years ago. Wal, I put my oar in to-day の中で the fellers, an' I says: 'What ails you locoed gents? Did young Duane budge an インチ when Bo （機の）カム roarin' out, 血 in his 注目する，もくろむ? Wasn't he 冷静な／正味の an' 静かな, 安定した of lips, an' weren't his 注目する，もくろむs readin' Bo's mind? An' thet lightnin' draw—can't you-all see thet's a family gift?' "
Euchre's 狭くする 注目する，もくろむs twinkled, and he gave the dough he was rolling a 非難する with his flour-whitened 手渡す. Manifestly he had 布告するd himself a 支持する／優勝者 and partner of Duane's, with all the pride an old man could feel in a young one whom he admired.
"Wal," he 再開するd, presently, "thet's your introduction to the 国境, Buck. An' your card was a high trump. You'll be let 厳しく alone by real gun-闘士，戦闘機s an' men like Bland, Alloway, Rugg, an' the bosses of the other ギャング（団）s. After all, these real men are men, you know, an' onless you cross them they're no more likely to 干渉する with you than you are with them. But there's a sight of fellers like Bosomer in the river country. They'll all want your game. An' every town you ride into will 脅す up some cowpuncher 十分な of booze or a long-haired four-紅潮／摘発する 銃器携帯者／殺しや or a 郡保安官—an' these men will be playin' to the （人が）群がる an' yellin' for your 血. Thet's the Texas of it. You'll have to hide fer ever in the ブレーキs or you'll have to KILL such men. Buck, I reckon this ain't cheerful news to a decent chap like you. I'm only tellin' you because I've taken a likin' to you, an' I seen 権利 off thet you ain't 国境-wise. Let's eat now, an' afterward we'll go out so the ギャング（団） can see you're not hidin'."
When Duane went out with Euchre the sun was setting behind a blue 範囲 of mountains across the river in Mexico. The valley appeared to open to the 南西. It was a tranquil, beautiful scene. Somewhere in a house 近づく at 手渡す a woman was singing. And in the road Duane saw a little Mexican boy 運動ing home some cows, one of which wore a bell. The 甘い, happy 発言する／表明する of a woman and a whistling barefoot boy—these seemed utterly out of place here.
Euchre presently led to the square and the 列／漕ぐ／騒動 of rough houses Duane remembered. He almost stepped on a wide imprint in the dust where Bosomer had 直面するd him. And a sudden fury beset him that he should be 影響する／感情d strangely by the sight of it.
"Let's have a look in here," said Euchre.
Duane had to bend his 長，率いる to enter the door. He 設立する himself in a very large room inclosed by adobe 塀で囲むs and roofed with 小衝突. It was 十分な of rude （法廷の）裁判s, （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs, seats. At one corner a number of ケッグs and バーレル／樽s lay 味方する by 味方する in a rack. A Mexican boy was lighting lamps hung on 地位，任命するs that 支えるd the スピードを出す／記録につける rafters of the roof.
"The only feller who's goin' to put a の近くに 注目する，もくろむ on you is Benson," said Euchre. "He runs the place an' sells drinks. The ギャング（団） calls him Jackrabbit Benson, because he's always got his 注目する，もくろむ peeled an' his ear cocked. Don't notice him if he looks you over, Buck. Benson is 脅すd to death of every new-comer who rustles into Bland's （軍の）野営地，陣営. An' the 推論する／理由, I take it, is because he's done somebody dirt. He's hidin'. Not from a 郡保安官 or 特別奇襲隊員! Men who hide from them don't 行為／法令／行動する like Jackrabbit Benson. He's hidin' from some guy who's huntin' him to kill him. Wal, I'm always expectin' to see some feller ride in here an' throw a gun on Benson. Can't say I'd be grieved."
Duane casually ちらりと見ることd in the direction 示すd, and he saw a spare, gaunt man with a 直面する strikingly white beside the red and bronze and dark 肌s of the men around him. It was a cadaverous 直面する. The 黒人／ボイコット mustache hung 負かす／撃墜する; a 激しい lock of 黒人／ボイコット hair dropped 負かす／撃墜する over the brow; 深い-始める，決める, hollow, 星／主役にするing 注目する，もくろむs looked out piercingly. The man had a restless, 警報, nervous manner. He put his 手渡すs on the board that served as a 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 and 星／主役にするd at Duane. But when he met Duane's ちらりと見ること he turned hurriedly to go on serving out アルコール飲料.
"What have you got against him?" 問い合わせd Duane, as he sat 負かす／撃墜する beside Euchre. He asked more for something to say than from real 利益／興味. What did he care about a mean, haunted, craven-直面するd 犯罪の?
"Wal, mebbe I'm cross-穀物d," replied Euchre, apologetically. "Shore an 無法者 an' rustler such as me can't be touchy. But I never stole nothin' but cattle from some rancher who never 行方不明になるd 'em anyway. Thet こそこそ動く Benson —he was the means of puttin' a little girl in Bland's way."
"Girl?" queried Duane, now with real attention.
"Shore. Bland's 広大な／多数の／重要な on women. I'll tell you about this girl when we get out of here. Some of the ギャング（団） are goin' to be sociable, an' I can't talk about the 長，指導者."
During the 続いて起こるing half-hour a number of 無法者s passed by Duane and Euchre, 停止（させる）d for a 迎える／歓迎するing or sat 負かす／撃墜する for a moment. They were all gruff, loud-発言する／表明するd, merry, and good-natured. Duane replied civilly and agreeably when he was 本人自身で 演説（する）／住所d; but he 辞退するd all 招待s to drink and 賭事. Evidently he had been 受託するd, in a way, as one of their 一族／派閥. No one made any hint of an allusion to his 事件／事情／状勢 with Bosomer. Duane saw readily that Euchre was 井戸／弁護士席 liked. One 無法者 borrowed money from him: another asked for タバコ.
By the time it was dark the big room was 十分な of 無法者s and Mexicans, most of whom were engaged at monte. These gamblers, 特に the Mexicans, were 激しい and 静かな. The noise in the place （機の）カム from the drinkers, the loungers. Duane had seen 賭事ing-訴える手段／行楽地s—some of the famous ones in San Antonio and El Paso, a few in 国境 towns where license went unchecked. But this place of Jackrabbit Benson's impressed him as one where guns and knives were 従犯者s to the game. To his perhaps rather distinguishing 注目する，もくろむ the most 目だつ thing about the gamesters appeared to be their 武器s. On several of the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs were piles of silver—Mexican pesos—as large and high as the 栄冠を与える of his hat. There were also piles of gold and silver in 部隊d 明言する／公表するs coin. Duane needed no experienced 注目する，もくろむs to see that betting was 激しい and that 激しい sums 交流d 手渡すs. The Mexicans showed a sterner obsession, an intenser passion. Some of the Americans 火刑／賭けるd 自由に, nonchalantly, as befitted men to whom money was nothing. These latter were manifestly winning, for there were brother 無法者s there who wagered coin with grudging, sullen, greedy 注目する，もくろむs. Boisterous talk and laughter の中で the drinking men 溺死するd, except at intervals, the low, 簡潔な／要約する talk of the gamblers. The clink of coin sounded incessantly; いつかs just low, 安定した musical （犯罪の）一味s; and again, when a pile was 宙返り／暴落するd quickly, there was a silvery 衝突，墜落. Here an 無法者 続けざまに猛撃するd on a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する with the butt of his gun; there another noisily palmed a roll of dollars while he 熟考する／考慮するd his 対抗者's 直面する. The noises, however, in Benson's den did not 与える／捧げる to any extent to the 悪意のある 面 of the place. That seemed to come from the grim and 無謀な 直面するs, from the bent, 意図 長，率いるs, from the dark lights and shades. There were 有望な lights, but these served only to make the 影をつくる／尾行するs. And in the 影をつくる／尾行するs lurked unrestrained lust of 伸び（る）, a spirit ruthless and 無謀な, a something at once 示唆するing lawlessness, 窃盗, 殺人, and hell.
"Bland's not here to-night," Euchre was 説. "He left today on one of his trips, takin' Alloway an' some others. But his other man, Rugg, he's here. See him standin' with them three fellers, all の近くに to Benson. Rugg's the little 屈服する-legged man with the half of his 直面する 発射 off. He's one-注目する，もくろむd. But he can shore see out of the one he's got. An', darn me! there's Hardin. You know him? He's got an 無法者 ギャング（団） as big as Bland's. Hardin is standin' next to Benson. See how 静かな an' unassumin' he looks. Yes, thet's Hardin. He comes here once in a while to see Bland. They're friends, which's shore strange. Do you see thet greaser there—the one with gold an' lace on his sombrero? Thet's Manuel, a Mexican 強盗. He's a 広大な／多数の／重要な gambler. Comes here often to 減少（する） his coin. Next to him is 法案 Marr—the feller with the bandana 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his 長，率いる. 法案 棒 in the other day with some fresh 弾丸-穴を開けるs. He's been 発射 more'n any feller I ever heard of. He's 十分な of lead. Funny, because 法案's no troublehunter, an', like me, he'd rather run than shoot. But he's the best rustler Bland's got—a grand rider, an' a wonder with cattle. An' see the 牽引する-長，率いるd youngster. Thet's Kid Fuller, the kid of Bland's ギャング（団）. Fuller has 攻撃する，衝突する the pace hard, an' he won't last the year out on the 国境. He killed his sweetheart's father, got run out of Staceytown, took to stealin' hosses. An' next he's here with Bland. Another boy gone wrong, an' now shore a hard nut."
Euchre went on calling Duane's attention to other men, just as he happened to ちらりと見ること over them. Any one of them would have been a 示すd man in a respectable （人が）群がる. Here each took his place with more or いっそう少なく distinction, によれば the 記録，記録的な／記録する of his past wild prowess and his 現在の 可能性s. Duane, realizing that he was 許容するd there, received in careless friendly spirit by this terrible class of outcasts, experienced a feeling of revulsion that 量d almost to horror. Was his 存在 there not an ugly dream? What had he in ありふれた with such ruffians? Then in a flash of memory （機の）カム the painful proof—he was a 犯罪の in sight of Texas 法律; he, too, was an outcast.
For the moment Duane was wrapped up in painful reflections; but Euchre's 激しい 手渡す, clapping with a 警告 持つ／拘留する on his arm, brought him 支援する to outside things.
The hum of 発言する／表明するs, the clink of coin, the loud laughter had 中止するd. There was a silence that manifestly had followed some unusual word or 活動／戦闘 十分な to still the room. It was broken by a 厳しい 悪口を言う／悪態 and the 捨てる of a （法廷の）裁判 on the 床に打ち倒す. Some man had risen.
"You stacked the cards, you—!"
"Say that twice," another 発言する／表明する replied, so different in its 冷静な／正味の, ominous トン from the other.
"I'll say it twice," returned the first gamester, in hot haste. "I'll say it three times. I'll whistle it. Are you deaf? You light-fingered gent! You stacked the cards!"
Silence 続いて起こるd, deeper than before, 妊娠している with meaning. For all that Duane saw, not an 無法者 moved for a 十分な moment. Then suddenly the room was 十分な of disorder as men rose and ran and dived everywhere.
"Run or duck!" yelled Euchre, の近くに to Duane's ear. With that he dashed for the door. Duane leaped after him. They ran into a jostling 暴徒. 激しい gun-発射s and hoarse yells hurried the （人が）群がる Duane was with pell-mell out into the 不明瞭. There they all 停止（させる）d, and several peeped in at the door.
"Who was the Kid callin'?" asked one 無法者.
"Bud 沼," replied another.
"I reckon them fust 発射s was Bud's. Adios Kid. It was comin' to him," went on yet another.
"How many 発射s?"
"Three or four, I counted."
"Three 激しい an' one light. Thet light one was the Kid's .38. Listen! There's the Kid hollerin' now. He ain't cashed, anyway."
At this juncture most of the 無法者s began to とじ込み／提出する 支援する into the room. Duane thought he had seen and heard enough in Benson's den for one night and he started slowly 負かす／撃墜する the walk. Presently Euchre caught up with him.
"Nobody 傷つける much, which's shore some strange," he said. "The Kid— young Fuller thet I was tellin' you about—he was drinkin' an' losin'. Lost his nut, too, callin' Bud 沼 thet way. Bud's as straight at cards as any of 'em. Somebody grabbed Bud, who 発射 into the roof. An' Fuller's arm was knocked up. He only 攻撃する，衝突する a greaser."
NEXT morning Duane 設立する that a moody and despondent （一定の）期間 had fastened on him. Wishing to be alone, he went out and walked a 追跡する 主要な 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the river bluff. He thought and thought. After a while he made out that the trouble with him probably was that he could not 辞職する himself to his 運命／宿命. He abhorred the 可能性 chance seemed to 持つ／拘留する in 蓄える／店 for him. He could not believe there was no hope. But what to do appeared beyond his 力／強力にする to tell.
Duane had 知能 and keenness enough to see his 危険，危なくする—the danger 脅すing his character as a man, just as much as that which 脅すd his life. He cared vastly more, he discovered, for what he considered 栄誉（を受ける） and 正直さ than he did for life. He saw that it was bad for him to be alone. But, it appeared, lonely months and perhaps years 必然的に must be his. Another thing puzzled him. In the 有望な light of day he could not 解任する the 明言する／公表する of mind that was his at twilight or dusk or in the dark night. By day these visitations became to him what they really were —phantoms of his 良心. He could 解任する the thought of them then. He could scarcely remember or believe that this strange feat of fancy or imagination had troubled him, 苦痛d him, made him sleepless and sick.
That morning Duane spent an unhappy hour 格闘するing 決定／判定勝ち（する） out of the 安定性のない 条件 of his mind. But at length he 決定するd to create 利益／興味 in all that he （機の）カム across and so forget himself as much as possible. He had an 適切な時期 now to see just what the 無法者's life really was. He meant to 軍隊 himself to be curious, 同情的な, （疑いを）晴らす-sighted. And he would stay there in the valley until its 可能性s had been exhausted or until circumstances sent him out upon his uncertain way.
When he returned to the shack Euchre was cooking dinner.
"Say, Buck, I've news for you," he said; and his トン 伝えるd either pride in his 所有／入手 of such news or pride in Duane. "Feller 指名するd Bradley 棒 in this mornin'. He's heard some about you. Told about the エース of spades they put over the 弾丸 穴を開けるs in thet cowpuncher Bain you plugged. Then there was a rancher 発射 at a water-穴を開ける twenty miles south of Wellston. Reckon you didn't do it?"
"No, I certainly did not," replied Duane.
"Wal, you get the 非難する. It ain't nothin' for a feller to be saddled with gun-plays he never made. An', Buck, if you ever get famous, as seems likely, you'll be 非難するd for many a 罪，犯罪. The 国境'll make an 無法者 an' 殺害者 out of you. Wal, thet's enough of thet. I've more news. You're goin' to be popular."
"Popular? What do you mean?"
"I met Bland's wife this mornin'. She seen you the other day when you 棒 in. She shore wants to 会合，会う you, an' so do some of the other women in （軍の）野営地，陣営. They always want to 会合，会う the new fellers who've just come in. It's lonesome for women here, an' they like to hear news from the towns."
"井戸／弁護士席, Euchre, I don't want to be impolite, but I'd rather not 会合，会う any women," 再結合させるd Duane.
"I was afraid you wouldn't. Don't 非難する you much. Women are hell. I was hopin', though, you might talk a little to thet poor lonesome kid."
"What kid?" 問い合わせd Duane, in surprise.
"Didn't I tell you about Jennie—the girl Bland's holdin' here —the one Jackrabbit Benson had a 手渡す in stealin'?"
"You について言及するd a girl. That's all. Tell me now," replied Duane, 突然の.
"Wal, I got it this way. Mebbe it's straight, an' mebbe it ain't. Some years ago Benson made a trip over the river to buy mescal an' other drinks. He'll こそこそ動く over there once in a while. An' as I get it he run across a ギャング（団） of greasers with some gringo 囚人s. I don't know, but I reckon there was some barterin', perhaps murderin'. Anyway, Benson fetched the girl 支援する. She was more dead than alive. But it turned out she was only 餓死するd an' 脅すd half to death. She hadn't been 害（を与える）d. I reckon she was then about fourteen years old. Benson's idee, he said, was to use her in his den sellin' drinks an' the like. But I never went much on Jackrabbit's word. Bland seen the kid 権利 off and took her—bought her from Benson. You can 賭事 Bland didn't do thet from notions of chivalry. I ain't gainsayin, however, but thet Jennie was better off with Kate Bland. She's been hard on Jennie, but she's kept Bland an' the other men from treatin' the kid shameful. Late Jennie has growed into an all-解雇する／砲火／射撃d pretty girl, an' Kate is powerful jealous of her. I can see hell brewin' over there in Bland's cabin. Thet's why I wish you'd come over with me. Bland's hardly ever home. His wife's 招待するd you. Shore, if she gets 甘い on you, as she has on—Wal, thet 'd 複雑にする 事柄s. But you'd get to see Jennie, an' mebbe you could help her. Mind, I ain't hintin' nothin'. I'm just wantin' to put her in your way. You're a man an' can think fer yourself. I had a baby girl once, an' if she'd lived she be as big as Jennie now, an', by Gawd, I wouldn't want her here in Bland's （軍の）野営地，陣営."
"I'll go, Euchre. Take me over," replied Duane. He felt Euchre's 注目する，もくろむs upon him. The old 無法者, however, had no more to say.
In the afternoon Euchre 始める，決める off with Duane, and soon they reached Bland's cabin. Duane remembered it as the one where he had seen the pretty woman watching him ride by. He could not 解任する what she looked like. The cabin was the same as the other adobe structures in the valley, but it was larger and pleasantly 位置を示すd rather high up in a grove of cottonwoods. In the windows and upon the porch were 証拠s of a woman's 手渡す. Through the open door Duane caught a glimpse of 有望な Mexican 一面に覆う／毛布s and rugs.
Euchre knocked upon the 味方する of the door.
"Is that you, Euchre?" asked a girl's 発言する／表明する, low, hesitatingly. The トン of it, rather 深い and with a 公式文書，認める of 恐れる, struck Duane. He wondered what she would be like.
"Yes, it's me, Jennie. Where's Mrs. Bland?" answered Euchre.
"She went over to Deger's. There's somebody sick," replied the girl.
Euchre turned and whispered something about luck. The snap of the 無法者's 注目する，もくろむs was 追加するd significance to Duane.
"Jennie, come out or let us come in. Here's the young man I was tellin' you about," Euchre said.
"Oh, I can't! I look so—so—"
"Never mind how you look," interrupted the 無法者, in a whisper. "It ain't no time to care fer thet. Here's young Duane. Jennie, he's no rustler, no どろぼう. He's different. Come out, Jennie, an' mebbe he'll—"
Euchre did not 完全にする his 宣告，判決. He had spoken low, with his ちらりと見ること 転換ing from 味方する to 味方する.
But what he said was 十分な to bring the girl quickly. She appeared in the doorway with downcast 注目する，もくろむs and a stain of red in her white cheek. She had a pretty, sad 直面する and 有望な hair.
"Don't be bashful, Jennie," said Euchre. "You an' Duane have a chance to talk a little. Now I'll go fetch Mrs. Bland, but I won't be hurryin'."
With that Euchre went away through the cottonwoods.
"I'm glad to 会合，会う you, 行方不明になる—行方不明になる Jennie," said Duane. "Euchre didn't について言及する your last 指名する. He asked me to come over to—"
Duane's 試みる／企てる at pleasantry 停止（させる）d short when Jennie 解除するd her 攻撃するs to look at him. Some 肉親，親類d of a shock went through Duane. Her gray 注目する，もくろむs were beautiful, but it had not been beauty that 削減（する） short his speech. He seemed to see a 悲劇の struggle between hope and 疑問 that shone in her piercing gaze. She kept looking, and Duane could not break the silence. It was no ordinary moment.
"What did you come here for?" she asked, at last.
"To see you," replied Duane, glad to speak.
"Why?"
"井戸／弁護士席—Euchre thought—he 手配中の，お尋ね者 me to talk to you, 元気づける you up a bit," replied Duane, somewhat lamely. The earnest 注目する，もくろむs embarrassed him.
"Euchre's good. He's the only person in this awful place who's been good to me. But he's afraid of Bland. He said you were different. Who are you?"
Duane told her.
"You're not a robber or rustler or 殺害者 or some bad man come here to hide?"
"No, I'm not," replied Duane, trying to smile.
"Then why are you here?"
"I'm on the dodge. You know what that means. I got in a 狙撃-捨てる at home and had to run off. When it blows over I hope to go 支援する."
"But you can't be honest here?"
"Yes, I can."
"Oh, I know what these 無法者s are. Yes, you're different." She kept the 緊張するd gaze upon him, but hope was kindling, and the hard lines of her youthful 直面する were 軟化するing.
Something 甘い and warm stirred 深い in Duane as he realized the unfortunate girl was experiencing a birth of 信用 in him.
"O God! Maybe you're the man to save me—to take me away before it's too later"
Duane's spirit leaped.
"Maybe I am," he replied, 即時に.
She seemed to check a blind impulse to run into his 武器. Her cheek 炎上d, her lips quivered, her bosom swelled under her ragged dress. Then the glow began to fade; 疑問 once more 攻撃する，非難するd her.
"It can't be. You're only—after me, too, like Bland—like all of them."
Duane's long 武器 went out and his 手渡すs clasped her shoulders. He shook her.
"Look at me—straight in the 注目する，もくろむ. There are decent men. 港／避難所't you a father—a brother?"
"They're dead—killed by raiders. We lived in Dimmit 郡. I was carried away," Jennie replied, hurriedly. She put up an 控訴，上告ing 手渡す to him. "許す me. I believe—I know you're good. It was only—I live so much in 恐れる—I'm half crazy—I've almost forgotten what good men are like, Mister Duane, you'll help me?"
"Yes, Jennie, I will. Tell me how. What must I do? Have you any 計画（する）?"
"Oh no. But take me away."
"I'll try," said Duane, 簡単に. "That won't be 平易な, though. I must have time to think. You must help me. There are many things to consider. Horses, food, 追跡するs, and then the best time to make the 試みる／企てる. Are you watched —kept 囚人?"
"No. I could have run off lots of times. But I was afraid. I'd only have fallen into worse 手渡すs. Euchre has told me that. Mrs. Bland （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域s me, half 餓死するs me, but she has kept me from her husband and these other dogs. She's been as good as that, and I'm 感謝する. She hasn't done it for love of me, though. She always hated me. And lately she's growing jealous. There was' a man （機の）カム here by the 指名する of Spence—so he called himself. He tried to be 肉親，親類d to me. But she wouldn't let him. She was in love with him. She's a bad woman. Bland finally 発射 Spence, and that ended that. She's been jealous ever since. I hear her fighting with Bland about me. She 断言するs she'll kill me before he gets me. And Bland laughs in her 直面する. Then I've heard Chess Alloway try to 説得する Bland to give me to him. But Bland doesn't laugh then. Just lately before Bland went away things almost （機の）カム to a 長，率いる. I couldn't sleep. I wished Mrs. Bland would kill me. I'll certainly kill myself if they 廃虚 me. Duane, you must be quick if you'd save me."
"I realize that," replied he, thoughtfully. "I think my difficulty will be to fool Mrs. Bland. If she 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd me she'd have the whole ギャング（団） of 無法者s on me at once."
"She would that. You've got to be careful—and quick."
"What 肉親，親類d of woman is she?" 問い合わせd Duane.
"She's—she's brazen. I've heard her with her lovers. They get drunk いつかs when Bland's away. She's got a terrible temper. She's vain. She likes flattery. Oh, you could fool her 平易な enough if you'd lower yourself to—to—"
"To make love to her?" interrupted Duane.
Jennie bravely turned shamed 注目する，もくろむs to 会合，会う his.
"My girl, I'd do worse than that to get you away from here," he said, bluntly.
"But—Duane," she 滞るd, and again she put out the 控訴，上告ing 手渡す. "Bland will kill you."
Duane made no reply to this. He was trying to still a rising strange tumult in his breast. The old emotion—the 急ぐ of an instinct to kill! He turned 冷淡な all over.
"Chess Alloway will kill you if Bland doesn't," went on Jennie, with her 悲劇の 注目する，もくろむs on Duane's.
"Maybe he will," replied Duane. It was difficult for him to 軍隊 a smile. But he 達成するd one.
"Oh, better take me off at once," she said. "Save me without 危険ing so much—without making love to Mrs. Bland!"
"Surely, if I can. There! I see Euchre coming with a woman."
"That's her. Oh, she mustn't see me with you."
"Wait—a moment," whispered Duane, as Jennie slipped indoors. "We've settled it. Don't forget. I'll find some way to get word to you, perhaps through Euchre. 一方／合間 keep up your courage. Remember I'll save you somehow. We'll try 戦略 first. Whatever you see or hear me do, don't think いっそう少なく of me—"
Jennie checked him with a gesture and a wonderful gray flash of 注目する，もくろむs.
"I'll bless you with every 減少（する） of 血 in my heart," she whispered, passionately.
It was only as she turned away into the room that Duane saw she was lame and that she wore Mexican sandals over 明らかにする feet.
He sat 負かす／撃墜する upon a （法廷の）裁判 on the porch and directed his attention to the approaching couple. The trees of the grove were 厚い enough for him to make reasonably sure that Mrs. Bland had not seen him talking to Jennie. When the 無法者's wife drew 近づく Duane saw that she was a tall, strong, 十分な-団体／死体d woman, rather good-looking with a fullblown, bold attractiveness. Duane was more 関心d with her 表現 than with her good looks; and as she appeared unsuspicious he felt relieved. The 状況／情勢 then took on a singular zest.
Euchre （機の）カム up on the porch and awkwardly introduced Duane to Mrs. Bland. She was young, probably not over twenty-five, and not やめる so prepossessing at の近くに 範囲. Her 注目する，もくろむs were large, rather 目だつ, and brown in color. Her mouth, too, was large, with the lips 十分な, and she had white teeth.
Duane took her proffered 手渡す and 発言／述べるd 率直に that he was glad to 会合，会う her.
Mrs. Bland appeared pleased; and her laugh, which followed, was loud and rather musical.
"Mr. Duane—Buck Duane, Euchre said, didn't he?" she asked.
"Buckley," 訂正するd Duane. "The 愛称's not of my choosing."
"I'm certainly glad to 会合，会う you, Buckley Duane," she said, as she took the seat Duane 申し込む／申し出d her. "Sorry to have been out. Kid Fuller's lying over at Deger's. You know he was 発射 last night. He's got fever to-day. When Bland's away I have to nurse all these 発射-up boys, and it sure takes my time. Have you been waiting here alone? Didn't see that slattern girl of 地雷?"
She gave him a sharp ちらりと見ること. The woman had an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の play of feature, Duane thought, and unless she was smiling was not pretty at all.
"I've been alone," replied Duane. "港／避難所't seen anybody but a sick-looking girl with a bucket. And she ran when she saw me."
"That was Jen," said Mrs. Bland. "She's the kid we keep here, and she sure hardly 支払う／賃金s her keep. Did Euchre tell you about her?"
"Now that I think of it, he did say something or other."
"What did he tell you about me?" bluntly asked Mrs. Bland.
"Wal, Kate," replied Euchre, speaking for himself, "you needn't worry 非，不，無, for I told Buck nothin' but compliments."
Evidently the 無法者's wife liked Euchre, for her keen ちらりと見ること 残り／休憩（する）d with amusement upon him.
"As for Jen, I'll tell you her story some day," went on the woman. "It's a ありふれた enough story along this river. Euchre here is a tender-hearted old fool, and Jen has taken him in."
"Wal, seein' as you've got me figgered 訂正する," replied Euchre, dryly, "I'll go in an' talk to Jennie if I may."
"Certainly. Go ahead. Jen calls you her best friend," said Mrs. Bland, amiably. "You're always fetching some Mexican stuff, and that's why, I guess."
When Euchre had shuffled into the house Mrs. Bland turned to Duane with curiosity and 利益／興味 in her gaze.
"Bland told me about you."
"What did he say?" queried Duane, in pretended alarm.
"Oh, you needn't think he's done you dirt Bland's not that 肉親，親類d of a man. He said: 'Kate, there's a young fellow in （軍の）野営地，陣営—棒 in here on the dodge. He's no 犯罪の, and he 辞退するd to join my 禁止（する）d. Wish he would. Slickest 手渡す with a gun I've seen for many a day! I'd like to see him and Chess 会合，会う out there in the road.' Then Bland went on to tell how you and Bosomer （機の）カム together."
"What did you say?" 問い合わせd Duane, as she paused.
"Me? Why, I asked him what you looked like," she replied, gayly.
"井戸／弁護士席?" went on Duane.
"Magnificent chap, Bland said. Bigger than any man in the valley. Just a 広大な／多数の／重要な blue-注目する，もくろむd sunburned boy!"
"Humph!" exclaimed Duane. "I'm sorry he led you to 推定する／予想する somebody 価値（がある） seeing."
"But I'm not disappointed," she returned, archly. "Duane, are you going to stay long here in （軍の）野営地，陣営?"
"Yes, till I run out of money and have to move. Why?"
Mrs. Bland's 直面する underwent one of the singular changes. The smiles and 紅潮／摘発するs and ちらりと見ることs, all that had been coquettish about her, had lent her a 確かな attractiveness, almost beauty and 青年. But with some powerful emotion she changed and 即時に became a woman of discontent, Duane imagined, of 深い, violent nature.
"I'll tell you, Duane," she said, 真面目に, "I'm sure glad if you mean to 企て，努力，提案 here awhile. I'm a 哀れな woman, Duane. I'm an 無法者's wife, and I hate him and the life I have to lead. I come of a good family in Brownsville. I never knew Bland was an 無法者 till long after he married me. We were separated at times, and I imagined he was away on 商売／仕事. But the truth （機の）カム out. Bland 発射 my own cousin, who told me. My family cast me off, and I had to 逃げる with Bland. I was only eighteen then. I've lived here since. I never see a decent woman or man. I never hear anything about my old home or folks or friends. I'm buried here—buried alive with a lot of thieves and 殺害者s. Can you 非難する me for 存在 glad to see a young fellow— a gentleman—like the boys I used to go with? I tell you it makes me feel 十分な—I want to cry. I'm sick for somebody to talk to. I have no children, thank God! If I had I'd not stay here. I'm sick of this 穴を開ける. I'm lonely—"
There appeared to be no 疑問 about the truth of all this. 本物の emotion checked, then 停止（させる）d the hurried speech. She broke 負かす／撃墜する and cried. It seemed strange to Duane that an 無法者's wife—and a woman who fitted her consort and the wild nature of their surroundings—should have 証拠不十分 enough to weep. Duane believed and pitied her.
"I'm sorry for you," he said.
"Don't be SORRY for me," she said. "That only makes me see the—the difference between you and me. And don't 支払う／賃金 any attention to what these 無法者s say about me. They're ignorant. They couldn't understand me. You'll hear that Bland killed men who ran after me. But that's a 嘘（をつく）. Bland, like all the other 無法者s along this river, is always looking for somebody to kill. He SWEARS not, but I don't believe him. He explains that gunplay gravitates to men who are the real thing—that it is 刺激するd by the four-紅潮／摘発するs, the bad men. I don't know. All I know is that somebody is 存在 killed every other day. He hated Spence before Spence ever saw me."
"Would Bland 反対する if I called on you occasionally?" 問い合わせd Duane.
"No, he wouldn't. He likes me to have friends. Ask him yourself when he comes 支援する. The trouble has been that two or three of his men fell in love with me, and when half drunk got to fighting. You're not going to do that."
"I'm not going to get half drunk, that's 確かな ," replied Duane.
He was surprised to see her 注目する，もくろむs dilate, then glow with 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Before she could reply Euchre returned to the porch, and that put an end to the conversation.
Duane was content to let the 事柄 残り／休憩（する） there, and had little more to say. Euchre and Mrs. Bland talked and joked, while Duane listened. He tried to form some 見積（る） of her character. Manifestly she had 苦しむd a wrong, if not worse, at Bland's 手渡すs. She was bitter, morbid, overemotional. If she was a liar, which seemed likely enough, she was a frank one, and believed herself. She had no cunning. The thing which struck Duane so 強制的に was that she かわきd for 尊敬（する）・点. In that, better than in her 証拠不十分 of vanity, he thought he had discovered a trait through which he could manage her.
Once, while he was 回転するing these thoughts, he happened to ちらりと見ること into the house, and 深い in the 影をつくる／尾行する of a corner he caught a pale gleam of Jennie's 直面する with 広大な／多数の／重要な, 星／主役にするing 注目する，もくろむs on him. She had been watching him, listening to what he said. He saw from her 表現 that she had realized what had been so hard for her to believe. Watching his chance, he flashed a look at her; and then it seemed to him the change in her 直面する was wonderful.
Later, after he had left Mrs. Bland with a meaning "Adios—manana," and was walking along beside the old 無法者, he 設立する himself thinking of the girl instead of the woman, and of how he had seen her 直面する 炎 with hope and 感謝.
THAT night Duane was not troubled by ghosts haunting his waking and sleeping hours. He awoke feeling 有望な and eager, and 感謝する to Euchre for having put something 価値（がある） while into his mind. During breakfast, however, he was 異常に thoughtful, working over the idea of how much or how little he would confide in the 無法者. He was aware of Euchre's scrutiny.
"Wal," began the old man, at last, "how'd you make out with the kid?"
"Kid?" 問い合わせd Duane, 試験的に.
"Jennie, I mean. What'd you An' she talk about?"
"We had a little 雑談（する）. You know you 手配中の，お尋ね者 me to 元気づける her up."
Euchre sat with coffee-cup 均衡を保った and 狭くする 注目する，もくろむs 熟考する／考慮するing Duane.
"Reckon you 元気づけるd her, all 権利. What I'm afeared of is mebbe you done the 職業 too 井戸／弁護士席."
"How so?"
"Wal, when I went in to Jen last night I thought she was half crazy. She was burstin' with excitement, an' the look in her 注目する，もくろむs 傷つける me. She wouldn't tell me a darn word you said. But she hung の上に my 手渡すs, an' showed every way without speakin' how she 手配中の，お尋ね者 to thank me fer bringin' you over. Buck, it was plain to me thet you'd either gone the 限界 or else you'd been kinder prodigal of 元気づける an' hope. I'd hate to think you'd led Jennie to hope more'n ever would come true."
Euchre paused, and, as there seemed no reply 来たるべき, he went on:
"Buck, I've seen some 無法者s whose word was good. 地雷 is. You can 信用 me. I 信用d you, didn't I, takin' you over there an' puttin' you wise to my tryin' to help thet poor kid?"
Thus enjoined by Euchre, Duane began to tell the conversations with Jennie and Mrs. Bland word for word. Long before he had reached an end Euchre 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する the coffee-cup and began to 星／主役にする, and at the 結論 of the story his 直面する lost some of its red color and beads of sweat stood out thickly on his brow.
"Wal, if thet doesn't 床に打ち倒す me!" he ejaculated, blinking at Duane. "Young man, I figgered you was some swift, an' sure to make your 示す on this river; but I reckon I 行方不明になるd your real caliber. So thet's what it means to be a man! I guess I'd forgot. Wal, I'm old, an' even if my heart was in the 権利 place I never was built fer big stunts. Do you know what it'll take to do all you 約束d Jen?"
"I 港／避難所't any idea," replied Duane, 厳粛に.
"You'll have to pull the wool over Kate Bland's 注目する，もくろむs, ant even if she 落ちるs in love with you, which's shore likely, thet won't be 平易な. An' she'd kill you in a minnit, Buck, if she ever got wise. You ain't mistaken her 非，不，無, are you?"
"Not me, Euchre. She's a woman. I'd 恐れる her more than any man."
"Wal, you'll have to kill Bland an' Chess Alloway an' Rugg, an' mebbe some others, before you can ride off into the hills with thet girl."
"Why? Can't we 計画（する） to be nice to Mrs. Bland and then at an opportune time こそこそ動く off without any gun-play?"
"Don't see how on earth," returned Euchre, 真面目に. "When Bland's away he leaves all 肉親，親類d of 秘かに調査するs an' scouts watchin' the valley 追跡するs. They've all got ライフル銃／探して盗むs. You couldn't git by them.
But when the boss is home there's a difference. Only, of course, him an' Chess keep their 注目する，もくろむs peeled. They both stay to home pretty much, except when they're playin' monte or poker over at Benson's. So I say the best bet is to 選ぶ out a good time in the afternoon, drift over careless-like with a couple of hosses, choke Mrs. Bland or knock her on the 長，率いる, take Jennie with you, an' make a 急ぐ to git out of the valley. If you had luck you might pull thet stunt without throwin' a gun. But I reckon the best figgerin' would 含む dodgin' some lead an' leavin' at least Bland or Alloway dead behind you. I'm figgerin', of course, thet when they come home an' find out you're visitin' Kate たびたび（訪れる） they'll jest 自然に look fer results. Chess don't like you, fer no 推論する／理由 except you're swift on the draw—mebbe swifter 'n him. Thet's the hell of this gun-play 商売／仕事. No one can ever tell who's the swifter of two gunmen till they 会合，会う. Thet fact 持つ／拘留するs a fascination mebbe you'll learn some day. Bland would 扱う／治療する you civil onless there was 推論する／理由 not to, an' then I don't believe he'd 招待する himself to a meetin' with you. He'd 始める，決める Chess or Rugg to put you out of the way. Still Bland's no coward, an' if you （機の）カム across him at a bad moment you'd have to be quicker 'n you was with Bosomer."
"All 権利. I'll 会合，会う what comes," said Duane, quickly. "The 広大な／多数の／重要な point is to have horses ready and 選ぶ the 権利 moment, then 急ぐ the trick through."
"Thet's the ONLY chance fer success. An' you can't do it alone."
"I'll have to. I wouldn't ask you to help me. Leave you behind!"
"Wal, I'll take my chances," replied Euchre, gruffly. "I'm goin' to help Jennie, you can 賭事 your last peso on thet. There's only four men in this （軍の）野営地，陣営 who would shoot me—Bland, an' his 権利-手渡す pards, an' thet rabbit-直面するd Benson. If you happened to put out Bland and Chess, I'd stand a good show with the other two. Anyway, I'm old an' tired—what's the difference if I do git plugged? I can 危険 as much as you, Buck, even if I am afraid of gun-play. You said 訂正する, 'Hosses ready, the 権利 minnit, then 急ぐ the trick.' Thet much 's settled. Now let's figger all the little 詳細（に述べる）s."
They talked and planned, though in truth it was Euchre who planned, Duane who listened and agreed. While を待つing the return of Bland and his 中尉／大尉／警部補s it would be 井戸／弁護士席 for Duane to grow friendly with the other 無法者s, to sit in a few games of monte, or show a 乗り気 to spend a little money. The two schemers were to call upon Mrs. Bland every day— Euchre to carry messages of 元気づける and 警告 to Jennie, Duane to blind the 年上の woman at any cost. These 予選s decided upon, they proceeded to put them into 活動／戦闘.
No hard 仕事 was it to 勝利，勝つ the friendship of the most of those good-natured 無法者s. They were used to men of a better order than theirs coming to the hidden （軍の）野営地，陣営s and sooner or later 沈むing to their lower level. Besides, with them everything was 平易な come, 平易な go. That was why life itself went on so carelessly and usually ended so cheaply. There were men の中で them, however, that made Duane feel that terrible inexplicable wrath rise in his breast. He could not 耐える to be 近づく them. He could not 信用 himself. He felt that any instant a word, a 行為, something might call too 深く，強烈に to that instinct he could no longer 支配（する）／統制する. Jackrabbit Benson was one of these men. Because of him and other 無法者s of his ilk Duane could scarcely ever forget the reality of things. This was a hidden valley, a robbers' den, a rendezvous for 殺害者s, a wild place stained red by 行為s of wild men. And because of that there was always a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d atmosphere. The merriest, idlest, most careless moment might in the flash of an 注目する，もくろむ end in ruthless and 悲劇の 活動／戦闘. In an assemblage of desperate characters it could not be さもなければ. The terrible thing that Duane sensed was this. The valley was beautiful, sunny, fragrant, a place to dream in; the mountaintops were always blue or gold rimmed, the yellow river slid slowly and majestically by, the birds sang in the cottonwoods, the horses grazed and pranced, children played and women longed for love, freedom, happiness; the 無法者s 棒 in and out, 解放する／自由な with money and speech; they lived comfortably in their adobe homes, smoked, 賭事d, talked, laughed, whiled away the idle hours—and all the time life there was wrong, and the simplest moment might be precipitated by that evil into the most awful of contrasts. Duane felt rather than saw a dark, brooding 影をつくる／尾行する over the valley.
Then, without any solicitation or 激励 from Duane, the Bland woman fell passionately in love with him. His 良心 was never troubled about the beginning of that 事件／事情／状勢. She 開始する，打ち上げるd herself. It took no 広大な／多数の／重要な perspicuity on his part to see that. And the thing which evidently held her in check was the newness, the strangeness, and for the moment the all-満足させるing fact of his 尊敬（する）・点 for her. Duane 発揮するd himself to please, to amuse, to 利益／興味, to fascinate her, and always with deference. That was his strong point, and it had made his part 平易な so far. He believed he could carry the whole 計画／陰謀 through without 伴う／関わるing himself any deeper.
He was playing at a game of love—playing with life and deaths いつかs he trembled, not that he 恐れるd Bland or Alloway or any other man, but at the 深いs of life he had come to see into. He was carried out of his old mood. Not once since this daring 動機 had stirred him had he been haunted by the phantom of Bain beside his bed. Rather had he been haunted by Jennie's sad 直面する, her wistful smile, her 注目する，もくろむs. He never was able to speak a word to her. What little communication he had with her was through Euchre, who carried short messages. But he caught glimpses of her every time he went to the Bland house. She contrived somehow to pass door or window, to give him a look when chance afforded. And Duane discovered with surprise that these moments were more thrilling to him than any with Mrs. Bland. Often Duane knew Jennie was sitting just inside the window, and then he felt 奮起させるd in his talk, and it was all made for her. So at least she （機の）カム to know him while as yet she was almost a stranger. Jennie had been 教えるd by Euchre to listen, to understand that this was Duane's only chance to help keep her mind from constant worry, to gather the 輸入する of every word which had a 二塁打 meaning.
Euchre said that the girl had begun to wither under the 緊張する, to 燃やす up with 激しい hope which had 炎上d within her. But all the difference Duane could see was a paler 直面する and darker, more wonderful 注目する，もくろむs. The 注目する，もくろむs seemed to be entreating him to hurry, that time was 飛行機で行くing, that soon it might be too late. Then there was another meaning in them, a light, a strange 解雇する／砲火／射撃 wholly inexplicable to Duane. It was only a flash gone in an instant. But he remembered it because he had never seen it in any other woman's 注目する，もくろむs. And all through those waiting days he knew that Jennie's 直面する, and 特に the warm, (n)艦隊／(a)素早いing ちらりと見ること she gave him, was 責任がある a subtle and 漸進的な change in him. This change he fancied, was only that through remembrance of her he got rid of his pale, sickening ghosts.
One day a careless Mexican threw a lighted cigarette up into the 小衝突 matting that served as a 天井 for Benson's den, and there was a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 which left little more than the adobe 塀で囲むs standing. The result was that while 修理s were 存在 made there was no 賭事ing and drinking. Time hung very ひどく on the 手渡すs of some two-得点する／非難する／２０ 無法者s. Days passed by without a brawl, and Bland's valley saw more 連続する hours of peace than ever before. Duane, however, 設立する the hours anything but empty. He spent more time at Mrs. Bland's; he walked miles on all the 追跡するs 主要な out of the valley; he had a care for the 条件 of his two horses.
Upon his return from the 最新の of these tramps Euchre 示唆するd that they go 負かす／撃墜する to the river to the boat-上陸.
"フェリー（で運ぶ） couldn't run 岸に this mornin'," said Euchre. "River gettin' low an' sand-妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s makin' it hard fer hosses. There's a greaser freight-wagon stuck in the mud. I reckon we might hear news from the 貨物船s. Bland's supposed to be in Mexico."
Nearly all the 無法者s in （軍の）野営地，陣営 were 組み立てる／集結するd on the riverbank, lolling in the shade of the cottonwoods. The heat was oppressive. Not an 無法者 申し込む／申し出d to help the 貨物船s, who were trying to dig a ひどく freighted wagon out of the quicksand. Few 無法者s would work for themselves, let alone for the despised Mexicans.
Duane and Euchre joined the lazy group and sat 負かす／撃墜する with them. Euchre lighted a 黒人／ボイコット 麻薬を吸う, and, 製図／抽選 his hat over his 注目する，もくろむs, lay 支援する in 慰安 after the manner of the 大多数 of the 無法者s. But Duane was 警報, 観察するing, thoughtful. He never 行方不明になるd anything. It was his belief that any moment an idle word might be of 利益 to him. Moreover, these rough men were always 利益／興味ing.
"Bland's been chased across the river," said one.
"New, he's deliverin' cattle to thet Cuban ship," replied another.
"Big 取引，協定 on, hey?"
"Some big. Rugg says the boss hed an order fer fifteen thousand."
"Say, that order'll take a year to fill."
"New. Hardin is in cahoots with Bland. Between 'em they'll fill orders bigger 'n thet."
"Wondered what Hardin was rustlin' in here fer."
Duane could not かもしれない …に出席する to all the conversation の中で the 無法者s. He 努力するd to get the drift of talk nearest to him.
"Kid Fuller's goin' to cash," said a sandy-whiskered little 無法者.
"So Jim was tellin' me. 血-毒（薬）, ain't it? Thet 穴を開ける wasn't bad. But he took the fever," 再結合させるd a comrade.
"Deger says the Kid might pull through if he hed nursin'."
"Wal, Kate Bland ain't nursin' any 発射-up boys these days. She hasn't got time."
A laugh followed this sally; then （機の）カム a 侵入するing silence. Some of the 無法者s ちらりと見ることd good-naturedly at Duane. They bore him no ill will. Manifestly they were aware of Mrs. Bland's infatuation.
"Pete, 'pears to me you've said thet before."
"Shore. Wal, it's happened before."
This 発言／述べる drew louder laughter and more 重要な ちらりと見ることs at Duane. He did not choose to ignore them any longer.
"Boys, poke all the fun you like at me, but don't について言及する any lady's 指名する again. My 手渡す is nervous and itchy these days."
He smiled as he spoke, and his speech was drawled; but the good humor in no wise 弱めるd it. Then his latter 発言／述べる was 重要な to a class of men who from inclination and necessity practiced at gun-製図／抽選 until they wore callous and sore places on their thumbs and inculcated in the very 深いs of their nervous organization a habit that made even the simplest and most innocent 動議 of the 手渡す end at or 近づく the hip. There was something remarkable about a gun-闘士，戦闘機's 手渡す. It never seemed to be gloved, never to be 負傷させるd, never out of sight or in an ぎこちない position.
There were grizzled 無法者s in that group, some of whom had many notches on their gun-扱うs, and they, with their comrades, （許可，名誉などを）与えるd Duane silence that carried 有罪の判決 of the regard in which he was held.
Duane could not 解任する any other instance where he had let 落ちる a familiar speech to these men, and certainly he had never before hinted of his 可能性s. He saw 即時に that he could not have done better.
"Orful hot, ain't it?" 発言／述べるd 法案 黒人／ボイコット, presently. 法案 could not keep 静かな for long. He was a typical Texas desperado, had never been anything else. He was stoop-shouldered and 屈服する-legged from much riding; a wiry little man, all muscle, with a square 長，率いる, a hard 直面する partly 黒人／ボイコット from scrubby 耐えるd and red from sun, and a 有望な, roving, cruel 注目する，もくろむ. His shirt was open at the neck, showing a grizzled breast.
"Is there any guy in this heah outfit sport enough to go swimmin'?" he asked.
"My Gawd, 法案, you ain't agoin' to wash!" exclaimed a comrade.
This raised a laugh in which 黒人／ボイコット joined. But no one seemed eager to join him in a bath.
"Laziest outfit I ever rustled with," went on 法案, discontentedly. "Nuthin' to do! Say, if nobody wants to swim maybe some of you'll 賭事?"
He produced a dirty pack of cards and waved them at the motionless （人が）群がる.
"法案, you're too good at cards," replied a lanky 無法者.
"Now, Jasper, you say thet powerful 甘い, an' you look 甘い, er I might take it to heart," replied 黒人／ボイコット, with a sudden change of トン.
Here it was again—that upflashing passion. What Jasper saw fit to reply would mollify the 無法者 or it would not. There was an even balance.
"No 罪／違反, 法案," said Jasper, placidly, without moving.
法案 grunted and forgot Jasper. But he seemed restless and 不満な. Duane knew him to be an inveterate gambler. And as Benson's place was out of running-order, 黒人／ボイコット was like a fish on 乾燥した，日照りの land.
"Wal, if you-all are afraid of the cairds, what will you bet on?" he asked, in disgust.
"法案, I'll play you a game of mumbly peg fer two bits." replied one.
黒人／ボイコット 熱望して 受託するd. Betting to him was a serious 事柄. The game obsessed him, not the 火刑／賭けるs. He entered into the mumbly peg contest with a thoughtful mien and a corded brow. He won. Other comrades tried their luck with him and lost. Finally, when 法案 had exhausted their 供給（する） of two-bit pieces or their 願望（する） for that particular game, he 申し込む／申し出d to bet on anything.
"See thet 海がめ-dove there?" he said, pointing. "I'll bet he'll 脅す at one 石／投石する or he won't. Five pesos he'll 飛行機で行く or he won't 飛行機で行く when some one chucks a 石／投石する. Who'll take me up?"
That appeared to be more than the 賭事ing spirit of several 無法者s could withstand.
"Take thet. 平易な money," said one.
"Who's goin' to chuck the 石／投石する?" asked another.
"Anybody," replied 法案.
"Wal, I'll bet you I can 脅す him with one 石／投石する," said the first 無法者.
"We're in on thet, Jim to 解雇する／砲火／射撃 the darnick," chimed in the others.
The money was put up, the 石／投石する thrown. The 海がめ-dove took flight, to the 広大な／多数の／重要な joy of all the 無法者s except 法案.
"I'll bet you-all he'll come 支援する to thet tree inside of five minnits," he 申し込む／申し出d, imperturbably.
Hereupon the 無法者s did not show any laziness in their alacrity to cover 法案's money as it lay on the grass. Somebody had a watch, and they all sat 負かす／撃墜する, dividing attention between the timepiece and the tree. The minutes dragged by to the accompaniment of さまざまな jocular 発言／述べるs anent a fool and his money. When four and three-４半期/4分の1 minutes had passed a 海がめ-dove alighted in the cottonwood. Then 続いて起こるd an impressive silence while 法案 calmly pocketed the fifty dollars.
"But it hadn't the same dove!" exclaimed one 無法者, excitedly. "This 'n'is smaller, dustier, not so purple."
法案 注目する，もくろむd the （衆議院の）議長 loftily.
"Wal, you'll have to ketch the other one to 証明する thet. Sabe, pard? Now I'll bet any gent heah the fifty I won thet I can 脅す thet dove with one 石／投石する."
No one 申し込む／申し出d to take his wager.
"Wal, then, I'll bet any of you even money thet you CAN'T 脅す him with one 石／投石する."
Not proof against this chance, the 無法者s made up a purse, in no wise disconcerted by 法案's contemptuous allusions to their banding together. The 石／投石する was thrown. The dove did not 飛行機で行く. Thereafter, in regard to that bird, 法案 was unable to 説得する or 軽蔑（する） his comrades into any 肉親，親類d of wager.
He tried them with a multiplicity of 申し込む／申し出s, and in vain. Then he appeared at a loss for some unusual and seductive wager. Presently a little ragged Mexican boy （機の）カム along the river 追跡する, a 特に 餓死するd and poor-looking little fellow. 法案 called to him and gave him a handful of silver coins. Speechless, dazed, he went his way hugging the money.
"I'll bet he 減少（する）s some before he gits to the road," 宣言するd 法案. "I'll bet he runs. Hurry, you four-紅潮／摘発する gamblers."
法案 failed to 利益／興味 any of his companions, and forthwith became sullen and silent. Strangely his good humor 出発／死d in spite of the fact that he had won かなりの.
Duane, watching the disgruntled 無法者, marveled at him and wondered what was in his mind. These men were more variable than children, as 安定性のない as water, as dangerous as dynamite.
"法案, I'll bet you ten you can't 流出／こぼす whatever's in the bucket thet peon's packin'," said the 無法者 called Jim.
黒人／ボイコット's 長，率いる （機の）カム up with the 活動／戦闘 of a 強硬派 about to 急襲する.
Duane ちらりと見ることd from 黒人／ボイコット to the road, where he saw a 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd peon carrying a tin bucket toward the river. This peon was a half-witted Indian who lived in a shack and did 半端物 職業s for the Mexicans. Duane had met him often.
"Jim, I'll take you up," replied 黒人／ボイコット.
Something, perhaps a harshness in his 発言する／表明する, 原因（となる）d Duane to whirl. He caught a leaping gleam in the 無法者's 注目する，もくろむ.
"Aw, 法案, thet's too fur a 発射," said Jasper, as 黒人／ボイコット 残り／休憩（する）d an 肘 on his 膝 and sighted over the long, 激しい Colt. The distance to the peon was about fifty paces, too far for even the most 専門家 発射 to 攻撃する，衝突する a moving 反対する so small as a bucket.
Duane, marvelously keen in the alignment of sights, was 肯定的な that 黒人／ボイコット held too high. Another look at the hard 直面する, now 緊張した and dark with 血, 確認するd Duane's 疑惑 that the 無法者 was not 目的（とする）ing at the bucket at all. Duane leaped and struck the leveled gun out of his 手渡す. Another 無法者 選ぶd it up.
黒人／ボイコット fell 支援する astounded. 奪うd of his 武器, he did not seem the same man, or else he was cowed by Duane's 重要な and formidable 前線. Sullenly he turned away without even asking for his gun.
WHAT a contrast, Duane thought, the evening of that day 現在のd to the 明言する／公表する of his soul!
The sunset ぐずぐず残るd in golden glory over the distant Mexican mountains; twilight （機の）カム slowly; a faint 微風 blew from the river 冷静な／正味の and 甘い; the late cooing of a dove and the tinkle of a cowbell were the only sounds; a serene and tranquil peace lay over the valley.
Inside Duane's 団体／死体 there was 争い. This third 直面するing of a desperate man had thrown him off his balance. It had not been 致命的な, but it 脅すd so much. The better 味方する of his nature seemed to 勧める him to die rather than to go on fighting or …に反対するing ignorant, unfortunate, savage men. But the perversity of him was so 広大な／多数の／重要な that it dwarfed 推論する／理由, 良心. He could not resist it. He felt something dying in him. He 苦しむd. Hope seemed far away. Despair had 掴むd upon him and was 運動ing him into a 無謀な mood when he thought of Jennie.
He had forgotten her. He had forgotten that he had 約束d to save her. He had forgotten that he meant to 消す out as many lives as might stand between her and freedom. The very remembrance sheered off his morbid introspection. She made a difference. How strange for him to realize that! He felt 感謝する to her. He had been 軍隊d into outlawry; she had been stolen from her people and carried into 捕らわれた. They had met in the river fastness, he to instil hope into her despairing life, she to be the means, perhaps, of keeping him from 沈むing to the level of her captors. He became conscious of a strong and （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing 願望（する） to see her, talk with her.
These thoughts had run through his mind while on his way to Mrs. Bland's house. He had let Euchre go on ahead because he 手配中の，お尋ね者 more time to compose himself. 不明瞭 had about 始める，決める in when he reached his 目的地. There was no light in the house. Mrs. Bland was waiting for him on the porch.
She embraced him, and the sudden, violent, unfamiliar 接触する sent such a shock through him that he all but forgot the 深い game he was playing. She, however, in her agitation did not notice his 縮むing. From her embrace and the tender, incoherent words that flowed with it he gathered that Euchre had 熟知させるd her of his 活動／戦闘 with 黒人／ボイコット.
"He might have killed your" she whispered, more 明確に; and if Duane had ever heard love in a 発言する／表明する he heard it then. It 軟化するd him. After all, she was a woman, weak, 運命／宿命d through her nature, unfortunate in her experience of life, doomed to unhappiness and 悲劇. He met her 前進する so far that he returned the embrace and kissed her. Emotion such as she showed would have made any woman 甘い, and she had a 確かな charm. It was 平易な, even pleasant, to kiss her; but Duane 解決するd that, whatever her abandonment might become, he would not go その上の than the 嘘（をつく） she made him 行為／法令／行動する.
"Buck, you love me?" she whispered.
"Yes—yes," he burst out, eager to get it over, and even as he spoke he caught the pale gleam of Jennie's 直面する through the window. He felt a shame he was glad she could not see. Did she remember that she had 約束d not to misunderstand any 活動／戦闘 of his? What did she think of him, seeing him out there in the dusk with this bold woman in his 武器? Somehow that 薄暗い sight of Jennie's pale 直面する, the big dark 注目する，もくろむs, thrilled him, 奮起させるd him to his hard 仕事 of the 現在の.
"Listen, dear," he said to the woman, and he meant his words for the girl. "I'm going to take you away from this 無法者 den if I have to kill Bland, Alloway, Rugg—anybody who stands in my path. You were dragged here. You are good—I know it. There's happiness for you somewhere—a home の中で good people who will care for you. Just wait till—"
His 発言する／表明する 追跡するd off and failed from 超過 of emotion. Kate Bland の近くにd her 注目する，もくろむs and leaned her 長，率いる on his breast. Duane felt her heart （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 against his, and 良心 smote him a keen blow. If she loved him so much! But memory and understanding of her character 常習的な him again, and he gave her such commiseration as was 予定 her sex, and no more.
"Boy, that's good of you," she whispered, "but it's too late. I'm done for. I can't leave Bland. All I ask is that you love me a little and stop your gun-throwing."
The moon had risen over the eastern bulge of dark mountain, and now the valley was flooded with mellow light, and 影をつくる／尾行するs of cottonwoods wavered against the silver.
Suddenly the clip-clop, clip-clop of hoofs 原因（となる）d Duane to raise his 長，率いる and listen. Horses were coming 負かす／撃墜する the road from the 長，率いる of the valley. The hour was unusual for riders to come in. Presently the 狭くする, moonlit 小道／航路 was crossed at its far end by 黒人／ボイコット moving 反対するs. Two horses Duane discerned.
"It's Bland!" whispered the woman, しっかり掴むing Duane with shaking 手渡すs. "You must run! No, he'd see you. That 'd be worse. It's Bland! I know his horse's trot."
"But you said he wouldn't mind my calling here," 抗議するd Duane. "Euchre's with me. It'll be all 権利."
"Maybe so," she replied, with 明白な 成果／努力 at self-支配（する）／統制する. Manifestly she had a 広大な／多数の／重要な 恐れる of Bland. "If I could only think!"
Then she dragged Duane to the door, 押し進めるd him in.
"Euchre, come out with me! Duane, you stay with the girl! I'll tell Bland you're in love with her. Jen, if you give us away I'll wring your neck."
The swift 活動／戦闘 and 猛烈な／残忍な whisper told Duane that Mrs. Bland was herself again. Duane stepped の近くに to Jennie, who stood 近づく the window. Neither spoke, but her 手渡すs were outstretched to 会合，会う his own. They were small, trembling 手渡すs, 冷淡な as ice. He held them の近くに, trying to 伝える what he felt—that he would 保護する her. She leaned against him, and they looked out of the window. Duane felt 静める and sure of himself. His most pronounced feeling besides that for the 脅すd girl was a curiosity as to how Mrs. Bland would rise to the occasion. He saw the riders dismount 負かす／撃墜する the 小道／航路 and wearily come 今後. A boy led away the horses. Euchre, the old fox, was talking loud and with remarkable 緩和する, considering what he （人命などを）奪う，主張するd was his natural cowardice.
"—that was way 支援する in the sixties, about the time of the war," he was 説. "Rustlin' cattle wasn't nuthin' then to what it is now. An' times is rougher these days. This gun-throwin' has come to be a 病気. Men have an itch for the draw same as they used to have fer poker. The only real gambler outside of greasers we ever had here was 法案, an' I 推定する 法案 is burnin' now."
The approaching 無法者s, 審理，公聴会 発言する／表明するs, 停止（させる）d a 棒 or so from the porch. Then Mrs. Bland uttered an exclamation, 表面上は meant to 表明する surprise, and hurried out to 会合，会う them. She 迎える／歓迎するd her husband 温かく and gave welcome to the other man. Duane could not see 井戸／弁護士席 enough in the 影をつくる／尾行する to 認める Bland's companion, but he believed it was Alloway.
"Dog-tired we are and 餓死するd," said Bland, ひどく. "Who's here with you?"
"That's Euchre on the porch. Duane is inside at the window with Jen," replied Mrs. Bland.
"Duane!" he exclaimed. Then he whispered low—something Duane could not catch.
"Why, I asked him to come," said the 長，指導者's wife. She spoke easily and 自然に and made no change in トン. "Jen has been 病んでいる. She gets thinner and whiter every day. Duane （機の）カム here one day with Euchre, saw Jen, and went loony over her pretty 直面する, same as all you men. So I let him come."
Bland 悪口を言う／悪態d low and 深い under his breath. The other man made a violent 活動／戦闘 of some 肉親，親類d and 明らかに was 静かなd by a 抑制するing 手渡す.
"Kate, you let Duane make love to Jennie?" queried Bland, incredulously.
"Yes, I did," replied the wife, stubbornly. "Why not? Jen's in love with him. If he takes her away and marries her she can be a decent woman."
Bland kept silent a moment, then his laugh pealed out loud and 厳しい.
"Chess, did you get that? 井戸／弁護士席, by God! what do you think of my wife?"
"She's lyin' or she's crazy," replied Alloway, and his 発言する／表明する carried an unpleasant （犯罪の）一味.
Mrs. Bland 敏速に and indignantly told her husband's 中尉／大尉／警部補 to keep his mouth shut.
"売春婦, 売春婦, 売春婦!" rolled out Bland's laugh.
Then he led the way to the porch, his 刺激（する）s clinking, the 武器s he was carrying 動揺させるing, and he flopped 負かす／撃墜する on a （法廷の）裁判.
"How are you, boss?" asked Euchre.
"Hello, old man. I'm 井戸／弁護士席, but all in."
Alloway slowly walked on to the porch and leaned against the rail. He answered Euchre's 迎える／歓迎するing with a nod. Then he stood there a dark, silent 人物／姿／数字.
Mrs. Bland's 十分な 発言する／表明する in eager 尋問 had a 傾向 to 緩和する the 状況／情勢. Bland replied 簡潔に to her, 報告（する）／憶測ing a remarkably successful trip.
Duane thought it time to show himself. He had a feeling that Bland and Alloway would let him go for the moment. They were plainly 非，不，無-plussed, and Alloway seemed sullen, brooding. "Jennie," whispered Duane, "that was clever of Mrs. Bland. We'll keep up the deception. Any day now be ready!"
She 圧力（をかける）d の近くに to him, and a barely audible "Hurry!" （機の）カム breathing into his ear.
"Good night, Jennie," he said, aloud. "Hope you feel better to-morrow."
Then he stepped out into the moonlight and spoke. Bland returned the 迎える／歓迎するing, and, though he was not amiable, he did not show 憤慨.
"Met Jasper as I 棒 in," said Bland, presently. "He told me you made 法案 黒人／ボイコット mad, and there's liable to be a fight. What did you go off the 扱う about?"
Duane explained the 出来事/事件. "I'm sorry I happened to be there," he went on. "It wasn't my 商売／仕事."
"Scurvy trick that 'd been," muttered Bland. "You did 権利. All the same, Duane, I want you to stop quarreling with my men. If you were one of us —that'd be different. I can't keep my men from fighting. But I'm not called on to let an 部外者 hang around my （軍の）野営地，陣営 and plug my rustlers."
"I guess I'll have to be hitting the 追跡する for somewhere," said Duane.
"Why not join my 禁止（する）d? You've got a bad start already, Duane, and if I know this 国境 you'll never be a respectable 国民 again. You're a born 殺し屋. I know every bad man on this frontier. More than one of them have told me that something 爆発するd in their brain, and when sense （機の）カム 支援する there lay another dead man. It's not so with me. I've done a little 狙撃, too, but I never 手配中の，お尋ね者 to kill another man just to rid myself of the last one. My dead men don't sit on my chest at night. That's the gun-闘士，戦闘機's trouble. He's crazy. He has to kill a new man—he's driven to it to forget the last one."
"But I'm no gun-闘士，戦闘機," 抗議するd Duane. "Circumstances made me —"
"No 疑問," interrupted Bland, with a laugh. "Circumstances made me a rustler. You don't know yourself. You're young; you've got a temper; your father was one of the most dangerous men Texas ever had. I don't see any other career for you. Instead of going it alone—a 孤独な wolf, as the Texans say—why not make friends with other 無法者s? You'll live longer."
Euchre squirmed in his seat.
"Boss, I've been givin' the boy egzactly thet same line of talk. Thet's why I took him in to bunk with me. If he makes pards の中で us there won't be any more trouble. An' he'd be a grand feller fer the ギャング（団）. I've seen Wild 法案 Hickok throw a gun, an' Billy the Kid, an' Hardin, an' Chess here —all the fastest men on the 国境. An' with 陳謝s to 現在の company, I'm here to say Duane has them all skinned. His draw is different. You can't see how he does it."
Euchre's admiring 賞賛する served to create an 効果的な little silence. Alloway 転換d uneasily on his feet, his 刺激（する）s jangling faintly, and did not 解除する his 長，率いる. Bland seemed thoughtful.
"That's about the only 資格 I have to make me 適格の for your 禁止（する）d," said Duane, easily.
"It's good enough," replied Bland, すぐに. "Will you consider the idea?"
"I'll think it over. Good night."
He left the group, followed by Euchre. When they reached the end of the 小道／航路, and before they had 交流d a word, Bland called Euchre 支援する. Duane proceeded slowly along the moonlit road to the cabin and sat 負かす／撃墜する under the cottonwoods to wait for Euchre. The night was 激しい and 静かな, a low hum of insects giving the 影響 of a congestion of life. The beauty of the 急に上がるing moon, the ebony canons of 影をつくる／尾行する under the mountain, the melancholy serenity of the perfect night, made Duane shudder in the 現実化 of how far aloof he now was from enjoyment of these things. Never again so long as he lived could he be natural. His mind was clouded. His 注目する，もくろむ and ear henceforth must 登録（する） impressions of nature, but the joy of them had fled.
Still, as he sat there with a foreboding of more and darker work ahead of him there was yet a strange sweetness left to him, and it lay in thought of Jennie. The 圧力 of her 冷淡な little 手渡すs ぐずぐず残るd in his. He did not think of her as a woman, and he did not 分析する his feelings. He just had vague, dreamy thoughts and imaginations that were interspersed in the constant and 厳しい 回転するing of 計画（する）s to save her.
A shuffling step roused him. Euchre's dark 人物／姿／数字 （機の）カム crossing the moonlit grass under the cottonwoods. The moment the 無法者 reached him Duane saw that he was laboring under 広大な／多数の／重要な excitement. It scarcely 影響する／感情d Duane. He seemed to be acquiring patience, calmness, strength.
"Bland kept you pretty long," he said.
"Wait till I git my breath," replied Euchre. He sat silent a little while, fanning himself with a sombrero, though the night was 冷静な／正味の, and then he went into the cabin to return presently with a lighted 麻薬を吸う.
"罰金 night," he said; and his トン その上の 熟知させるd Duane with Euchre's quaint humor. "罰金 night for love-事件／事情／状勢s, by gum!"
"I'd noticed that," 再結合させるd Duane, dryly.
"Wal, I'm a son of a gun if I didn't stand an' watch Bland choke his wife till her tongue stuck out an' she got 黒人／ボイコット in the 直面する."
"No!" ejaculated Duane.
"Hope to die if I didn't. Buck, listen to this here yarn. When I got 支援する to the porch I seen Bland was wakin' up. He'd been too fagged out to figger much. Alloway an' Kate had gone in the house, where they lit up the lamps. I heard Kate's high 発言する／表明する, but Alloway never chirped. He's not the talkin' 肉親，親類d, an' he's damn dangerous when he's thet way. Bland asked me some questions 権利 from the shoulder. I was ready for them, an' I swore the moon was green cheese. He was 満足させるd. Bland always 信用d me, an' liked me, too, I reckon. I hated to 嘘（をつく） 黒人／ボイコット thet way. But he's a hard man with bad 意向s toward Jennie, an' I'd 二塁打-cross him any day.
"Then we went into the house. Jennie had gone to her little room, an' Bland called her to come out. She said she was undressin'. An' he ordered her to put her 着せる／賦与するs 支援する on. Then, Buck, his next move was some surprisin'. He deliberately thronged a gun on Kate. Yes sir, he pointed his big blue Colt 権利 at her, an' he says:
"'I've a mind to blow out your brains.'
"'Go ahead,' says Kate, 冷静な／正味の as could be.
"'You lied to me,' he roars.
"Kate laughed in his 直面する. Bland slammed the gun 負かす／撃墜する an' made a 得る，とらえる fer her. She fought him, but wasn't a match fer him, an' he got her by the throat. He choked her till I thought she was strangled. Alloway made him stop. She flopped 負かす／撃墜する on the bed an' gasped fer a while. When she come to them hardshelled cusses went after her, trying to make her give herself away. I think Bland was jealous. He 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd she'd got 厚い with you an' was foolin' him. I reckon thet's a sore feelin' fer a man to have—to guess pretty nice, but not to BE sure. Bland gave it up after a while. An' then he cussed an' raved at her. One sayin' of his is 価値（がある） pinnin' in your sombrero: 'It ain't nuthin' to kill a man. I don't need much fer thet. But I want to KNOW, you hussy!'
"Then he went in an' dragged poor Jen out. She'd had time to dress. He was so mad he 傷つける her sore 脚. You know Jen got thet 傷害 fightin' off one of them devils in the dark. An' when I seen Bland 新たな展開 her—傷つける her —I had a queer hot feelin' 深い 負かす／撃墜する in me, an' fer the only time in my life I wished I was a gun-闘士，戦闘機.
"Wal, Jen amazed me. She was whiter'n a sheet, an' her 注目する，もくろむs were big and stary, but she had 神経. Fust time I ever seen her show any.
"'Jennie,' he said, 'my wife said Duane （機の）カム here to see you. I believe she's lyin'. I think she's been carryin' on with him, an' I want to KNOW. If she's been an' you tell me the truth I'll let you go. I'll send you out to Huntsville, where you can communicate with your friends. I'll give you money.'
"Thet must hev been a hell of a minnit fer Kate Bland. If evet I seen death in a man's 注目する，もくろむ I seen it in Bland's. He loves her. Thet's the strange part of it.
"'Has Duane been comin' here to see my wife?' Bland asked, 猛烈な／残忍な-like.
"'No,' said Jennie.
"'He's been after you?'
"'Yes.'
"'He has fallen in love with you? Kate said thet.'
"'I—I'm not—I don't know—he hasn't told me.'
"'But you're in love with him?'
"'Yes,' she said; an', Buck, if you only could have seen her! She thronged up her 長，率いる, an' her 注目する，もくろむs were 十分な of 解雇する／砲火／射撃. Bland seemed dazed at sight of her. An' Alloway, why, thet little skunk of an 無法者 cried 権利 out. He was 攻撃する，衝突する plumb 中心. He's in love with Jen. An' the look of her then was enough to make any feller やめる. He jest slunk out of the room. I told you, mebbe, thet he'd been tryin' to git Bland to marry Jen to him. So even a 堅い like Alloway can love a woman!
"Bland stamped up an' 負かす／撃墜する the room. He sure was dyin' hard.
"'Jennie,' he said, once more turnin' to her. 'You 断言する in 恐れる of your life thet you're tellin' truth. Kate's not in love with Duane? She's let him come to see you? There's been nuthin' between them?'
"'No. I 断言する,' answered Jennie; an' Bland sat 負かす／撃墜する like a man licked.
"'Go to bed, you white-直面するd—' Bland choked on some word or other —a bad one, I reckon—an' he 前向きに／確かに shook in his 議長，司会を務める.
"Jennie went then, an' Kate began to have hysterics. An' your Uncle Euchre ducked his nut out of the door an' come home."
Duane did not have a word to say at the end of Euchre's long harangue. He experienced 救済. As a 事柄 of fact, he had 推定する／予想するd a good 取引，協定 worse. He thrilled at the thought of Jennie perjuring herself to save that abandoned woman. What mysteries these feminine creatures were!
"Wal, there's where our little 取引，協定 stands now," 再開するd Euchre, meditatively. "You know, Buck, 同様に as me thet if you'd been some feller who hadn't shown he was a wonder with a gun you'd now be 十分な of lead. If you'd happen to kill Bland an' Alloway, I reckon you'd be as 安全な on this here 国境 as you would in Santone. Such is gun fame in this land of the draw."
BOTH men were awake 早期に, silent with the premonition of trouble ahead, thoughtful of the fact that the time for the long-planned 活動／戦闘 was at 手渡す. It was remarkable that a man as loquacious as Euchre could 持つ／拘留する his tongue so long; and this was 重要な of the deadly nature of the ーするつもりであるd 行為. During breakfast he said a few words customary in the service of food. At the 結論 of the meal he seemed to come to an end of 審議.
"Buck, the sooner the better now," he 宣言するd, with a glint in his 注目する，もくろむ. "The more time we use up now the いっそう少なく surprised Bland'll be."
"I'm ready when you are," replied Duane, 静かに, and he rose from the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する.
"Wal, saddle up, then," went on Euchre, gruffly. "Tie on them two packs I made, one fer each saddle. You can't tell—mebbe either hoss will be carryin' 二塁打. It's good they're both big, strong hosses. Guess thet wasn't a wise move of your Uncle Euchre's—bringin' in your hosses an' havin' them ready?"
"Euchre, I hope you're not going to get in bad here. I'm afraid you are. Let me do the 残り／休憩（する） now," said Duane.
The old 無法者 注目する，もくろむd him sarcastically.
"Thet 'd be turrible now, wouldn't it? If you want to know, why, I'm in bad already. I didn't tell you thet Alloway called me last night. He's gettin' wise pretty quick."
"Euchre, you're going with me?" queried Duane, suddenly divining the truth. '
"Wal, I reckon. Either to hell or 安全な over the mountain! I wisht I was a gun-闘士，戦闘機. I hate to leave here without takin' a peg at Jackrabbit Benson. Now, Buck, you do some hard figgerin' while I go nosin' 一連の会議、交渉／完成する. It's pretty 早期に, which 's all the better."
Euchre put on his sombrero, and as he went out Duane saw that he wore a gun-and-cartridge belt. It was the first time Duane had ever seen the 無法者 武装した.
Duane packed his few 所持品 into his saddlebags, and then carried the saddles out to the corral. An 豊富 of alfalfa in the corral showed that the horses had fared 井戸／弁護士席. They had gotten almost fat during his stay in the valley. He watered them, put on the saddles loosely cinched, and then the bridles. His next move was to fill the two canvas water-瓶／封じ込めるs. That done, he returned to the cabin to wait.
At the moment he felt no excitement or agitation of any 肉親，親類d. There was no more thinking and planning to do. The hour had arrived, and he was ready. He understood perfectly the desperate chances he must take. His thoughts became 限定するd to Euchre and the surprising 忠義 and goodness in the 常習的な old 無法者. Time passed slowly. Duane kept ちらりと見ることing at his watch. He hoped to start the thing and get away before the 無法者s were out of their beds. Finally he heard the shuffle of Euchre's boots on the hard path. The sound was quicker than usual.
When Euchre （機の）カム around the corner of the cabin Duane was not so astounded as he was 関心d to see the 無法者 white and shaking. Sweat dripped from him. He had a wild look.
"Luck ours—so-fur, Buck!" he panted.
"You don't look it," replied Duane.
"I'm turrible sick. Jest killed a man. Fust one I ever killed!"
"Who?" asked Duane, startled.
"Jackrabbit Benson. An' sick as I am, I'm gloryin' in it. I went nosin' 一連の会議、交渉／完成する up the road. Saw Alloway goin' into Deger's. He's 厚い with the Degers. Reckon he's askin' questions. Anyway, I was sure glad to see him away from Bland's. An' he didn't see me. When I dropped into Benson's there wasn't nobody there but Jackrabbit an' some greasers he was startin' to work. Benson never had no use fer me. An' he up an' said he wouldn't give a two-bit piece fer my life. I asked him why.
"'You're 二塁打-crossin' the boss an' Chess,' he said.
"'Jack, what 'd you give fer your own life?' I asked him.
"He straightened up surprised an' mean-lookin'. An' I let him have it, plumb 中心! He wilted, an' the greasers run. I reckon I'll never sleep again. But I had to do it."
Duane asked if the 発射 had attracted any attention outside.
"I didn't see anybody but the greasers, an' I sure looked sharp. Comin' 支援する I 削減（する） across through the cottonwoods past Bland's cabin. I meant to keep out of sight, but somehow I had an idee I might find out if Bland was awake yet. Sure enough I run plumb into Beppo, the boy who tends Bland's hosses. Beppo likes me. An' when I 問い合わせd of his boss he said Bland had been up all night fightin' with the Senora. An', Buck, here's how I figger. Bland couldn't let up last night. He was sore, an' he went after Kate again, tryin' to wear her 負かす／撃墜する. Jest as likely he might have went after Jennie, with wuss 意向s. Anyway, he an' Kate must have had it hot an' 激しい. We're pretty lucky."
"It seems so. 井戸／弁護士席, I'm going," said Duane, tersely.
"Lucky! I should smiler Bland's been up all night after a most draggin' ride home. He'll be fagged out this mornin', sleepy, sore, an' he won't be expectin' hell before breakfast. Now, you walk over to his house. 会合，会う him how you like. Thet's your game. But I'm suggestin', if he comes out an' you want to 交渉，会談, you can jest say you'd thought over his proposition an' was ready to join his 禁止（する）d, or you ain't. You'll have to kill him, an' it 'd save time to go fer your gun on sight. Might be wise, too, fer it's likely he'll do thet same."
"How about the horses?"
"I'll fetch them an' come along about two minnits behind you. 'Pears to me you せねばならない have the 職業 done an' Jennie outside by the time I git there. Once on them hosses, we can ride out of （軍の）野営地，陣営 before Alloway or anybody else gits into 活動／戦闘. Jennie ain't much heavier than a rabbit. Thet big 黒人／ボイコット will carry you both."
"All 権利. But once more let me 説得する you to stay—not to mix any more in this," said Duane, 真面目に.
"Nope. I'm goin'. You heard what Benson told me. Alloway wouldn't give me the 利益 of any 疑問s. Buck, a last word—look out fer thet Bland woman!"
Duane 単に nodded, and then, 説 that the horses were ready, he strode away through the grove. Accounting for the short 削減（する） across grove and field, it was about five minutes' walk up to Bland's house. To Duane it seemed long in time and distance, and he had difficulty in 抑制するing his pace. As he walked there （機の）カム a 漸進的な and subtle change in his feelings. Again he was going out to 会合，会う a man in 衝突. He could have 避けるd this 会合. But にもかかわらず the fact of his 法廷，裁判所ing the 遭遇（する） he had not as yet felt that hot, inexplicable 急ぐ of 血. The 動機 of this deadly 活動／戦闘 was not personal, and somehow that made a difference.
No 無法者s were in sight. He saw several Mexican herders with cattle. Blue columns of smoke curled up over some of the cabins. The fragrant smell of it reminded Duane of his home and cutting 支持を得ようと努めるd for the stove. He 公式文書，認めるd a cloud of creamy もや rising above the river, 解散させるing in the sunlight.
Then he entered Bland's 小道／航路.
While yet some distance from the cabin he heard loud, angry 発言する／表明するs of man and woman. Bland and Kate still quarreling! He took a quick 調査する of the surroundings. There was now not even a Mexican in sight. Then he hurried a little. Halfway 負かす／撃墜する the 小道／航路 he turned his 長，率いる to peer through the cottonwoods. This time he saw Euchre coming with the horses. There was no 指示，表示する物 that the old 無法者 might lose his 神経 at the end. Duane had 恐れるd this.
Duane now changed his walk to a leisurely saunter. He reached the porch and then distinguished what was said inside the cabin.
"If you do, Bland, by Heaven I'll 直す／買収する，八百長をする you and her!" That was panted out in Kate Bland's 十分な 発言する／表明する.
"Let me looser I'm going in there, I tell you!" replied Bland, hoarsely.
"What for?"
"I want to make a little love to her. Ha! ha! It'll be fun to have the laugh on her new lover."
"You 嘘（をつく）!" cried Kate Bland.
"I'm not 説 what I'll do to her AFTERWARD!" His 発言する／表明する grew hoarser with passion. "Let me go now!"
"No! no! I won't let you go. You'll choke the—the truth out of her —you'll kill her."
"The TRUTH!" hissed Bland.
"Yes. I lied. Jen lied. But she lied to save me. You needn't— 殺人 her—for that."
Bland 悪口を言う／悪態d horribly. Then followed a 格闘するing sound of 団体／死体s in violent 緊張するing 接触する—the 捨てる of feet—the jangle of 刺激（する）s—a 衝突，墜落 of 事情に応じて変わる （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する or 議長，司会を務める, and then the cry of a woman in 苦痛.
Duane stepped into the open door, inside the room. Kate Bland lay half across a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する where she had been flung, and she was trying to get to her feet. Bland's 支援する was turned. He had opened the door into Jennie's room and had one foot across the threshold. Duane caught the girl's low, shuddering cry. Then he called out loud and （疑いを）晴らす.
With cat-like swiftness Bland wheeled, then froze on the threshold. His sight, quick as his 活動／戦闘, caught Duane's 脅迫的な unmistakable position.
Bland's big でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる filled the door. He was in a bad place to reach for his gun. But he would not have time for a step. Duane read in his 注目する，もくろむs the desperate 計算／見積り of chances. For a (n)艦隊／(a)素早いing instant Bland 転換d his ちらりと見ること to his wife. Then his whole 団体／死体 seemed to vibrate with the swing of his arm.
Duane 発射 him. He fell 今後, his gun 爆発するing as it 攻撃する，衝突する into the 床に打ち倒す, and dropped loose from stretching fingers. Duane stood over him, stooped to turn him on his 支援する. Bland looked up with clouded gaze, then gasped his last.
"Duane, you've killed him!" cried Kate Bland, huskily. "I knew you'd have to!"
She staggered against the 塀で囲む, her 注目する，もくろむs dilating, her strong 手渡すs clenching, her 直面する slowly whitening. She appeared shocked, half stunned, but showed no grief.
"Jennie!" called Duane, はっきりと.
"Oh—Duane!" （機の）カム a 停止（させる）ing reply.
"Yes. Come out. Hurry!"
She （機の）カム out with uneven steps, seeing only him, and she つまずくd over Bland's 団体／死体. Duane caught her arm, swung her behind him. He 恐れるd the woman when she realized how she had been duped. His 活動／戦闘 was 保護の, and his movement toward the door 平等に as 重要な.
"Duane," cried Mrs. Bland.
It was no time for talk. Duane 辛勝する／優位d on, keeping Jennie behind him. At that moment there was a 続けざまに猛撃するing of アイロンをかける-shod hoofs out in the 小道／航路. Kate Bland bounded to the door. When she turned 支援する her amazement was changing to 現実化.
"Where 're you taking Jen?" she cried, her 発言する／表明する like a man's. "Get out of my way," replied Duane. His look perhaps, without speech, was enough for her. In an instant she was transformed into a fury.
"You hound! All the time you were fooling me! You made love to me! You let me believe—you swore you loved me! Now I see what was queer about you. All for that girl! But you can't have her. You'll never leave here alive. Give me that girl! Let me—get at her! She'll never 勝利，勝つ any more men in this （軍の）野営地，陣営."
She was a powerful woman, and it took all Duane's strength to 区 off her 猛攻撃s. She clawed at Jennie over his upheld arm. Every second her fury 増加するd.
"HELP! HELP! HELP!" she shrieked, in a 発言する／表明する that must have 侵入するd to the remotest cabin in the valley.
"Let go! Let go!" cried Duane, low and sharp. He still held his gun in his 権利 手渡す, and it began to be hard for him to 区 the woman off. His coolness had gone with her shriek for help. "Let go!" he repeated, and he 押すd her ひどく.
Suddenly she snatched a ライフル銃／探して盗む off the 塀で囲む and 支援するd away, her strong 手渡すs fumbling at the lever. As she jerked it 負かす／撃墜する, throwing a 爆撃する into the 議会 and cocking the 武器, Duane leaped upon her. He struck up the ライフル銃／探して盗む as it went off, the 砕く 燃やすing his 直面する.
"Jennie, run out! Get on a horse!" he said.
Jennie flashed out of the door.
With an アイロンをかける しっかり掴む Duane held to the ライフル銃／探して盗む-バーレル／樽. He had しっかり掴むd it with his left 手渡す, and he gave such a pull that he swung the crazed woman off the 床に打ち倒す. But he could not loose her 支配する. She was as strong as he.
"Kate! Let go!"
He tried to 脅迫してさせる her. She did not see his gun thrust in her 直面する, or 推論する／理由 had given way to such an extent to passion that she did not care. She 悪口を言う／悪態d. Her husband had used the same 悪口を言う／悪態s, and from her lips they seemed strange, unsexed, more deadly. Like a tigress she fought him; her 直面する no longer 似ているd a woman's. The evil of that 無法者 life, the wildness and 激怒（する）, the meaning to kill, was even in such a moment terribly impressed upon Duane.
He heard a cry from outside—a man's cry, hoarse and alarming.
It made him think of loss of time. This demon of a woman might yet 封鎖する his 計画（する）.
"Let go!" he whispered, and felt his lips stiff. In the grimness of that instant he relaxed his 持つ／拘留する on the ライフル銃／探して盗む-バーレル／樽.
With sudden, redoubled, irresistible strength she wrenched the ライフル銃／探して盗む 負かす／撃墜する and 発射する／解雇するd it. Duane felt a blow—a shock—a 燃やすing agony 涙／ほころびing through his breast. Then in a frenzy he jerked so powerfully upon the ライフル銃／探して盗む that he threw the woman against the 塀で囲む. She fell and seemed stunned.
Duane leaped 支援する, whirled, flew out of the door to the porch. The sharp 割れ目ing of a gun 停止（させる）d him. He saw Jennie 持つ／拘留するing to the bridle of his bay horse. Euchre was astride the other, and he had a Colt leveled, and he was 解雇する／砲火／射撃ing 負かす／撃墜する the 小道／航路. Then （機の）カム a 選び出す／独身 発射, heavier, and Euchre's 中止するd. He fell from the horse.
A swift ちらりと見ること 支援する showed to Duane a man coming 負かす／撃墜する the 小道／航路. Chess Alloway! His gun was smoking. He broke into a run. Then in an instant he saw Duane, and tried to check his pace as he swung up his arm. But that slight pause was 致命的な. Duane 発射, and Alloway was 落ちるing when his gun went off. His 弾丸 whistled の近くに to Duane and thudded into the cabin.
Duane bounded 負かす／撃墜する to the horses. Jennie was trying to 持つ／拘留する the 急落（する），激減（する）ing bay. Euchre lay flat on his 支援する, dead, a 弾丸-穴を開ける in his shirt, his 直面する 始める，決める hard, and his 手渡すs 新たな展開d 一連の会議、交渉／完成する gun and bridle.
"Jennie, you've 神経, all 権利!" cried Duane, as he dragged 負かす／撃墜する the horse she was 持つ／拘留するing. "Up with you now! There! Never mind—long stirrups! Hang on somehow!"
He caught his bridle out of Euchre's clutching 支配する and leaped astride. The 脅すd horses jumped into a run and 雷鳴d 負かす／撃墜する the 小道／航路 into the road. Duane saw men running from cabins. He heard shouts. But there were no 発射s 解雇する／砲火／射撃d. Jennie seemed able to stay on her horse, but without stirrups she was thrown about so much that Duane 棒 closer and reached out to しっかり掴む her arm.
Jennie seemed able to stay on her horse....
Printed as frontispiece in the McKinlay, 石／投石する & Mackenzie 版,
1915
Thus they 棒 through the valley to the 追跡する that led up over, the 法外な and broken 縁 激しく揺する. As they began to climb Duane looked 支援する. No pursuers were in sight.
"Jennie, we're going to get away!" he cried, exultation for her in his 発言する／表明する.
She was gazing horror-stricken at his breast, as in turning to look 支援する he 直面するd her.
"Oh, Duane, your shirt's all 血まみれの!" she 滞るd, pointing with trembling fingers.
With her words Duane became aware of two things—the 手渡す he instinctively placed to his breast still held his gun, and he had 支えるd a terrible 負傷させる.
Duane had been 発射 through the breast far enough 負かす／撃墜する to give him 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な 逮捕 of his life. The clean-削減（する） 穴を開ける made by the 弾丸 bled 自由に both at its 入り口 and where it had come out, but with no 調印するs of hemorrhage. He did not bleed at the mouth; however, he began to cough up a 赤みを帯びた-tinged 泡，激怒すること.
As they 棒 on, Jennie, with pale 直面する and mute lips, looked at him.
"I'm 不正に 傷つける, Jennie," he said, "but I guess I'll stick it out."
"The woman—did she shoot you?"
"Yes. She was a devil. Euchre told me to look out for her. I wasn't quick enough."
"You didn't have to—to—" shivered the girl.
"No! no!" he replied.
They did not stop climbing while Duane tore a scarf and made compresses, which he bound tightly over his 負傷させるs. The fresh horses made 急速な／放蕩な time up the rough 追跡する. From open places Duane looked 負かす／撃墜する. When they surmounted the 法外な ascent and stood on 最高の，を越す of the 縁 激しく揺する, with no 調印するs of 追跡 負かす／撃墜する in the valley, and with the wild, broken fastnesses before them, Duane turned to the girl and 保証するd her that they now had every chance of escape.
"But—your—負傷させる!" she 滞るd, with dark, troubled 注目する，もくろむs. "I see—the 血—dripping from your 支援する!"
"Jennie, I'll take a lot of 殺人，大当り," he said.
Then he became silent and …に出席するd to the uneven 追跡する. He was aware presently that he had not come into Bland's （軍の）野営地，陣営 by this 大勝する. But that did not 事柄; any 追跡する 主要な out beyond the 縁 激しく揺する was 安全な enough. What he 手配中の，お尋ね者 was to get far away into some wild 退却／保養地 where he could hide till he 回復するd from his 負傷させる. He seemed to feel a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 inside his breast, and his throat 燃やすd so that it was necessary for him to take a swallow of water every little while. He began to 苦しむ かなりの 苦痛, which 増加するd as the hours went by and then gave way to a numbness. From that time on he had need of his 広大な／多数の／重要な strength and endurance. 徐々に he lost his steadiness and his keen sight; and he realized that if he were to 会合，会う 敵s, or if 追求するing 無法者s should come up with him, he could make only a poor stand. So he turned off on a 追跡する that appeared seldom traveled.
Soon after this move he became conscious of a その上の thickening of his senses. He felt able to 持つ／拘留する on to his saddle for a while longer, but he was failing. Then he thought he せねばならない advise Jennie, so in 事例／患者 she was left alone she would have some idea of what to do.
"Jennie, I'll give out soon," he said. "No-I don't mean—what you think. But I'll 減少（する） soon. My strength's going. If I die—you ride 支援する to the main 追跡する. Hide and 残り／休憩（する） by day. Ride at night. That 追跡する goes to water. I believe you could get across the Nueces, where some rancher will take you in."
Duane could not get the meaning of her incoherent reply. He 棒 on, and soon he could not see the 追跡する or hear his horse. He did not know whether they traveled a mile or many times that far. But he was conscious when the horse stopped, and had a vague sense of 落ちるing and feeling Jennie's 武器 before all became dark to him.
When consciousness returned he 設立する himself lying in a little hut of mesquite 支店s. It was 井戸／弁護士席 built and evidently some years old. There were two doors or 開始s, one in 前線 and the other at the 支援する. Duane imagined it had been built by a 逃亡者／はかないもの—one who meant to keep an 注目する，もくろむ both ways and not to be surprised. Duane felt weak and had no 願望（する） to move. Where was he, anyway? A strange, intangible sense of time, distance, of something far behind 重さを計るd upon him. Sight of the two packs Euchre had made brought his thought to Jennie. What had become of her? There was 証拠 of her work in a smoldering 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and a little blackened coffee-マリファナ. Probably she was outside looking after the horses or getting water. He thought he heard a step and listened, but he felt tired, and presently his 注目する，もくろむs の近くにd and he fell into a doze.
Awakening from this, he saw Jennie sitting beside him. In some way she seemed to have changed. When he spoke she gave a start and turned 熱望して to him.
"Duane!" she cried.
"Hello. How're you, Jennie, and how am I?" he said, finding it a little difficult to talk.
"Oh, I'm all 権利," she replied. "And you've come to—your 負傷させる's 傷をいやす／和解させるd; but you've been sick. Fever, I guess. I did all I could."
Duane saw now that the difference in her was a whiteness and tightness of 肌, a hollowness of 注目する，もくろむ, a look of 緊張する.
"Fever? How long have we been here?" he asked.
She took some pebbles from the 栄冠を与える of his sombrero and counted them.
"Nine. Nine days," she answered.
"Nine days!" he exclaimed, incredulously. But another look at her 保証するd him that she meant what she said. "I've been sick all the time? You nursed me?"
"Yes."
"Bland's men didn't come along here?"
"No."
"Where are the horses?"
"I keep them grazing 負かす／撃墜する in a gorge 支援する of here. There's good grass and water."
"Have you slept any?"
"A little. Lately I couldn't keep awake."
"Good Lord! I should think not. You've had a time of it sitting here day and night nursing me, watching for the 無法者s. Come, tell me all about it."
"There's nothing much to tell."
"I want to know, anyway, just what you did—how you felt."
"I can't remember very 井戸／弁護士席," she replied, 簡単に. "We must have ridden forty miles that day we got away. You bled all the time. Toward evening you lay on your horse's neck. When we （機の）カム to this place you fell out of the saddle. I dragged you in here and stopped your bleeding. I thought you'd die that night. But in the morning I had a little hope. I had forgotten the horses. But luckily they didn't 逸脱する far. I caught them and kept them 負かす／撃墜する in the gorge. When your 負傷させるs の近くにd and you began to breathe stronger I thought you'd get 井戸／弁護士席 quick. It was fever that put you 支援する. You raved a lot, and that worried me, because I couldn't stop you. Anybody 追跡するing us could have heard you a good ways. I don't know whether I was 脅すd most then or when you were 静かな, and it was so dark and lonely and still all around. Every day I put a 石／投石する in your hat."
"Jennie, you saved my life," said Duane.
"I don't know. Maybe. I did all I knew how to do," she replied. "You saved 地雷—more than my life."
Their 注目する，もくろむs met in a long gaze, and then their 手渡すs in a の近くに clasp.
"Jennie, we're going to get away," he said, with gladness. "I'll be 井戸／弁護士席 in a few days. You don't know how strong I am. We'll hide by day and travel by night. I can get you across the river."
"And then?" she asked.
"We'll find some honest rancher."
"And then?" she 固執するd.
"Why," he began, slowly, "that's as far as my thoughts ever got. It was pretty hard, I tell you, to 保証する myself of so much. It means your safety. You'll tell your story. You'll be sent to some village or town and taken care of until a 親族 or friend is 通知するd."
"And you?" she 問い合わせd, in a strange 発言する／表明する.
Duane kept silence.
"What will you do?" she went on.
"Jennie, I'll go 支援する to the ブレーキs. I daren't show my 直面する の中で respectable people. I'm an 無法者."
"You're no 犯罪の!" she 宣言するd, with 深い passion.
"Jennie, on this 国境 the little difference between an out 法律 and a 犯罪の doesn't count for much."
"You won't go 支援する の中で those terrible men? You, with your gentleness and sweetness—all that's good about you? Oh, Duane, don't—don't go!"
"I can't go 支援する to the 無法者s, at least not Bland's 禁止（する）d. No, I'll go alone. I'll 孤独な-wolf it, as they say on the 国境. What else can I do, Jennie?"
"Oh, I don't know. Couldn't you hide? Couldn't you slip,out of Texas —go far away?"
"I could never get out of Texas without 存在 逮捕（する）d. I could hide, but a man must live. Never mind about me, Jennie."
In three days Duane was able with 広大な／多数の／重要な difficulty to 開始する his horse. During daylight, by short relays, he and Jennie 棒 支援する to the main 追跡する, where they hid again till he had 残り／休憩（する）d. Then in the dark they 棒 out of the canons and gullies of the 縁 激しく揺する, and 早期に in the morning 停止（させる）d at the first water to （軍の）野営地，陣営.
From that point they traveled after nightfall and went into hiding during the day. Once across the Nueces River, Duane was 保証するd of safety for her and 広大な／多数の／重要な danger for himself. They had crossed into a country he did not know. Somewhere east of the river there were scattered ranches. But he was as liable to find the rancher in touch with the 無法者s as he was likely to find him honest. Duane hoped his good fortune would not 砂漠 him in this last service to Jennie. Next to the worry of that was 現実化 of his 条件. He had gotten up too soon; he had ridden too far and hard, and now he felt that any moment he might 落ちる from his saddle. At last, far ahead over a barren mesquite-dotted stretch of dusty ground, he 遠くに見つけるd a patch of green and a little flat, red ranch-house. He 長，率いるd his horse for it and turned a 直面する he tried to make cheerful for Jennie's sake. She seemed both happy and sorry.
When 近づく at 手渡す he saw that the rancher was a thrifty 農業者. And thrift spoke for honesty. There were fields of alfalfa, fruit-trees, corrals, windmill pumps, irrigation-溝へはまらせる／不時着するs, all surrounding a neat little adobe house. Some children were playing in the yard. The way they ran at sight of Duane hinted of both the loneliness and the 恐れる of their 孤立するd lives. Duane saw a woman come to the door, then a man. The latter looked 熱心に, then stepped outside. He was a sandy-haired, freckled Texan.
"Howdy, stranger," he called, as Duane 停止（させる）d. "Get 負かす／撃墜する, you an' your woman. Say, now, 空気／公表する you sick or 発射 or what? Let me—"
Duane, reeling in his saddle, bent searching 注目する，もくろむs upon the rancher. He thought he saw good will, 親切, honesty. He 危険d all on that one sharp ちらりと見ること. Then he almost 急落（する），激減（する）d from the saddle.
The rancher caught him, helped him to a （法廷の）裁判.
"Martha, come out here!" he called. "This man's sick. No; he's 発射, or I don't know 血-stains."
Jennie had slipped off her horse and to Duane's 味方する. Duane appeared about to faint.
"空気／公表する you his wife?" asked the rancher.
"No. I'm only a girl he saved from 無法者s. Oh, he's so paler Duane, Duane!"
"Buck Duane!" exclaimed the rancher, excitedly. "The man who killed Bland an' Alloway? Say, I 借りがある him a good turn, an' I'll 支払う／賃金 it, young woman."
The rancher's wife （機の）カム out, and with a manner at once 肉親，親類d and practical essayed to make Duane drink from a flask. He was not so far gone that he could not 認める its contents, which he 辞退するd, and weakly asked for water. When that was given him he 設立する his 発言する／表明する.
"Yes, I'm Duane. I've only overdone myself—just all in. The 負傷させるs I got at Bland's are 傷をいやす／和解させるing. Will you take this girl in—hide her awhile till the excitement's over の中で the 無法者s?"
"I shore will," replied the Texan.
"Thanks. I'll remember you—I'll square it."
"What 're you goin' to do?"
"I'll 残り／休憩（する） a bit—then go 支援する to the ブレーキs."
"Young man, you ain't in any 形態／調整 to travel. See here—any rustlers on your 追跡する?"
"I think we gave Bland's ギャング（団） the slip."
"Good. I'll tell you what. I'll take you in along with the girl, an' hide both of you till you get 井戸／弁護士席. It'll be 安全な. My nearest neighbor is five miles off. We don't have much company."
"You 危険 a 広大な／多数の／重要な 取引，協定. Both 無法者s and 特別奇襲隊員s are 追跡（する）ing me," said Duane.
"Never seen a 特別奇襲隊員 yet in these parts. An' have always got along with 無法者s, mebbe exceptin' Bland. I tell you I 借りがある you a good turn."
"My horses might betray you," 追加するd Duane.
"I'll hide them in a place where there's water an' grass. Nobody goes to it. Come now, let me help you indoors."
Duane's last fading sensations of that hard day were the strange feel of a bed, a 救済 at the 除去 of his 激しい boots, and of Jennie's soft, 冷静な／正味の 手渡すs on his hot 直面する.
He lay ill for three weeks before he began to mend, and it was another week then before he could walk out a little in the dusk of the evenings. After that his strength returned 速く. And it was only at the end of this long 包囲 that he 回復するd his spirits. During most of his illness he had been silent, moody.
"Jennie, I'll be riding off soon," he said, one evening. "I can't 課す on this good man Andrews much longer. I'll never forget his 親切. His wife, too—she's been so good to us. Yes, Jennie, you and I will have to say good-by very soon."
"Don't hurry away," she replied.
Lately Jennie had appeared strange to him. She had changed from the girl he used to see at Mrs. Bland's house. He took her 不本意 to say good-by as another 指示，表示する物 of her 悔いる that he must go 支援する to the ブレーキs. Yet somehow it made him 観察する her more closely. She wore a plain, white dress made from 構成要素 Mrs. Andrews had given her. Sleep and good food had 改善するd her. If she had been pretty out there in the 無法者 den now she was more than that. But she had the same paleness, the same 緊張するd look, the same dark 注目する，もくろむs 十分な of haunting 影をつくる／尾行するs. After Duane's 現実化 of the change in her he watched her more, with a growing certainty that he would be sorry not to see her again.
"It's likely we won't ever see each other again," he said. "That's strange to think of. We've been through some hard days, and I seem to have known you a long time."
Jennie appeared shy, almost sad, so Duane changed the 支配する to something いっそう少なく personal.
Andrews returned one evening from a several days' trip to Huntsville.
"Duane, everybody's talkie' about how you cleaned up the Bland outfit," he said, important and 十分な of news. "It's some 誇張するd, accordin' to what you told me; but you've shore made friends on this 味方する of the Nueces. I reckon there ain't a town where you wouldn't find people to welcome you. Huntsville, you know, is some divided in its ideas. Half the people are crooked. Likely enough, all them who was so loud in 賞賛する of you are the crookedest. For instance, I met King Fisher, the boss 無法者 of these parts. 井戸／弁護士席, King thinks he's a decent 国民. He was tellin' me what a grand 職業 yours was for the 国境 an' honest cattlemen. Now that Bland and Alloway are done for, King Fisher will find rustlin' easier. There's talk of Hardin movie' his （軍の）野営地，陣営 over to Bland's. But I don't know how true it is. I reckon there ain't much to it. In the past when a big 無法者 長，指導者 went under, his 禁止（する）d almost always broke up an' scattered. There's no one left who could run thet outfit."
"Did you hear of any 無法者s 追跡（する）ing me?" asked Duane.
"Nobody from Bland's outfit is huntin' you, thet's shore," replied Andrews. "Fisher said there never was a hoss またがるd to go on your 追跡する. Nobody had any use for Bland. Anyhow, his men would be afraid to 追跡する you. An' you could go 権利 in to Huntsville, where you'd be some popular. Reckon you'd be 安全な, too, except when some of them fool saloon loafers or bad cowpunchers would try to shoot you for the glory in it. Them 肉親，親類d of men will （頭が）ひょいと動く up everywhere you go, Duane."
"I'll be able to ride and take care of myself in a day or two," went on Duane. "Then I'll go—I'd like to talk to you about Jennie."
"She's welcome to a home here with us."
"Thank you, Andrews. You're a 肉親，親類d man. But I want Jennie to get さらに先に away from the Rio Grande. She'd never be 安全な here. Besides, she may be able to find 親族s. She has some, though she doesn't know where they are."
"All 権利, Duane. Whatever you think best. I reckon now you'd better take her to some town. Go north an' strike for Shelbyville or Crockett. Them's both good towns. I'll tell Jennie the 指名するs of men who'll help her. You needn't ride into town at all."
"Which place is nearer, and how far is it?"
"Shelbyville. I reckon about two days' ride. Poor 在庫／株 country, so you ain't liable to 会合，会う rustlers. All the same, better 攻撃する，衝突する the 追跡する at night an' go careful."
At sunset two days later Duane and Jennie 機動力のある their horses and said good-by to the rancher and his wife. Andrews would not listen to Duane's thanks.
"I tell you I'm beholden to you yet," he 宣言するd.
"井戸／弁護士席, what can I do for you?" asked Duane. "I may come along here again some day."
"Get 負かす／撃墜する an' come in, then, or you're no friend of 地雷. I reckon there ain't nothin' I can think of—I just happen to remember—" Here he led Duane out of earshot of the women and went on in a whisper. "Buck, I used to be 井戸／弁護士席-to-do. Got skinned by a man 指名するd Brown—Rodney Brown. He lives in Huntsville, an' he's my enemy. I never was much on fightin', or I'd 直す／買収する，八百長をするd him. Brown 廃虚d me—stole all I had. He's a hoss an' cattle どろぼう, an' he has pull enough at home to 保護する him. I reckon I needn't say any more."
"Is this Brown a man who 発射 an 無法者 指名するd Stevens?" queried Duane, curiously.
"Shore, he's the same. I heard thet story. Brown 断言するs he plugged Stevens through the middle. But the 無法者 棒 off, an' nobody ever knew for shore."
"Luke Stevens died of that 発射. I buried him," said Duane.
Andrews made no その上の comment, and the two men returned to the women.
"The main road for about three miles, then where it forks take the left-手渡す road and keep on straight. That what you said, Andrews?"
"Shore. An' good luck to you both!"
Duane and Jennie trotted away into the 集会 twilight. At the moment an insistent thought bothered Duane. Both Luke Stevens and the rancher Andrews had hinted to Duane to kill a man 指名するd Brown. Duane wished with all his heart that they had not について言及するd it, let alone taken for 認めるd the 死刑執行 of the 行為. What a 血まみれの place Texas was! Men who robbed and men who were robbed both 手配中の，お尋ね者 殺人. It was in the spirit of the country. Duane certainly meant to 避ける ever 会合 this Rodney Brown. And that very 決意 showed Duane how dangerous he really was—to men and to himself. いつかs he had a feeling of how little stood between his sane and better self and a self utterly wild and terrible. He 推論する／理由d that only 知能 could save him—only a thoughtful understanding of his danger and a 持つ／拘留する upon some ideal.
Then he fell into low conversation with Jennie, 持つ／拘留するing out 希望に満ちた 見解（をとる）s of her 未来, and presently 不明瞭 始める，決める in. The sky was 曇った with 激しい clouds; there was no 空気／公表する moving; the heat and 圧迫 脅すd 嵐／襲撃する. By and by Duane could not see a 棒 in 前線 of him, though his horse had no difficulty in keeping to the road. Duane was bothered by the blackness of the night. Traveling 急速な／放蕩な was impossible, and any moment he might 行方不明になる the road that led off to the left. So he was compelled to give all his attention to peering into the 厚い 影をつくる／尾行するs ahead. As good luck would have it, he （機の）カム to higher ground where there was いっそう少なく mesquite, and therefore not such impenetrable 不明瞭; and at this point he （機の）カム to where the road 分裂（する）.
Once 長，率いるd in the 権利 direction, he felt easier in mind. To his annoyance, however, a 罰金, misty rain 始める，決める in. Jennie was not 井戸／弁護士席 dressed for wet 天候; and, for that 事柄, neither was he. His coat, which in that 乾燥した，日照りの warm 気候 he seldom needed, was tied behind his saddle, and he put it on Jennie.
They traveled on. The rain fell 刻々と; if anything, growing 厚い. Duane grew uncomfortably wet and chilly. Jennie, however, fared somewhat better by 推論する／理由 of the 激しい coat. The night passed quickly にもかかわらず the 不快, and soon a gray, dismal, 雨の 夜明け 迎える／歓迎するd the 旅行者s.
Jennie 主張するd that he find some 避難所 where a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 could be built to 乾燥した，日照りの his 着せる／賦与するs. He was not in a fit 条件 to 危険 catching 冷淡な. In fact, Duane's teeth were chattering. To find a 避難所 in that barren waste seemed a futile 仕事. やめる 突然に, however, they happened upon a 砂漠d adobe cabin 据えるd a little off the road. Not only did it 証明する to have a 乾燥した，日照りの 内部の, but also there was firewood. Water was 利用できる in pools everywhere; however, there was no grass for the horses.
A good 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and hot food and drink changed the 面 of their 条件 as far as 慰安 went. And Jennie lay 負かす／撃墜する to sleep. For Duane, however, there must be vigilance. This cabin was no hiding-place. The rain fell harder all the time, and the 勝利，勝つd changed to the north. "It's a norther, all 権利," muttered Duane. "Two or three days." And he felt that his 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の luck had not held out. Still one point 好意d him, and it was that 旅行者s were not likely to come along during the 嵐／襲撃する. Jennie slept while Duane watched. The saving of this girl meant more to him than any 仕事 he had ever assumed. First it had been partly from a human feeling to succor an unfortunate woman, and partly a 動機 to 設立する 明確に to himself that he was no 無法者. Lately, however, had come a different sense, a strange one, with something personal and warm and 保護の in it.
As he looked 負かす／撃墜する upon her, a slight, slender girl with bedraggled dress and disheveled hair, her 直面する, pale and 静かな, a little 厳しい in sleep, and her long, dark 攻撃するs lying on her cheek, he seemed to see her fragility, her prettiness, her femininity as never before. But for him she might at that very moment have been a broken, 廃虚d girl lying 支援する in that cabin of the Blands'. The fact gave him a feeling of his importance in this 転換ing of her 運命. She was 無事の, still young; she would forget and be happy; she would live to be a good wife and mother. Somehow the thought swelled his heart. His 行為／法令／行動する, death-取引，協定ing as it had been, was a noble one, and helped him to 持つ／拘留する on to his drifting hopes. Hardly once since Jennie had entered into his thought had those ghosts returned to torment him.
To-morrow she would be gone の中で good, 肉親，親類d people with a 可能性 of finding her 親族s. He thanked God for ,that; にもかかわらず, he felt a pang.
She slept more than half the day. Duane kept guard, always 警報, whether he was sitting, standing, or walking. The rain pattered 刻々と on the roof and いつかs （機の）カム in gusty flurries through the door. The horses were outside in a shed that afforded poor 避難所, and they stamped restlessly. Duane kept them saddled and bridled.
About the middle of the afternoon Jennie awoke. They cooked a meal and afterward sat beside the little 解雇する／砲火／射撃. She had never been, in his 観察 of her, anything but a 悲劇の 人物／姿／数字, an unhappy girl, the farthest 除去するd from serenity and 宙に浮く. That characteristic capacity for agitation struck him as stronger in her this day. He せいにするd it, however, to the long 緊張する, the suspense 近づくing an end. Yet いつかs when her 注目する，もくろむs were on him she did not seem to be thinking of her freedom, of her 未来.
"This time to-morrow you'll be in Shelbyville," he said.
"Where will you be?" she asked, quickly.
"Me? Oh, I'll be making 跡をつけるs for some lonesome place,' he replied.
The girl shuddered.
"I've been brought up in Texas. I remember what a hard lot the men of my family had. But poor as they were, they had a roof over their 長，率いるs, a hearth with a 解雇する／砲火／射撃, a warm bed—somebody to love them. And you, Duane— oh, my God! What must your life be? You must ride and hide and watch eternally. No decent food, no pillow, no friendly word, no clean 着せる／賦与するs, no woman's 手渡す! Horses, guns, 追跡するs, 激しく揺するs, 穴を開けるs—these must be the important things in your life. You must go on riding, hiding, 殺人，大当り until you 会合，会う—"
She ended with a sob and dropped her 長，率いる on her 膝s. Duane was amazed, 深く，強烈に touched.
"My girl, thank you for that thought of me," he said, with a （軽い）地震 in his 発言する／表明する. "You don't know how much that means to me."
She raised her 直面する, and it was 涙／ほころび-stained, eloquent, beautiful.
"I've heard tell—the best of men go to the bad out there. You won't. 約束 me you won't. I never—knew any man—like you. I —I—we may never see each other again—after to-day. I'll never forget you. I'll pray for you, and I'll never give up trying to —to do something. Don't despair. It's never too late. It was my hope that kept me alive—out there at Bland's—before you （機の）カム. I was only a poor weak girl. But if I could hope—so can you. Stay away from men. Be a 孤独な wolf. Fight for your life. Stick out your 追放する— and maybe—some day—"
Then she lost her 発言する／表明する. Duane clasped her 手渡す and with feeling as 深い as hers 約束d to remember her words. In her despair for him she had spoken 知恵—pointed out the only course.
Duane's vigilance, momentarily broken by emotion, had no sooner reasserted itself than he discovered the bay horse, the one Jennie 棒, had broken his halter and gone off. The soft wet earth had deadened the sound of his hoofs. His 跡をつけるs were plain in the mud. There were clumps of mesquite in sight, の中で which the horse might have 逸脱するd. It turned out, however, that he had not done so.
Duane did not want to leave Jennie alone in the cabin so 近づく the road. So he put her up on his horse and bade her follow. The rain had 中止するd for the time 存在, though evidently the 嵐／襲撃する was not yet over. The 跡をつけるs led up a wash to a wide flat where mesquite, prickly pear, and thorn-bush grew so thickly that Jennie could not ride into it. Duane was 完全に 関心d. He must have her horse. Time was 飛行機で行くing. It would soon be night. He could not 推定する／予想する her to 緊急発進する quickly through that ブレーキ on foot. Therefore he decided to 危険 leaving her at the 辛勝する／優位 of the thicket and go in alone.
As he went in a sound startled him. Was it the breaking of a 支店 he had stepped on or thrust aside? He heard the impatient 続けざまに猛撃する of his horse's hoofs. Then all was 静かな. Still he listened, not wholly 満足させるd. He was never 満足させるd in regard to safety; he knew too 井戸／弁護士席 that there never could be safety for him in this country.
The bay horse had threaded the aisles of the thicket. Duane wondered what had drawn him there. Certainly it had not been grass, for there was 非，不，無. Presently he heard the horse tramping along, and then he ran. The mud was 深い, and the sharp thorns made going difficult. He （機の）カム up with the horse, and at the same moment crossed a multitude of fresh horse-跡をつけるs.
He bent lower to 診察する them, and was alarmed to find that they had been made very recently, even since it had 中止するd raining. They were 跡をつけるs of 井戸／弁護士席-shod horses. Duane straightened up with a 用心深い ちらりと見ること all around. His instant 決定／判定勝ち（する） was to hurry 支援する to Jennie. But he had come a goodly way through the thicket, and it was impossible to 急ぐ 支援する. Once or twice he imagined he heard crashings in the 小衝突, but did not 停止（させる） to make sure. 確かな he was now that some 肉親，親類d of danger 脅すd.
Suddenly there （機の）カム an unmistakable 強くたたく of horses' hoofs off somewhere to the fore. Then a 叫び声をあげる rent the 空気／公表する. It ended 突然の. Duane leaped 今後, tore his way through the 厄介な ブレーキ. He heard Jennie cry again —an 控訴，上告ing call quickly hushed. It seemed more to his 権利, and he 急落（する），激減（する）d that way. He burst into a glade where a smoldering 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and ground covered with 足跡s and 跡をつけるs showed that campers had lately been. 急ぐing across this, he broke his passage out to the open. But he was too late. His horse had disappeared. Jennie was gone. There were no riders in sight. There was no sound. There was a 激しい 追跡する of horses going north. Jennie had been carried off—probably by 無法者s. Duane realized that 追跡 was out of the question—that Jennie was lost.
A HUNDRED miles from the haunts most familiar with Duane's 行為s, far up where the Nueces ran a trickling （疑いを）晴らす stream between yellow cliffs, stood a small 砂漠d shack of covered mesquite 政治家s. It had been made long ago, but was 井戸／弁護士席 保存するd. A door 直面するd the overgrown 追跡する, and another 直面するd 負かす／撃墜する into a gorge of dense thickets. On the 国境 逃亡者／はかないものs from 法律 and men who hid in 恐れる of some one they had wronged never lived in houses with only one door.
It was a wild 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, lonely, not fit for human habitation except for the outcast. He, perhaps, might have 設立する it hard to leave for most of the other wild nooks in that barren country. 負かす／撃墜する in the gorge there was never-failing 甘い water, grass all the year 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, 冷静な／正味の, shady 退却／保養地s, deer, rabbits, turkeys, fruit, and miles and miles of 狭くする-新たな展開ing, 深い canon 十分な of broken 激しく揺するs and impenetrable thickets. The 叫び声をあげる of the panther was heard there, the squall of the wildcat, the cough of the jaguar. Innumerable bees buzzed in the spring blossoms, and, it seemed, scattered honey to the 勝利，勝つd. All day there was continuous song of birds, that of the mocking-bird loud and 甘い and mocking above the 残り／休憩（する）.
On （疑いを）晴らす days—and rare indeed were cloudy days—with the 沈下するing of the 勝利，勝つd at sunset a hush seemed to 落ちる around the little hut. Far-distant 薄暗い-blue mountains stood gold-rimmed 徐々に to fade with the shading of light.
At this 静かな hour a man climbed up out of the gorge and sat in the 西方の door of the hut. This lonely 選挙立会人 of the west and listener to the silence was Duane. And this hut was the one where, three years before, Jennie had nursed him 支援する to life.
The 殺人，大当り of a man 指名するd 販売人s, and the combination of circumstances that had made the 悲劇 a memorable 悔いる, had 示すd, if not a change, at least a 停止 in Duane's activities. He had 追跡するd 販売人s to kill him for the supposed 誘拐するing of Jennie. He had 追跡するd him long after he had learned 販売人s traveled alone. Duane 手配中の，お尋ね者 絶対の 保証／確信 of Jennie's death. Vague 噂するs, a few words here and there, unauthenticated stories, were all Duane had gathered in years to 立証する his belief—that Jennie died すぐに after the beginning of her second 捕らわれた. But Duane did not know surely. 販売人s might have told him. Duane 推定する／予想するd, if not to 軍隊 it from him at the end, to read it in his 注目する，もくろむs. But the 弾丸 went too unerringly; it locked his lips and 直す／買収する，八百長をするd his 注目する，もくろむs.
After that 会合 Duane lay long at the ranchhouse of a friend, and when he 回復するd from the 負傷させる 販売人s had given him he started with two horses and a pack for the lonely gorge on the Nueces. There he had been hidden for months, a prey to 悔恨, a dreamer, a 犠牲者 of phantoms.
It took work for him to find subsistence in that rocky fastness. And work, 活動／戦闘, helped to pass the hours. But he could not work all the time, even if he had 設立する it to do. Then in his idle moments and at night his 仕事 was to live with the hell in his mind.
The sunset and the twilight hour made all the 残り／休憩（する） bearable. The little hut on the 縁 of the gorge seemed to 持つ／拘留する Jennie's presence. It was not as if he felt her spirit. If it had been he would have been sure of her death. He hoped Jennie had not 生き残るd her second misfortune; and that 激しい hope had 燃やすd into belief, if not surety. Upon his return to that locality, on the occasion of his first visit to the hut, he had 設立する things just as they had left them, and a poor, faded piece of 略章 Jennie had used to tie around her 有望な hair. No wandering 無法者 or 旅行者 had happened upon the lonely 位置／汚点／見つけ出す, which その上の endeared it to Duane.
A strange feature of this memory of Jennie was the freshness of it— the 失敗 of years, toil, 争い, death-取引，協定ing to 薄暗い it—to deaden the thought of what might have been. He had a marvelous gift of visualization. He could shut his 注目する，もくろむs and see Jennie before him just as 明確に as if she had stood there in the flesh. For hours he did that, dreaming, dreaming of life he had never tasted and now never would taste. He saw Jennie's slender, graceful 人物／姿／数字, the old brown ragged dress in which he had seen her first at Bland's, her little feet in Mexican sandals, her 罰金 手渡すs coarsened by work, her 一連の会議、交渉／完成する 武器 and swelling throat, and her pale, sad, beautiful 直面する with its 星／主役にするing dark 注目する，もくろむs. He remembered every look she had given him, every word she had spoken to him, every time she had touched him. He thought of her beauty and sweetness, of the few things which had come to mean to him that she must have loved him; and he trained himself to think of these in preference to her life at Bland's, the escape with him, and then her 再度捕まえる, because such memories led to bitter, fruitless 苦痛. He had to fight 苦しむing because it was eating out his heart.
Sitting there, 注目する，もくろむs wide open, he dreamed of the old homestead and his white-haired mother. He saw the old home life, sweetened and filled by dear new 直面するs and 追加するd joys, go on before his 注目する，もくろむs with him a part of it.
Then in the 必然的な reaction, in the reflux of bitter reality, he would send out a voiceless cry no いっそう少なく poignant because it was silent: "Poor fool! No, I shall never see mother again—never go home—never have a home. I am Duane, the 孤独な Wolf! Oh, God! I wish it were over! These dreams 拷問 me! What have I to do with a mother, a home, a wife? No 有望な-haired boy, no dark-注目する，もくろむd girl will ever love me. I am an 無法者, an outcast, dead to the good and decent world. I am alone—alone. Better be a callous brute or better dead! I shall go mad thinking! Man, what is left to you? A hiding-place like a wolf's—lonely silent days, lonely nights with phantoms! Or the 追跡する and the road with their 血まみれの 跡をつけるs, and then the hard ride, the sleepless, hungry ride to some 穴を開ける in 激しく揺するs or ブレーキs. What hellish thing 運動s me? Why can't I end it all? What is left? Only that damned unquenchable spirit of the gun-闘士，戦闘機 to live—to hang on to 哀れな life—to have no 恐れる of death, yet to 粘着する like a leach —to die as gun-闘士，戦闘機s seldom die, with boots off! Bain, you were first, and you're long avenged. I'd change with you. And 販売人s, you were last, and you're avenged. And you others—you're avenged. 嘘（をつく） 静かな in your 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大なs and give me peace!"
But they did not 嘘（をつく） 静かな in their 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大なs and give him peace.
A group of specters 軍隊／機動隊d out of the 影をつくる／尾行するs of dusk and, 集会 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him, 護衛するd him to his bed.
When Duane had been riding the 追跡するs passion-bent to escape pursuers, or passion-bent in his search, the constant 活動／戦闘 and toil and exhaustion made him sleep. But when in hiding, as time passed, 徐々に he 要求するd いっそう少なく 残り／休憩（する） and sleep, and his mind became more active. Little by little his phantoms 伸び（る）d 持つ／拘留する on him, and at length, but for the saving 力／強力にする of his dreams, they would have （人命などを）奪う，主張するd him utterly.
How many times he had said to himself: "I am an intelligent man. I'm not crazy. I'm in 十分な 所有／入手 of my faculties. All this is fancy— imagination—良心. I've no work, no 義務, no ideal, no hope —and my mind is obsessed, thronged with images. And these images 自然に are of the men with whom I have dealt. I can't forget them. They come 支援する to me, hour after hour; and when my 拷問d mind grows weak, then maybe I'm not just 権利 till the mood wears out and lets me sleep."
So he 推論する／理由d as he lay 負かす／撃墜する in his comfortable （軍の）野営地，陣営. The night was 星／主役にする-有望な above the canon-塀で囲むs, darkly 影をつくる／尾行するing 負かす／撃墜する between them. The insects hummed and chirped and thrummed a continuous 厚い song, low and monotonous. Slow-running water splashed softly over 石／投石するs in the stream-bed. From far 負かす／撃墜する the canon （機の）カム the mournful hoot of an フクロウ. The moment he lay 負かす／撃墜する, その為に giving up 活動／戦闘 for the day, all these things 重さを計るd upon him like a 広大な／多数の／重要な 激しい mantle of loneliness. In truth, they did not 構成する loneliness.
And he could no more have dispelled thought than he could have reached out to touch a 冷淡な, 有望な 星／主役にする.
He wondered how many outcasts like him lay under this 星／主役にする-studded, velvety sky across the fifteen hundred miles of wild country between El Paso and the mouth of the river. A 広大な wild 領土—a 避難 for 無法者s! Somewhere he had heard or read that the Texas 特別奇襲隊員s kept a 調書をとる／予約する with 指名するs and 記録，記録的な／記録するs of 無法者s—three thousand known 無法者s. Yet these could scarcely be half of that unfortunate horde which had been 新採用するd from all over the 明言する／公表するs. Duane had traveled from （軍の）野営地，陣営 to （軍の）野営地，陣営, den to den, hiding-place to hiding-place, and he knew these men. Most of them were hopeless 犯罪のs; some were avengers; a few were wronged wanderers; and の中で them occasionally was a man, human in his way, honest as he could be, not yet lost to good.
But all of them were akin in one sense—their outlawry; and that starry night they lay with their dark 直面するs up, some in packs like wolves, others alone like the gray wolf who knew no mate. It did not make much difference in Duane's thought of them that the 大多数 were 法外なd in 罪，犯罪 and brutality, more often than not stupid from rum, incapable of a 罰金 feeling, just lost wild dogs.
Duane 疑問d that there was a man の中で them who did not realize his moral 難破させる and 廃虚. He had met poor, half witted wretches who knew it. He believed he could enter into their minds and feel the truth of all their lives—the 常習的な 無法者, coarse, ignorant, bestial, who 殺人d as 法案 黒人／ボイコット had 殺人d, who stole for the sake of stealing, who craved money to 賭事 and drink, defiantly ready for death, and, like that terrible 無法者, 舵輪／支配, who cried out on the scaffold, "Let her 引き裂く!"
The wild youngsters 捜し出すing notoriety and 無謀な adventure; the cowboys with a notch on their guns, with boastful pride in the knowledge that they were 示すd by 特別奇襲隊員s; the crooked men from the North, defaulters, forgers, 殺害者s, all pale-直面するd, flat-chested men not fit for that wilderness and not 生き残るing; the dishonest cattlemen, 手渡す and glove with 無法者s, driven from their homes; the old grizzled, 屈服する-legged 本物の rustlers—all these Duane had come in 接触する with, had watched and known, and as he felt with them he seemed to see that as their lives were bad, sooner or later to end dismally or tragically, so they must 支払う／賃金 some 肉親，親類d of earthly 刑罰，罰則 —if not of 良心, then of 恐れる; if not of 恐れる, then of that most terrible of all things to restless, active men—苦痛, the pang of flesh and bone.
Duane knew, for he had seen them 支払う／賃金. Best of all, moreover, he knew the 内部の life of the gun-闘士，戦闘機 of that select but by no means small class of which he was 代表者／国会議員. The world that 裁判官d him and his 肉親，親類d 裁判官d him as a machine, a 殺人，大当り-machine, with only mind enough to 追跡（する）, to 会合，会う, to 殺す another man. It had taken three endless years for Duane to understand his own father. Duane knew beyond all 疑問 that the gun-闘士，戦闘機s like Bland, like Alloway, like 販売人s, men who were evil and had no 悔恨, no spiritual 告発する／非難するing Nemesis, had something far more 拷問ing to mind, more haunting, more murderous of 残り／休憩（する） and sleep and peace; and that something was 異常な 恐れる of death. Duane knew this, for he had 発射 these men; he had seen the quick, dark 影をつくる／尾行する in 注目する，もくろむs, the presentiment that the will could not 支配（する）／統制する, and then the horrible certainty. These men must have been in agony at every 会合 with a possible or 確かな 敵—more agony than the hot rend of a 弾丸. They were haunted, too, haunted by this 恐れる, by every 犠牲者 calling from the 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な that nothing was so 必然的な as death, which lurked behind every corner, hid in every 影をつくる／尾行する, lay 深い in the dark tube of every gun. These men could not have a friend; they could not love or 信用 a woman. They knew their one chance of 持つ／拘留するing on to life lay in their own 不信, watchfulness, dexterity, and that hope, by the very nature of their lives, could not be 継続している. They had doomed themselves. What, then, could かもしれない have dwelt in the depths of their minds as they went to their beds on a starry night like this, with mystery in silence and 影をつくる／尾行する, with time passing surely, and the dark 未来 and its secret approaching every hour —what, then, but hell?
The hell in Duane's mind was not 恐れる of man or 恐れる of death. He would have been glad to lay 負かす／撃墜する the 重荷（を負わせる） of life, 供給するing death （機の）カム 自然に. Many times he had prayed for it. But that overdeveloped, superhuman spirit of 弁護 in him 妨げるd 自殺 or the 招待するing of an enemy's 弾丸. いつかs he had a vague, scarcely 分析するd idea that this spirit was what had made the 南西 habitable for the white man.
Every one of his 犠牲者s, singly and collectively, returned to him for ever, it seemed, in 冷淡な, passionless, 告発する／非難するing 支配 of these haunted hours. They did not 告発する／非難する him of dishonor or cowardice or brutality or 殺人; they only （刑事）被告 him of Death. It was as if they knew more than when they were alive, had learned that life was a divine mysterious gift not to be taken. They thronged about him with their voiceless clamoring, drifted around him with their fading 注目する，もくろむs.
AFTER nearly six months in the Nueces gorge the loneliness and inaction of his life drove Duane out upon the 追跡するs 捜し出すing anything rather than to hide longer alone, a prey to the 天罰（を下す） of his thoughts. The moment he 棒 into sight of men a remarkable 変形 occurred in him. A strange warmth stirred in him—a longing to see the 直面するs of people, to hear their 発言する／表明するs—a pleasurable emotion sad and strange. But it was only a precursor of his old bitter, sleepless, and eternal vigilance. When he hid alone in the ブレーキs he was 安全な from all except his deeper, better self; when he escaped from this into the haunts of men his 軍隊 and will went to the 保護 of his life.
Mercer was the first village he 棒 into. He had many friends there. Mercer （人命などを）奪う，主張するd to 借りがある Duane a 負債. On the 郊外s of the village there was a 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な overgrown by 小衝突 so that the rude-lettered 地位，任命する which 示すd it was scarcely 明白な to Duane as he 棒 by. He had never read the inscription. But he thought now of Hardin, no other than the erstwhile 同盟（する） of Bland. For many years Hardin had 悩ますd the stockmen and ranchers in and around Mercer. On an evil day for him he or his 無法者s had beaten and robbed a man who once succored Duane when sore in need. Duane met Hardin in the little plaza of the village, called him every 指名する known to 国境 men, taunted him to draw, and killed him in the 行為／法令／行動する.
Duane went to the house of one Jones, a Texan who had known his father, and there he was 温かく received. The feel of an honest 手渡す, the 発言する／表明する of a friend, the prattle of children who were not afraid of him or his gun, good wholesome food, and change of 着せる／賦与するs—these things for the time 存在 made a changed man of Duane. To be sure, he did not often speak. The price of his 長，率いる and the 負わせる of his 重荷（を負わせる） made him silent. But 熱望して he drank in all the news that was told him. In the years of his absence from home he had never heard a word about his mother or uncle. Those who were his real friends on the 国境 would have been the last to make 調査s, to 令状 or receive letters that might give a 手がかり（を与える） to Duane's どの辺に.
Duane remained all day with this hospitable Jones, and as twilight fell was loath to go and 産する／生じるd to a 圧力（をかける）ing 招待 to remain 夜通し. It was seldom indeed that Duane slept under a roof. 早期に in the evening, while Duane sat on the porch with two awed and hero-worshiping sons of the house, Jones returned from a quick visit 負かす／撃墜する to the 地位，任命する-office. Summarily he sent the boys off. He labored under 激しい excitement.
"Duane, there's 特別奇襲隊員s in town," he whispered. "It's all over town, too, that you're here. You 棒 in long after sunup. Lots of people saw you. I don't believe there's a man or boy that 'd squeal on you. But the women might. They gossip, and these 特別奇襲隊員s are handsome fellows—devils with the women."
"What company of 特別奇襲隊員s?" asked Duane, quickly.
"Company A, under Captain MacNelly, that new 特別奇襲隊員. He made a big 指名する in the war. And since he's been in the 特別奇襲隊員 service he's done wonders. He's cleaned up some bad places south, and he's working north."
"MacNelly. I've heard of him. 述べる him to me."
"Slight-built chap, but wiry and 堅い. Clean 直面する, 黒人／ボイコット mustache and hair. Sharp 黒人／ボイコット 注目する，もくろむs. He's got a look of 当局. MacNelly's a 罰金 man, Duane. Belongs to a good Southern family. I'd hate to have him look you up."
Duane did not speak.
"MacNelly's got 神経, and his 特別奇襲隊員s are all experienced men. If they find out you're here they'll come after you. MacNelly's no gun-闘士，戦闘機, but he wouldn't hesitate to do his 義務, even if he 直面するd sure death. Which he would in this 事例／患者. Duane, you mustn't 会合，会う Captain MacNelly. Your 記録，記録的な／記録する is clean, if it is terrible. You never met a 特別奇襲隊員 or any officer except a rotten 郡保安官 now and then, like 棒 Brown."
Still Duane kept silence. He was not thinking of danger, but of the fact of how (n)艦隊／(a)素早いing must be his stay の中で friends.
"I've already 直す／買収する，八百長をするd up a pack of grub," went on Jones. "I'll slip out to saddle your horse. You watch here."
He had scarcely uttered the last word when soft, swift footsteps sounded on the hard path. A man turned in at the gate. The light was 薄暗い, yet clean enough to 公表する／暴露する an 異常に tall 人物／姿／数字. When it appeared nearer he was seen to be walking with both 武器 raised, 手渡すs high. He slowed his stride.
"Does Burt Jones live here?" he asked, in a low, hurried 発言する／表明する.
"I reckon. I'm Burt. What can I do for you?" replied Jones.
The stranger peered around, stealthily （機の）カム closer, still with his 手渡すs up.
"It is known that Buck Duane is here. Captain MacNelly's （軍の）野営地，陣営ing on the river just out of town. He sends word to Duane to come out there after dark."
The stranger wheeled and 出発／死d as 速く and strangely as he had come.
"破産した／（警察が）手入れする me! Duane, whatever do you make of that?" exclaimed Jones.
"A new one on me," replied Duane, thoughtfully.
"First fool thing I ever heard of MacNelly doing. Can't make 長，率いる nor tails of it. I'd have said offhand that MacNelly wouldn't 二塁打-cross anybody. He struck me as a square man, sand all through. But, hell! he must mean treachery. I can't see anything else in that 取引，協定."
"Maybe the Captain wants to give me a fair chance to 降伏する without 流血／虐殺," 観察するd Duane. "Pretty decent of him, if he meant that."
"He INVITES YOU out to his （軍の）野営地，陣営 AFTER DARK. Something strange about this, Duane. But MacNelly's a new man out here. He does some queer things. Perhaps he's getting a swelled 長，率いる. 井戸／弁護士席, whatever his 意向s, his presence around Mercer is enough for us. Duane, you 攻撃する，衝突する the road and put some miles between you the amiable Captain before daylight. To-morrow I'll go out there and ask him what in the devil he meant."
"That messenger he sent—he was a 特別奇襲隊員," said Duane.
"Sure he was, and a nervy one! It must have taken sand to come を締めるing you that way. Duane, the fellow didn't pack a gun. I'll 断言する to that. Pretty 半端物, this trick. But you can't 信用 it. 攻撃する，衝突する the road, Duane."
A little later a 黒人／ボイコット horse with muffled hoofs, 耐えるing a tall, dark rider who peered 熱心に into every 影をつくる／尾行する, trotted 負かす／撃墜する a pasture 小道／航路 支援する of Jones's house, turned into the road, and then, breaking into swifter gait, 速く left Mercer behind.
Fifteen or twenty miles out Duane drew rein in a forest of mesquite, dismounted, and searched about for a glade with a little grass. Here he 火刑／賭けるd his horse on a long lariat; and, using his saddle for a pillow, his saddle-一面に覆う／毛布 for covering, he went to sleep.
Next morning he was off again, working south. During the next few days he paid 簡潔な／要約する visits to several villages that lay in his path. And in each some one particular friend had a piece of news to impart that made Duane profoundly thoughtful. A 特別奇襲隊員 had made a 静かな, unobtrusive call upon these friends and left this message, "Tell Buck Duane to ride into Captain MacNelly's （軍の）野営地，陣営 some time after night."
Duane 結論するd, and his friends all agreed with him, that the new 特別奇襲隊員's main 目的 in the Nueces country was to 逮捕（する） or kill Buck Duane, and that this message was 簡単に an 初めの and striking ruse, the daring of which might 控訴，上告 to 確かな 無法者s.
But it did not 控訴，上告 to Duane. His curiosity was 誘発するd; it did not, however, tempt him to any foolhardy 行為／法令／行動する. He turned 南西 and 棒 a hundred miles until he again reached the sparsely settled country. Here he heard no more of 特別奇襲隊員s. It was a barren 地域 he had never but once ridden through, and that ride had cost him dear. He had been compelled to shoot his way out. 無法者s were not in （許可，名誉などを）与える with the few ranchers and their cowboys who 範囲d there. He learned that both 無法者s and Mexican raiders had long been at bitter 敵意 with these ranchers. 存在 unfamiliar with roads and 追跡するs, Duane had 押し進めるd on into the heart of this 地区, when all the time he really believed he was traveling around it. A ライフル銃／探して盗む-発射 from a ranch-house, a 審議する／熟考する 試みる／企てる to kill him because he was an unknown rider in those parts, discovered to Duane his mistake; and a hard ride to get away 説得するd him to return to his old methods of hiding by day and traveling by night.
He got into rough country, 棒 for three days without covering much ground, but believed that he was getting on safer 領土. Twice he （機の）カム to a wide 底（に届く）-land green with willow and cottonwood and 厚い as chaparral, somewhere through the middle of which ran a river he decided must be the lower Nueces.
One evening, as he stole out from a covert where he had （軍の）野営地，陣営d, he saw the lights of a village. He tried to pass it on the left, but was unable to because the ブレーキs of this 底（に届く）-land 延長するd in almost to the 郊外s of the village, and he had to retrace his steps and go 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to the 権利. Wire 盗品故買者s and horses in pasture made this a 仕事, so it was 井戸／弁護士席 after midnight before he 遂行するd it. He made ten miles or more then by daylight, and after that proceeded 慎重に along a road which appeared to be 井戸／弁護士席 worn from travel. He passed several thickets where he would have 停止（させる）d to hide during the day but for the fact that he had to find water.
He was a long while in coming to it, and then there was no thicket or clump of mesquite 近づく the waterhole that would afford him covert. So he kept on.
The country before him was ridgy and began to show cottonwoods here and there in the hollows and yucca and mesquite on the higher ground. As he 機動力のある a 山の尾根 he 公式文書，認めるd that the road made a sharp turn, and he could not see what was beyond it. He slowed up and was making the turn, which was 負かす／撃墜する-hill between high banks of yellow clay, when his mettlesome horse heard something to 脅す him or shied at something and bolted.
The few bounds he took before Duane's アイロンをかける arm checked him were enough to reach the curve. One flashing ちらりと見ること showed Duane the open once more, a little valley below with a wide, shallow, rocky stream, a clump of cottonwoods beyond, a somber group of men 直面するing him, and two dark, limp, strangely grotesque 人物／姿／数字s hanging from 支店s.
The sight was ありふれた enough in 南西 Texas, but Duane had never before 設立する himself so unpleasantly の近くに.
A hoarse 発言する／表明する pealed out: "By hell! there's another one!"
"Stranger, ride 負かす／撃墜する an' account fer yourself!" yelled another.
"手渡すs up!"
"Thet's 権利, Jack; don't take no chances. Plug him!"
These 発言／述べるs were so 速く uttered as almost to be continuous. Duane was wheeling his horse when a ライフル銃／探して盗む 割れ目d. The 弾丸 struck his left forearm and he thought broke it, for he dropped the rein. The 脅すd horse leaped. Another 弾丸 whistled past Duane. Then the bend in the road saved him probably from 確かな death. Like the 勝利，勝つd his (n)艦隊／(a)素早い steed wend 負かす／撃墜する the long hill.
Duane was in no hurry to look 支援する. He knew what to 推定する／予想する. His 長，指導者 関心 of the moment was for his 負傷させるd arm. He 設立する that the bones were still 損なわれていない; but the 負傷させる, having been made by a soft 弾丸, was an exceedingly bad one. 血 注ぐd from it. Giving the horse his 長，率いる, Duane 負傷させる his scarf tightly 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 穴を開けるs, and with teeth and 手渡す tied it tightly. That done, he looked 支援する over his shoulder.
Riders were making the dust 飛行機で行く on the hillside road. There were more coming 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 削減（する） where the road curved. The leader was perhaps a ４半期/4分の1 of a mile 支援する, and the others strung out behind him. Duane needed only one ちらりと見ること to tell him that they were 急速な／放蕩な and hard-riding cowboys in a land where all riders were good. They would not have owned any but strong, swift horses. Moreover, it was a 地区 where ranchers had 苦しむd beyond all endurance the greed and brutality of 無法者s. Duane had 簡単に been so unfortunate as to run 権利 into a lynching party at a time of all times when any stranger would be in danger and any 無法者 put to his 限界 to escape with his life.
Duane did not look 支援する again till he had crossed the ridgy piece of ground and had gotten to the level road. He had 伸び（る）d upon his pursuers. When he ascertained this he tried to save his horse, to check a little that 殺人，大当り gait. This horse was a magnificent animal, big, strong, 急速な／放蕩な; but his endurance had never been put to a grueling 実験（する）. And that worried Duane. His life had made it impossible to keep one horse very long at a time, and this one was an unknown 量.
Duane had only one 計画（する）—the only 計画（する） possible in this 事例／患者 —and that was to make the river-底（に届く）s, where he might elude his pursuers in the willow ブレーキs. Fifteen miles or so would bring him to the river, and this was not a hopeless distance for any good horse if not too closely 圧力（をかける）d. Duane 結論するd presently that the cowboys behind were losing a little in the chase because they were not 延長するing their horses. It was decidedly unusual for such riders to save their 開始するs. Duane pondered over this, looking backward several times to see if their horses were stretched out. They were not, and the fact was 乱すing. Only one 推論する／理由 現在のd itself to Duane's conjecturing, and it was that with him 長，率いるd straight on that road his pursuers were 満足させるd not to 軍隊 the running. He began to hope and look for a 追跡する or a road turning off to 権利 or left. There was 非，不，無. A rough, mesquite-dotted and yucca-spired country 延長するd away on either 味方する. Duane believed that he would be compelled to take to this hard going. One thing was 確かな —he had to go 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the village. The river, however, was on the 郊外s of the village; and once in the willows, he would be 安全な.
Dust-clouds far ahead 原因（となる）d his alarm to grow. He watched with his 注目する，もくろむs 緊張するd; he hoped to see a wagon, a few 逸脱する cattle. But no, he soon descried several horsemen. 発射s and yells behind him attested to the fact that his pursuers likewise had seen these new-comers on the scene. More than a mile separated these two parties, yet that distance did not keep them from soon understanding each other. Duane waited only to see this new factor show 調印するs of sudden quick 活動／戦闘, and then, with a muttered 悪口を言う／悪態, he spurred his horse off the road into the 小衝突.
He chose the 権利 味方する, because the river lay nearer that way. There were patches of open sandy ground between clumps of cactus and mesquite, and he 設立する that にもかかわらず a ジグザグの course he made better time. It was impossible for him to 位置を示す his pursuers. They would come together, he decided, and take to his 跡をつけるs.
What, then, was his surprise and 狼狽 to run out of a thicket 権利 into a low 山の尾根 of rough, broken 激しく揺する, impossible to get a horse over. He wheeled to the left along its base. The sandy ground gave place to a harder 国／地域, where his horse did not labor so. Here the growths of mesquite and cactus became scanter, affording better travel but poor cover. He kept sharp 注目する，もくろむs ahead, and, as he had 推定する／予想するd, soon saw moving dust-clouds and the dark 人物／姿／数字s of horses. They were half a mile away, and swinging obliquely across the flat, which fact 証明するd that they had entertained a fair idea of the country and the 逃亡者／はかないもの's difficulty.
Without an instant's hesitation Duane put his horse to his best 成果／努力s, straight ahead. He had to pass those men. When this was seemingly made impossible by a 深い wash from which he had to turn, Duane began to feel 冷淡な and sick. Was this the end? Always there had to be an end to an 無法者's career. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 then to ride straight at these pursuers. But 推論する／理由 outweighed instinct. He was 逃げるing for his life; にもかかわらず, the strongest instinct at the time was his 願望（する） to fight.
He knew when these three horsemen saw him, and a moment afterward he lost sight of them as he got into the mesquite again. He meant now to try to reach the road, and 押し進めるd his 開始する 厳しく, though still saving him for a final burst. 激しく揺するs, thickets, bunches of cactus, washes—all operated against his に引き続いて a straight line. Almost he lost his bearings, and finally would have ridden toward his enemies had not good fortune 好意d him in the 事柄 of an open 燃やすd-over stretch of ground.
Here he saw both groups of pursuers, one on each 味方する and almost within gun-発射. Their sharp yells, as much as his cruel 刺激（する）s, drove his horse into that pace which now meant life or death for him. And never had Duane bestrode a gamer, swifter, stancher beast. He seemed about to 遂行する the impossible. In the dragging sand he was far superior to any horse in 追跡, and on this sandy open stretch he 伸び（る）d enough to spare a little in the 小衝突 beyond. Heated now and 完全に terrorized, he kept the pace through thickets that almost tore Duane from his saddle. Something 重大な and grim 緩和するd off Duane. He was going to get out in 前線! The horse had 速度(を上げる）, 解雇する／砲火／射撃, stamina.
Duane dashed out into another open place dotted by few trees, and here, 権利 in his path, within ピストル-範囲, stood horsemen waiting. They yelled, they spurred toward him, but did not 解雇する／砲火／射撃 at him. He turned his horse— 直面するd to the 権利. Only one thing kept him from standing his ground to fight it out. He remembered those dangling limp 人物／姿／数字s hanging from the cottonwoods. These ranchers would rather hang an 無法者 than do anything. They might draw all his 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and then 逮捕（する） him. His horror of hanging was so 広大な／多数の／重要な as to be all out of 割合 compared to his gun-闘士，戦闘機's instinct of self-保護.
A race began then, a dusty, 衝突，墜落ing 運動 through gray mesquite. Duane could scarcely see, he was so blinded by stinging 支店s across his 注目する，もくろむs. The hollow 勝利，勝つd roared in his ears. He lost his sense of the nearness of his pursuers. But they must have been の近くに. Did they shoot at him? He imagined he heard 発射s. But that might have been the 割れ目ing of dead 行き詰まり，妨げるs. His left arm hung limp, almost useless; he 扱うd the rein with his 権利; and most of the time he hung low over the 鞍馬. The gray 塀で囲むs flashing by him, the whip of twigs, the 急ぐ of 勝利，勝つd, the 激しい, 早い 続けざまに猛撃する of hoofs, the violent 動議 of his horse—these vied in sensation with the smart of sweat in his 注目する，もくろむs, the rack of his 負傷させる, the 冷淡な, sick cramp in his stomach. With these also was dull, 激怒（する）ing fury. He had to run when he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to fight. It took all his mind to 軍隊 支援する that bitter hate of himself, of his pursuers, of this race for his useless life.
Suddenly he burst out of a line of mesquite into the road. A long stretch of lonely road! How ひどく, with hot, strange joy, he wheeled his horse upon it! Then he was 広範囲にわたる along, sure now that he was out in 前線. His horse still had strength and 速度(を上げる）, but showed 調印するs of breaking. Presently Duane looked 支援する. Pursuers—he could not count how many—were loping along in his 後部. He paid no more attention to them, and with teeth 始める，決める he 直面するd ahead, grimmer now in his 決意 to 失敗させる／負かす them.
He passed a few scattered ranch-houses where horses whistled from corrals, and men curiously watched him 飛行機で行く past. He saw one rancher running, and he felt intuitively that this fellow was going to join in the chase. Duane's steed 続けざまに猛撃するd on, not noticeably slower, but with a 欠如（する） of former smoothness, with a 緊張するd, convulsive, jerking stride which showed he was almost done.
Sight of the village ahead surprised Duane. He had reached it sooner than he 推定する／予想するd. Then he made a 発見—he had entered the zone of wire 盗品故買者s. As he dared not turn 支援する now, he kept on, ーするつもりであるing to ride through the village. Looking backward, he saw that his pursuers were half a mile distant, too far to alarm any 村人s in time to 迎撃する him in his flight. As he 棒 by the first houses his horse broke and began to labor. Duane did not believe he would last long enough to go through the village.
Saddled horses in 前線 of a 蓄える／店 gave Duane an idea, not by any means new, and one he had carried out 首尾よく before. As he pulled in his heaving 開始する and leaped off, a couple of ranchers （機の）カム out of the place, and one of them stepped to a clean-四肢d, fiery bay. He was about to get into his saddle when he saw Duane, and then he 停止（させる）d, a foot in the stirrup.
Duane strode 今後, しっかり掴むd the bridle of this man's horse.
"地雷's done—but not killed," he panted. "貿易（する） with me."
"Wal, stranger, I'm shore always ready to 貿易（する）," drawled the man. "But ain't you a little swift?"
Duane ちらりと見ることd 支援する up the road. His pursuers were entering the village.
"I'm Duane—Buck Duane," he cried, menacingly. "Will you 貿易（する）? Hurry!"
The rancher, turning white, dropped his foot from the stirrup and fell 支援する.
"I reckon I'll 貿易（する）," he said.
Bounding up, Duane dug 刺激（する）s into the bay's 側面に位置するs. The horse snorted in fright, 急落（する），激減（する）d into a run. He was fresh, swift, half wild. Duane flashed by the remaining houses on the street out into the open. But the road ended at that village or else led out from some other ４半期/4分の1, for he had ridden straight into the fields and from them into rough 砂漠. When he reached the cover of mesquite once more he looked 支援する to find six horsemen within ライフル銃／探して盗む-発射 of him, and more coming behind them.
His new horse had not had time to get warm before Duane reached a high sandy bluff below which lay the willow ブレーキs. As far as he could see 延長するd an 巨大な flat （土地などの）細長い一片 of red-tinged willow. How welcome it was to his 注目する，もくろむ! He felt like a 追跡（する）d wolf that, 疲れた／うんざりした and lame, had reached his 穴を開ける in the 激しく揺するs. Zigzagging 負かす／撃墜する the soft slope, he put the bay to the dense 塀で囲む of leaf and 支店. But the horse 妨げるd.
There was little time to lose. Dismounting, he dragged the stubborn beast into the thicket. This was harder and slower work than Duane cared to 危険. If he had not been 急ぐd he might have had better success. So he had to abandon the horse—a circumstance that only such sore 海峡s could have driven him to. Then he went slipping 速く through the 狭くする aisles.
He had not gotten under cover any too soon. For he heard his pursuers piling over the bluff, loud-発言する／表明するd, 確信して, 残虐な. They 衝突，墜落d into the willows.
"Hi, Sid! Heah's your hoss!" called one, evidently to the man Duane had 軍隊d into a 貿易（する）.
"Say, if you locoed gents'll 停止する a little I'll tell you somethin'," replied a 発言する／表明する from the bluff.
"Come on, Sid! We got him corralled," said the first （衆議院の）議長.
"Wal, mebbe, an' if you hev it's liable to be damn hot. THET FELLER WAS BUCK DUANE!"
絶対の silence followed that 声明. Presently it was broken by a 動揺させるing of loose gravel and then low 発言する／表明するs.
"He can't git across the river, I tell you," （機の）カム to Duane's ears. "He's corralled in the ブレーキ. I know thet 穴を開ける."
Then Duane, gliding silently and 速く through the willows, heard no more from his pursuers. He 長，率いるd straight for the river. Threading a passage through a willow ブレーキ was an old 仕事 for him. Many days and nights had gone to the acquiring of a 技術 that might have been envied by an Indian.
The Rio Grande and its 支流s for the most of their length in Texas ran between wide, low, flat lands covered by a dense growth of willow. Cottonwood, mesquite, prickly pear, and other growths mingled with the willow, and altogether they made a matted, 絡まるd copse, a thicket that an inexperienced man would have considered impenetrable. From above, these wild ブレーキs looked green and red; from the inside they were gray and yellow —a （土地などの）細長い一片d 塀で囲む. 追跡するs and glades were 不十分な. There were a few deer-滑走路s and いつかs little paths made by peccaries—the jabali, or wild pigs, of Mexico. The ground was clay and 異常に 乾燥した，日照りの, いつかs baked so hard that it left no imprint of a 跡をつける. Where a growth of cottonwood had held 支援する the encroachment of the willows there usually was 厚い grass and underbrush. The willows were short, slender 政治家s with 茎・取り除くs so の近くに together that they almost touched, and with the leafy foliage forming a 厚い covering. The depths of this ブレーキ Duane had 侵入するd was a silent, dreamy, strange place. In the middle of the day the light was weird and 薄暗い. When a 微風 ぱたぱたするd the foliage, then slender 軸s and spears of 日光 pierced the green mantle and danced like gold on the ground.
Duane had always felt the strangeness of this 肉親，親類d of place, and likewise he had felt a 保護するing, harboring something which always seemed to him to be the sympathy of the ブレーキ for a 追跡（する）d creature. Any unwounded creature, strong and resourceful, was 安全な when he had glided under the low, rustling green roof of this wild covert. It was not hard to 隠す 跡をつけるs; the springy 国／地域 gave 前へ／外へ no sound; and men could 追跡（する） each other for weeks, pass within a few yards of each other and never know it. The problem of 支えるing life was difficult; but, then, 追跡（する）d men and animals 生き残るd on very little.
Duane 手配中の，お尋ね者 to cross the river if that was possible, and, keeping in the ブレーキ, work his way upstream till he had reached country more hospitable. Remembering what the man had said in regard to the river, Duane had his 疑問s about crossing. But he would take any chance to put the river between him and his hunters. He 押し進めるd on. His left arm had to be 好意d, as he could scarcely move it. Using his 権利 to spread the willows, he slipped sideways between them and made 急速な／放蕩な time. There were 狭くする aisles and washes and 穴を開けるs low 負かす／撃墜する and paths 小衝突d by animals, all of which he took advantage of, running, walking, はうing, stooping any way to get along. To keep in a straight line was not 平易な—he did it by 場内取引員／株価 some 有望な sunlit 茎・取り除く or tree ahead, and when he reached it looked straight on to 示す another. His 進歩 やむを得ず grew slower, for as he 前進するd the ブレーキ became wilder, denser, darker. Mosquitoes began to whine about his 長，率いる. He kept on without pause. 深くするing 影をつくる／尾行するs under the willows told him that the afternoon was far 前進するd. He began to 恐れる he had wandered in a wrong direction. Finally a （土地などの）細長い一片 of light ahead relieved his 苦悩, and after a toilsome 侵入／浸透 of still denser 小衝突 he broke through to the bank of the river.
He 直面するd a wide, shallow, muddy stream with ブレーキs on the opposite bank 延長するing like a green and yellow 塀で囲む. Duane perceived at a ちらりと見ること the futility of his trying to cross at this point. Everywhere the 不振の water raved quicksand 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s. In fact, the bed of the river was all quicksand, and very likely there was not a foot of water anywhere. He could not swim; he could not はう; he could not 押し進める a スピードを出す／記録につける across. Any solid thing touching that smooth yellow sand would be しっかり掴むd and sucked 負かす／撃墜する. To 証明する this he 掴むd a long 政治家 and, reaching 負かす／撃墜する from the high bank, thrust it into the stream. 権利 there 近づく shore there 明らかに was no 底（に届く） to the 背信の quicksand. He abandoned any hope of crossing the river. Probably for miles up and 負かす／撃墜する it would be just the same as here. Before leaving the bank he tied his hat upon the 政治家 and 解除するd enough water to quench his かわき. Then he worked his way 支援する to where thinner growth made 進歩 easier, and kept on up-stream till the 影をつくる／尾行するs were so 深い he could not see. Feeling around for a place big enough to stretch out on, he lay 負かす／撃墜する. For the time 存在 he was as 安全な there as he would have been beyond in the 縁 激しく揺する. He was tired, though not exhausted, and in spite of the throbbing 苦痛 in his arm he dropped at once into sleep.
SOME time during the night Duane awoke. A stillness seemingly so 厚い and 激しい as to have 実体 一面に覆う／毛布d the 黒人／ボイコット willow ブレーキ. He could not see a 星／主役にする or a 支店 or tree-trunk or even his 手渡す before his 注目する，もくろむs. He lay there waiting, listening, sure that he had been awakened by an unusual sound. Ordinary noises of the night in the wilderness never 乱すd his 残り／休憩（する）. His faculties, like those of old 逃亡者／はかないものs and 追跡（する）d creatures, had become trained to a marvelous keenness. A long low breath of slow 勝利，勝つd moaned through the willows, passed away; some stealthy, soft-footed beast trotted by him in the 不明瞭; there was a rustling の中で 乾燥した，日照りの leaves; a fox barked lonesomely in the distance. But 非，不，無 of these sounds had broken his slumber.
Suddenly, piercing the stillness, （機の）カム a bay of a bloodhound. Quickly Duane sat up, 冷気／寒がらせるd to his 骨髄. The 活動／戦闘 made him aware of his 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd arm. Then （機の）カム other bays, lower, more distant. Silence enfolded him again, all the more oppressive and 脅迫的な in his suspense. Bloodhounds had been put on his 追跡する, and the leader was not far away. All his life Duane had been familiar with bloodhounds; and he knew that if the pack surrounded him in this impenetrable 不明瞭 he would be held at bay or dragged 負かす／撃墜する as wolves dragged a stag. Rising to his feet, 用意が出来ている to 逃げる as best he could, he waited to be sure of the direction he should take.
The leader of the hounds broke into cry again, a 深い, 十分な-トンd, （犯罪の）一味ing bay, strange, ominous, terribly 重要な in its 力／強力にする. It 原因（となる）d a 冷淡な sweat to ooze out all over Duane's 団体／死体. He turned from it, and with his uninjured arm outstretched to feel for the willows he groped his way along. As it was impossible to 選ぶ out the 狭くする passages, he had to slip and squeeze and 急落（する），激減（する） between the 産する／生じるing 茎・取り除くs. He made such a 衝突，墜落ing that he no longer heard the baying of the hounds. He had no hope to elude them. He meant to climb the first cottonwood that he つまずくd upon in his blind flight. But it appeared he never was going to be lucky enough to run against one. Often he fell, いつかs flat, at others upheld by the willows. What made the work so hard was the fact that he had only one arm to open a clump of の近くに-growing 茎・取り除くs and his feet would catch or 絡まる in the 狭くする crotches, 持つ／拘留するing him 急速な／放蕩な. He had to struggle 猛烈に. It was as if the willows were clutching 手渡すs, his enemies, fiendishly 妨げるing his 進歩. He tore his 着せる／賦与するs on sharp 支店s and his flesh 苦しむd many a prick. But in a terrible earnestness he kept on until he brought up hard against a cottonwood tree.
There he leaned and 残り／休憩（する）d. He 設立する himself as nearly exhausted as he had ever been, wet with sweat, his 手渡すs torn and 燃やすing, his breast laboring, his 脚s stinging from innumerable bruises. While he leaned there to catch his breath he listened for the 追求するing hounds. For a long time there was no sound from them. This, however, did not deceive him into any hopefulness. There were bloodhounds that bayed often on a 追跡する, and others that ran mostly silent. The former were more 価値のある to their owner and the latter more dangerous to the 逃亡者／はかないもの. Presently Duane's ears were filled by a chorus of short （犯罪の）一味ing yelps. The pack had 設立する where he had slept, and now the 追跡する was hot. 満足させるd that they would soon 追いつく him, Duane 始める，決める about climbing the cottonwood, which in his 条件 was difficult of ascent.
It happened to be a 公正に／かなり large tree with a fork about fifteen feet up, and 支店s thereafter in succession. Duane climbed until he got above the enshrouding belt of blackness. A pale gray もや hung above the ブレーキ, and through it shone a line of 薄暗い lights. Duane decided these were bonfires made along the bluff to （判決などを）下す his escape more difficult on that 味方する. Away 一連の会議、交渉／完成する in the direction he thought was north he imagined he saw more 解雇する／砲火／射撃s, but, as the もや was 厚い, he could not be sure. While he sat there pondering the 事柄, listening for the hounds, the もや and the gloom on one 味方する lightened; and this 味方する he 結論するd was east and meant that 夜明け was 近づく. 満足させるing himself on this 得点する／非難する／２０, he descended to the first 支店 of the tree.
His 状況／情勢 now, though still 批判的な, did not appear to be so hopeless as it had been. The hounds would soon の近くに in on him, and he would kill them or 運動 them away. It was beyond the bounds of 可能性 that any men could have followed running hounds through that ブレーキ in the night. The thing that worried Duane was the fact of the bonfires. He had gathered from the words of one of his pursuers that the ブレーキ was a 肉親，親類d of 罠（にかける）, and he began to believe there was only one way out of it, and that was along the bank where he had entered, and where 明白に all night long his pursuers had kept 解雇する／砲火／射撃s 燃やすing. その上の conjecture on this point, however, was interrupted by a 衝突，墜落ing in the willows and the 早い patter of feet.
Underneath Duane lay a gray, 霧がかかった obscurity. He could not see the ground, nor any 反対する but the 黒人／ボイコット trunk of the tree. Sight would not be needed to tell him when the pack arrived. With a pattering 急ぐ through the willows the hounds reached the tree; and then high above 衝突，墜落 of 小衝突 and thud of 激しい paws rose a hideous clamor. Duane's pursuers far off to the south would hear that and know what it meant. And at daybreak, perhaps before, they would take a short 削減（する） across the ブレーキ, guided by the baying of hounds that had treed their quarry.
It 手配中の，お尋ね者 only a few moments, however, till Duane could distinguish the vague forms of the hounds in the gray 影をつくる／尾行する below. Still he waited. He had no 発射s to spare. And he knew how to 扱う／治療する bloodhounds. 徐々に the obscurity lightened, and at length Duane had good enough sight of the hounds for his 目的. His first 発射 killed the 抱擁する brute leader of the pack. Then, with unerring 発射s, he 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd several others. That stopped the baying. Piercing howls arose. The pack took fright and fled, its course easily 示すd by the howls of the 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd members. Duane reloaded his gun, and, making 確かな all the hounds had gone, he descended to the ground and 始める，決める off at a 早い pace to the northward.
The もや had 解散させるd under a rising sun when Duane made his first 停止（させる） some miles north of the scene where he had waited for the hounds. A 障壁 to その上の 進歩, in 形態／調整 of a precipitous rocky bluff, rose sheer from the willow ブレーキ. He skirted the base of the cliff, where walking was comparatively 平易な, around in the direction of the river. He reached the end finally to see there was 絶対 no chance to escape from the ブレーキ at that corner. It took extreme labor, …に出席するd by some hazard and かなりの 苦痛 to his arm, to get 負かす／撃墜する where he could fill his sombrero with water. After quenching his かわき he had a look at his 負傷させる. It was caked over with 血 and dirt. When washed off the arm was seen to be inflamed and swollen around the 弾丸-穴を開ける. He bathed it, experiencing a soothing 救済 in the 冷静な／正味の water. Then he 包帯d it as best he could and arranged a sling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck. This mitigated the 苦痛 of the 負傷させるd member and held it in a 静かな and restful position, where it had a chance to begin mending.
As Duane turned away from the river he felt refreshed. His 広大な／多数の／重要な strength and endurance had always made 疲労，（軍の）雑役 something almost unknown to him. However, tramping on foot day and night was as unusual to him as to any other riders of the 南西, and it had begun to tell on him. Retracing his steps, he reached the point where he had 突然の come upon the bluff, and here he 決定するd to follow along its base in the other direction until he 設立する a way out or discovered the futility of such 成果／努力.
Duane covered ground 速く. From time to time he paused to listen. But he was always listening, and his 注目する，もくろむs were ever roving. This alertness had become second nature with him, so that except in extreme 事例／患者s of 警告を与える he 成し遂げるd it while he pondered his 暗い／優うつな and fateful 状況／情勢. Such habit of alertness and thought made time 飛行機で行く 速く.
By noon he had 一連の会議、交渉／完成するd the wide curve of the ブレーキ and was 直面するing south. The bluff had petered out from a high, 山地の 塀で囲む to a low abutment of 激しく揺する, but it still held to its 法外な, rough nature and afforded no 割れ目 or slope where quick ascent could have been possible. He 押し進めるd on, growing warier as he approached the danger-zone, finding that as he 近づくd the river on this 味方する it was imperative to go deeper into the willows. In the afternoon he reached a point where he could see men pacing to and fro on the bluff. This 保証するd him that whatever place was guarded was one by which he might escape. He 長，率いるd toward these men and approached to within a hundred paces of the bluff where they were. There were several men and several boys, all 武装した and, after the manner of Texans, taking their 仕事 leisurely. さらに先に 負かす／撃墜する Duane made out 黒人／ボイコット dots on the horizon of the bluff-line, and these he 結論するd were more guards 駅／配置するd at another 出口. Probably all the 利用できる men in the 地区 were on 義務. Texans took a grim 楽しみ in such work. Duane remembered that upon several occasions he had served such 義務 himself.
Duane peered through the 支店s and 熟考する／考慮するd the lay of the land. For several hundred yards the bluff could be climbed. He took 在庫／株 of those careless guards. They had ライフル銃／探して盗むs, and that made vain any 試みる／企てる to pass them in daylight. He believed an 試みる／企てる by night might be successful; and he was 速く coming to a 決意 to hide there till dark and then try it, when the sudden yelping of a dog betrayed him to the guards on the bluff.
The dog had likely been placed there to give an alarm, and he was lustily true to his 信用. Duane saw the men run together and begin to talk excitedly and peer into the ブレーキ, which was a signal for him to slip away under the willows. He made no noise, and he 保証するd himself he must be invisible. にもかかわらず, he heard shouts, then the 割れ目ing of ライフル銃／探して盗むs, and 弾丸s began to zip and swish through the leafy covert. The day was hot and windless, and Duane 結論するd that whenever he touched a willow 茎・取り除く, even ever so わずかに, it vibrated to the 最高の，を越す and sent a quiver の中で the leaves. Through this the guards had 位置を示すd his position. Once a 弾丸 hissed by him; another thudded into the ground before him. This 狙撃 loosed a 激怒（する） in Duane. He had to 飛行機で行く from these men, and he hated them and himself because of it. Always in the fury of such moments he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to give 支援する 発射 for 発射. But he slipped on through the willows, and at length the ライフル銃／探して盗むs 中止するd to 割れ目.
He sheered to the left again, in line with the rocky 障壁, and kept on, wondering what the next mile would bring.
It brought worse, for he was seen by sharp-注目する，もくろむd scouts, and a hot fusillade drove him to run for his life, luckily to escape with no more than a 弾丸-creased shoulder.
Later that day, still undaunted, he sheered again toward the 罠（にかける）-塀で囲む, and 設立する that the nearer he approached to the place where he had come 負かす／撃墜する into the ブレーキ the greater his danger. To 試みる／企てる to run the 封鎖 of that 追跡する by day would be 致命的な. He waited for night, and after the brightness of the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s had somewhat 少なくなるd he assayed to creep out of the ブレーキ. He 後継するd in reaching the foot of the bluff, here only a bank, and had begun to はう stealthily up under cover of a 影をつくる／尾行する when a hound again betrayed his position. 退却／保養地ing to the willows was as perilous a 仕事 as had ever 直面するd Duane, and when he had 遂行するd it, 権利 under what seemed a hundred 炎ing ライフル銃／探して盗むs, he felt that he had indeed been 好意d by Providence. This time men followed him a goodly ways into the ブレーキ, and the ripping of lead through the willows sounded on all 味方するs of him.
When the noise of 追跡 中止するd Duane sat 負かす／撃墜する in the 不明瞭, his mind clamped between two things—whether to try again to escape or wait for possible 適切な時期. He seemed incapable of 決定／判定勝ち（する）. His 知能 told him that every hour 少なくなるd his chances for escape. He had little enough chance in any 事例／患者, and that was what made another 試みる／企てる so 猛烈に hard. Still it was not love of life that bound him. There would come an hour, sooner or later, when he would wrench 決定／判定勝ち（する） out of this 大混乱 of emotion and thought. But that time was not yet. he had remained 静かな long enough to 冷静な／正味の off and 回復する from his run he 設立する that he was tired. He stretched out to 残り／休憩（する）. But the 群れているs of vicious mosquitoes 妨げるd sleep. This corner of the ブレーキ was low and 近づく the river, a 産む／飼育するing-ground for the 血-suckers. They sang and hummed and whined around him in an ever-増加するing horde. He covered his 長，率いる and 手渡すs with his coat and lay there 根気よく. That was a long and wretched night. Morning 設立する him still strong 肉体的に, but in a dreadful 明言する／公表する of mind.
First he hurried for the river. He could withstand the pangs of hunger, but it was imperative to quench かわき. His 負傷させる made him feverish, and therefore more than usually hot and thirsty. Again he was refreshed. That morning he was hard put to it to 持つ／拘留する himself 支援する from 試みる／企てるing to cross the river. If he could find a light スピードを出す／記録につける it was within the bounds of 可能性
that he might ford the shallow water and 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s of quicksand. But not yet! Wearily, doggedly he 直面するd about toward the bluff.
All that day and all that night, all the next day and all the next night, he stole like a 追跡（する）d savage from river to bluff; and every hour 軍隊d upon him the bitter certainty that he was 罠にかける.
Duane lost 跡をつける of days, of events. He had come to an evil pass. There arrived an hour when, closely 圧力（をかける）d by pursuers at the extreme southern corner of the ブレーキ, he took to a dense thicket of willows, driven to what he believed was his last stand.
If only these human bloodhounds would 速く の近くに in on him! Let him fight to the last bitter gasp and have it over! But these hunters, eager as they were to get him, had care of their own 肌s. They took few 危険s. They had him cornered.
It was the middle of the day, hot, dusty, oppressive, 脅すing 嵐／襲撃する. Like a snake Duane はうd into a little space in the darkest part of the thicket and lay still. Men had 削減（する） him off from the bluff, from the river, seemingly from all 味方するs. But he heard 発言する／表明するs only from in 前線 and toward his left. Even if his passage to the river had not been 封鎖するd, it might just 同様に have been.
"Come on fellers—負かす／撃墜する hyar," called one man from the bluff.
"Got him corralled at last," shouted another.
"Reckon ye needn't be too shore. We thought thet more'n once," taunted another.
"I seen him, I tell you."
"Aw, thet was a deer."
"But 法案 設立する fresh 跡をつけるs an' 血 on the willows. '
"If he's winged we needn't hurry."
"持つ／拘留する on thar, you boys," （機の）カム a shout in 権威のある トンs from さらに先に up the bluff. "Go slow. You-all 空気／公表する gittin' foolish at the end of a long chase."
"Thet's 権利, 陸軍大佐. 持つ／拘留する 'em 支援する. There's nothin' shorer than somebody'll be stoppin' lead pretty quick. He'll be huntin' us soon!"
"Let's surround this corner an' 餓死する him out."
"解雇する／砲火／射撃 the ブレーキ."
How 明確に all this talk pierced Duane's ears! In it he seemed to hear his doom. This, then, was the end he had always 推定する／予想するd, which had been の近くに to him before, yet never like now.
"By God!" whispered Duane, "the thing for me to do now—is go out —会合，会う them!"
That was 誘発するd by the fighting, the 殺人，大当り instinct in him. In that moment it had almost superhuman 力／強力にする. If he must die, that was the way for him to die. What else could be 推定する／予想するd of Buck Duane? He got to his 膝s and drew his gun. With his swollen and almost useless 手渡す he held what spare 弾薬／武器 he had left. He せねばならない creep out noiselessly to the 辛勝する／優位 of the willows, suddenly 直面する his pursuers, then, while there was a （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 left in his heart, kill, kill, kill. These men all had ライフル銃／探して盗むs. The fight would be short. But the marksmen did not live on earth who could make such a fight go wholly against him. 直面するing them suddenly he could kill a man for every 発射 in his gun.
Thus Duane 推論する／理由d. So he hoped to 受託する his 運命／宿命—to 会合，会う this end. But when he tried to step 今後 something checked him. He 軍隊d himself; yet he could not go. The obstruction that …に反対するd his will was as insurmountable as it had been 肉体的に impossible for him to climb the bluff.
Slowly he fell 支援する, crouched low, and then lay flat. The grim and 恐ろしい dignity that had been his a moment before fell away from him. He lay there stripped of his last shred of self-尊敬（する）・点. He wondered was he afraid; had he, the last of the Duanes—had he come to feel 恐れる? No! Never in all his wild life had he so longed to go out and 会合，会う men 直面する to 直面する. It was not 恐れる that held him 支援する. He hated this hiding, this eternal vigilance, this hopeless life. The damnable paradox of the 状況／情勢 was that if he went out to 会合，会う these men there was 絶対 no 疑問 of his doom. If he clung to his covert there was a chance, a merest chance, for his life. These pursuers, dogged and unflagging as they had been, were mortally afraid of him. It was his fame that made them cowards. Duane's keenness told him that at the very darkest and most perilous moment there was still a chance for him. And the 血 in him, the temper of his father, the years of his outlawry, the pride of his unsought and hated career, the nameless, inexplicable something in him made him 受託する that わずかな／ほっそりした chance.
Waiting then became a physical and mental agony. He lay under the 燃やすing sun, parched by かわき, laboring to breathe, sweating and bleeding. His uncared-for 負傷させる was like a red-hot prong in his flesh. Blotched and swollen from the never-ending attack of 飛行機で行くs and mosquitoes his 直面する seemed twice its natural size, and it ached and stung.
On one 味方する, then, was this physical 拷問; on the other the old hell, terribly augmented at this 危機, in his mind. It seemed that thought and imagination had never been so swift. If death 設立する him presently, how would it come? Would he get decent burial or be left for the peccaries and the coyotes? Would his people ever know where he had fallen? How wretched, how 哀れな his 明言する／公表する! It was 臆病な／卑劣な, it was monstrous for him to 粘着する longer to this doomed life. Then the hate in his heart, the hellish hate of these men on his 追跡する—that was like a 天罰（を下す）. He felt no longer human. He had degenerated into an animal that could think. His heart 続けざまに猛撃するd, his pulse （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域, his breast heaved; and this 内部の 争い seemed to 雷鳴 into his ears. He was now 制定するing the 悲劇 of all 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なうd, 餓死するd, 追跡（する）d wolves at bay in their dens. Only his 悲劇 was infinitely more terrible because he had mind enough to see his 苦境, his resemblance to a lonely wolf, 血まみれの-fanged, dripping, snarling, 解雇する／砲火／射撃-注目する，もくろむd in a last 直感的に 反抗.
機動力のある upon the horror of Duane's thought was a watching, listening intensity so 最高の that it 登録（する）d impressions which were 創造s of his imagination. He heard stealthy steps that were not there; he saw shadowy moving 人物／姿／数字s that were only leaves. A hundred times when he was about to pull 誘発する／引き起こす he discovered his error. Yet 発言する／表明するs （機の）カム from a distance, and steps and crackings in the willows, and other sounds real enough. But Duane could not distinguish the real from the 誤った. There were times when the 勝利，勝つd which had arisen sent a hot, pattering breath 負かす／撃墜する the willow aisles, and Duane heard it as an approaching army.
This 緊張するing of Duane's faculties brought on a reaction which in itself was a 一時的休止，執行延期. He saw the sun darkened by 厚い slow spreading clouds. A 嵐／襲撃する appeared to be coming. How slowly it moved! The 空気／公表する was like steam. If there broke one of those dark, violent 嵐／襲撃するs ありふれた though rare to the country, Duane believed he might slip away in the fury of 勝利，勝つd and rain. Hope, that seemed unquenchable in him, resurged again. He あられ／賞賛するd it with a bitterness that was sickening.
Then at a rustling step he froze into the old 緊張するd attention. He heard a slow patter of soft feet. A tawny 形態／調整 crossed a little 開始 in the thicket. It was that of a dog. The moment while that beast （機の）カム into 十分な 見解（をとる） was an age. The dog was not a bloodhound, and if he had a 追跡する or a scent he seemed to be at fault on it. Duane waited for the 必然的な 発見. Any 肉親，親類d of a 追跡（する）ing-dog could have 設立する him in that thicket. 発言する／表明するs from outside could be heard 勧めるing on the dog. Rover they called him. Duane sat up at the moment the dog entered the little shaded covert. Duane 推定する／予想するd a yelping, a baying, or at least a bark that would tell of his hiding-place. A strange 救済 速く swayed over Duane. The end was 近づく now. He had no その上の choice. Let them come—a quick 猛烈な／残忍な 交流 of 発射s—and then this 拷問 past! He waited for the dog to give the alarm.
But the dog looked at him and trotted by into the thicket without a yelp. Duane could not believe the 証拠 of his senses. He thought he had suddenly gone deaf. He saw the dog disappear, heard him running to and fro の中で the willows, getting さらに先に and さらに先に away, till all sound from him 中止するd.
"Thar's Rover," called a 発言する／表明する from the bluff-味方する. "He's been through thet 黒人／ボイコット patch."
"Nary a rabbit in there," replied another.
"Bah! Thet pup's no good," scornfully growled another man. "Put a hound at thet clump of willows."
"解雇する／砲火／射撃's the game. 燃やす the ブレーキ before the rain comes."
The 発言する／表明するs droned off as their owners evidently walked up the 山の尾根.
Then upon Duane fell the 鎮圧するing 重荷（を負わせる） of the old waiting, watching, listening （一定の）期間. After all, it was not to end just now. His chance still 固執するd—looked a little brighter—led him on, perhaps, to forlorn hope.
All at once twilight settled quickly 負かす／撃墜する upon the willow ブレーキ, or else Duane 公式文書，認めるd it suddenly. He imagined it to be 原因（となる）d by the approaching 嵐／襲撃する. But there was little movement of 空気／公表する or cloud, and 雷鳴 still muttered and rumbled at a distance. The fact was the sun had 始める，決める, and at this time of 曇った sky night was at 手渡す.
Duane realized it with the awakening of all his old 軍隊. He would yet elude his pursuers. That was the moment when he 掴むd the significance of all these fortunate circumstances which had 補佐官d him. Without haste and without sound he began to はう in the direction of the river. It was not far, and he reached the bank before 不明瞭 始める，決める in. There were men up on the bluff carrying 支持を得ようと努めるd to build a bonfire. For a moment he half 産する／生じるd to a 誘惑 to try to slip along the river-shore, の近くに in under the willows. But when he raised himself to peer out he saw that an 試みる／企てる of this 肉親，親類d would be liable to 失敗. At the same moment he saw a rough-hewn plank lying beneath him, 宿泊するd against some willows. The end of the plank 延長するd in almost to a point beneath him. Quick as a flash he saw where a desperate chance 招待するd him. Then he tied his gun in an oilskin 捕らえる、獲得する and put it in his pocket.,
The bank was 法外な and crumbly. He must not break off any earth to splash into the water. There was a willow growing 支援する some few feet from the 辛勝する／優位 of the bank. 慎重に he pulled it 負かす／撃墜する, bent it over the water so that when he 解放（する）d it there would be no springing 支援する. Then he 信用d his 負わせる to it, with his feet 事情に応じて変わる carefully 負かす／撃墜する the bank. He went into the water almost up to his 膝s, felt the quicksand 支配する his feet; then, leaning 今後 till he reached the plank, he pulled it toward him and lay upon it.
Without a sound one end went slowly under water and the さらに先に end appeared lightly を締めるd against the overhanging willows. Very carefully then Duane began to extricate his 権利 foot from the sucking sand. It seemed as if his foot was incased in solid 激しく揺する. But there was a movement 上向き, and he pulled with all the 力／強力にする he dared use. It （機の）カム slowly and at length was 解放する／自由な. The left one he 解放（する）d with いっそう少なく difficulty. The next few moments he put all his attention on the plank to ascertain if his 負わせる would 沈む it into the sand. The far end slipped off the willows with a little splash and 徐々に settled to 残り／休憩（する） upon the 底（に届く）. But it sank no さらに先に, and Duane's greatest 関心 was relieved. However, as it was manifestly impossible for him to keep his 長，率いる up for long he carefully はうd out upon the plank until he could 残り／休憩（する） an arm and shoulder upon the willows.
When he looked up it was to find the night strangely luminous with 解雇する／砲火／射撃s. There was a bonfire on the extreme end of the, bluff, another a hundred paces beyond. A 広大な／多数の／重要な ゆらめく 延長するd over the ブレーキ in that direction. Duane heard a roaring on the 勝利，勝つd, and he knew his pursuers had 解雇する／砲火／射撃d the willows. He did not believe that would help them much. The ブレーキ was 乾燥した，日照りの enough, but too green to 燃やす readily. And as for the bonfires he discovered that the men, probably having run out of 支持を得ようと努めるd, were keeping up the light with oil and stuff from the village. A dozen men kept watch on the bluff scarcely fifty paces from where Duane lay 隠すd by the willows. They talked, 割れ目d jokes, sang songs, and manifestly considered this 無法者-追跡（する）ing a 広大な／多数の／重要な lark. As long as the 有望な light lasted Duane dared not move. He had the patience and the endurance to wait for the breaking of the 嵐／襲撃する, and if that did not come, then the 早期に hour before 夜明け when the gray 霧 and gloom were over the river.
Escape was now in his しっかり掴む. He felt it. And with that in his mind he waited, strong as steel in his 有罪の判決, 有能な of withstanding any 緊張する endurable by the human でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる.
The 勝利，勝つd blew in puffs, grew wilder, and roared through the willows, carrying 有望な 誘発するs 上向き. 雷鳴 rolled 負かす／撃墜する over the river, and 雷 began to flash. Then the rain fell in 激しい sheets, but not 刻々と. The flashes of 雷 and the 幅の広い ゆらめくs played so incessantly that Duane could not 信用 himself out on the open river. Certainly the 嵐／襲撃する rather 増加するd the watchfulness of the men on the bluff. He knew how to wait, and he waited, grimly standing 苦痛 and cramp and 冷気／寒がらせる. The 嵐／襲撃する wore away as desultorily as it had come, and the long night 始める，決める in. There were times when Duane thought he was 麻ひさせるd, others when he grew sick, giddy, weak from the 緊張するd posture. The first paling of the 星／主役にするs quickened him with a 肉親，親類d of wild joy. He watched them grow paler, dimmer, disappear one by one. A 影をつくる／尾行する hovered 負かす／撃墜する, 残り／休憩（する）d upon the river, and 徐々に thickened. The bonfire on the bluff showed as through a 霧がかかった 隠す. The 選挙立会人s were mere groping dark 人物／姿／数字s.
Duane, aware of how cramped he had become from long inaction, began to move his 脚s and uninjured arm and 団体／死体, and at length overcame a 麻ひさせるing stiffness. Then, digging his 手渡す in the sand and 持つ／拘留するing the plank with his 膝s, he 辛勝する／優位d it out into the river. インチ by インチ he 前進するd until （疑いを）晴らす of the willows. Looking 上向き, he saw the shadowy 人物／姿／数字s of the men on the bluff. He realized they せねばならない see him, 恐れるd that they would. But he kept on, 慎重に, noiselessly, with a heart-numbing slowness. From time to time his 肘 made a little gurgle and splash in the water. Try as he might, he could not 妨げる this. It got to be like the hollow roar of a 早い filling his ears with mocking sound. There was a perceptible 現在の out in the river, and it 妨げるd straight 進歩. インチ by インチ he crept on, 推定する／予想するing to hear the bang of ライフル銃／探して盗むs, the spattering of 弾丸s. He tried not to look backward, but failed. The 解雇する／砲火／射撃 appeared a little dimmer, the moving 影をつくる／尾行するs a little darker.
Once the plank stuck in the sand and felt as if it were settling. Bringing feet to 援助（する） his 手渡す, he 押すd it over the 背信の place. This way he made faster 進歩. The obscurity of the river seemed to be enveloping him. When he looked 支援する again the 人物／姿／数字s of the men were coalescing with the surrounding gloom, the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s were streaky, blurred patches of light. But the sky above was brighter. 夜明け was not far off.
To the west all was dark. With infinite care and implacable spirit and 病弱なing strength Duane 押すd the plank along, and when at last he discerned the 黒人／ボイコット 国境 of bank it （機の）カム in time, he thought, to save him. He はうd out, 残り／休憩（する）d till the gray 夜明け broke, and then 長，率いるd north through the willows.
HOW long Duane was traveling out of that 地域 he never knew. But he reached familiar country and 設立する a rancher who had before befriended him. Here his arm was …に出席するd to; he had food and sleep; and in a couple of weeks he was himself again.
When the time （機の）カム for Duane to ride away on his endless 追跡する his friend reluctantly imparted the （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） that some thirty miles south, 近づく the village of Shirley, there was 地位，任命するd at a 確かな cross-road a reward for Buck Duane dead or alive. Duane had heard of such notices, but he had never seen one. His friend's 不本意 and 拒絶 to 明言する／公表する for what particular 行為 this reward was 申し込む／申し出d roused Duane's curiosity. He had never been any closer to Shirley than this rancher's home. Doubtless some 地位，任命する-office 押し込み強盗, some gun-狙撃 捨てる had been せいにするd to him. And he had been （刑事）被告 of worse 行為s. 突然の Duane decided to ride over there and find out who 手配中の，お尋ね者 him dead or alive, and why.
As he started south on the road he 反映するd that this was the first time he had ever deliberately 追跡（する）d trouble. Introspection awarded him this knowledge; during that last terrible flight on the lower Nueces and while he lay abed recuperating he had changed. A 直す／買収する，八百長をするd, immutable, hopeless bitterness がまんするd with him. He had reached the end of his rope. All the 力／強力にする of his mind and soul were unavailable to turn him 支援する from his 運命／宿命.
That 運命／宿命 was to become an 無法者 in every sense of the 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語, to be what he was credited with 存在—that is to say, to embrace evil. He had never committed a 罪，犯罪. He wondered now was 罪，犯罪 の近くに to him? He 推論する／理由d finally that the desperation of 罪，犯罪 had been 軍隊d upon him, if not its 動機; and that if driven, there was no 限界 to his 可能性s. He understood now many of the hitherto inexplicable 活動／戦闘s of 確かな 公式文書，認めるd 無法者s—why they had returned to the scene of the 罪，犯罪 that had 無法者d them; why they took such strangely 致命的な chances; why life was no more to them than a breath of 勝利，勝つd; why they 棒 straight into the jaws of death to 直面する wronged men or 追跡（する）ing 特別奇襲隊員s, vigilantes, to laugh in their very 直面するs. It was such bitterness as this that drove these men.
Toward afternoon, from the 最高の，を越す of a long hill, Duane saw the green fields and trees and 向こうずねing roofs of a town he considered must be Shirley. And at the 底（に届く） of the hill he （機の）カム upon an intersecting road. There was a 掲示 nailed on the crossroad 調印する-地位，任命する. Duane drew rein 近づく it and leaned の近くに to read the faded print. $1000 REWARD FOR BUCK DUANE DEAD OR ALIVE. Peering closer to read the finer, more faded print, Duane learned that he was 手配中の，お尋ね者 for the 殺人 of Mrs. Jeff Aiken at her ranch 近づく Shirley. The month September was 指名するd, but the date was illegible. The reward was 申し込む／申し出d by the woman's husband, whose 指名する appeared with that of a 郡保安官's at the 底（に届く） of the 掲示.
Duane read the thing twice. When he straightened he was sick with the horror of his 運命／宿命, wild with passion at those misguided fools who could believe that he had 害（を与える）d a woman. Then he remembered Kate Bland, and, as always when she returned to him, he 地震d inwardly. Years before word had gone abroad that he had killed her, and so it was 平易な for men wanting to 直す／買収する，八百長をする a 罪，犯罪 to 指名する him. Perhaps it had been done often. Probably he bore on his shoulders a 重荷（を負わせる） of numberless 罪，犯罪s.
A dark, 熱烈な fury 所有するd him. It shook him like a 嵐／襲撃する shakes the oak. When it passed, leaving him 冷淡な, with clouded brow and piercing 注目する，もくろむ, his mind was 始める，決める. Spurring his horse, he 棒 straight toward the village.
Shirley appeared to be a large, pretentious country town. A 支店 of some 鉄道／強行採決する 終結させるd there. The main street was wide, 国境d by trees and commodious houses, and many of the 蓄える／店s were of brick. A large plaza shaded by 巨大（な） cottonwood trees 占領するd a central 場所.
Duane pulled his running horse and 停止（させる）d him, 急落（する），激減（する）ing and snorting, before a group of idle men who lounged on （法廷の）裁判s in the shade of a spreading cottonwood. How many times had Duane seen just that 肉親，親類d of lazy shirt-sleeved Texas group! Not often, however, had he seen such placid, lolling, good-natured men change their 表現, their 態度 so 速く. His advent 明らかに was momentous. They evidently took him for an unusual 訪問者. So far as Duane could tell, not one of them 認めるd him, had a hint of his 身元.
He slid off his horse and threw the bridle.
"I'm Buck Duane," he said. "I saw that 掲示—out there on a 調印する-地位，任命する. It's a damn 嘘（をつく）! Somebody find this man Jeff Aiken. I want to see him."
His 告示 was taken in 絶対の silence. That was the only 影響 he 公式文書，認めるd, for he 避けるd looking at these 村人s. The 推論する／理由 was simple enough; Duane felt himself 打ち勝つ with emotion. There were 涙／ほころびs in his 注目する，もくろむs. He sat 負かす／撃墜する on a （法廷の）裁判, put his 肘s on his 膝s and his 手渡すs to his 直面する. For once he had 絶対 no 関心 for his 運命／宿命. This ignominy was the last straw.
Presently, however, he became aware of some 肉親，親類d of commotion の中で these 村人s. He heard whisperings, low, hoarse 発言する／表明するs, then the shuffle of 早い feet moving away. All at once a violent 手渡す jerked his gun from its holster. When Duane rose a gaunt man, livid of 直面する, shaking like a leaf, 直面するd him with his own gun.
"手渡すs up, thar, you Buck Duane!" he roared, waving the gun.
That appeared to be the cue for pandemonium to break loose. Duane opened his lips to speak, but if he had yelled at the 最高の，を越す of his 肺s he could not have made himself heard. In 疲れた／うんざりした disgust he looked at the gaunt man, and then at the others, who were working themselves into a frenzy. He made no move, however, to 停止する his 手渡すs. The 村人s surrounded him, emboldened by finding him now 非武装の. Then several men lay 持つ／拘留する of his 武器 and pinioned them behind his 支援する. 抵抗 was useless even if Duane had had the spirit. Some one of them fetched his halter from his saddle, and with this they bound him helpless.
People were running now from the street, the 蓄える／店s, the houses. Old men, cowboys, clerks, boys, ranchers （機の）カム on the trot. The （人が）群がる grew. The 増加するing clamor began to attract women 同様に as men. A group of girls ran up, then hung 支援する in fright and pity.
The presence of cowboys made a difference. They 分裂（する） up the （人が）群がる, got to Duane, and lay 持つ／拘留する of him with rough, 事務的な 手渡すs. One of them 解除するd his 握りこぶしs and roared at the frenzied 暴徒 to 落ちる 支援する, to stop the ゆすり. He （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 them 支援する into a circle; but it was some little time before the hubbub 静かなd 負かす／撃墜する so a 発言する／表明する could be heard.
"Shut up, will you-all?" he was yelling. "Give us a chance to hear somethin'. 平易な now—soho. There ain't nobody goin' to be 傷つける. Thet's 権利; everybody 静かな now. Let's see what's come off."
This cowboy, evidently one of 当局, or at least one of strong personality, turned to the gaunt man, who still waved Duane's gun.
"Abe, put the gun 負かす／撃墜する," he said. "It might go off. Here, give it to me. Now, what's wrong? Who's this roped gent, an' what's he done?"
The gaunt fellow, who appeared now about to 崩壊（する）, 解除するd a shaking 手渡す and pointed.
"Thet thar feller—he's Buck Duane!" he panted.
An angry murmur ran through the surrounding （人が）群がる.
"The rope! The rope! Throw it over a 支店! String him up!" cried an excited 村人.
"Buck Duane! Buck Duane!"
"Hang him!"
The cowboy silenced these cries.
"Abe, how do you know this fellow is Buck Duane?" he asked, はっきりと.
"Why—he said so," replied the man called Abe.
"What!" （機の）カム the exclamation, incredulously.
"It's a tarnal fact," panted Abe, waving his 手渡すs importantly. He was an old man and appeared to be carried away with the significance of his 行為. "He like to rid' his hoss 権利 over us-all. Then he jumped off, says he was Buck Duane, an' he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to see Jeff Aiken bad."
This speech 原因（となる）d a second commotion as noisy though not so 耐えるing as the first. When the cowboy, 補助装置d by a couple of his mates, had 回復するd order again some one had slipped the noose-end of Duane's rope over his 長，率いる.
"Up with him!" screeched a wild-注目する，もくろむd 青年.
The 暴徒 殺到するd closer was 押すd 支援する by the cowboys.
"Abe, if you ain't drunk or crazy tell thet over," ordered Abe's interlocutor.
With some show of 憤慨 and more of dignity Abe 繰り返し言うd his former 声明.
"If he's Buck Duane how'n hell did you get 持つ／拘留する of his gun?" bluntly queried the cowboy.
"Why—he 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する thar—an' he 肉親，親類d of hid his 直面する on his 手渡す. An' I grabbed his gun an' got the 減少（する） on him."
What the cowboy thought of this was 表明するd in a laugh. His mates likewise grinned 概して. Then the leader turned to Duane.
"Stranger, I reckon you'd better speak up for yourself," he said.
That stilled the （人が）群がる as no 命令（する） had done.
"I'm Buck Duane, all 権利." said Duane, 静かに. "It was this way —"
The big cowboy seemed to vibrate with a shock. All the ruddy warmth left his 直面する; his jaw began to bulge; the corded veins in his neck stood out in knots. In an instant he had a hard, 厳しい, strange look. He 発射 out a powerful 手渡す that fastened in the 前線 of Duane's blouse.
"Somethin' queer here. But if you're Duane you're sure in bad. Any fool せねばならない know that. You mean it, then?"
"Yes."
"棒 in to shoot up the town, eh? Same old stunt of you gunfighters? Meant to kill the man who 申し込む／申し出d a reward? 手配中の，お尋ね者 to see Jeff Aiken bad, huh?"
"No," replied Duane. "Your 国民 here misrepresented things. He seems a little off his 長，率いる."
"Reckon he is. Somebody is, that's sure. You （人命などを）奪う，主張する Buck Duane, then, an' all his doings?"
"I'm Duane; yes. But I won't stand for the 非難する of things I never did. That's why I'm here. I saw that 掲示 out there 申し込む／申し出ing the reward. Until now I never was within half a day's ride of this town. I'm 非難するd for what I never did. I 棒 in here, told who I was, asked somebody to send for Jeff Aiken."
"An' then you 始める，決める 負かす／撃墜する an' let this old guy throw your own gun on you?" queried the cowboy in amazement.
"I guess that's it," replied Duane.
"井戸／弁護士席, it's powerful strange, if you're really Buck Duane."
A man 肘d his way into the circle.
"It's Duane. I 認める him. I seen him in more'n one place," he said. "Sibert, you can rely on what I tell you. I don't know if he's locoed or what. But I do know he's the 本物の Buck Duane. Any one who'd ever seen him onct would never forget him."
"What do you want to see Aiken for?" asked the cowboy Sibert.
"I want to 直面する him, and tell him I never 害（を与える）d his wife."
"Why?"
"Because I'm innocent, that's all."
"Suppose we send for Aiken an' he hears you an' doesn't believe you; what then?"
"If he won't believe me—why, then my 事例／患者's so bad—I'd be better off dead."
A momentary silence was broken by Sibert.
"If this isn't a queer 取引，協定! Boys, reckon we'd better send for Jeff."
"Somebody went fer him. He'll be comin' soon," replied a man.
Duane stood a 長，率いる taller than that circle of curious 直面するs. He gazed out above and beyond them. It was in this way that he chanced to see a number of women on the 郊外s of the （人が）群がる. Some were old, with hard 直面するs, like the men. Some were young and comely, and most of these seemed agitated by excitement or 苦しめる. They cast fearful, pitying ちらりと見ることs upon Duane as he stood there with that noose 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck. Women were more human than men, Duane thought. He met 注目する，もくろむs that dilated, seemed fascinated at his gaze, but were not 回避するd. It was the old women who were voluble, loud in 表現 of their feelings.
近づく the trunk of the cottonwood stood a slender woman in white. Duane's wandering ちらりと見ること 残り／休憩（する）d upon her. Her 注目する，もくろむs were riveted upon him. A soft-hearted woman, probably, who did not want to see him hanged!
"Thar comes Jeff Aiken now," called a man, loudly.
The （人が）群がる 転換d and trampled in 切望.
Duane saw two men coming 急速な／放蕩な, one of whom, in the lead, was of stalwart build. He had a gun in his 手渡す, and his manner was that of 猛烈な／残忍な energy.
The cowboy Sibert thrust open the jostling circle of men.
"持つ／拘留する on, Jeff," he called, and he 封鎖するd the man with the gun. He spoke so low Duane could not hear what he said, and his form hid Aiken's 直面する. At that juncture the （人が）群がる spread out, の近くにd in, and Aiken and Sibert were caught in the circle. There was a 押し進めるing 今後, a 圧力（をかける）ing of many 団体／死体s, hoarse cries and flinging 手渡すs—again the insane tumult was about to 勃発する—the 需要・要求する for an 無法者's 血, the call for a wild 司法（官） 遂行する／発効させるd a thousand times before on Texas's 血まみれの 国／地域.
Sibert bellowed at the dark encroaching 集まり. The cowboys with him （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 and cuffed in vain.
"Jeff, will you listen?" broke in Sibert, hurriedly, his 手渡す on the other man's arm.
Aiken nodded coolly. Duane, who had seen many men in perfect 支配（する）／統制する of themselves under circumstances like these, 認めるd the spirit that 支配するd Aiken. He was white, 冷淡な, passionless. There were lines of bitter grief 深い 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his lips. If Duane ever felt the meaning of death he felt it then.
"Sure this 's your game, Aiken," said Sibert. "But hear me a minute. Reckon there's no 疑問 about this man bein' Buck Duane. He seen the 掲示 out at the cross-roads. He rides in to Shirley. He says he's Buck Duane an' he's lookin' for Jeff Aiken. That's all （疑いを）晴らす enough. You know how these gunfighters go lookin' for trouble. But here's what stumps me. Duane sits 負かす／撃墜する there on the （法廷の）裁判 and lets old Abe Strickland 得る，とらえる his gun ant get the 減少（する） on him. More'n that, he gives me some strange talk about how, if he couldn't make you believe he's innocent, he'd better be dead. You see for yourself Duane ain't drunk or crazy or locoed. He doesn't strike me as a man who 棒 in here huntin' 血. So I reckon you'd better 持つ／拘留する on till you hear what he has to say."
Then for the first time the drawn-直面するd, hungry-注目する，もくろむd 巨大（な） turned his gaze upon Duane. He had 知能 which was not yet subservient to passion. Moreover, he seemed the 肉親，親類d of man Duane would care to have 裁判官 him in a 批判的な moment like this.
"Listen," said Duane, 厳粛に, with his 注目する，もくろむs 安定した on Aiken's, "I'm Buck Duane. I never lied to any man in my life. I was 軍隊d into outlawry. I've never had a chance to leave the country. I've killed men to save my own life. I never 故意に 害（を与える）d any woman. I 棒 thirty miles to-day— deliberately to see what this reward was, who made it, what for. When I read the 掲示 I went sick to the 底（に届く） of my soul. So I 棒 in here to find you—to tell you this: I never saw Shirley before to-day. It was impossible for me to have—killed your wife. Last September I was two hundred miles north of here on the upper Nueces. I can 証明する that. Men who know me will tell you I couldn't 殺人 a woman. I 港／避難所't any idea why such a 行為 should be laid at my 手渡すs. It's just that wild 国境 gossip. I have no idea what 推論する／理由s you have for 持つ／拘留するing me responsible. I only know— you're wrong. You've been deceived. And see here, Aiken. You understand I'm a 哀れな man. I'm about broken, I guess. I don't care any more for life, for anything. If you can't look me in the 注目する，もくろむs, man to man, and believe what I say—why, by God! you can kill me!"
Aiken heaved a 広大な／多数の／重要な breath.
"Buck Duane, whether I'm impressed or not by what you say needn't 事柄. You've had accusers, 正確に，正当に or 不正に, as will soon appear. The thing is we can 証明する you innocent or 有罪の. My girl Lucy saw my wife's 加害者."
He 動議d for the （人が）群がる of men to open up.
"Somebody—you, Sibert—go for Lucy. That'll settle this thing."
Duane heard as a man in an ugly dream. The 直面するs around him, the hum of 発言する／表明するs, all seemed far off. His life hung by the merest thread. Yet he did not think of that so much as of the brand of a woman-殺害者 which might be soon 調印（する）d upon him by a 脅すd, imaginative child.
The （人が）群がる 軍隊／機動隊d apart and の近くにd again. Duane caught a blurred image of a slight girl 粘着するing to Sibert's 手渡す. He could not see distinctly. Aiken 解除するd the child, whispered soothingly to her not to be afraid. Then he fetched her closer to Duane.
"Lucy, tell me. Did you ever see this man before?" asked Aiken, huskily and low. "Is he the one—who （機の）カム in the house that day—struck you 負かす／撃墜する—and dragged mama—?"
Aiken's 発言する／表明する failed.
A 雷 flash seemed to （疑いを）晴らす Duane's blurred sight. He saw a pale, sad 直面する and violet 注目する，もくろむs 直す／買収する，八百長をするd in gloom and horror upon his. No terrible moment in Duane's life ever equaled this one of silence—of suspense.
"It's ain't him!" cried the child.
Then Sibert was flinging the noose off Duane's neck and unwinding the 社債s 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his 武器. The spellbound （人が）群がる awoke to hoarse exclamations.
"See there, my locoed gents, how 平易な you'd hang the wrong man," burst out the cowboy, as he made the rope-end hiss. "You-all are a lot of wise 特別奇襲隊員s. Haw! haw!"
He 解放する／自由なd Duane and thrust the bone-扱うd gun 支援する in Duane's holster.
"You Abe, there. Reckon you pulled a stunt! But don't try the like again. And, men, I'll 賭事 there's a hell of a lot of bad work Buck Duane's 指名するd for—which all he never done. （疑いを）晴らす away there. Where's his hoss? Duane, the road's open out of Shirley."
Sibert swept the gaping 選挙立会人s aside and 圧力（をかける）d Duane toward the horse, which another cowboy held. Mechanically Duane 機動力のある, felt a 解除する as he went up. Then the cowboy's hard 直面する 軟化するd in a smile.
"I reckon it ain't uncivil of me to say—攻撃する，衝突する that road quick!" he said, 率直に.
He led the horse out of the （人が）群がる. Aiken joined him, and between them they 護衛するd Duane across the plaza. The （人が）群がる appeared irresistibly drawn to follow.
Aiken paused with his big 手渡す on Duane's 膝. In it, unconsciously probably, he still held the gun.
"Duane, a word with you," he said. "I believe you're not so 黒人／ボイコット as you've been painted. I wish there was time to say more. Tell me this, anyway. Do you know the 特別奇襲隊員 Captain MacNelly?"
"I do not," replied Duane, in surprise.
"I met him only a week ago over in Fairfield," went on Aiken, hurriedly. "He 宣言するd you never killed my wife. I didn't believe him—argued with him. We almost had hard words over it. Now—I'm sorry. The last thing he said was: 'If you ever see Duane don't kill him. Send him into my （軍の）野営地，陣営 after dark!' He meant something strange. What—I can't say. But he was 権利, and I was wrong. If Lucy had batted an 注目する，もくろむ I'd have killed you. Still, I wouldn't advise you to 追跡（する） up MacNelly's （軍の）野営地，陣営. He's clever. Maybe he believes there's no treachery in his new ideas of 特別奇襲隊員 策略. I tell you for all it's 価値（がある）. Good-by. May God help you その上の as he did this day!"
Duane said good-by and touched the horse with his 刺激（する）s.
"So long, Buck!" called Sibert, with that frank smile breaking warm over his brown 直面する; and he held his sombrero high.
WHEN Duane reached the crossing of the roads the 指名する Fairfield on the 調印する-地位，任命する seemed to be the thing that tipped the oscillating balance of 決定／判定勝ち（する） in 好意 of that direction.
He answered here to unfathomable impulse. If he had been driven to 追跡（する） up Jeff Aiken, now he was called to find this unknown 特別奇襲隊員 captain. In Duane's 明言する／公表する of mind （疑いを）晴らす 推論する／理由ing, ありふれた sense, or keenness were out of the question. He went because he felt he was compelled.
Dusk had fallen when he 棒 into a town which 調査 discovered to be Fairfield. Captain MacNelly's （軍の）野営地，陣営 was 駅／配置するd just out of the village 限界s on the other 味方する.
No one except the boy Duane questioned appeared to notice his arrival. Like Shirley, the town of Fairfield was large and 繁栄する, compared to the innumerable hamlets dotting the 広大な extent of southwestern Texas. As Duane 棒 through, 存在 careful to get off the main street, he heard the （死傷者）数ing of a church-bell that was a melancholy 思い出の品 of his old home.
There did not appear to be any （軍の）野営地，陣営 on the 郊外s of the town. But as Duane sat his horse, peering around and 決めかねて what その上の move to make, he caught the glint of flickering lights through the 不明瞭. 長，率いるing toward them, he 棒 perhaps a ４半期/4分の1 of a mile to come upon a grove of mesquite. The brightness of several 解雇する／砲火／射撃s made the surrounding 不明瞭 all the blacker. Duane saw the moving forms of men and heard horses. He 前進するd 自然に, 推定する／予想するing any moment to be 停止（させる）d.
"Who goes there?" （機の）カム the sharp call out of the gloom.
Duane pulled his horse. The gloom was impenetrable.
"One man—alone," replied Duane.
"A stranger?"
"Yes."
"What do you want?"
"I'm trying to find the 特別奇襲隊員 （軍の）野営地，陣営."
"You've struck it. What's your errand?"
"I want to see Captain MacNelly."
"Get 負かす／撃墜する and 前進する. Slow. Don't move your 手渡すs. It's dark, but I can see."
Duane dismounted, and, 主要な his horse, slowly 前進するd a few paces. He saw a dully 有望な 反対する—a gun—before he discovered the man who held it. A few more steps showed a dark 人物／姿／数字 封鎖するing the 追跡する. Here Duane 停止（させる）d.
"Come closer, stranger. Let's have a look at you," the guard ordered, curtly.
Duane 前進するd again until he stood before the man. Here the rays of light from the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s flickered upon Duane's 直面する.
"Reckon you're a stranger, all 権利. What's your 指名する and your 商売／仕事 with the Captain?"
Duane hesitated, pondering what best to say.
"Tell Captain MacNelly I'm the man he's been asking to ride into his （軍の）野営地，陣営 —after dark," finally said Duane.
The 特別奇襲隊員 bent 今後 to peer hard at this night 訪問者. His manner had been 警報, and now it became 緊張した.
"Come here, one of you men, quick," he called, without turning in the least toward the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃.
"Hello! What's up, Pickens?" （機の）カム the swift reply. It was followed by a 早い thud of boots on soft ground. A dark form crossed the gleams from the 解雇する／砲火／射撃-light. Then a 特別奇襲隊員 ぼんやり現れるd up to reach the 味方する of the guard. Duane heard whispering, the 趣旨 of which he could not catch. The second 特別奇襲隊員 swore under his breath. Then he turned away and started 支援する.
"Here, 特別奇襲隊員, before you go, understand this. My visit is 平和的な —friendly if you'll let it be. Mind, I was asked to come here— after dark."
Duane's （疑いを）晴らす, 侵入するing 発言する／表明する carried far. The listening 特別奇襲隊員s at the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃 heard what he said.
"売春婦, Pickens! Tell that fellow to wait," replied an 権威のある 発言する／表明する. Then a わずかな／ほっそりした 人物／姿／数字 detached itself from the dark, moving group at the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃 and hurried out.
"Better be foxy, Cap," shouted a 特別奇襲隊員, in 警告.
"Shut up—all of you," was the reply.
This officer, 明白に Captain MacNelly, soon joined the two 特別奇襲隊員s who were 直面するing Duane. He had no 恐れる. He strode straight up to Duane.
"I'm MacNelly," he said. "If you're my man, don't について言及する your 指名する —yet."
All this seemed so strange to Duane, in keeping with much that had happened lately.
"I met Jeff Aiken to-day," said Duane. "He sent me—"
"You've met Aiken!" exclaimed MacNelly, sharp, eager, low. "By all that's いじめ（る）!" Then he appeared to catch himself, to grow 抑制するd.
"Men, 落ちる 支援する, leave us alone a moment."
The 特別奇襲隊員s slowly withdrew.
"Buck Duane! It's you?" he whispered, 熱望して.
"Yes."
"If I give my word you'll not be 逮捕（する）d—you'll be 扱う／治療するd 公正に／かなり —will you come into （軍の）野営地，陣営 and 協議する with me?"
"Certainly."
"Duane, I'm sure glad to 会合，会う you," went on MacNelly; and he 延長するd his 手渡す.
Amazed and touched, scarcely realizing this actuality, Duane gave his 手渡す and felt no unmistakable 支配する of warmth.
"It doesn't seem natural, Captain MacNelly, but I believe I'm glad to 会合，会う you," said Duane, soberly.
"You will be. Now we'll go 支援する to （軍の）野営地，陣営. Keep your 身元 mum for the 現在の."
He led Duane in the direction of the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃.
"Pickers, go 支援する on 義務," he ordered, "and, Beeson, you look after this horse."
When Duane got beyond the line of mesquite, which had hid a good 見解（をとる） of the （軍の）野営地，陣営-場所／位置, he saw a group of perhaps fifteen 特別奇襲隊員s sitting around the 解雇する／砲火／射撃s, 近づく a long low shed where horses were feeding, and a small adobe house at one 味方する.
"We've just had grub, but I'll see you get some. Then we'll talk," said MacNelly. "I've taken up 一時的な ４半期/4分の1s here. Have a rustler 職業 on 手渡す. Now, when you've eaten, come 権利 into the house."
Duane was hungry, but he hurried through the ample supper that was 始める，決める before him, 勧めるd on by curiosity and astonishment. The only way he could account for his presence there in a 特別奇襲隊員's （軍の）野営地，陣営 was that MacNelly hoped to get useful （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） out of him. Still that would hardly have made this captain so eager. There was a mystery here, and Duane could scarcely wait for it to be solved. While eating he had bent keen 注目する，もくろむs around him. After a first 静かな scrutiny the 特別奇襲隊員s 明らかに paid no more attention to him. They were all 退役軍人s in service—Duane saw that—and rugged, powerful men of アイロンをかける 憲法. にもかかわらず the 時折の joke and sally of the more youthful members, and a general conversation of （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃 nature, Duane was not deceived about the fact that his advent had been an unusual and striking one, which had 原因（となる）d an undercurrent of conjecture and even びっくり仰天 の中で them. These 特別奇襲隊員s were too 井戸／弁護士席 trained to appear 率直に curious about their captain's guest. If they had not deliberately 試みる／企てるd to be oblivious of his presence Duane would have 結論するd they thought him an ordinary 訪問者, somehow of use to MacNelly. As it was, Duane felt a suspense that must have been 予定 to a hint of his 身元.
He was not long in 現在のing himself at the door of the house.
"Come in and have a 議長，司会を務める," said MacNelly, 動議ing for the one other occupant of the room to rise. "Leave us, Russell, and の近くに the door. I'll be through these 報告（する）／憶測s 権利 off."
MacNelly sat at a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する upon which was a lamp and さまざまな papers. Seen in the light he was a 罰金-looking, soldierly man of about forty years, dark-haired and dark-注目する，もくろむd, with a bronzed 直面する, shrewd, 厳しい, strong, yet not wanting in kindliness. He scanned あわてて over some papers, fussed with them, and finally put them in envelopes. Without looking up he 押し進めるd a cigar-事例／患者 toward Duane, and upon Duane's 拒絶 to smoke he took a cigar, rose to light it at the lamp-chimney, and then, settling 支援する in his 議長，司会を務める, he 直面するd Duane, making a vain 試みる／企てる to hide what must have been the fulfilment of a long-nourished curiosity.
"Duane, I've been hoping for this for two years," be began.
Duane smiled a little—a smile that felt strange on his 直面する. He had never been much of a talker. And speech here seemed more than ordinarily difficult.
MacNelly must have felt that.
He looked long and 真面目に at Duane, and his quick, nervous manner changed to 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な thoughtfulness.
"I've lots to say, but where to begin," he mused. "Duane, you've had a hard life since you went on the dodge. I never met you before, don't know what you looked like as a boy. But I can see what—井戸／弁護士席, even 特別奇襲隊員 life isn't all roses."
He rolled his cigar between his lips and puffed clouds of smoke.
"Ever hear from home since you left Wellston?" he asked, 突然の.
"No."
"Never a word?"
"Not one," replied Duane, sadly.
"That's 堅い. I'm glad to be able to tell you that up to just lately your mother, sister, uncle—all your folks, I believe—were 井戸／弁護士席. I've kept 地位，任命するd. But 港／避難所't heard lately."
Duane 回避するd his 直面する a moment, hesitated till the swelling left his throat, and then said, "It's 価値（がある） what I went through to-day to hear that."
"I can imagine how you feel about it. When I was in the war—but let's get 負かす／撃墜する to the 商売／仕事 of this 会合."
He pulled his 議長，司会を務める の近くに to Duane's.
"You've had word more than once in the last two years that I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to see you?"
"Three times, I remember," replied Duane.
"Why didn't you 追跡（する） me up?"
"I supposed you imagined me one of those gun-闘士，戦闘機s who couldn't take a dare and 推定する／予想するd me to ride up to your （軍の）野営地，陣営 and be 逮捕（する）d."
"That was natural, I suppose," went on MacNelly. "You didn't know me, さもなければ you would have come. I've been a long time getting to you. But the nature of my 職業, as far as you're 関心d, made me 用心深い. Duane, you're aware of the hard 指名する you 耐える all over the 南西?"
"Once in a while I'm jarred into realizing," replied Duane.
"It's the hardest, barring Murrell and Cheseldine, on the Texas 国境. But there's this difference. Murrell in his day was known to deserve his 悪名高い 指名する. Cheseldine in his day also. But I've 設立する hundreds of men in 南西 Texas who're your friends, who 断言する you never committed a 罪，犯罪. The さらに先に south I get the clearer this becomes. What I want to know is the truth. Have you ever done anything 犯罪の? Tell me the truth, Duane. It won't make any difference in my 計画（する）. And when I say 罪，犯罪 I mean what I would call 罪，犯罪, or any reasonable Texan."
"That way my 手渡すs are clean," replied Duane.
"You never held up a man, robbed a 蓄える／店 for grub, stole a horse when you needed him bad—never anything like that?"
"Somehow I always kept out of that, just when 圧力（をかける）d the hardest."
"Duane, I'm damn glad!" MacNelly exclaimed, gripping Duane's 手渡す. "Glad for you mother's sakel But, all the same, in spite of this, you are a Texas 無法者 accountable to the 明言する／公表する. You're perfectly aware that under 存在するing circumstances, if you fell into the 手渡すs of the 法律, you'd probably hang, at least go to 刑務所，拘置所 for a long 称する，呼ぶ／期間／用語."
"That's what kept me on the dodge all these years," replied Duane.
"Certainly." MacNelly 除去するd his cigar. His 注目する，もくろむs 狭くするd and glittered. The muscles along his brown cheeks 始める，決める hard and 緊張した. He leaned closer to Duane, laid sinewy, 圧力（をかける）ing fingers upon Duane's 膝.
"Listen to this," he whispered, hoarsely. "If I place a 容赦 in your 手渡す—make you a 解放する／自由な, honest 国民 once more, （疑いを）晴らす your 指名する of infamy, make your mother, your sister proud of you—will you 断言する yourself to a service, ANY service I 需要・要求する of you?"
Duane sat 在庫／株 still, stunned.
Slowly, more persuasively, with show of earnest agitation, Captain MacNelly 繰り返し言うd his startling query.
"My God!" burst from Duane. "What's this? MacNelly, you CAN'T be in earnest!"
"Never more so in my life. I've a 深い game. I'm playing it square. What do you say?"
He rose to his feet. Duane, as if impelled, rose with him. 特別奇襲隊員 and 無法者 then locked 注目する，もくろむs that searched each other's souls. In MacNelly's Duane read truth, strong, fiery 目的, hope, even gladness, and a 逃亡者／はかないもの 開始するing 保証／確信 of victory.
Twice Duane 努力するd to speak, failed of all save a hoarse, incoherent sound, until, 軍隊ing 支援する a flood of speech, he 設立する a 発言する／表明する.
"Any service? Every service! MacNelly, I give my word," said Duane.
A light played over MacNelly's 直面する, warming out all the grim 不明瞭. He held out his 手渡す. Duane met it with his in a clasp that men unconsciously give in moments of 強調する／ストレス.
When they unclasped and Duane stepped 支援する to 減少（する） into a 議長，司会を務める MacNelly fumbled for another cigar—he had bitten the other into shreds— and, lighting it as before, he turned to his 訪問者, now 静める and 冷静な／正味の. He had the look of a man who had 正確に，正当に won something at かなりの cost. His next move was to take a long leather 事例／患者 from his pocket and 抽出する from it several 倍のd papers.
"Here's your 容赦 from the 知事," he said, 静かに. "You'll see, when you look it over, that it's 条件付きの. When you 調印する this paper I have here the 条件 will be met."
He smoothed out the paper, 手渡すd Duane a pen, ran his forefinger along a dotted line.
Duane's 手渡す was 不安定な. Years had passed since he had held a pen. It was with difficulty that he 達成するd his 署名. Buckley Duane—how strange the 指名する looked!
"権利 here ends the career of Buck Duane, 無法者 and gunfighter," said MacNelly; and, seating himself, he took the pen from Duane's fingers and wrote several lines in several places upon the paper. Then with a smile he 手渡すd it to Duane.
"That makes you a member of Company A, Texas 特別奇襲隊員s."
"So that's it!" burst out Duane, a light breaking in upon his bewilderment. "You want me for 特別奇襲隊員 service?"
"Sure. That's it," replied the Captain, dryly. "Now to hear what that service is to be. I've been a busy man since I took this 職業, and, as you may have heard, I've done a few things. I don't mind telling you that political 影響（力） put me in here and that up Austin way there's a good 取引，協定 of 摩擦 in the Department of 明言する／公表する in regard to whether or not the 特別奇襲隊員 service is any good—whether it should be discontinued or not. I'm on the party 味方する who's defending the 特別奇襲隊員 service. I 競う that it's made Texas habitable. 井戸／弁護士席, it's been up to me to produce results. So far I have been successful. My 広大な／多数の／重要な ambition is to break up the 無法者 ギャング（団）s along the river. I have never 投機・賭けるd in there yet because I've been waiting to get the 中尉／大尉／警部補 I needed. You, of course, are the man I had in mind. It's my idea to start way up the Rio Grande and begin with Cheseldine. He's the strongest, the worst 無法者 of the times. He's more than rustler. It's Cheseldine and his ギャング（団） who are operating on the banks. They're doing bank-robbing. That's my 私的な opinion, but it's not been 支援するd up by any 証拠. Cheseldine doesn't leave 証拠s. He's intelligent, cunning. No one seems to have seen him—to know what he looks like. I assume, of course, that you are a stranger to the country he 支配するs. It's five hundred miles west of your ground. There's a little town over there called Fairdale. It's the nest of a rustler ギャング（団）. They rustle and 殺人 at will. Nobody knows who the leader is. I want you to find out. 井戸／弁護士席, whatever way you decide is best you will proceed to 行為／法令／行動する upon. You are your own boss. You know such men and how they can be approached. You will take all the time needed, if it's months. It will be necessary for you to communicate with me, and that will be a difficult 事柄. For Cheseldine 支配するs several whole 郡s. You must find some way to let me know when I and my 特別奇襲隊員s are needed. The 計画（する） is to break up Cheseldine's ギャング（団）. It's the toughest 職業 on the 国境. 逮捕（する）ing him alone isn't to be heard of. He couldn't be brought out. 殺人，大当り him isn't much better, for his select men, the ones he operates with, are as dangerous to the community as he is. We want to kill or 刑務所，拘置所 this choice 選択 of robbers and break up the 残り／休憩（する） of the ギャング（団）. To find them, to get の中で them somehow, to learn their movements, to lay your 罠（にかける） for us 特別奇襲隊員s to spring—that, Duane, is your service to me, and God knows it's a 広大な／多数の／重要な one!"
"I have 受託するd it," replied Duane.
"Your work will be secret. You are now a 特別奇襲隊員 in my service. But no one except the few I choose to tell will know of it until we pull off the 職業. You will 簡単に be Buck Duane till it 控訴s our 目的 to 熟知させる Texas with the fact that you're a 特別奇襲隊員. You'll see there's no date on that paper. No one will ever know just when you entered the service. Perhaps we can make it appear that all or most of your outlawry has really been good service to the 明言する／公表する. At that, I'll believe it'll turn out so."
MacNelly paused a moment in his 早い talk, chewed his cigar, drew his brows together in a dark frown, and went on. "No man on the 国境 knows so 井戸／弁護士席 as you the deadly nature of this service. It's a thousand to one that you'll be killed. I'd say there was no chance at all for any other man beside you. Your 評判 will go far の中で the 無法者s. Maybe that and your 神経 and your gun-play will pull you through. I'm hoping so. But it's a long, long chance against your ever coming 支援する."
"That's not the point," said Duane. "But in 事例／患者 I get killed out there —what—"
"Leave that to me," interrupted Captain MacNelly. "Your folks will know at once of your 容赦 and your 特別奇襲隊員 義務. If you lose your life out there I'll see your 指名する （疑いを）晴らすd—the service you （判決などを）下す known. You can 残り／休憩（する） 保証するd of that."
"I am 満足させるd," replied Duane. "That's so much more than I've dared to hope."
"井戸／弁護士席, it's settled, then. I'll give you money for expenses. You'll start as soon as you like—the sooner the better. I hope to think of other suggestions, 特に about communicating with me."
Long after the lights were out and the low hum of 発言する／表明するs had 中止するd 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the （軍の）野営地，陣営-解雇する／砲火／射撃 Duane lay wide awake, 注目する，もくろむs 星／主役にするing into the blackness, marveling over the strange events of the day. He was humble, 感謝する to the depths of his soul. A 抱擁する and 鎮圧するing 重荷（を負わせる） had been 解除するd from his heart. He welcomed this 危険な service to the man who had saved him. Thought of his mother and sister and Uncle Jim, of his home, of old friends （機の）カム 急ぐing over him the first time in years that he had happiness in the memory. The 不名誉 he had put upon them would now be 除去するd; and in the light of that, his wasted life of the past, and its probable 悲劇の end in 未来 service as atonement changed their 面s. And as he lay there, with the approach of sleep finally dimming the vividness of his thought, so 十分な of mystery, shadowy 直面するs floated in the blackness around him, haunting him as he had always been haunted.
It was 幅の広い daylight when he awakened. MacNelly was calling him to breakfast. Outside sounded 発言する／表明するs of men, crackling of 解雇する／砲火／射撃s, snorting and stamping of horses, the barking of dogs. Duane rolled out of his 一面に覆う／毛布s and made good use of the soap and towel and かみそり and 小衝突 近づく by on a （法廷の）裁判 —things of rare 高級な to an 無法者 on the ride. The 直面する he saw in the mirror was as strange as the past he had tried so hard to 解任する. Then he stepped to the door and went out.
The 特別奇襲隊員s were eating in a circle 一連の会議、交渉／完成する a tarpaulin spread upon the ground.
"Fellows," said MacNelly, "shake 手渡すs with Buck Duane. He's on secret 特別奇襲隊員 service for me. Service that'll likely make you all hump soon! Mind you, keep mum about it."
The 特別奇襲隊員s surprised Duane with a roaring 迎える／歓迎するing, the warmth of which he soon divined was divided between pride of his 取得／買収 to their 階級s and 切望 to 会合，会う that violent service of which their captain hinted. They were jolly, wild fellows, with just enough gravity in their welcome to show Duane their 尊敬（する）・点 and 評価, while not forgetting his 孤独な-wolf 記録，記録的な／記録する. When he had seated himself in that circle, now one of them, a feeling subtle and uplifting pervaded him.
After the meal Captain MacNelly drew Duane aside.
"Here's the money. Make it go as far as you can. Better strike straight for El Paso, snook around there and hear things. Then go to Valentine. That's 近づく the river and within fifty miles or so of the 辛勝する／優位 of the 縁 激しく揺する. Somewhere up there Cheseldine 持つ／拘留するs fort. Somewhere to the north is the town Fairdale. But he doesn't hide all the time in the 激しく揺するs. Only after some daring （警察の）手入れ，急襲 or 持つ／拘留する-up. Cheseldine's got 国境 towns on his staff, or 脅すd of him, and these places we want to know about, 特に Fairdale. 令状 me care of the adjutant at Austin. I don't have to 警告する you to be careful where you mail letters. Ride a hundred, two hundred miles, if necessary, or go （疑いを）晴らす to El Paso."
MacNelly stopped with an 空気／公表する of finality, and then Duane slowly rose.
"I'll start at once," he said, 延長するing his 手渡す to the Captain. "I wish —I'd like to thank you."
"Hell, man! Don't thank me!" replied MacNelly, 鎮圧するing the proffered 手渡す. "I've sent a lot of good men to their deaths, and maybe you're another. But, as I've said, you've one chance in a thousand. And, by Heaven! I'd hate to be Cheseldine or any other man you were 追跡するing. No, not good-by— Adios, Duane! May we 会合，会う again!"
WEST of the Pecos River Texas 延長するd a 広大な wild 地域, barren in the north where the Llano Estacado spread its 転換ing sands, fertile in the south along the Rio Grande. A 鉄道／強行採決する 示すd an undeviating course across five hundred miles of this country, and the only villages and towns lay on or 近づく this line of steel. Unsettled as was this western Texas, and にもかかわらず the 定評のある dominance of the 無法者 禁止（する）d, the 開拓するs 押し進めるd 刻々と into it. First had come the 孤独な rancher; then his neighbors in 近づく and far valleys; then the hamlets; at last the 鉄道／強行採決する and the towns. And still the 開拓するs （機の）カム, spreading deeper into the valleys, さらに先に and wider over the plains. It was mesquite-dotted, cactus-covered 砂漠, but rich 国／地域 upon which water 行為／法令／行動するd like 魔法. There was little grass to an acre, but there were millions of acres. The 気候 was wonderful. Cattle 繁栄するd and ranchers 栄えるd.
The Rio Grande flowed almost 予定 south along the western 境界 for a thousand miles, and then, 疲れた／うんざりした of its course, turned 突然の north, to make what was called the Big Bend. The 鉄道／強行採決する, running west, 削減（する） across this bend, and all that country bounded on the north by the 鉄道／強行採決する and on the south by the river was as wild as the 火刑／賭けるd Plains. It 含む／封じ込めるd not one 解決／入植地. Across the 直面する of this Big Bend, as if to 孤立する it, stretched the Ord mountain 範囲, of which 開始する Ord, Cathedral 開始する, and Elephant 開始する raised 荒涼とした 頂点（に達する）s above their fellows. In the valleys of the 山のふもとの丘s and out across the plains were ranches, and さらに先に north villages, and the towns of Alpine and Marfa.
Like other parts of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 孤独な 星／主役にする 明言する／公表する, this section of Texas was a world in itself—a world where the riches of the rancher were ever 濃厚にするing the 無法者. The village closest to the gateway of this 無法者-infested 地域 was a little place called Ord, 指名するd after the dark 頂点（に達する） that ぼんやり現れるd some miles to the south. It had been settled 初めは by Mexicans —there were still the 廃虚s of adobe 使節団s—but with the advent of the rustler and 無法者 many inhabitants were 発射 or driven away, so that at the 高さ of Ord's 繁栄 and evil sway there were but few Mexicans living there, and these had their choice between 持つ／拘留するing 手渡す-and-glove with the 無法者s or furnishing 的 practice for that wild element.
Toward the の近くに of a day in September a stranger 棒 into Ord, and in a community where all men were remarkable for one 推論する／理由 or another he excited 利益／興味. His horse, perhaps, received the first and most engaging attention —horses in that 地域 存在 明らかに more important than men. This particular horse did not attract with beauty. At first ちらりと見ること he seemed ugly. But he was a 巨大（な）, 黒人／ボイコット as coal, rough にもかかわらず the care manifestly bestowed upon him, long of 団体／死体, ponderous of 四肢, 抱擁する in every way. A bystander 発言／述べるd that he had a grand 長，率いる. True, if only his 長，率いる had been seen he would have been a beautiful horse. Like men, horses show what they are in the 形態／調整, the size, the line, the character of the 長，率いる. This one denoted 解雇する／砲火／射撃, 速度(を上げる）, 血, 忠義, and his 注目する，もくろむs were as soft and dark as a woman's. His 直面する was solid 黒人／ボイコット, except in the middle of his forehead, where there was a 一連の会議、交渉／完成する 位置／汚点／見つけ出す of white.
"Say mister, mind tellin' me his 指名する?" asked a ragged urchin, with born love of a horse in his 注目する，もくろむs.
"弾丸," replied the rider.
"Thet there's fer the white 示す, ain't it?" whispered the youngster to another. "Say, ain't he a whopper? Biggest hoss I ever seen."
弾丸 carried a 抱擁する 黒人／ボイコット silver-ornamented saddle of Mexican make, a lariat and canteen, and a small pack rolled into a tarpaulin.
This rider 明らかに put all care of 外見s upon his horse. His apparel was the ordinary ジーンズs of the cowboy without vanity, and it was torn and travel-stained. His boots showed 証拠 of an intimate 知識 with cactus. Like his horse, this man was a 巨大（な） in stature, but rangier, not so ひどく built. さもなければ the only striking thing about him was his somber 直面する with its piercing 注目する，もくろむs, and hair white over the 寺s. He packed two guns, both low 負かす／撃墜する—but that was too ありふれた a thing to attract notice in the Big Bend. A の近くに 観察者／傍聴者, however, would have 公式文書，認めるd a singular fact—this rider's 権利 手渡す was more bronzed, more 天候-beaten than his left. He never wore a glove on that 権利 手渡す!
He had dismounted before a ramshackle structure that bore upon its wide, high-boarded 前線 the 調印する, "Hotel." There were horsemen coming and going 負かす／撃墜する the wide street between its 列／漕ぐ／騒動s of old 蓄える／店s, saloons, and houses. Ord certainly did not look 企業ing. Americans had manifestly assimilated much of the leisure of the Mexicans. The hotel had a wide 壇・綱領・公約 in 前線, and this did 義務 as porch and sidewalk. Upon it, and leaning against a hitching-rail, were men of 変化させるing ages, most of them slovenly in old ジーンズs and slouched sombreros. Some were booted, belted, and spurred. No man there wore a coat, but all wore vests. The guns in that group would have より数が多いd the men.
It was a （人が）群がる seemingly too lazy to be curious. Good nature did not appear to be wanting, but it was not the frank and boisterous 肉親，親類d natural to the cowboy or rancher in town for a day. These men were idlers; what else, perhaps, was 平易な to conjecture. Certainly to this arriving stranger, who flashed a keen 注目する，もくろむ over them, they wore an atmosphere never associated with work.
Presently a tall man, with a drooping, sandy mustache, leisurely detached himself from the （人が）群がる.
"Howdy, stranger," he said.
The stranger had bent over to 緩和する the cinches; he straightened up and nodded. Then: "I'm thirsty!"
That brought a 幅の広い smile to 直面するs. It was characteristic 迎える／歓迎するing. One and all 軍隊／機動隊d after the stranger into the hotel. It was a dark, ill-smelling barn of a place, with a 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 as high as a short man's 長，率いる. A bartender with a scarred 直面する was serving drinks.
"Line up, gents," said the stranger.
They piled over one another to get to the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, with coarse jests and 誓いs and laughter. 非，不，無 of them 公式文書，認めるd that the stranger did not appear so thirsty as he had （人命などを）奪う，主張するd to be. In fact, though he went through the 動議s, he did not drink at all.
"My 指名する's Jim Fletcher," said the tall man with the drooping, sandy mustache. He spoke laconically, にもかかわらず there was a トン that showed he 推定する／予想するd to be known. Something went with that 指名する. The stranger did not appear to be impressed.
"My 指名する might be 炎s, but it ain't," he replied. "What do you call this burg?"
"Stranger, this heah me-tropoles 耐えるs the 扱う Ord. Is thet new to you?"
He leaned 支援する against the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, and now his little yellow 注目する，もくろむs, （疑いを）晴らす as 水晶, flawless as a 強硬派's, 直す／買収する，八百長をするd on the stranger. Other men （人が）群がるd の近くに, forming a circle, curious, ready to be friendly or さもなければ, によれば how the tall interrogator 示すd the new-comer.
"Sure, Ord's a little strange to me. Off the 鉄道／強行採決する some, ain't it? Funny 追跡するs hereabouts."
"How fur was you goin'?"
"I reckon I was goin' as far as I could," replied the stranger, with a hard laugh.
His reply had subtle reaction on that listening circle. Some of the men 交流d ちらりと見ることs. Fletcher 一打／打撃d his drooping mustache, seemed thoughtful, but lost something of that piercing scrutiny.
"Wal, Ord's the jumpin'-off place," he said, presently. "Sure you've heerd of the Big Bend country?"
"I sure have, an' was makin' 跡をつけるs fer it," replied the stranger.
Fletcher turned toward a man in the outer 辛勝する／優位 of the group. "Knell, come in heah."
This individual 肘d his way in and was seen to be scarcely more than a boy, almost pale beside those bronzed men, with a long, expressionless 直面する, thin and sharp.
"Knell, this heah's—" Fletcher wheeled to the stranger. "What'd you call yourself?"
"I'd hate to について言及する what I've been callin' myself lately."
This sally fetched another laugh. The stranger appeared 冷静な／正味の, careless, indifferent. Perhaps he knew, as the others 現在の knew, that this show of Fletcher's, this pretense of introduction, was 単に talk while he was looked over.
Knell stepped up, and it was 平易な to see, from the way Fletcher 放棄するd his part in the 状況／情勢, that a man greater than he had appeared upon the scene.
"Any 商売／仕事 here?" he queried, curtly. When he spoke his expressionless 直面する was in strange contrast with the （犯罪の）一味, the 質, the cruelty of his 発言する／表明する. This 発言する／表明する betrayed an absence of humor, of friendliness, of heart.
"Nope," replied the stranger.
"Know anybody hereabouts?"
"Nary one."
"Jest ridin' through?"
"Yep."
"Slopin' fer 支援する country, eh?"
There （機の）カム a pause. The stranger appeared to grow a little resentful and drew himself up disdainfully.
"Wal, considerin' you-all seem so damn friendly an' oncurious 負かす／撃墜する here in this Big Bend country, I don't mind sayin' yes—I am in on the dodge," he replied, with 審議する／熟考する sarcasm.
"From west of Ord—out El Paso way, mebbe?"
"Sure."
"A-huh! Thet so?" Knell's words 削減（する） the 空気／公表する, stilled the room. "You're from way 負かす／撃墜する the river. Thet's what they say 負かす／撃墜する there—'on the dodge.'... Stranger, you're a liar!"
With swift clink of 刺激（する） and 強くたたく of boot the （人が）群がる 分裂（する）, leaving Knell and the stranger in the 中心.
Wild 産む／飼育する of that ilk never made a mistake in 裁判官ing a man's 神経. Knell had 削減（する） out with the trenchant call, and stood ready. The stranger suddenly lost his every 外見 to the rough and 平易な character before manifest in him. He became bronze. That 状況／情勢 seemed familiar to him. His 注目する，もくろむs held a singular piercing light that danced like a compass-needle.
"Sure I lied," he said; "so I ain't takin' 罪／違反 at the way you called me. I'm lookin' to make friends, not enemies. You don't strike me as one of them four-紅潮／摘発するs, achin' to kill somebody. But if you are—go ahead an' open the ball... You see, I never throw a gun on them fellers till they go fer theirs."
Knell coolly 注目する，もくろむd his antagonist, his strange 直面する not changing in the least. Yet somehow it was evident in his look that here was metal which rang 異なって from what he had 推定する／予想するd. 招待するd to start a fight or 身を引く, as he chose, Knell 証明するd himself big in the manner characteristic of only the 本物の 銃器携帯者／殺しや.
"Stranger, I pass," he said, and, turning to the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, he ordered アルコール飲料.
The 緊張 relaxed, the silence broke, the men filled up the gap; the 出来事/事件 seemed の近くにd. Jim Fletcher 大（公）使館員d himself to the stranger, and now both 尊敬（する）・点 and friendliness tempered his asperity.
"Wal, fer want of a better 扱う I'll call you Dodge," he said.
"Dodge's as good as any... Gents, line up again—an' if you can't be friendly, be careful!"
Such was Buck Duane's debut in the little 無法者 hamlet of Ord.
Duane had been three months out of the Nueces country. At El Paso he bought the finest horse he could find, and, 武装した and さもなければ outfitted to 控訴 him, he had taken to unknown 追跡するs. Leisurely he 棒 from town to town, village to village, ranch to ranch, fitting his talk and his 占領／職業 to the impression he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to make upon different people whom he met. He was in turn a cowboy, a rancher, a cattleman, a 在庫／株-買い手, a boomer, a land-hunter; and long before he reached the wild and inhospitable Ord he had 行為／法令／行動するd the part of an 無法者, drifting into new 領土. He passed on leisurely because he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to learn the lay of the country, the 場所 of villages and ranches, the work, habit, gossip, 楽しみs, and 恐れるs of the people with whom he （機の）カム in 接触する. The one 支配する most impelling to him —無法者s—he never について言及するd; but by talking all around it, 精査するing the old ranch and cattle story, he acquired a knowledge calculated to 援助（する） his 陰謀（を企てる）. In this game time was of no moment; if necessary he would take years to 遂行する his 仕事. The stupendous and perilous nature of it showed in the slow, 用心深い 準備. When he heard Fletcher's 指名する and 直面するd Knell he knew he had reached the place he sought. Ord was a hamlet on the fringe of the grazing country, of doubtful honesty, from which, surely, winding 追跡するs led 負かす／撃墜する into that 解放する／自由な and never-乱すd 楽園 of 無法者s—the Big Bend.
Duane made himself agreeable, yet not too much so, to Fletcher and several other men 性質の／したい気がして to talk and drink and eat; and then, after having a care for his horse, he 棒 out of town a couple of miles to a grove he had 示すd, and there, 井戸／弁護士席 hidden, he 用意が出来ている to spend the night. This 訴訟／進行 served a 二塁打 目的—he was safer, and the habit would look 井戸／弁護士席 in the 注目する，もくろむs of 無法者s, who would be more inclined to see in him the 孤独な-wolf 逃亡者／はかないもの.
Long since Duane had fought out a 戦う／戦い with himself, won a hard-earned victory. His outer life, the 活動／戦闘, was much the same as it had been; but the inner life had tremendously changed. He could never become a happy man, he could never shake utterly those haunting phantoms that had once been his despair and madness; but he had assumed a 仕事 impossible for any man save one like him, he had felt the meaning of it grow strangely and wonderfully, and through that 繁栄するd up consciousness of how passionately he now clung to this thing which would blot out his former infamy. The アイロンをかける fetters no more 脅すd his 手渡すs; the アイロンをかける door no more haunted his dreams. He never forgot that he was 解放する／自由な. Strangely, too, along with this feeling of new manhood there gathered the 軍隊 of imperious 願望（する） to run these 長，指導者 無法者s to their dooms. He never called them 無法者s—but rustlers, thieves, robbers, 殺害者s, 犯罪のs. He sensed the growth of a relentless 運動ing passion, and いつかs he 恐れるd that, more than the newly acquired zeal and pride in this 特別奇襲隊員 service, it was the old, terrible 相続するd 殺人，大当り instinct 解除するing its hydra-長，率いる in new guise. But of that he could not be sure. He dreaded the thought. He could only wait.
Another 面 of the change in Duane, neither 熱烈な nor 運動ing, yet not improbably even more potent of new significance to life, was the imperceptible return of an old love of nature dead during his 無法者 days.
For years a horse had been only a machine of locomotion, to carry him from place to place, to （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 and 刺激（する） and goad mercilessly in flight; now this 巨大（な） 黒人／ボイコット, with his splendid 長，率いる, was a companion, a friend, a brother, a loved thing, guarded jealously, fed and trained and ridden with an 激しい 評価 of his 広大な／多数の／重要な 速度(を上げる） and endurance. For years the daytime, with its birth of sunrise on through long hours to the ruddy の近くに, had been used for sleep or 残り／休憩（する） in some rocky 穴を開ける or willow ブレーキ or 砂漠d hut, had been hated because it augmented danger of 追跡, because it drove the 逃亡者／はかないもの to lonely, wretched hiding; now the 夜明け was a 迎える／歓迎するing, a 約束 of another day to ride, to 計画（する）, to remember, and sun, 勝利，勝つd, cloud, rain, sky —all were joys to him, somehow speaking his freedom. For years the night had been a 黒人／ボイコット space, during which he had to ride unseen along the endless 追跡するs, to peer with cat-注目する，もくろむs through gloom for the moving 形態／調整 that ever 追求するd him; now the twilight and the dusk and the 影をつくる／尾行するs of grove and canon darkened into night with its train of 星／主役にするs, and brought him 静める reflection of the day's happenings, of the morrow's 可能性s, perhaps a sad, 簡潔な／要約する 行列 of the old phantoms, then sleep. For years canons and valleys and mountains had been looked at as 退却／保養地s that might be dark and wild enough to hide even an 無法者; now he saw these features of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 砂漠 with something of the 注目する，もくろむs of the boy who had once 燃やすd for adventure and life の中で them.
This night a wonderful afterglow ぐずぐず残るd long in the west, and against the golden-red of （疑いを）晴らす sky the bold, 黒人／ボイコット 長，率いる of 開始する Ord 後部d itself aloft, beautiful but aloof, 悪意のある yet calling. Small wonder that Duane gazed in fascination upon the 頂点（に達する）! Somewhere 深い in its corrugated 味方するs or lost in a rugged canon was hidden the secret 要塞／本拠地 of the master 無法者 Cheseldine. All 負かす／撃墜する along the ride from El Paso Duane had heard of Cheseldine, of his 禁止（する）d, his fearful 行為s, his cunning, his 広範囲にわたって separated （警察の）手入れ，急襲s, of his flitting here and there like a Jack-o'-lantern; but never a word of his den, never a word of his 外見.
Next morning Duane did not return to Ord. He struck off to the north, riding 負かす／撃墜する a rough, slow-descending road that appeared to have been used occasionally for cattle-運動ing. As he had ridden in from the west, this northern direction led him into 全く unfamiliar country. While he passed on, however, he 演習d such keen 観察 that in the 未来 he would know whatever might be of service to him if he chanced that way again.
The rough, wild, 小衝突-covered slope 負かす／撃墜する from the 山のふもとの丘s 徐々に leveled out into plain, a magnificent grazing country, upon which till noon of that day Duane did not see a herd of cattle or a ranch. About that time he made out smoke from the 鉄道／強行採決する, and after a couple of hours' riding he entered a town which 調査 discovered to be Bradford. It was the largest town he had visited since Marfa, and he calculated must have a thousand or fifteen hundred inhabitants, not 含むing Mexicans. He decided this would be a good place for him to 停止する for a while, 存在 the nearest town to Ord, only forty miles away. So he hitched his horse in 前線 of a 蓄える／店 and leisurely 始める，決める about 熟考する／考慮するing Bradford.
It was after dark, however, that Duane 立証するd his 疑惑s 関心ing Bradford. The town was awake after dark, and there was one long 列／漕ぐ／騒動 of saloons, dance-halls, 賭事ing-訴える手段／行楽地s in 十分な 爆破. Duane visited them all, and was surprised to see wildness and license equal to that of the old river （軍の）野営地，陣営 of Bland's in its palmiest days. Here it was 軍隊d upon him that the さらに先に west one traveled along the river the sparser the respectable 解決／入植地s, the more 非常に／多数の the hard characters, and in consequence the greater the element of lawlessness. Duane returned to his 宿泊するing-house with the 有罪の判決 that MacNelly's 仕事 of きれいにする up the Big Bend country was a stupendous one. Yet, he 反映するd, a company of intrepid and quick-狙撃 特別奇襲隊員s could have soon cleaned up this Bradford.
The innkeeper had one other guest that night, a long 黒人／ボイコット-coated and wide-sombreroed Texan who reminded Duane of his grandfather. This man had 侵入するing 注目する，もくろむs, a courtly manner, and an unmistakable leaning toward companionship and 造幣局-juleps. The gentleman introduced himself as 陸軍大佐 Webb, of Marfa, and took it as a 事柄 of course that Duane made no comment about himself.
"Sir, it's all one to me," he said, blandly, waving his 手渡す. "I have traveled. Texas is 解放する／自由な, and this frontier is one where it's healthier and just as friendly for a man to have no curiosity about his companion. You might be Cheseldine, of the Big Bend, or you might be 裁判官 Little, of El Paso-it's all one to me. I enjoy drinking with you anyway."
Duane thanked him, conscious of a reserve and dignity that he could not have felt or pretended three months before. And then, as always, he was a good listener. 陸軍大佐 Webb told, の中で other things, that he had come out to the Big Bend to look over the 事件／事情／状勢s of a 死んだ brother who had been a rancher and a 郡保安官 of one of the towns, Fairdale by 指名する.
"設立する no 事件／事情／状勢s, no ranch, not even his 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な," said 陸軍大佐 Webb. "And I tell you, sir, if hell's any tougher than this Fairdale I don't want to expiate my sins there."
"Fairdale... I imagine 郡保安官s have a hard 列／漕ぐ／騒動 to 売春婦 out here," replied Duane, trying not to appear curious.
The 陸軍大佐 swore lustily.
"My brother was the only honest 郡保安官 Fairdale ever had. It was wonderful how long he lasted. But he had 神経, he could throw a gun, and he was on the square. Then he was wise enough to 限定する his work to 違反者／犯罪者s of his own town and 近隣. He let the riding 無法者s alone, else he wouldn't have lasted at all... What this frontier needs, sir, is about six companies of Texas 特別奇襲隊員s."
Duane was aware of the 陸軍大佐's の近くに scrutiny.
"Do you know anything about the service?" he asked.
"I used to. Ten years ago when I lived in San Antonio. A 罰金 団体／死体 of men, sir, and the 救済 of Texas."
"知事 石／投石する doesn't entertain that opinion," said Duane.
Here 陸軍大佐 Webb 爆発するd. Manifestly the 知事 was not his choice for a 長，指導者 (n)役員／(a)執行力のある of the 広大な／多数の／重要な 明言する／公表する. He talked politics for a while, and of the 広大な 領土 west of the Pecos that seemed never to get a 利益 from Austin. He talked enough for Duane to realize that here was just the 肉親，親類d of intelligent, 井戸／弁護士席-知らせるd, honest 国民 that he had been trying to 会合，会う. He 発揮するd himself thereafter to be agreeable and 利益／興味ing; and he saw presently that here was an 適切な時期 to make a 価値のある 知識, if not a friend.
"I'm a stranger in these parts," said Duane, finally. "What is this 無法者 状況／情勢 you speak of?"
"It's damnable, sir, and unbelievable. Not rustling any more, but just 卸売 herd-stealing, in which some big cattlemen, supposed to be honest, are 平等に 有罪の with the 無法者s. On this 国境, you know, the rustler has always been able to steal cattle in any numbers. But to get rid of big bunches—that's the hard 職業. The ギャング（団） operating between here and Valentine evidently have not this trouble. Nobody knows where the stolen 在庫／株 goes. But I'm not alone in my opinion that most of it goes to several big stockmen. They ship to San Antonio, Austin, New Orleans, also to El Paso. If you travel the 在庫／株-road between here and Marfa and Valentine you'll see dead cattle all along the line and 逸脱する cattle out in the scrub. The herds have been driven 急速な／放蕩な and far, and stragglers are not 一連の会議、交渉／完成するd up."
"卸売 商売／仕事, eh?" 発言／述べるd Duane. "Who are these—er —big 在庫／株-買い手s?"
陸軍大佐 Webb seemed a little startled at the abrupt query. He bent his 侵入するing gaze upon Duane and thoughtfully 一打／打撃d his pointed 耐えるd.
"指名するs, of course, I'll not について言及する. Opinions are one thing, direct 告訴，告発 another. This is not a healthy country for the 密告者."
When it （機の）カム to the 無法者s themselves 陸軍大佐 Webb was 性質の／したい気がして to talk 自由に. Duane could not 裁判官 whether the 陸軍大佐 had a hobby of that 支配する or the 無法者s were so striking in personality and 行為 that any man would know all about them. The 広大な／多数の／重要な 指名する along the river was Cheseldine, but it seemed to be a 指名する detached from an individual. No person of veracity known to 陸軍大佐 Webb had ever seen Cheseldine, and those who （人命などを）奪う，主張するd that doubtful 栄誉（を受ける） 変化させるd so diversely in descriptions of the 長，指導者 that they 混乱させるd the reality and lent to the 無法者 only その上の mystery. Strange to say of an 無法者 leader, as there was no one w;売春婦 could identify him, so there was no one who could 証明する he had 現実に killed a man. 血 flowed like water over the Big Bend country, and it was Cheseldine who 流出／こぼすd it. Yet the fact remained there were no 注目する，もくろむ-証言，証人／目撃するs to connect any individual called Cheseldine with these 行為s of 暴力／激しさ. But in striking contrast to this mystery was the person, character, and 冷淡な-血d 活動／戦闘 of Poggin and Knell, the 長，指導者's 中尉／大尉／警部補s. They were familiar 人物／姿／数字s in all the towns within two hundred miles of Bradford. Knell had a 記録，記録的な／記録する, but as 銃器携帯者／殺しや with an incredible 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる） of 犠牲者s Poggin was 最高の. If Poggin had a friend no one ever heard of him. There were a hundred stories of his 神経, his wonderful 速度(を上げる） with a gun, his passion for 賭事ing, his love of a horse —his 冷淡な, implacable, 残忍な wiping out of his path any man that crossed it.
"Cheseldine is a 指名する, a terrible 指名する," said 陸軍大佐 Webb. "いつかs I wonder if he's not only a 指名する. In that 事例／患者 where does the brains of this ギャング（団） come from? No; there must be a master craftsman behind this 国境 略奪する; a master 有能な of 扱うing those terrors Poggin and Knell. Of all the thousands of 無法者s developed by western Texas in the last twenty years these three are the greatest. In southern Texas, 負かす／撃墜する between the Pecos and the Nueces, there have been and are still many bad men. But I 疑問 if any 無法者 there, かもしれない excepting Buck Duane, ever equaled Poggin. You've heard of this Duane?"
"Yes, a little," replied Duane, 静かに. "I'm from southern Texas. Buck Duane then is known out here?"
"Why, man, where isn't his 指名する known?" returned 陸軍大佐 Webb. "I've kept 跡をつける of his 記録，記録的な／記録する as I have all the others. Of course, Duane, 存在 a 孤独な 無法者, is somewhat of a mystery also, but not like Cheseldine. Out here there have drifted many stories of Duane, horrible some of them. But にもかかわらず them a sort of romance 粘着するs to that Nueces 無法者. He's killed three 広大な／多数の／重要な 無法者 leaders, I believe—Bland, Hardin, and the other I forgot. Hardin was known in the Big Bend, had friends there. Bland had a hard 指名する at Del Rio."
"Then this man Duane enjoys rather an unusual repute west of the Pecos?" 問い合わせd Duane.
"He's considered more of an enemy to his 肉親，親類d than to honest men. I understand Duane had many friends, that whole 郡s 断言する by him— 内密に, of course, for he's a 追跡（する）d 無法者 with rewards on his 長，率いる. His fame in this country appears to hang on his matchless gun-play and his 敵意 toward 無法者 長，指導者s. I've heard many a rancher say: 'I wish to God that Buck Duane would drift out here! I'd give a hundred pesos to see him and Poggin 会合，会う.' It's a singular thing, stranger, how jealous these 広大な／多数の／重要な 無法者s are of each other."
"Yes, indeed, all about them is singular," replied Duane. "Has Cheseldine's ギャング（団） been busy lately?"
"No. This section has been 解放する／自由な of rustling for months, though there's unexplained movements of 在庫／株. Probably all the 在庫／株 that's 存在 shipped now was rustled long ago. Cheseldine 作品 over a wide section, too wide for news to travel inside of weeks. Then いつかs he's not heard of at all for a （一定の）期間. These なぎs are pretty surely indicative of a big 嵐／襲撃する sooner or later. And Cheseldine's 取引，協定s, as they grow より小数の and さらに先に between, certainly get bigger, more daring. There are some people who think Cheseldine had nothing to do with the bank-強盗s and train-ピストル強盗s during the last few years in this country. But that's poor 推論する／理由ing. The 職業s have been too 井戸／弁護士席 done, too surely covered, to be the work of greasers or ordinary 無法者s."
"What's your 見解（をとる） of the 見通し? How's all this going to 勝利，勝つd up? Will the 無法者 ever be driven out?" asked Duane.
"Never. There will always be 無法者s along the Rio Grande. All the armies in the world couldn't 徹底的に捜す the wild ブレーキs of that fifteen hundred miles of river. But the sway of the 無法者, such as is enjoyed by these 広大な／多数の／重要な leaders, will sooner or later be past. The 犯罪の element flock to the 南西. But not so 厚い and 急速な／放蕩な as the 開拓するs. Besides, the 無法者s kill themselves, and the ranchers are slowly rising in wrath, if not in 活動／戦闘. That will come soon. If they only had a leader to start the fight! But that will come. There's talk of Vigilantes, the same hat were 組織するd in California and are now in 軍隊 in Idaho. So far it's only talk. But the time will come. And the days of Cheseldine and Poggin are numbered."
Duane went to bed that night exceedingly thoughtful. The long 追跡する was growing hot. This voluble 陸軍大佐 had given him new ideas. It （機の）カム to Duane in surprise that he was famous along the upper Rio Grande. Assuredly he would not long be able to 隠す his 身元. He had no 疑問 that he would soon 会合，会う the 長，指導者s of this clever and bold rustling ギャング（団）. He could not decide whether he would be safer unknown or known. In the latter 事例／患者 his one chance lay in the fatality connected with his 指名する, in his 力／強力にする to look it and 行為／法令／行動する it. Duane had never dreamed of any sleuth-hound 傾向 in his nature, but now he felt something like one. Above all others his mind 直す／買収する，八百長をするd on Poggin —Poggin the brute, the executor of Cheseldine's will, but mostly upon Poggin the 銃器携帯者／殺しや. This in itself was a 警告 to Duane. He felt terrible 軍隊s at work within him. There was the 厳しい and indomitable 解決する to make MacNelly's 誇る good to the 知事 of the 明言する／公表する—to break up Cheseldine's ギャング（団）. Yet this was not in Duane's mind before a strange grim and deadly instinct—which he had to 運動 away for 恐れる he would find in it a passion to kill Poggin, not for the 明言する／公表する, nor for his word to MacNelly, but for himself. Had his father's 血 and the hard years made Duane the 肉親，親類d of man who instinctively 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 会合，会う Poggin? He was sworn to MacNelly's service, and he fought himself to keep that, and that only, in his mind.
Duane ascertained that Fairdale was 据えるd two days' ride from Bradford toward the north. There was a 行う／開催する／段階 which made the 旅行 twice a week.
Next morning Duane 機動力のある his horse and 長，率いるd for Fairdale. He 棒 leisurely, as he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to learn all he could about the country. There were few ranches. The さらに先に he traveled the better grazing he 遭遇（する）d, and, strange to 公式文書，認める, the より小数の herds of cattle.
It was just sunset when he made out a cluster of adobe houses that 示すd the half-way point between Bradford and Fairdale. Here, Duane had learned, was 駅／配置するd a comfortable inn for wayfarers.
When he drew up before the inn the landlord and his family and a number of loungers 迎える／歓迎するd him laconically.
"（警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 the 行う／開催する／段階 in, hey?" 発言／述べるd one.
"There she comes now," said another. "Joel shore is drivin' to-night."
Far 負かす／撃墜する the road Duane saw a cloud of dust and horses and a 板材ing coach. When he had looked after the needs of his horse he returned to the group before the inn. They を待つd the 行う／開催する／段階 with that 利益／興味 ありふれた to 孤立するd people. Presently it rolled up, a large mud-bespattered and dusty 乗り物, littered with baggage on 最高の，を越す and tied on behind. A number of 乗客s alighted, three of whom excited Duane's 利益／興味. One was a tall, dark, striking-looking man, and the other two were ladies, wearing long gray ulsters and 隠すs. Duane heard the proprietor of the inn 演説（する）／住所 the man as 陸軍大佐 Longstreth, and as the party entered the inn Duane's quick ears caught a few words which 熟知させるd him with the fact that Longstreth was the 市長 of Fairdale.
Duane heard the proprietor of the inn 演説（する）／住所 the man as 陸軍大佐 Longstreth.
Duane passed inside himself to learn that supper would soon be ready. At （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する he 設立する himself opposite the three who had attracted his attention.
"Ruth, I envy the lucky cowboys," Longstreth was 説.
Ruth was a curly-長，率いるd girl with gray or hazel 注目する，もくろむs.
"I'm crazy to ride bronchos," she said.
Duane gathered she was on a visit to western Texas. The other girl's 深い 発言する／表明する, 甘い like a bell, made Duane regard her closer. She had beauty as he had never seen it in another woman. She was slender, but the 開発 of her 人物／姿／数字 gave Duane the impression she was twenty years old or more. She had the most exquisite 手渡すs Duane had ever seen. She did not 似ている the 陸軍大佐, who was evidently her father. She looked tired, 静かな, even melancholy. A finely chiseled oval 直面する; （疑いを）晴らす, olive-色合いd 肌, long 注目する，もくろむs 始める，決める wide apart and 黒人／ボイコット as coal, beautiful to look into; a slender, straight nose that had something nervous and delicate about it which made Duane think of a thoroughbred; and a mouth by no means small, but perfectly curved; and hair like jet—all these features 布告するd her beauty to Duane. Duane believed her a 子孫 of one of the old French families of eastern Texas. He was sure of it when she looked at him, drawn by his rather 執拗な gaze. There were pride, 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and passion in her 注目する，もくろむs. Duane felt himself blushing in 混乱. His 星／主役にする at her had been rude, perhaps, but unconscious. How many years had passed since he had seen a girl like her! Thereafter he kept his 注目する，もくろむs upon his plate, yet he seemed to be aware that he had 誘発するd the 利益／興味 of both girls.
After supper the guests 組み立てる／集結するd in a big sitting-room where an 射撃を開始する place with 炎ing mesquite sticks gave out warmth and cheery glow. Duane took a seat by a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する in the corner, and, finding a paper, began to read. Presently when he ちらりと見ることd up he saw two dark-直面するd men, strangers who had not appeared before, and were peering in from a doorway. When they saw Duane had 観察するd them they stepped 支援する out of sight.
It flashed over Duane that the strangers 行為／法令／行動するd suspiciously. In Texas in the seventies it was always bad 政策 to let strangers go unheeded. Duane pondered a moment. Then he went out to look over these two men. The doorway opened into a patio, and across that was a little dingy, 薄暗い-lighted 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業-room. Here Duane 設立する the innkeeper dispensing drinks to the two strangers. They ちらりと見ることd up when he entered, and one of them whispered. He imagined he had seen one of them before. In Texas, where outdoor men were so rough, bronzed, bold, and いつかs grim of 面, it was no 平易な 仕事 to 選ぶ out the crooked ones. But Duane's years on the 国境 had augmented a natural instinct or gift to read character, or at least to sense the evil in men; and he knew at once that these strangers were dishonest.
"Hey somethin'?" one of them asked, leering. Both looked Duane up and 負かす／撃墜する.
"No thanks, I don't drink," Duane replied, and returned their scrutiny with 利益／興味. "How's tricks in the Big Bend?"
Both men 星／主役にするd. It had taken only a の近くに ちらりと見ること for Duane to 認める a type of ruffian most frequently met along the river. These strangers had that stamp, and their surprise 証明するd he was 権利. Here the innkeeper showed 調印するs of uneasiness, and seconded the surprise of his 顧客s. No more was said at the instant, and the two rather hurriedly went out.
"Say, boss, do you know those fellows?" Duane asked the innkeeper.
"Nope."
"Which way did they come?"
"Now I think of it, them fellers rid in from both corners today," he replied, and he put both 手渡すs on the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 and looked at Duane. "They nooned heah, comin' from Bradford, they said, an' 追跡するd in after the 行う／開催する／段階."
When Duane returned to the sitting-room 陸軍大佐 Longstreth was absent, also several of the other 乗客s. 行方不明になる Ruth sat in the 議長，司会を務める he had vacated, and across the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する from her sat 行方不明になる Longstreth. Duane went 直接／まっすぐに to them.
"Excuse me," said Duane, 演説（する）／住所ing them. "I want to tell you there are a couple of rough-looking men here. I've just seen them. They mean evil. Tell your father to be careful. Lock your doors—妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 your windows to-night."
"Oh!" cried Ruth, very low. "Ray, do you hear?"
"Thank you; we'll be careful," said 行方不明になる Longstreth, gracefully. The rich color had faded in her cheek. "I saw those men watching you from that door. They had such 有望な 黒人／ボイコット 注目する，もくろむs. Is there really danger—here?"
"I think so," was Duane's reply.
Soft swift steps behind him に先行するd a 厳しい 発言する／表明する: "手渡すs up!"
No man quicker than Duane to 認める the 意図 in those words! His 手渡すs 発射 up. 行方不明になる Ruth uttered a little 脅すd cry and sank into her 議長，司会を務める. 行方不明になる Longstreth turned white, her 注目する，もくろむs dilated. Both girls were 星／主役にするing at some one behind Duane.
"Turn around!" ordered the 厳しい 発言する／表明する.
The big, dark stranger, the bearded one who had whispered to his comrade in the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業-room and asked Duane to drink, had him covered with a cocked gun. He strode 今後, his 注目する，もくろむs gleaming, 圧力（をかける）d the gun against him, and with his other 手渡す dove into his inside coat pocket and tore out his roll of 法案s. Then he reached low at Duane's hip, felt his gun, and took it. Then he slapped the other hip, evidently in search of another 武器. That done, he 支援するd away, wearing an 表現 of fiendish satisfaction that made Duane think he was only a ありふれた どろぼう, a novice at this 肉親，親類d of game.
His comrade stood in the door with a gun leveled at two other men, who stood there 脅すd, speechless.
"Git a move on, 法案," called this fellow; and he took a 迅速な ちらりと見ること backward. A stamp of hoofs （機の）カム from outside. Of course the robbers had horses waiting. The one called 法案 strode across the room, and with 残虐な, careless haste began to プロの／賛成のd the two men with his 武器 and to search them. The robber in the doorway called "Rustle!" and disappeared.
Duane wondered where the innkeeper was, and 陸軍大佐 Longstreth and the other two 乗客s. The bearded robber quickly got through with his searching, and from his growls Duane gathered he had not been 井戸／弁護士席 remunerated. Then he wheeled once more. Duane had not moved a muscle, stood perfectly 静める with his 武器 high. The robber strode 支援する with his bloodshot 注目する，もくろむs fastened upon the girls. 行方不明になる Longstreth never flinched, but the little girl appeared about to faint.
"Don't yap, there!" he said, low and hard. He thrust the gun の近くに to Ruth. Then Duane knew for sure that he was no knight of the road, but a plain cutthroat robber. Danger always made Duane exult in a 肉親，親類d of 冷淡な glow. But now something hot worked within him. He had a little gun in his pocket. The robber had 行方不明になるd it. And he began to calculate chances.
"Any money, 宝石類, diamonds!" ordered the ruffian, ひどく.
行方不明になる Ruth 崩壊（する）d. Then he made at 行方不明になる Longstreth. She stood with her 手渡すs at her breast. Evidently the robber took this position to mean that she had 価値のあるs 隠すd there. But Duane fancied she had instinctively 圧力（をかける）d her 手渡すs against a throbbing heart.
"Come out with it!" he said, 厳しく, reaching for her.
"Don't dare touch me!" she cried, her 注目する，もくろむs 燃えて. She did not move. She had 神経.
It made Duane thrill. He saw he was going to get a chance. Waiting had been a science with him. But here it was hard. 行方不明になる Ruth had fainted, and that was 井戸／弁護士席. 行方不明になる Longstreth had fight in her, which fact helped Duane, yet made 傷害 possible to her. She eluded two 肺s the man made at her. Then his rough 手渡す caught her waist, and with one pull ripped it asunder, exposing her beautiful shoulder, white as snow.
She cried out. The prospect of 存在 robbed or even killed had not shaken 行方不明になる Longstreth's 神経 as had this 残虐な 涙／ほころびing off of half her waist.
The ruffian was only turned 部分的に／不公平に away from Duane. For himself he could have waited no longer. But for her! That gun was still held 危険に 上向き の近くに to her. Duane watched only that. Then a bellow made him jerk his 長，率いる. 陸軍大佐 Longstreth stood in the doorway in a magnificent 激怒（する）. He had no 武器. Strange how he showed no 恐れる! He bellowed something again.
Duane's 転換ing ちらりと見ること caught the robber's sudden movement. It was a 肉親，親類d of start. He seemed stricken. Duane 推定する／予想するd him to shoot Longstreth. Instead the 手渡す that clutched 行方不明になる Longstreth's torn waist 緩和するd its 持つ／拘留する. The other 手渡す with its cocked 武器 slowly dropped till it pointed to the 床に打ち倒す. That was Duane's chance.
Swift as a flash he drew his gun and 解雇する／砲火／射撃d. Thud! went his 弾丸, and he could not tell on the instant whether it 攻撃する，衝突する the robber or went into the 天井. Then the robber's gun にわか景気d harmlessly. He fell with 血 spurting over his 直面する. Duane realized he had 攻撃する，衝突する him, but the small 弾丸 had ちらりと見ることd.
行方不明になる Longstreth reeled and might have fallen had Duane not supported her. It was only a few steps to a couch, to which he half led, half carried her. Then he 急ぐd out of the room, across the patio, through the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 to the yard. にもかかわらず, he was 用心深い. In the gloom stood a saddled horse, probably the one belonging to the fellow he had 発射. His comrade had escaped. Returning to the sitting-room, Duane 設立する a 条件 approaching pandemonium.
The innkeeper 急ぐd in, pitchfork in 手渡すs. Evidently he had been out at the barn. He was now shouting to find out what had happened. Joel, the 行う／開催する／段階-driver, was trying to 静かな the men who had been robbed. The woman, wife of one of the men, had come in, and she had hysterics. The girls were still and white. The robber 法案 lay where he had fallen, and Duane guessed he had made a fair 発射, after all. And, lastly, the thing that struck Duane most of all was Longstreth's 激怒（する）. He never saw such passion. Like a caged lion Longstreth stalked and roared. There （機の）カム a quieter moment in which the innkeeper shrilly 抗議するd:
"Man, what're you ravin' aboot? Nobody's 傷つける, an' thet's lucky. I 断言する to God I hadn't nothin' to do with them fellers!"
"I せねばならない kill you anyhow!" replied Longstreth. And his 発言する／表明する now astounded Duane, it was so 十分な of 力／強力にする.
Upon examination Duane 設立する that his 弾丸 had furrowed the robber's 寺, torn a 広大な／多数の／重要な piece out of his scalp, and, as Duane had guessed, had ちらりと見ることd. He was not 本気で 負傷させるd, and already showed 調印するs of returning consciousness.
"Drag him out of here!" ordered Longstreth; and he turned to his daughter.
Before the innkeeper reached the robber Duane had 安全な・保証するd the money and gun taken from him; and presently 回復するd the 所有物／資産／財産 of the other men. Joel helped the innkeeper carry the 負傷させるd man somewhere outside.
行方不明になる Longstreth was sitting white but composed upon the couch, where lay 行方不明になる Ruth, who evidently had been carried there by the 陸軍大佐. Duane did not think she had wholly lost consciousness, and now she lay very still, with 注目する，もくろむs dark and shadowy, her 直面する pallid and wet. The 陸軍大佐, now that he finally remembered his women-folk, seemed to be gentle and 肉親，親類d. He talked soothingly to 行方不明になる Ruth, made light of the adventure, said she must learn to have 神経 out here where things happened.
"Can I be of any service?" asked Duane, solicitously.
"Thanks; I guess there's nothing you can do. Talk to these 脅すd girls while I go see what's to be done with that 厚い-skulled robber," he replied, and, telling the girls that there was no more danger, he went out.
行方不明になる Longstreth sat with one 手渡す 持つ／拘留するing her torn waist in place; the other she 延長するd to Duane. He took it awkwardly, and he felt a strange thrill.
"You saved my life," she said, in 墓／厳粛／彫る／重大な, 甘い 真面目さ.
"No, no!" Duane exclaimed. "He might have struck you, 傷つける you, but no more."
"I saw 殺人 in his 注目する，もくろむs. He thought I had jewels under my dress. I couldn't 耐える his touch. The beast! I'd have fought. Surely my life was in 危険，危なくする."
"Did you kill him?" asked 行方不明になる Ruth, who lay listening.
"Oh no. He's not 不正に 傷つける."
"I'm very glad he's alive," said 行方不明になる Longstreth, shuddering.
"My 意向 was bad enough," Duane went on. "It was a ticklish place for me. You see, he was half drunk, and I was afraid his gun might go off. Fool careless he was!"
"Yet you say you didn't save me," 行方不明になる Longstreth returned, quickly.
"井戸／弁護士席, let it go at that," Duane 答える／応じるd. "I saved you something."
"Tell me all about it?" asked 行方不明になる Ruth, who was 急速な／放蕩な 回復するing.
Rather embarrassed, Duane 簡潔に told the 出来事/事件 from his point of 見解（をとる）.
"Then you stood there all the time with your 手渡すs up thinking of nothing —watching for nothing except a little moment when you might draw your gun?" asked 行方不明になる Ruth.
"I guess that's about it," he replied.
"Cousin," said 行方不明になる Longstreth, thoughtfully, "it was fortunate for us that this gentleman happened to be here. Papa scouts—laughs at danger. He seemed to think there was no danger. Yet he raved after it （機の）カム."
"Go with us all the way to Fairdale—please?" asked 行方不明になる Ruth, sweetly 申し込む／申し出ing her 手渡す. "I am Ruth Herbert. And this is my cousin, Ray Longstreth."
"I'm traveling that way," replied Duane, in 広大な／多数の／重要な 混乱. He did not know how to 会合，会う the 状況／情勢.
陸軍大佐 Longstreth returned then, and after bidding Duane a good night, which seemed rather curt by contrast to the graciousness of the girls, he led them away.
Before going to bed Duane went outside to take a look at the 負傷させるd robber and perhaps to ask him a few questions. To Duane's surprise, he was gone, and so was his horse. The innkeeper was dumfounded. He said that he left the fellow on the 床に打ち倒す in the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業-room.
"Had he come to?" 問い合わせd Duane.
"Sure. He asked for whisky."
"Did he say anything else?"
"Not to me. I heard him talkin' to the father of them girls."
"You mean 陸軍大佐 Longstreth?"
"I reckon. He sure was some riled, wasn't he? Jest as if I was to 非難する fer that two-bit of a 持つ／拘留する-up!"
"What did you make of the old gent's 激怒（する）?" asked Duane, watching the innkeeper. He scratched his 長，率いる dubiously. He was sincere, and Duane believed in his honesty.
"Wal, I'm doggoned if I know what to make of it. But I reckon he's either crazy or got more 神経 than most Texans."
"More 神経, maybe," Duane replied. "Show me a bed now, innkeeper."
Once in bed in the dark, Duane composed himself to think over the several events of the evening. He called up the 詳細（に述べる）s of the ピストル強盗 and carefully 回転するd them in mind. The 陸軍大佐's wrath, under circumstances where almost any Texan would have been 冷静な／正味の, nonplussed Duane, and he put it 負かす／撃墜する to a choleric temperament. He pondered long on the 活動／戦闘 of the robber when Longstreth's bellow of 激怒（する） burst in upon him. This ruffian, as bold and mean a type as Duane had ever 遭遇（する）d, had, from some 原因（となる） or other, been startled. From whatever point Duane 見解（をとる）d the man's strange 不決断 he could come to only one 結論—his start, his check, his 恐れる had been that of 承認. Duane compared this 影響 with the suddenly acquired sense he had gotten of 陸軍大佐 Longstreth's powerful personality. Why had that desperate robber lowered his gun and stood 麻ひさせるd at sight and sound of the 市長 of Fairdale? This was not 責任のある. There might have been a number of 推論する／理由s, all to 陸軍大佐 Longstreth's credit, but Duane could not understand. Longstreth had not appeared to see danger for his daughter, even though she had been 概略で 扱うd, and had 前進するd in 前線 of a cocked gun. Duane 調査（する）d 深い into this singular fact, and he brought to 耐える on the thing all his knowledge and experience of violent Texas life. And he 設立する that the instant 陸軍大佐 Longstreth had appeared on the scene there was no その上の danger 脅すing his daughter. Why? That likewise Duane could not answer. Then his 激怒（する）, Duane 結論するd, had been 単独で at the idea of HIS daughter 存在 強襲，強姦d by a robber. This deduction was indeed a thought-disturber, but Duane put it aside to crystallize and for more careful consideration.
Next morning Duane 設立する that the little town was called Sanderson. It was larger than he had at first supposed. He walked up the main street and 支援する again. Just as he arrived some horsemen 棒 up to the inn and dismounted. And at this juncture the Longstreth party （機の）カム out. Duane heard 陸軍大佐 Longstreth utter an exclamation. Then he saw him shake 手渡すs with a tall man. Longstreth looked surprised and angry, and he spoke with 軍隊; but Duane could not hear what it was he said. The fellow laughed, yet somehow he struck Duane as sullen, until suddenly he 遠くに見つけるd 行方不明になる Longstreth. Then his 直面する changed, and he 除去するd his sombrero. Duane went closer.
"Floyd, did you come with the teams?" asked Longstreth, はっきりと.
"Not me. I 棒 a horse, good and hard," was the reply.
"Humph! I'll have a word to say to you later." Then Longstreth turned to his daughter. "Ray, here's the cousin I've told you about. You used to play with him ten years ago—Floyd Lawson. Floyd, my daughter—and my niece, Ruth Herbert."
Duane always scrutinized every one he met, and now with a dangerous game to play, with a consciousness of Longstreth's unusual and 重要な personality, he bent a keen and searching ちらりと見ること upon this Floyd Lawson.
He was under thirty, yet gray at his 寺s—dark, smooth-shaven, with lines left by wildness, dissipation, 影をつくる／尾行するs under dark 注目する，もくろむs, a mouth strong and bitter, and a square chin—a 無謀な, careless, handsome, 悪意のある 直面する strangely losing the hardness when he smiled. The grace of a gentleman clung 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him, seemed like an echo in his mellow 発言する／表明する. Duane 疑問d not that he, like many a young man, had drifted out to the frontier, where rough and wild life had wrought 厳しく but had not やめる effaced the 示す of good family.
陸軍大佐 Longstreth 明らかに did not 株 the 楽しみ of his daughter and his niece in the advent of this cousin. Something hinged on this 会合. Duane grew intensely curious, but, as the 行う／開催する／段階 appeared ready for the 旅行, he had no その上の 適切な時期 to gratify it.
DUANE followed the 行う／開催する／段階 through the town, out into the open, on to a wide, hard-packed road showing years of travel. It 長，率いるd northwest. To the left rose a 範囲 of low, 荒涼とした mountains he had 公式文書，認めるd yesterday, and to the 権利 sloped the mesquite-patched sweep of 山の尾根 and flat. The driver 押し進めるd his team to a 急速な／放蕩な trot, which gait surely covered ground 速く.
The 行う／開催する／段階 made three stops in the forenoon, one at a place where the horses could be watered, the second at a chuck-wagon belonging to cowboys who were riding after 在庫／株, and the third at a small cluster of adobe and 石／投石する houses 構成するing a hamlet the driver called Longstreth, 指名するd after the 陸軍大佐. From that point on to Fairdale there were only a few ranches, each one controlling 広大な／多数の／重要な acreage.
早期に in the afternoon from a 山の尾根-最高の，を越す Duane sighted Fairdale, a green patch in the 集まり of gray. For the barrens of Texas it was indeed a fair sight. But he was more 関心d with its remoteness from civilization than its beauty. At that time, in the 早期に seventies, when the 広大な western third of Texas was a wilderness, the 開拓する had done wonders to settle there and 設立する places like Fairdale.
It needed only a ちらりと見ること for Duane to 選ぶ out 陸軍大佐 Longstreth's ranch. The house was 据えるd on the only elevation around Fairdale, and it was not high, nor more than a few minutes' walk from the 辛勝する／優位 of the town. It was a low, flat-roofed structure made of red adobe bricks, and covered what appeared to be fully an acre of ground. All was green about it, except where the 盗品故買者d corrals and 非常に／多数の barns or sheds showed gray and red.
Duane soon reached the shady 郊外s of Fairdale, and entered the town with mingled feelings of curiosity, 切望, and 期待. The street he 棒 負かす／撃墜する was a main one, and on both 味方するs of the street was a solid 列／漕ぐ／騒動 of saloons, 訴える手段／行楽地s, hotels. Saddled horses stood hitched all along the sidewalk in two long lines, with a buckboard and team here and there breaking the 連続. This 封鎖する was busy and noisy.
From all outside 外見s Fairdale was no different from other frontier towns, and Duane's 期待s were scarcely realized. As the afternoon was 病弱なing he 停止（させる）d at a little inn. A boy took 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of his horse. Duane questioned the lad about Fairdale and 徐々に drew to the 支配する most in mind.
"陸軍大佐 Longstreth has a big outfit, eh?"
"Reckon he has," replied the lad. "Doan know how many cowboys. They're always comin' and goin'. I ain't 熟知させるd with half of them."
"Much movement of 在庫／株 these days?"
"在庫／株's always movin'," he replied, with a queer look.
"Rustlers?"
But he did not follow up that look with the affirmative Duane 推定する／予想するd.
"Lively place, I hear—Fairdale is?"
"Ain't so lively as Sanderson, but it's bigger."
"Yes, I heard it was. Fellow 負かす／撃墜する there was talking about two cowboys who were 逮捕（する）d."
"Sure. I heered all about that. Joe Bean an' Brick Higgins—they belong heah, but they ain't heah much. Longstreth's boys."
Duane did not want to appear over-inquisitive, so he turned the talk into other channels.
After getting supper Duane strolled up and 負かす／撃墜する the main street. When 不明瞭 始める，決める in he went into a hotel, bought cigars, sat around, and watched. Then he passed out and went into the next place. This was of rough 天然のまま exterior, but the inside was comparatively pretentious and 燃えて with lights. It was 十分な of men coming and going—a dusty-booted （人が）群がる that smelled of horses and smoke. Duane sat 負かす／撃墜する for a while, with wide 注目する，もくろむs and open ears. Then he 追跡（する）d up the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, where most of the guests had been or were going. He 設立する a 広大な／多数の／重要な square room lighted by six 抱擁する lamps, a 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 at one 味方する, and all the 床に打ち倒す-space taken up by （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs and 議長，司会を務めるs. This was the only 賭事ing place of any size in southern Texas in which he had 公式文書，認めるd the absence of Mexicans. There was some card-playing going on at this moment. Duane stayed in there for a while, and knew that strangers were too ありふれた in Fairdale to be 目だつ. Then he returned to the inn where he had engaged a room.
Duane sat 負かす／撃墜する on the steps of the dingy little restaurant. Two men were conversing inside, and they had not noticed Duane.
"Laramie, what's the stranger's 指名する?" asked one.
"He didn't say," replied the other.
"Sure was a strappin' big man. Struck me a little 半端物, he did. No cattleman, him. How'd you size him?"
"井戸／弁護士席, like one of them 冷静な／正味の, 平易な, 静かな Texans who's been lookin' for a man for years—to kill him when he 設立する him."
"権利 you are, Laramie; and, between you an' me, I hope he's lookin' for Long—"
"'S—sh!" interrupted Laramie. "You must be half drunk, to go talkie' that way."
Thereafter they conversed in too low a トン for Duane to hear, and presently Laramie's 訪問者 left. Duane went inside, and, making himself agreeable, began to ask casual questions about Fairdale. Laramie was not communicative.
Duane went to his room in a thoughtful でっちあげる，人を罪に陥れる of mind. Had Laramie's 訪問者 meant he hoped some one had come to kill Longstreth? Duane inferred just that from the interrupted 発言／述べる. There was something wrong about the 市長 of Fairdale. Duane felt it. And he felt also, if there was a crooked and dangerous man, it was this Floyd Lawson. The innkeeper Laramie would be 価値（がある） cultivating. And last in Duane's thoughts that night was 行方不明になる Longstreth. He could not help thinking of her—how strangely the 会合 with her had 影響する／感情d him. It made him remember that long-past time when girls had been a part of his life. What a sad and dark and endless 無効の lay between that past and the 現在の! He had no 権利 even to dream of a beautiful woman like Ray Longstreth. That 有罪の判決, however, did not 追い散らす her; indeed, it seemed perversely to make her grow more fascinating. Duane grew conscious of a strange, unaccountable hunger, a something that was like a pang in his breast.
Next day he lounged about the inn. He did not make any 予備交渉s to the taciturn proprietor. Duane had no need of hurry now. He contented himself with watching and listening. And at the の近くに of that day he decided Fairdale was what MacNelly had （人命などを）奪う，主張するd it to be, and that he was on the 跡をつける of an unusual adventure. The に引き続いて day he spent in much the same way, though on one occasion he told Laramie he was looking for a man. The innkeeper grew a little いっそう少なく furtive and reticent after that. He would answer casual queries, and it did not take Duane long to learn that Laramie had seen better days —that he was now broken, bitter, and hard. Some one had wronged him.
Several days passed. Duane did not 後継する in getting any closer to Laramie, but he 設立する the idlers on the corners and in 前線 of the 蓄える／店s unsuspicious and willing to talk. It did not take him long to find out that Fairdale stood 平行の with Huntsville for 賭事ing, drinking, and fighting. The street was always lined with dusty, saddled horses, the town 十分な of strangers. Money appeared more abundant than in any place Duane had ever visited; and it was spent with the abandon that spoke 強制的に of 平易な and crooked acquirement. Duane decided that Sanderson, Bradford, and Ord were but 悪名高い outposts to this Fairdale, which was a secret 中心 of rustlers and 無法者s. And what struck Duane strangest of all was the fact that Longstreth was 市長 here and held 法廷，裁判所 daily. Duane knew intuitively, before a chance 発言／述べる gave him proof, that this 法廷，裁判所 was a sham, a farce. And he wondered if it were not a blind. This wonder of his was 同等（の） to 疑惑 of 陸軍大佐 Longstreth, and Duane reproached himself. Then he realized that the reproach was because of the daughter. 調査 had brought him the fact that Ray Longstreth had just come to live with her father. Longstreth had 初めは been a planter in Louisiana, where his family had remained after his advent in the West. He was a rich rancher; he owned half of Fairdale; he was a cattle-買い手 on a large 規模. Floyd Lawson was his 中尉／大尉／警部補 and associate in 取引，協定s.
On the afternoon of the fifth day of Duane's stay in Fairdale he returned to the inn from his usual stroll, and upon entering was amazed to have a rough-looking young fellow 急ぐ by him out of the door. Inside Laramie was lying on the 床に打ち倒す, with a 血まみれの bruise on his 直面する. He did not appear to be 危険に 傷つける.
"Bo Snecker! He 攻撃する，衝突する me and went after the cash-drawer," said Laramie, laboring to his feet.
"Are you 傷つける much?" queried Duane.
"I guess not. But Bo needn't to have soaked me. I've been robbed before without that."
"井戸／弁護士席, I'll take a look after Bo," replied Duane.
He went out and ちらりと見ることd 負かす／撃墜する the street toward the 中心 of the town. He did not see any one he could take for the innkeeper's 加害者. Then he looked up the street, and he saw the young fellow about a 封鎖する away, hurrying along and gazing 支援する.
Duane yelled for him to stop and started to go after him. Snecker broke into a run. Then Duane 始める，決める out to 精密検査する him. There were two 動機s in Duane's 活動／戦闘—one of 怒り／怒る, and the other a 願望（する） to make a friend of this man Laramie, whom Duane believed could tell him much.
Duane was light on his feet, and he had a 巨大（な） stride. He 伸び（る）d 速く upon Snecker, who, turning this way and that, could not get out of sight. Then he took to the open country and ran straight for the green hill where Longstreth's house stood. Duane had almost caught Snecker when he reached the shrubbery and trees and there eluded him. But Duane kept him in sight, in the shade, on the paths, and up the road into the 中庭, and he saw Snecker go straight for Longstreth's house.
Duane was not to be turned 支援する by that, singular as it was. He did not stop to consider. It seemed enough to know that 運命／宿命 had directed him to the path of this rancher Longstreth. Duane entered the first open door on that 味方する of the 法廷，裁判所. It opened into a 回廊（地帯） which led into a plaza. It had wide, smooth 石／投石する porches, and flowers and shrubbery in the 中心. Duane hurried through to burst into the presence of 行方不明になる Longstreth and a number of young people. Evidently she was giving a little party.
Lawson stood leaning against one of the 中心存在s that supported the porch roof; at sight of Duane his 直面する changed remarkably, 表明するing amazement, びっくり仰天, then 恐れる.
In the quick 続いて起こるing silence 行方不明になる Longstreth rose white as her dress. The young women 現在の 星／主役にするd in astonishment, if they were not 平等に perturbed. There were cowboys 現在の who suddenly grew 意図 and still. By these things Duane gathered that his 外見 must be disconcerting. He was panting. He wore no hat or coat. His big gun-sheath showed plainly at his hip.
Sight of 行方不明になる Longstreth had an unaccountable 影響 upon Duane. He was 急落（する），激減（する）d into 混乱. For the moment he saw no one but her.
"行方不明になる Longstreth—I （機の）カム—to search—your house," panted Duane.
He hardly knew what he was 説, yet the instant he spoke he realized that that should have been the last thing for him to say. He had 失敗d. But he was not used to women, and this dark-注目する，もくろむd girl made him thrill and his heart （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 thickly and his wits go scattering.
"Search my house!" exclaimed 行方不明になる Longstreth; and red 後継するd the white in her cheeks. She appeared astonished and angry. "What for? Why, how dare you! This is unwarrantable!"
"A man—Bo Snecker—強襲，強姦d and robbed Jim Laramie," replied Duane, hurriedly. "I chased Snecker here—saw him run into the house."
"Here? Oh, sir, you must be mistaken. We have seen no one. In the absence of my father I'm mistress here. I'll not 許す you to search."
Lawson appeared to come out of his astonishment. He stepped 今後.
"Ray, don't be bothered now," he said, to his cousin. "This fellow's making a bluff. I'll settle him. See here, Mister, you （疑いを）晴らす out!"
"I want Snecker. He's here, and I'm going to get him," replied Duane, 静かに.
"Bah! That's all a bluff," sneered Lawson. "I'm on to your game. You just 手配中の，お尋ね者 an excuse to break in here—to see my cousin again. When you saw the company you invented that excuse. Now, be off, or it'll be the worse for you."
Duane felt his 直面する 燃やす with a tide of hot 血. Almost he felt that he was 有罪の of such 動機. Had he not been unable to put this Ray Longstreth out of his mind? There seemed to be 軽蔑（する） in her 注目する，もくろむs now. And somehow that checked his 当惑.
"行方不明になる Longstreth, will you let me search the house?" he asked.
"No."
"Then—I 悔いる to say—I'll do so without your 許可."
"You'll not dare!" she flashed. She stood 築く, her bosom swelling.
"容赦 me, yes, I will."
"Who are you?" she 需要・要求するd, suddenly.
"I'm a Texas 特別奇襲隊員," replied Duane.
"A TEXAS RANGER!" she echoed.
Floyd Lawson's dark 直面する turned pale.
"行方不明になる Longstreth, I don't need 令状s to search houses," said Duane. "I'm sorry to annoy you. I'd prefer to have your 許可. A ruffian has taken 避難 here—in your father's house. He's hidden somewhere. May I look for him?"
"If you are indeed a 特別奇襲隊員."
Duane produced his papers. 行方不明になる Longstreth haughtily 辞退するd to look at them.
"行方不明になる Longstreth, I've come to make Fairdale a safer, cleaner, better place for women and children. I don't wonder at your 憤慨. But to 疑問 me—侮辱 me. Some day you may be sorry."
Floyd Lawson made a violent 動議 with his 手渡すs.
"All stuff! Cousin, go on with your party. I'll take a couple of cowboys and go with this—this Texas 特別奇襲隊員."
"Thanks," said Duane, coolly, as he 注目する，もくろむd Lawson. "Perhaps you'll be able to find Snecker quicker than I could."
"What do you mean?" 需要・要求するd Lawson, and now he grew livid. Evidently he was a man of 猛烈な／残忍な quick passions.
"Don't quarrel," said 行方不明になる Longstreth. "Floyd, you go with him. Please hurry. I'll be nervous till—the man's 設立する or you're sure there's not one."
They started with several cowboys to search the house. They went through the rooms searching, calling out, peering into dark places. It struck Duane more than 強制的に that Lawson did all the calling. He was hurried, too, tried to keep in the lead. Duane wondered if he knew his 発言する／表明する would be 認めるd by the hiding man. Be that as it might, it was Duane who peered into a dark corner and then, with a gun leveled, said "Come out!"
He （機の）カム 前へ／外へ into the ゆらめく—a tall, わずかな／ほっそりした, dark-直面するd 青年, wearing sombrero, blouse and trousers. Duane collared him before any of the others could move and held the gun の近くに enough to make him 縮む. But he did not impress Duane as 存在 脅すd just then; にもかかわらず, he had a clammy 直面する, the pallid look of a man who had just gotten over a shock. He peered into Duane's 直面する, then into that of the cowboy next to him, then into Lawson's, and if ever in Duane's life he beheld 救済 it was then. That was all Duane needed to know, but he meant to find out more if he could.
"Who're you?" asked Duane, 静かに.
"Bo Snecker," he said.
"What'd you hide here for?"
He appeared to grow sullen.
"Reckoned I'd be as 安全な in Longstreth's as anywheres."
"特別奇襲隊員, what'll you do with him?" Lawson queried, as if uncertain, now the 逮捕（する） was made.
"I'll see to that," replied Duane, and he 押し進めるd Snecker in 前線 of him out into the 法廷，裁判所.
Duane had suddenly conceived the idea of taking Snecker before 市長 Longstreth in the 法廷，裁判所.
When Duane arrived at the hall where 法廷，裁判所 was held there were other men there, a dozen or more, and all seemed excited; evidently, news of Duane had に先行するd him. Longstreth sat at a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する up on a 壇・綱領・公約. 近づく him sat a 厚い-始める，決める grizzled man, with 深い 注目する，もくろむs, and this was Hanford Owens, 郡 裁判官. To the 権利 stood a tall, angular, yellow-直面するd fellow with a drooping sandy mustache. 目だつ on his vest was a 抱擁する silver 保護物，者. This was Gorsech, one of Longstreth's 郡保安官s. There were four other men whom Duane knew by sight, several whose 直面するs were familiar, and half a dozen strangers, all dusty horsemen.
Longstreth 続けざまに猛撃するd hard on the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する to be heard. 市長 or not, he was unable at once to 鎮圧する the excitement. 徐々に, however, it 沈下するd, and from the last few utterances before 静かな was 回復するd Duane gathered that he had intruded upon some 肉親，親類d of a 会合 in the hall.
"What'd you break in here for," 需要・要求するd Longstreth.
"Isn't this the 法廷，裁判所? Aren't you the 市長 of Fairdale?" interrogated Duane. His 発言する／表明する was （疑いを）晴らす and loud, almost piercing.
"Yes," replied Longstreth. Like flint he seemed, yet Duane felt his 激しい 利益／興味.
"I've 逮捕（する）d a 犯罪の," said Duane.
"逮捕（する）d a 犯罪の!" ejaculated Longstreth. "You? Who're you?"
"I'm a 特別奇襲隊員," replied Duane.
A 重要な silence 続いて起こるd.
"I 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 Snecker with 強襲，強姦 on Laramie and 試みる／企てるd 強盗—if not 殺人. He's had a shady past here, as this 法廷，裁判所 will know if it keeps a 記録，記録的な／記録する."
"What's this I hear about you, Bo? Get up and speak for yourself," said Longstreth, gruffly.
Snecker got up, not without a furtive ちらりと見ること at Duane, and he had shuffled 今後 a few steps toward the 市長. He had an evil 前線, but not the boldness even of a rustler.
"It ain't so, Longstreth," he began, loudly. "I went in Laramie's place fer grub. Some feller I never seen before come in from the hall an' 攻撃する，衝突する Laramie an' 格闘するd him on the 床に打ち倒す. I went out. Then this big 特別奇襲隊員 chased me an' fetched me here. 1 didn't do nothin'. This 特別奇襲隊員's hankerin' to 逮捕（する） somebody. Thet's my hunch, Longstreth."
Longstreth said something in an undertone to 裁判官 Owens, and that worthy nodded his 広大な／多数の／重要な bushy 長，率いる.
"Bo, you're 発射する／解雇するd," said Longstreth, bluntly. "Now the 残り／休憩（する） of you （疑いを）晴らす out of here."
He 絶対 ignored the 特別奇襲隊員. That was his rebuff to Duane—his 非難する in the 直面する to an 干渉するing 特別奇襲隊員 service. If Longstreth was crooked he certainly had magnificent 神経. Duane almost decided he was above 疑惑. But his nonchalance, his 空気／公表する of finality, his 権威のある 保証／確信—these to Duane's keen and practiced 注目する，もくろむs were in 重要な contrast to a 確かな tenseness of line about his mouth and a slow paling of his olive 肌. In that momentary なぎ Duane's scrutiny of Longstreth gathered an impression of the man's 激しい curiosity.
Then the 囚人, Snecker, with a cough that broke the （一定の）期間 of silence, shuffled a couple of steps toward the door.
"持つ／拘留する on!" called Duane. The call 停止（させる）d Snecker, as if it had been a 弾丸.
"Longstreth, I saw Snecker attack Laramie," said Duane, his 発言する／表明する still （犯罪の）一味ing. "What has the 法廷，裁判所 to say to that?"
"The 法廷，裁判所 has this to say. West of the Pecos we'll not 援助（する） any 特別奇襲隊員 service. We don't want you out here. Fairdale doesn't need you."
"That's a 嘘（をつく）, Longstreth," retorted Duane. "I've letters from Fairdale 国民s all begging for 特別奇襲隊員 service."
Longstreth turned white. The veins corded at his 寺s. He appeared about to burst into 激怒（する）. He was at a loss for quick reply.
Floyd Lawson 急ぐd in and up to the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. The 血 showed 黒人／ボイコット and 厚い in his 直面する; his utterance was incoherent, his uncontrollable 突発／発生 of temper seemed out of all 割合 to any 原因（となる） he should reasonably have had for 怒り／怒る. Longstreth 押すd him 支援する with a 悪口を言う／悪態 and a 警告 glare.
"Where's your 令状 to 逮捕（する） Snecker?" shouted Longstreth.
"I don't need 令状s to make 逮捕（する）s. Longstreth, you're ignorant of the 力／強力にする of Texas 特別奇襲隊員s."
"You'll come 非，不，無 of your damned 特別奇襲隊員 stunts out here. I'll 封鎖する you."
That 熱烈な reply of Longstreth's was the signal Duane had been waiting for. He had helped on the 危機. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 軍隊 Longstreth's 手渡す and show the town his stand.
Duane 支援するd （疑いを）晴らす of everybody.
"Men! I call on you all!" cried Duane, piercingly. "I call on you to 証言，証人／目撃する the 逮捕（する） of a 犯罪の 妨げるd by Longstreth, 市長 of Fairdale. It will be 記録，記録的な／記録するd in the 報告（する）／憶測 to the Adjutant-General at Austin. Longstreth, you'll never 妨げる another 逮捕（する）."
Longstreth sat white with working jaw.
"Longstreth, you've shown your 手渡す," said Duane, in a 発言する／表明する that carried far and held those who heard. "Any honest 国民 of Fairdale can now see what's plain—yours is a damn poor 手渡す! You're going to hear me call a spade a spade. In the two years you've been 市長 you've never 逮捕（する）d one rustler. Strange, when Fairdale's a nest for rustlers! You've never sent a 囚人 to Del Rio, let alone to Austin. You have no 刑務所，拘置所. There have been nine 殺人s during your office—innumerable street-fights and ピストル強盗s. Not one 逮捕（する）! But you have ordered 逮捕（する）s for trivial 罪／違反s, and have punished these out of all 割合. There have been 訴訟s in your 法廷，裁判所-控訴s over water-権利s, cattle 取引，協定s, 所有物／資産／財産 lines. Strange how in these 訴訟s you or Lawson or other men の近くに to you were always 伴う／関わるd! Strange how it seems the 法律 was stretched to 好意 your 利益／興味!"
Duane paused in his 冷淡な, （犯罪の）一味ing speech. In the silence, both outside and inside the hall, could be heard the 深い breathing of agitated men. Longstreth was indeed a 熟考する／考慮する. Yet did he betray anything but 激怒（する） at this interloper?
"Longstreth, here's plain talk for you and Fairdale," went on Duane. "I don't 告発する／非難する you and your 法廷，裁判所 of dishonesty. I say STRANGE! 法律 here has been a farce. The 動機 behind all this laxity isn't plain to me— yet. But I call your 手渡す!"
DUANE left the hall, 肘d his way through the （人が）群がる, and went 負かす／撃墜する the street. He was 確かな that on the 直面するs of some men he had seen ill-隠すd wonder and satisfaction. He had struck some 肉親，親類d of a hot trait, and he meant to see where it led. It was by no means ありそうもない that Cheseldine might be at the other end. Duane controlled a 開始するing 切望. But ever and anon it was 発射 through with a remembrance of Ray Longstreth. He 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd her father of 存在 not what he pretended. He might, very probably would, bring 悲しみ and shame to this young woman. The thought made him smart with 苦痛. She began to haunt him, and then he was thinking more of her beauty and sweetness than of the 不名誉 he might bring upon her. Some strange emotion, long locked inside Duane's heart, knocked to be heard, to be let out. He was troubled.
Upon returning to the inn he 設立する Laramie there, 明らかに 非，不，無 the worse for his 傷害.
"How are you, Laramie?" he asked.
"Reckon I'm feelin' 同様に as could be 推定する／予想するd," replied Laramie. His 長，率いる was circled by a 包帯 that did not 隠す the lump where he had been struck. He looked pale, but was 有望な enough.
"That was a good 割れ目 Snecker gave you," 発言／述べるd Duane.
"I ain't accusin' Bo," remonstrated Laramie, with 注目する，もくろむs that made Duane thoughtful.
"井戸／弁護士席, I 告発する／非難する him. I caught him—took him to Longstreth's 法廷，裁判所. But they let him go."
Laramie appeared to be agitated by this intimation of friendship.
"See here, Laramie," went on Duane, "in some parts of Texas it's 政策 to be の近くに-mouthed. 政策 and health-保存するing! Between ourselves, I want you to know I lean on your 味方する of the 盗品故買者."
Laramie gave a quick start. Presently Duane turned and 率直に met his gaze. He had startled Laramie out of his habitual 始める，決める taciturnity; but even as he looked the light that might have been amaze and joy faded out of his 直面する, leaving it the same old mask. Still Duane had seen enough. Like a bloodhound he had a scent.
"Talking about work, Laramie, who'd you say Snecker worked for?"
"I didn't say."
"井戸／弁護士席, say so now, can't you? Laramie, you're powerful peevish to-day. It's that bump on your 長，率いる. Who does Snecker work for?"
"When he 作品 at all, which sure ain't often, he rides for Longstreth."
"Humph! Seems to me that Longstreth's the whole circus 一連の会議、交渉／完成する Fairdale. I was some sore the other day to find I was losing good money at Longstreth's faro game. Sure if I'd won I wouldn't have been sore—ha, ha! But I was surprised to hear some one say Longstreth owned the Hope So 共同の."
"He owns かなりの 所有物／資産／財産 hereabouts," replied Laramie, constrainedly.
"Humph again! Laramie, like every other fellow I 会合，会う in this town, you're afraid to open your 罠（にかける） about Longstreth.Get me straight, Laramie. I don't care a damn for 陸軍大佐 市長 Longstreth. And for 原因（となる） I'd throw a gun on him just as quick as on any rustler in Pecos."
"Talk's cheap," replied Laramie, making light of his bluster, but the red was deeper in his 直面する.
"Sure. I know that," Duane said. "And usually I don't talk. Then it's not 井戸／弁護士席 known that Longstreth owns the Hope So?"
"Reckon it's known in Pecos, all 権利. But Longstreth's 指名する isn't connected with the Hope So. Blandy runs the place."
"That Blandy. His faro game's crooked, or I'm a locoed bronch. Not that we don't have lots of crooked faro-売買業者s. A fellow can stand for them. But Blandy's mean, 支援する-手渡すd, never looks you in the 注目する，もくろむs. That Hope So place せねばならない be run by a good fellow like you, Laramie."
"Thanks," replied he; and Duane imagined his 発言する／表明する a little husky. "Didn't you hear I used to run it?"
"No. Did you?" Duane said, quickly.
"I reckon. I built the place, made 新規加入s twice, owned it for eleven years."
"井戸／弁護士席, I'll be doggoned." It was indeed Duane's turn to be surprised, and with the surprise （機の）カム a 微光ing. "I'm sorry you're not there now. Did you sell out?"
"No. Just lost the place."
Laramie was bursting for 救済 now—to talk, to tell. Sympathy had made him soft.
"It was two years ago-two years last March," he went on. "I was in a big cattle を取り引きする Longstreth. We got the 在庫／株—an' my 株, eighteen hundred 長，率いる, was rustled off. I 借りがあるd Longstreth. He 圧力（をかける）d me. It come to a 訴訟—an' I—was 廃虚d.
It 傷つける Duane to look at Laramie. He was white, and 涙／ほころびs rolled 負かす／撃墜する his cheeks. Duane saw the bitterness, the 敗北・負かす, the agony of the man. He had failed to 会合，会う his 義務s; にもかかわらず, he had been 搾取するd. All that he 抑えるd, all that would have been passion had the man's spirit not been broken, lay 明らかにする for Duane to see. He had now the secret of his bitterness. But the 推論する／理由 he did not 率直に 告発する／非難する Longstreth, the secret of his reticence and 恐れる—these Duane thought best to try to learn at some later time.
"Hard luck! It certainly was 堅い," Duane said. "But you're a good loser. And the wheel turns! Now, Laramie, here's what. I need your advice. I've got a little money. But before I lose it I want to 投資する some. Buy some 在庫／株, or buy an 利益／興味 in some rancher's herd. What I want you to steer me on is a good square rancher. Or maybe a couple of ranchers, if there happen to be two honest ones. Ha, ha! No 取引，協定s with ranchers who ride in the dark with rustlers! I've a hunch Fairdale is 十分な of them. Now, Laramie, you've been here for years. Sure you must know a couple of men above 疑惑."
"Thank God I do," he replied, feelingly. "Frank Morton an' Si Zimmer, my friends an' neighbors all my 繁栄する days, an' friends still. You can 賭事 on Frank and Si. But if you want advice from me—don't 投資する money in 在庫／株 now."
"Why?"
"Because any new feller buyin' 在庫／株 these days will be rustled quicker 'n he can say Jack Robinson. The 開拓するs, the new cattlemen—these are 平易な pickin' for the rustlers. Lord knows all the ranchers are 平易な enough pickin'. But the new fellers have to learn the ropes. They don't know anythin' or anybody. An' the old ranchers are wise an' sore. They'd fight if they—"
"What?" Duane put in, as he paused. "If they knew who was rustling the 在庫／株?"
"Nope."
"If they had the 神経?"
"Not thet so much."
"What then? What'd make them fight?"
"A leader!"
"Howdy thar, Jim," にわか景気d a big 発言する／表明する.
A man of 広大な／多数の／重要な 本体，大部分／ばら積みの, with a ruddy, merry 直面する, entered the room.
"Hello, Morton," replied Laramie. "I'd introduce you to my guest here, but I don't know his 指名する."
"Haw! Haw! Thet's all 権利. Few men out hyar go by their 権利 指名するs."
"Say, Morton," put in Duane, "Laramie gave me a hunch you'd be a good man to tie to. Now, I've a little money and before I lose it I'd like to 投資する it in 在庫／株."
Morton smiled 概して.
"I'm on the square," Duane said, bluntly. "If you fellows never size up your neighbors any better than you have sized me—井戸／弁護士席, you won't get any richer."
It was enjoyment for Duane to make his 発言／述べるs to these men 妊娠している with meaning. Morton showed his 楽しみ, his 利益／興味, but his 約束 held aloof.
"I've got some money. Will you let me in on some 肉親，親類d of 取引，協定? Will you start me up as a stockman with a little herd all my own?"
"Wal, stranger, to come out flat-footed, you'd be foolish to buy cattle now. I don't want to take your money an' see you lose out. Better go 支援する across the Pecos where the rustlers ain't so strong. I 港／避難所't had more'n twenty-five hundred herd of 在庫／株 for ten years. The rustlers let me hang on to a breedin' herd. 肉親，親類d of them, ain't it?"
"Sort of 肉親，親類d. All I hear is rustlers, Morton," replied Duane, with impatience. "You see, I 港／避難所't ever lived long in a rustler-run 郡. Who 長，率いるs the ギャング（団）, anyway?"
Morton looked at Duane with a curiously amused smile, then snapped his big jaw as if to shut in impulsive words.
"Look here, Morton. It stands to 推論する／理由, no 事柄 how strong these rustlers are, how hidden their work, however 伴う／関わるd with 恐らく honest men—they CAN"T last."
"They come with the 開拓するs, an' they'll last till thar's a 選び出す／独身 steer left," he 宣言するd.
"井戸／弁護士席, if you take that 見解（をとる） of circumstances I just 人物／姿／数字 you as one of the rustlers""
Morton looked as if he were about to brain Duane with the butt of his whip. His 怒り／怒る flashed by then, evidently as unworthy of him, and, something striking him as funny, he にわか景気d out a laugh.
"It's not so funny," Duane went on. "If you're going to pretend a yellow streak, what else will I think?"
"Pretend?" he repeated.
"Sure. I know men of 神経. And here they're not any different from those in other places. I say if you show anything like a 欠如（する） of sand it's all bluff. By nature you've got 神経. There are a lot of men around Fairdale who're afraid of their 影をつくる／尾行するs—afraid to be out after dark— afraid to open their mouths. But you're not one. So I say if you （人命などを）奪う，主張する these rustlers will last you're pretending 欠如（する） of 神経 just to help the popular idea along. For they CAN"T last. What you need out here is some new 血. Savvy what I mean?"
"Wal, I reckon I do," he replied, looking as if a 嵐／襲撃する had blown over him. "Stranger, I'll look you up the next time I come to town."
Then he went out.
Laramie had 注目する，もくろむs like flint striking 解雇する／砲火／射撃.
He breathed a 深い breath and looked around the room before his gaze 直す／買収する，八百長をするd again on Duane.
"Wal," he replied, speaking low. "You've 選ぶd the 権利 men. Now, who in the hell are you?"
Reaching into the inside pocket of his buckskin vest, Duane turned the lining out. A 星／主役にする-形態／調整d 有望な silver 反対する flashed as he 押すd it, pocket and all, under Jim's hard 注目する，もくろむs.
"RANGER!" he whispered, 割れ目ing the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する with his 握りこぶし. "You sure rung true to me."
"Laramie, do you know who's boss of this secret ギャング（団） of rustlers hereabouts?" asked Duane, bluntly. It was characteristic of him to come sharp to the point. His 発言する／表明する—something 深い, 平易な, 冷静な／正味の about him— seemed to 安定した Laramie.
"No," replied Laramie.
"Does anybody know?" went on Duane.
"Wal, I reckon there's not one honest native who KNOWS."
"But you have your 疑惑s?"
"We have."
"Give me your idea about this （人が）群がる that hangs 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the saloons— the 正規の／正選手s."
"Jest a bad lot," replied Laramie, with the quick 保証／確信 of knowledge. "Most of them have been here years. Others have drifted in. Some of them work, 半端物 times. They rustle a few steers, steal, 略奪する, anythin' for a little money to drink an' 賭事. Jest a bad lot!"
"Have you any idea whether Cheseldine and his ギャング（団） are associated with this ギャング（団） here?"
"Lord knows. I've always 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd them the same ギャング（団）. 非，不，無 of us ever seen Cheseldine—an' thet's strange, when Knell, Poggin, Panhandle Smith, Blossom Kane, and Fletcher, they all ride here often. No, Poggin doesn't come often. But the others do. For thet 事柄, they're around all over west of the Pecos."
"Now I'm puzzled over this," said Duane. "Why do men—明らかに honest men—seem to be so の近くに-mouthed here? Is that. a fact, or only my impression?"
"It's a sure fact," replied Laramie, darkly. "Men have lost cattle an' 所有物／資産／財産 in Fairdale—lost them honestly or さもなければ, as hasn't been 証明するd. An' in some 事例／患者s when they talked—hinted a little— they was 設立する dead. 明らかに held up an robbed. But dead. Dead men don't talk! Thet's why we're の近くに mouthed."
Duane felt a dark, somber sternness. Rustling cattle was not intolerable. Western Texas had gone on 栄えるing, growing in spite of the hordes of rustlers 範囲ing its 広大な stretches; but a 冷淡な, secret, murderous 持つ／拘留する on a little struggling community was something too strange, too terrible for men to stand long.
The 特別奇襲隊員 was about to speak again when the clatter of hoofs interrupted him. Horses 停止（させる）d out in 前線, and one rider got 負かす／撃墜する. Floyd Lawson entered. He called for タバコ.
If his visit surprised Laramie he did not show any 証拠. But Lawson showed 激怒（する） as he saw the 特別奇襲隊員, and then a dark glint flitted from the 注目する，もくろむs that 転換d from Duane to Laramie and 支援する again. Duane leaned easily against the 反対する.
"Say, that was a bad break of yours," Lawson said. "If you come fooling 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the ranch again there'll be hell."
It seemed strange that a man who had lived west of the Pecos for ten years could not see in Duane something which forbade that 肉親，親類d of talk. It certainly was not 神経 Lawson showed; men of courage were seldom intolerant. With the matchless 神経 that characterized the 広大な／多数の／重要な gunmen of the day there was a 冷静な／正味の, unobtrusive manner, a speech 簡潔な／要約する, almost gentle, certainly courteous. Lawson was a hot-長，率いるd Louisianian of French extraction; a man, evidently, who had never been crossed in anything, and who was strong, 残虐な, 熱烈な, which 質s in the 直面する of a 状況／情勢 like this made him 簡単に a fool.
"I'm 説 again, you used your 特別奇襲隊員 bluff just to get 近づく Ray Longstreth," Lawson sneered. "Mind you, if you come up there again there'll be hell."
"You're 権利. But not the 肉親，親類d you think," Duane retorted, his 発言する／表明する sharp and 冷淡な.
"Ray Longstreth wouldn't stoop to know a dirty 血-tracker like you," said Lawson, hotly. He did not seem to have a 審議する／熟考する 意向 to rouse Duane; the man was 簡単に rancorous, jealous. "I'll call you 権利. You cheap bluffer! You four-紅潮／摘発する! You damned 干渉するing, conceited 特別奇襲隊員!"
"Lawson, I'll not take 罪／違反, because you seem to be 支持する／優勝者ing your beautiful cousin," replied Duane, in slow speech. "But let me return your compliment. You're a 罰金 Southerner! Why, you're only a cheap four-紅潮／摘発する —damned, bull-長，率いるd RUSTLER!"
Duane hissed the last word. Then for him there was the truth in Lawson's working passion-blackened 直面する.
Lawson jerked, moved, meant to draw. But how slow! Duane 肺d 今後. His long arm swept up. And Lawson staggered backward, knocking （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and 議長，司会を務めるs, to 落ちる hard, in a half-sitting posture against the 塀で囲む.
"Don't draw!" 警告するd Duane.
"Lawson, git away from your gun!" yelled Laramie.
But Lawson was crazed with fury. He tugged at his hip, his 直面する corded with purple welts, malignant, murderous. Duane kicked the gun out of his 手渡す. Lawson got up, 激怒（する）ing, and 急ぐd out.
Laramie 解除するd his shaking 手渡すs.
"What'd you wing him for?" he wailed. "He was drawin' on you. Kickin' men like him won't do out here."
"That bull-長，率いるd fool will roar and butt himself with all his ギャング（団） 権利 into our 手渡すs. He's just the man I've needed to 会合，会う. Besides, 狙撃 him would have been 殺人."
"殺人!" exclaimed Laramie.
"Yes, for me," replied Duane.
"That may be true—whoever you are—but if Lawson's the man you think he is he'll begin thet secret 地下組織の bizness. Why, Lawson won't sleep of nights now. He an' Longstreth have always been after me."
"Laramie, what are your 注目する，もくろむs for?" 需要・要求するd Duane. "Watch out. And now here. See your friend Morton. Tell him this game grows hot. Together you approach four or five men you know 井戸／弁護士席 and can 絶対 信用. I may need your help."
Then Duane went from place to place, corner to corner, 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 to 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, watching, listening, 記録，記録的な／記録するing. The excitement had に先行するd him, and 憶測 was rife. He thought best to keep out of it. After dark he stole up to Longstreth's ranch. The evening was warm; the doors were open; and in the twilight the only lamps that had been lit were in Longstreth's big sitting-room, at the far end of the house. When a buckboard drove up and Longstreth and Lawson alighted, Duane was 井戸／弁護士席 hidden in the bushes, so 井戸／弁護士席 審査するd that he could get but a (n)艦隊／(a)素早いing glimpse of Longstreth as he went in. For all Duane could see, he appeared to be a 静める and 静かな man, 激しい beneath the surface, with an 空気／公表する of dignity under 侮辱. Duane's chance to 観察する Lawson was lost. They went into the house without speaking and の近くにd the door.
At the other end of the porch, の近くに under a window, was an 相殺する between step and 塀で囲む, and there in the 影をつくる／尾行する Duane hid. So Duane waited there in the 不明瞭 with patience born of many hours of hiding.
Presently a lamp was lit; and Duane heard the swish of skirts.
"Something's happened surely, Ruth," he heard 行方不明になる Longstreth say, anxiously. "Papa just met me in the hall and didn't speak. He seemed pale, worried."
"Cousin Floyd looked like a 雷鳴-cloud," said Ruth. "For once he didn't try to kiss me. Something's happened. 井戸／弁護士席, Ray, this had been a bad day."
"Oh, dear! Ruth, what can we do? These are wild men. Floyd makes life 哀れな for me. And he teases you unmer—"
"I don't call it teasing. Floyd wants to spoon," 宣言するd Ruth, emphatically. "He'd run after any woman."
"A 罰金 compliment to me, Cousin Ruth," laughed Ray.
"I don't care," replied Ruth, stubbornly. "it's so. He's mushy. And when he's been drinking and tries to kiss me—I hate him!"
There were steps on the hall 床に打ち倒す.
"Hello, girls!" sounded out Lawson's 発言する／表明する, minus its usual gaiety.
"Floyd, what's the 事柄?" asked Ray, presently. "I never saw papa as he is to-night, nor you so—so worried. Tell me, what has happened?"
"井戸／弁護士席, Ray, we had a jar to-day," replied Lawson, with a blunt, expressive laugh.
"Jar?" echoed both the girls, curiously.
"We had to 服従させる／提出する to a damnable 乱暴／暴力を加える," 追加するd Lawson, passionately, as if the sound of his 発言する／表明する augmented his feeling. "Listen, girls; I'll tell you-all about it." He coughed, （疑いを）晴らすd his throat in a way that betrayed he had been drinking.
Duane sunk deeper into the 影をつくる／尾行する of his covert, and, 強化するing his muscles for a 保護するd （一定の）期間 of rigidity, 用意が出来ている to listen with all acuteness and intensity. Just one word from this Lawson, inadvertently uttered in a moment of passion, might be the word Duane needed for his 手がかり（を与える）.
"It happened at the town hall," began Lawson, 速く. "Your father and 裁判官 Owens and I were there in 協議 with three ranchers from out of town. Then that damned 特別奇襲隊員 stalked in dragging Snecker, the fellow who hid here in the house. He had 逮捕（する）d Snecker for 申し立てられた／疑わしい 強襲，強姦 on a restaurant-keeper 指名するd Laramie. Snecker 存在 明白に innocent, he was 発射する／解雇するd. Then this 特別奇襲隊員 began shouting his 侮辱s. 法律 was a farce in Fairdale. The 法廷，裁判所 was a farce. There was no 法律. Your father's office as 市長 should be 弾こうするd. He made 逮捕（する）s only for petty 罪／違反s. He was afraid of the rustlers, highwaymen, 殺害者s. He was afraid or—he just let them alone. He used his office to cheat ranchers and cattlemen in 訴訟s. All this the 特別奇襲隊員 yelled for every one to hear. A damnable 乱暴／暴力を加える. Your father, Ray, 侮辱d in his own 法廷，裁判所 by a rowdy 特別奇襲隊員!"
"Oh!" cried Ray Longstreth, in mingled 苦しめる and 怒り／怒る.
"The 特別奇襲隊員 service wants to 支配する western Texas," went on Lawson. "These 特別奇襲隊員s are all a low 始める，決める, many of them worse than the 無法者s they 追跡（する）. Some of them were 無法者s and gun-闘士，戦闘機s before they became 特別奇襲隊員s. This is one of the worst of the lot. He's keen, intelligent, smooth, and that makes him more to be 恐れるd. For he is to be 恐れるd. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to kill. He would kill. If your father had made the least move he would have 発射 him. He's a 冷淡な-神経d devil—the born 銃器携帯者／殺しや. My God, any instant I 推定する／予想するd to see your father 落ちる dead at my feet!"
"Oh, Floyd! The unspeakable ruffian!" cried Ray Longstreth, passionately.
"You see, Ray, this fellow, like all 特別奇襲隊員s, 捜し出すs notoriety. He made that play with Snecker just for a chance to rant against your father. He tried to inflame all Fairdale against him. That about the 訴訟s was the worst! Damn him! He'll make us enemies."
"What do you care for the insinuations of such a man?" said Ray Longstreth, her 発言する／表明する now 深い and rich with feeling. "After a moment's thought no one will be 影響（力）d by them. Do not worry, Floyd. Tell papa not to worry. Surely after all these years he can't be 負傷させるd in 評判 by —by an adventurer."
"Yes, he can be 負傷させるd," replied Floyd, quickly. "The frontier is a queer place. There are many bitter men here—men who have failed at ranching. And your father has been wonderfully successful. The 特別奇襲隊員 has dropped 毒（薬）, and it'll spread."
STRANGERS 棒 into Fairdale; and other hard-looking 顧客s, new to Duane if not to Fairdale, helped to create a 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金d and waiting atmosphere. The saloons did unusual 商売／仕事 and were never の近くにd. Respectable 国民s of the town were awakened in the 早期に 夜明け by rowdies carousing in the streets.
Duane kept pretty の近くに under cover during the day. He did not entertain the opinion that the first time he walked 負かす／撃墜する-street he would be a 的 for guns. Things seldom happened that way; and when they did happen so, it was more 事故 than design. But at night he was not idle. He met Laramie, Morton, Zimmer, and others of like character; a secret club had been formed; and all the members were ready for 活動／戦闘. Duane spent hours at night watching the house where Floyd Lawson stayed when he was not up at Longstreth's. At night he was visited, or at least the house was, by strange men who were swift, stealthy, mysterious—all that kindly 性質の／したい気がして friends or neighbors would not have been. Duane had not been able to 認める any of these night 訪問者s; and he did not think the time was 熟した for a bold 持つ／拘留するing-up of one of them. にもかかわらず, he was sure such an event would discover Lawson, or some one in that house, to be in touch with crooked men.
Laramie was 権利. Not twenty-four hours after his last talk with Duane, in which he advised quick 活動／戦闘, he was 設立する behind the little 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 of his restaurant with a 弾丸-穴を開ける in his breast, dead. No one could be 設立する who had heard a 発射. It had been 審議する／熟考する 殺人, for upon the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 had been left a piece of paper rudely scrawled with a pencil: "All friends of 特別奇襲隊員s look for the same."
This roused Duane. His first move, however, was to bury Laramie. 非，不，無 of Laramie's neighbors evinced any 利益／興味 in the dead man or the unfortunate family he had left. Duane saw that these neighbors were held in check by 恐れる. Mrs. Laramie was ill; the shock of her husband's death was hard on her; and she had been left almost destitute with five children. Duane rented a small adobe house on the 郊外s of town and moved the family into it. Then he played the part of provider and nurse and friend.
After several days Duane went boldly into town and showed that he meant 商売／仕事. It was his opinion that there were men in Fairdale 内密に glad of a 特別奇襲隊員's presence. What he ーするつもりであるd to do was food for 広大な／多数の／重要な 憶測. A company of 民兵 could not have had the 影響 upon the wild element of Fairdale that Duane's presence had. It got out that he was a 銃器携帯者／殺しや 雷 swift on the draw. It was death to 直面する him. He had killed thirty men— wildest 噂する of all. lt was 現実に said of him he had the gun-技術 of Buck Duane or of Poggin.
At first there had not only been 広大な／多数の／重要な conjecture の中で the vicious element, but also a very decided checking of all 肉親，親類d of 活動／戦闘 calculated to be 目だつ to a keen-注目する，もくろむd 特別奇襲隊員. At the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs, at the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s and lounging-places Duane heard the 発言／述べるs: "Who's thet 特別奇襲隊員 after? What'll he do fust off? Is he waitin' fer somebody? Who's goin' to draw on him fust —an' go to hell? Jest about how soon will he be 設立する somewheres 十分な of lead?"
When it （機の）カム out somewhere that Duane was 率直に cultivating the honest stay-at-home 国民s to array them in time against the other element, then Fairdale showed its wolf-teeth. Several times Duane was 発射 at in the dark and once わずかに 負傷させるd. 噂する had it that Poggin, the 銃器携帯者／殺しや, was coming to 会合，会う him. But the lawless element did not rise up in a 集まり to 殺す Duane on sight. It was not so much that the enemies of the 法律 を待つd his next move, but just a slowness peculiar to the frontier. The 特別奇襲隊員 was in their 中央. He was 利益／興味ing, if formidable. He would have been welcomed at card-（米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs, at the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業s, to play and drink with the men who knew they were under 疑惑. There was a rude 肉親，親類d of good humor even in their open 敵意.
Besides, one 特別奇襲隊員 or a company of 特別奇襲隊員s could not have held the 分割されない attention of these men from their games and drinks and quarrels except by some decided move. Excitement, greed, appetite were rife in them. Duane 示すd, however, a striking exception to the usual run of strangers he had been in the habit of seeing. Snecker had gone or was under cover. Again Duane caught a vague 噂する of the coming of Poggin, yet he never seemed to arrive. Moreover, the goings-on の中で the habitues of the 訴える手段／行楽地s and the cowboys who （機の）カム in to drink and 賭事 were 異常に 穏やかな in comparison with former 行為／行う. This なぎ, however, did not deceive Duane. It could not last. The wonder was that it had lasted so long.
Duane went often to see Mrs. Laramie and her children. One afternoon while he was there he saw 行方不明になる Longstreth and Ruth ride up to the door. They carried a basket. Evidently they had heard of Mrs. Laramie's trouble. Duane felt strangely glad, but he went into an 隣接するing room rather than 会合，会う them.
"Mrs. Laramie, I've come to see you," said 行方不明になる Longstreth, cheerfully.
The little room was not very light, there 存在 only one window and the doors, but Duane could see plainly enough. Mrs. Laramie lay, hollow-checked and haggard, on a bed. Once she had evidently been a woman of some comeliness. The 荒廃させるs of trouble and grief were there to read in her worn 直面する; it had not, however, any of the hard and bitter lines that had characterized her husband's.
Duane wondered, considering that Longstreth had 廃虚d Laramie, how Mrs. Laramie was going to regard the daughter of an enemy.
"So you're Granger Longstreth's girl?" queried the woman, with her 有望な, 黒人／ボイコット 注目する，もくろむs 直す／買収する，八百長をするd on her 訪問者.
"Yes," replied 行方不明になる Longstreth, 簡単に. "This is my cousin, Ruth Herbert. We've come to nurse you, take care of the children, help you in any way you'll let us."
There was a long silence.
"井戸／弁護士席, you look a little like Longstreth," finally said Mrs. Laramie, "but you're not at ALL like him. You must take after your mother. 行方不明になる Longstreth, I don't know if I can—if I ought 受託する anything from you. Your father 廃虚d my husband."
"Yes, I know," replied the girl, sadly. "That's all the more 推論する／理由 you should let me help you. Pray don't 辞退する. It will—mean so much to me."
If this poor, stricken woman had any 憤慨 it speedily melted in the warmth and sweetness of 行方不明になる Longstreth's manner. Duane's idea was that the impression of Ray Longstreth's beauty was always 速く 後継するd by that of her generosity and nobility. At any 率, she had started 井戸／弁護士席 with Mrs. Laramie, and no sooner had she begun to talk to the children than both they and the mother were won. The 開始 of that big basket was an event. Poor, 餓死するd little beggars! Duane's feelings seemed too easily roused. Hard indeed would it have gone with Jim Laramie's slayer if he could have laid 注目する，もくろむs on him then. However, 行方不明になる Longstreth and Ruth, after the nature of tender and practical girls, did not appear to take the sad 状況／情勢 to heart. The havoc was wrought in that 世帯.
The needs now were cheerfulness, 親切, help, 活動／戦闘—and these the girls furnished with a spirit that did Duane good.
"Mrs. Laramie, who dressed this baby?" presently asked 行方不明になる Longstreth. Duane peeped in to see a dilapidated youngster on her 膝. That sight, if any other was needed, 完全にするd his 十分な and splendid 見積（る） of Ray Longstreth and wrought strangely upon his heart.
"The 特別奇襲隊員," replied Mrs. Laramie.
"The 特別奇襲隊員!" exclaimed 行方不明になる Longstreth.
"Yes, he's taken care of us all since—since—" Mrs. Laramie choked.
"Oh! So you've had no help but his," replied 行方不明になる Longstreth, あわてて. "No women. Too bad! I'll send some one, Mrs. Laramie, and I'll come myself."
"It'll be good of you," went on the older woman. "You see, Jim had few friends—that is, 権利 in town. And they've been afraid to help us —afraid they'd get what poor Jim—"
"That's awful!" burst out 行方不明になる Longstreth, passionately. "A 勇敢に立ち向かう lot of friends! Mrs. Laramie, don't you worry any more. We'll take care of you. Here, Ruth, help me. Whatever is the 事柄 with baby's dress?"
Manifestly 行方不明になる Longstreth had some difficulty in subduing her emotion.
"Why, it's on hind 味方する before," 宣言するd Ruth. "I guess Mr. 特別奇襲隊員 hasn't dressed many babies."
"He did the best he could," said Mrs. Laramie. "Lord only knows what would have become of us!"
"Then he is—is something more than a 特別奇襲隊員?" queried 行方不明になる Longstreth, with a little break in her 発言する／表明する.
"He's more than I can tell," replied Mrs. Laramie. "He buried Jim. He paid our 負債s. He fetched us here. He bought food for us. He cooked for us and fed us. He washed and dressed the baby. He sat with me the first two nights after Jim's death, when I thought I'd die myself. He's so 肉親，親類d, so gentle, so 患者. He has kept me up just by 存在 近づく. いつかs I'd wake from a doze, an', seeing him there, I'd know how 誤った were all these tales Jim heard about him and believed at first. Why, he plays with the children just —just like any good man might. When he has the baby up I just can't believe he's a 血まみれの 銃器携帯者／殺しや, as they say. He's good, but he isn't happy. He has such sad 注目する，もくろむs. He looks far off いつかs when the children climb 一連の会議、交渉／完成する him. They love him. His life is sad. Nobody need tell me—he sees the good in things. Once he said somebody had to be a 特別奇襲隊員. 井戸／弁護士席, I say, 'Thank God for a 特別奇襲隊員 like him!' "
Duane did not want to hear more, so he walked into the room.
"It was thoughtful of you," Duane said. "Womankind are needed here. I could do so little. Mrs. Laramie, you look better already. I'm glad. And here's baby, all clean and white. Baby, what a time I had trying to puzzle out the way your 着せる／賦与するs went on! 井戸／弁護士席, Mrs. Laramie, didn't I tell you —friends would come? So will the brighter 味方する."
"Yes, I've more 約束 than I had," replied Mrs. Laramie. "Granger Longstreth's daughter has come to me. There for a while after Jim's death I thought I'd 沈む. We have nothing. How could I ever take care of my little ones? But I'm 伸び（る）ing courage to—"
"Mrs. Laramie, do not 苦しめる yourself any more," said 行方不明になる Longstreth. "I shall see you are 井戸／弁護士席 cared for. I 約束 you."
"行方不明になる Longstreth, that's 罰金!" exclaimed Duane. "It's what I'd have —推定する／予想するd of you."
It must have been 甘い 賞賛する to her, for the whiteness of her 直面する 燃やすd out in a beautiful blush.
"And it's good of you, too, 行方不明になる Herbert, to come," 追加するd Duane. "Let me thank you both. I'm glad I have you girls as 同盟（する）s in part of my lonely 仕事 here. More than glad for the sake of this good woman and the little ones. But both of you be careful about coming here alone. There's 危険. And now I'll be going. Good-by, Mrs. Laramie. I'll 減少（する） in again to-night. Good-by."
"Mr. 特別奇襲隊員, wait!" called 行方不明になる Longstreth, as he went out. She was white and wonderful. She stepped out of the door の近くに to him.
"I have wronged your" she said, impulsively.
"行方不明になる Longstreth! How can you say that?" he returned.
"I believed what my father and Floyd Lawson said about you. Now I see —I wronged you."
"You make me very glad. But, 行方不明になる Longstreth, please don't speak of wronging me. I have been a—a 銃器携帯者／殺しや, I am a 特別奇襲隊員—and much said of me is true. My 義務 is hard on others—いつかs on those who are innocent, 式のs! But God knows that 義務 is hard, too, on me."
"I did wrong you. If you entered my home again I would think it an 栄誉（を受ける）. I—"
"Please—please don't, 行方不明になる Longstreth," interrupted Duane.
"But, sir, my 良心 flays me," she went on. There was no other sound like her 発言する／表明する. "Will you take my 手渡す? Will you 許す me?"
She gave it royally, while the other was there 圧力（をかける）ing at her breast. Duane took the proffered 手渡す. He did not know what else to do.
Then it seemed to 夜明け upon him that there was more behind this white, 甘い, noble intensity of her than just the making 修正するs for a fancied or real wrong. Duane thought the man did not live on earth who could have resisted her then.
"I 栄誉（を受ける） you for your goodness to this unfortunate woman," she said, and now her speech （機の）カム 速く. "When she was all alone and helpless you were her friend. It was the 行為 of a man. But Mrs. Laramie isn't the only unfortunate woman in the world. I, too, am unfortunate. Ah, how I may soon need a friend! Will you be my friend? I'm so alone. I'm terribly worried. I 恐れる—I 恐れる—Oh, surely I'll need a friend soon—soon. Oh, I'm afraid of what you'll find out sooner or later. I want to help you. Let us save life if not 栄誉（を受ける）. Must I stand alone—all alone? Will you —will you be—" Her 発言する／表明する failed.
It seemed to Duane that she must have discovered what he had begun to 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑う—that her father and Lawson were not the honest ranchers they pretended to be. Perhaps she knew more! Her 控訴，上告 to Duane shook him 深く，強烈に. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to help her more than he had ever 手配中の，お尋ね者 anything. And with the meaning of the tumultuous sweetness she stirred in him there （機の）カム 現実化 of a dangerous 状況／情勢.
"I must be true to my 義務," he said, hoarsely.
"If you knew me you'd know I could never ask you to be 誤った to it."
"井戸／弁護士席, then—I'll do anything for you."
"Oh, thank you! I'm ashamed that I believed my cousin Floyd! He lied —he lied. I'm all in the dark, strangely 苦しめるd. My father wants me to go 支援する home. Floyd is trying to keep me here. They've quarreled. Oh, I know something dreadful will happen. I know I'll need you if—if —Will you help me?"
"Yes," replied Duane, and his look brought the 血 to her 直面する.
AFTER supper Duane stole out for his usual evening's 秘かに調査するing. The night was dark, without starlight, and a stiff 勝利，勝つd rustled the leaves. Duane bent his steps toward the Longstreth's ranchhouse. He had so much to think about that he never knew where the time went. This night when he reached the 辛勝する／優位 of the shrubbery he heard Lawson's 井戸／弁護士席-known footsteps and saw Longstreth's door open, flashing a 幅の広い 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業 of light in the 不明瞭. Lawson crossed the threshold, the door の近くにd, and all was dark again outside. Not a ray of light escaped from the window.
Little 疑問 there was that his talk with Longstreth would be 利益／興味ing to Duane. He tiptoed to the door and listened, but could hear only a murmur of 発言する／表明するs. Besides, that position was too risky. He went 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the corner of the house.
This 味方する of the big adobe house was of much older construction than the 支援する and larger part. There was a 狭くする passage between the houses, 主要な from the outside through to the patio.
This passage now afforded Duane an 適切な時期, and he decided to avail himself of it in spite of the very 広大な／多数の／重要な danger. はうing on very stealthily, he got under the shrubbery to the 入り口 of the passage. In the blackness a faint streak of light showed the 場所 of a 割れ目 in the 塀で囲む. He had to slip in sidewise. It was a tight squeeze, but he entered without the slightest noise. As he 進歩d the passage grew a very little wider in that direction, and that fact gave rise to the thought that in 事例／患者 of a necessary and hurried 出口 he would do best by working toward the patio. It seemed a good 取引，協定 of time was 消費するd in reaching a vantage-point. When he did get there the 割れ目 he had 示すd was a foot over his 長，率いる. There was nothing to do but find toe-穴を開けるs in the 崩壊するing 塀で囲むs, and by を締めるing 膝s on one 味方する, 支援する against the other, 持つ／拘留する himself up Once with his 注目する，もくろむ there he did not care what 危険 he ran. Longstreth appeared 乱すd; he sat 一打／打撃ing his mustache; his brow was clouded. Lawson's 直面する seemed darker, more sullen, yet lighted by some indomitable 解決する.
"We'll settle both 取引，協定s to-night," Lawson was 説. "That's what I （機の）カム for."
"But suppose I don't choose to talk here?" 抗議するd Longstreth, impatiently. "I never before made my house a place to—"
"We've waited long enough. This place's as good as any. You've lost your 神経 since that 特別奇襲隊員 攻撃する，衝突する the town. First now, will you give Ray to me?"
"Floyd; you talk like a spoiled boy. Give Ray to you! Why, she's a woman, and I'm finding out that she's got a mind of her own. I told you I was willing for her to marry you. I tried to 説得する her. But Ray hasn't any use for you now. She liked you at first. But now she doesn't. So what can I do?"
"You can make her marry me," replied Lawson.
"Make that girl do what she doesn't want to? It couldn't be done even if I tried. And I don't believe I'll try. I 港／避難所't the highest opinion of you as a 見込みのある son-in-法律, Floyd. But if Ray loved you I would 同意. We'd all go away together before this damned 哀れな 商売／仕事 is out. Then she'd never know. And maybe you might be more like you used to be before the West 廃虚d you. But as 事柄s stand, you fight your own game with her. And I'll tell you now you'll lose."
"What'd you want to let her come out here for?" 需要・要求するd Lawson, hotly. "It was a dead mistake. I've lost my 長，率いる over her. I'll have her or die. Don't you think if she was my wife I'd soon pull myself together? Since she （機の）カム we've 非，不，無 of us been 権利. And the ギャング（団） has put up a holler. No, Longstreth, we've got to settle things to-night."
"井戸／弁護士席, we can settle what Ray's 関心d in, 権利 now," replied Longstreth, rising. "Come on; we'll ask her. See where you stand."
They went out, leaving the door open. Duane dropped 負かす／撃墜する to 残り／休憩（する） himself and to wait. He would have liked to hear 行方不明になる Longstreth's answer. But he could guess what it would be. Lawson appeared to be all Duane had thought him, and he believed he was going to find out presently that he was worse.
The men seemed to be absent a good while, though that feeling might have been occasioned by Duane's thrilling 利益／興味 and 苦悩. Finally he heard 激しい steps. Lawson （機の）カム in alone. He was leaden-直面するd, humiliated. Then something abject in him gave place to 激怒（する）. He strode the room; he 悪口を言う／悪態d. Then Longstreth returned, now appreciably calmer. Duane could not but decide that he felt 救済 at the evident 拒絶 of Lawson's 提案.
"Don't fuss about it, Floyd," he said. "You see I can't help it. We're pretty wild out here, but I can't rope my daughter and give her to you as I would an unruly steer."
"Longstreth, I can MAKE her marry me," 宣言するd Lawson, thickly.
"How?"
"You know the 持つ／拘留する I got on you—the 取引，協定 that made you boss of this rustler ギャング（団）?"
"It isn't likely I'd forget," replied Longstreth, grimly.
"I can go to Ray, tell her that, make her believe I'd tell it broadcast —tell this 特別奇襲隊員—unless she'd marry me."
Lawson spoke breathlessly, with haggard 直面する and 影をつくる／尾行するd 注目する，もくろむs. He had no shame. He was 簡単に in the 支配する of passion. Longstreth gazed with dark, controlled fury at this 親族. In that look Duane saw a strong, unscrupulous man fallen into evil ways, but still a man. It betrayed Lawson to be the wild and 熱烈な weakling. Duane seemed to see also how during all the years of 協会 this strong man had upheld the weak one. But that time had gone for ever, both in 意図 on Longstreth's part and in 可能性. Lawson, like the 広大な／多数の／重要な 大多数 of evil and unrestrained men on the 国境, had reached a point where 影響（力） was futile. 推論する／理由 had degenerated. He saw only himself.
"But, Floyd, Ray's the one person on earth who must never know I'm a rustler, a どろぼう, a 現行犯で 支配者 of the worst ギャング（団） on the 国境," replied Longstreth, impressively.
Floyd 屈服するd his 長，率いる at that, as if the significance had just occurred to him. But he was not long at a loss.
"She's going to find it out sooner or later. I tell you she knows now there's something wrong out here. She's got 注目する，もくろむs. 示す what I say."
"Ray has changed, I know. But she hasn't any idea yet that her daddy's a boss rustler. Ray's 関心d about what she calls my 義務 as 市長. Also I think she's not 満足させるd with my explanations in regard to 確かな 所有物／資産／財産."
Lawson 停止（させる）d in his restless walk and leaned against the 石／投石する mantelpiece. He had his 手渡すs in his pockets. He squared himself as if this was his last stand. He looked desperate, but on the moment showed an absence of his usual nervous excitement.
"Longstreth, that may 井戸／弁護士席 be true," he said. "No 疑問 all you say is true. But it doesn't help me. I want the girl. If I don't get her—I reckon we'll all go to hell!"
He might have meant anything, probably meant the worst. He certainly had something more in mind. Longstreth gave a slight start, barely perceptible, like the switch of an awakening tiger. He sat there, 長，率いる 負かす／撃墜する, 一打／打撃ing his mustache. Almost Duane saw his thought. He had long experience in reading men under 強調する／ストレス of such emotion. He had no means to vindicate his judgment, but his 有罪の判決 was that Longstreth 権利 then and there decided that the thing to do was to kill Lawson. For Duane's part he wondered that Longstreth had not come to such a 結論 before. Not improbably the advent of his daughter had put Longstreth in 衝突 with himself.
Suddenly he threw off a somber cast of countenance, and he began to talk. He talked 速く, persuasively, yet Duane imagined he was talking to smooth Lawson's passion for the moment. Lawson no more caught the fateful significance of a line crossed, a 限界 reached, a 法令 decided than if he had not been 現在の. He was obsessed with himself. How, Duane wondered, had a man of his mind ever lived so long and gone so far の中で the exacting 条件s of the 南西? The answer was, perhaps, that Longstreth had guided him, upheld him, 保護するd him. The coming of Ray Longstreth had been the entering-wedge of dissension.
"You're too impatient," 結論するd Longstreth. "You'll 廃虚 any chance of happiness if you 急ぐ Ray. She might be won. If you told her who I am she'd hate you for ever. She might marry you to save me, but she'd hate you. That isn't the way. Wait. Play for time. Be different with her. 削減（する） out your drinking. She despises that. Let's 計画（する） to sell out here—在庫／株, ranch, 所有物／資産／財産—and leave the country. Then you'd have a show with her."
"I told you we've got to stick," growled Lawson. "The ギャング（団） won't stand for our going. It can't be done unless you want to sacrifice everything."
"You mean 二塁打-cross the men? Go without their knowing? Leave them here to 直面する whatever comes?"
"I mean just that."
"I'm bad enough, but not that bad," returned Longstreth. "If I can't get the ギャング（団） to let me off, I'll stay and 直面する the music. All the same, Lawson, did it ever strike you that most of the 取引，協定s the last few years have been YOURS?"
"Yes. If I hadn't rung them in there wouldn't have been any. You've had 冷淡な feet, and 特に since this 特別奇襲隊員 has been here."
"井戸／弁護士席, call it 冷淡な feet if you like. But I call it sense. We reached our 限界 long ago. We began by rustling a few cattle—at a time when rustling was laughed at. But as our greed grew so did our boldness. Then （機の）カム the ギャング（団）, the 正規の／正選手 trips, the one thing and another till, before we knew it—before I knew it—we had shady 取引，協定s, ピストル強盗s, and MURDERS on our 記録，記録的な／記録する. Then we HAD to go on. Too late to turn 支援する!"
"I reckon we've all said that. 非，不，無 of the ギャング（団） wants to やめる. They all think, and I think, we can't be touched. We may be 非難するd, but nothing can be 証明するd. We're too strong."
"There's where you're dead wrong," 再結合させるd Longstreth, emphatically. "I imagined that once, not long ago. I was bullheaded. Who would ever connect Granger Longstreth with a rustler ギャング（団）? I've changed my mind. I've begun to think. I've 推論する／理由d out things. We're crooked, and we can't last. It's the nature of life, even here, for 条件s to grow better. The wise 取引，協定 for us would be to divide 平等に and leave the country, all of us."
"But you and I have all the 在庫／株—all the 伸び（る）," 抗議するd Lawson.
"I'll 分裂（する） 地雷."
"I won't—that settles that," 追加するd Lawson, 即時に.
Longstreth spread wide his 手渡すs as if it was useless to try to 納得させる this man. Talking had not 増加するd his calmness, and he now showed more than impatience. A dull glint gleamed 深い in his 注目する，もくろむs.
"Your 在庫／株 and 所有物／資産／財産 will last a long time—do you lots of good when this 特別奇襲隊員—"
"Bah!" hoarsely croaked Lawson. The 特別奇襲隊員's 指名する was a match 適用するd to 砕く. "港／避難所't I told you he'd be dead soon—any time—same as Laramie is?"
"Yes, you について言及するd the—the supposition," replied Longstreth, sarcastically. "I 問い合わせd, too, just how that very 願望（する）d event was to be brought about."
"The ギャング（団） will lay him out."
"Bah!" retorted Longstreth, in turn. He laughed contemptuously.
"Floyd, don't be a fool. You've been on the 国境 for ten years. You've packed a gun and you've used it. You've been with rustlers when they killed their men. You've been 現在の at many fights. But you never in all that time saw a man like this 特別奇襲隊員. You 港／避難所't got sense enough to see him 権利 if you had a chance. Neither have any of you. The only way to get rid of him is for the ギャング（団） to draw on him, all at once. Then he's going to 減少（する） some of them."
"Longstreth, you say that like a man who wouldn't care much if he did 減少（する） some of them," 宣言するd Lawson; and now he was sarcastic.
"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't," returned the other, bluntly. "I'm pretty sick of this mess."
Lawson 悪口を言う／悪態d in amazement. His emotions were all out of 割合 to his 知能. He was not at all quick-witted. Duane had never seen a vainer or more arrogant man.
"Longstreth, I don't like your talk," he said.
"If you don't like the way I talk you know what you can do," replied Longstreth, quickly. He stood up then, 冷静な／正味の and 静かな, with flash of 注目する，もくろむs and 始める，決める of lips that told Duane he was dangerous.
"井戸／弁護士席, after all, that's neither here nor there," went on Lawson, unconsciously cowed by the other. "The thing is, do I get the girl?"
"Not by any means except her 同意."
"You'll not make her marry me?"
"No. No," replied Longstreth, his 発言する／表明する still 冷淡な, low-pitched.
"All 権利. Then I'll make her."
Evidently Longstreth understood the man before him so 井戸／弁護士席 that he wasted no more words. Duane knew what Lawson never dreamed of, and that was that Longstreth had a gun somewhere within reach and meant to use it. Then 激しい footsteps sounded outside tramping upon the porch. Duane might have been mistaken, but he believed those footsteps saved Lawson's life.
"There they are," said Lawson, and he opened the door.
Five masked men entered. They all wore coats hiding any 武器s. A big man with burly shoulders shook 手渡すs with Longstreth, and the others stood 支援する.
The atmosphere of that room had changed. Lawson might have been a nonentity for all he counted. Longstreth was another man—a stranger to Duane. If he had entertained a hope of 解放する／自由なing himself from this 禁止（する）d, of getting away to a safer country, he abandoned it at the very sight of these men. There was 力／強力にする here, and he was bound.
The big man spoke in low, hoarse whispers, and at this all the others gathered around him の近くに to the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. There were evidently some 調印するs of 会員の地位 not plain to Duane. Then all the 長，率いるs were bent over the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する. Low 発言する／表明するs spoke, queried, answered, argued. By 緊張するing his ears Duane caught a word here and there. They were planning, and they were 簡潔な／要約する. Duane gathered they were to have a rendezvous at or 近づく Ord.
Then the big man, who evidently was the leader of the 現在の 条約, got up to 出発／死. He went as 速く as he had come, and was followed by his comrades. Longstreth 用意が出来ている for a 静かな smoke. Lawson seemed uncommunicative and unsociable. He smoked ひどく and drank continually. All at once he straightened up as if listening.
"What's that?" he called, suddenly.
Duane's 緊張するd ears were pervaded by a slight rustling sound.
"Must be a ネズミ," replied Longstreth.
The rustle became a 動揺させる.
"Sounds like a rattlesnake to me," said Lawson.
Longstreth got up from the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する and peered 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the room.
Just at that instant Duane felt an almost inappreciable movement of the adobe 塀で囲む which supported him. He could scarcely credit his senses. But the 動揺させる inside Longstreth's room was mingling with little dull thuds of 落ちるing dirt. The adobe 塀で囲む, 単に 乾燥した，日照りのd mud, was 崩壊するing. Duane distinctly felt a （軽い）地震 pass through it. Then the 血 噴出するd 支援する to his heart.
"What in the hell!" exclaimed Longstreth.
"I smell dust," said Lawson, はっきりと.
That was the signal for Duane to 減少（する） 負かす／撃墜する from his perch, yet にもかかわらず his care he made a noise.
"Did you hear a step?" queried Longstreth.
No one answered. But a 激しい piece of the adobe 塀で囲む fell with a thud. Duane heard it 割れ目, felt it shake.
"There's somebody between the 塀で囲むs!" 雷鳴d Longstreth.
Then a section of the 塀で囲む fell inward with a 衝突，墜落. Duane began to squeeze his 団体／死体 through the 狭くする passage toward the patio.
"Hear him!" yelled Lawson. "This 味方する!"
"No, he's going that way," yelled Longstreth.
The tramp of 激しい boots lent Duane the strength of desperation. He was not shirking a fight, but to be cornered like a 罠にかける coyote was another 事柄. He almost tore his 着せる／賦与するs off in that passage. The dust nearly stifled him. When he burst into the patio it was not a 選び出す／独身 instant too soon. But one 深い gasp of breath 生き返らせるd him and he was up, gun in 手渡す, running for the 出口 into the 法廷，裁判所. 強くたたくing footsteps turned him 支援する. While there was a chance to get away he did not want to fight. He thought he heard someone running into the patio from the other end. He stole along, and coming to a door, without any idea of where it might lead, he softly 押し進めるd it open a little way and slipped in.
A LOW cry 迎える／歓迎するd Duane. The room was light. He saw Ray Longstreth sitting on her bed in her dressing-gown. With a 警告 gesture to her to be silent he turned to の近くに the door. It was a 激しい door without bolt or 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業, and when Duane had shut it he felt 安全な only for the moment. Then he gazed around the room. There was one window with blind closely drawn. He listened and seemed to hear footsteps 退却／保養地ing, dying away.
Then Duane turned to 行方不明になる Longstreth. She had slipped off the bed, half to her 膝s, and was 持つ／拘留するing out trembling 手渡すs. She was as white as the pillow on her bed. She was terribly 脅すd. Again with 警告 手渡す 命令（する）ing silence, Duane stepped softly 今後, meaning to 安心させる her.
"Oh!" she whispered, wildly; and Duane thought she was going to faint. When he got の近くに and looked into her 注目する，もくろむs he understood the strange, dark 表現 in them. She was terrified because she believed he meant to kill her, or do worse, probably worse. Duane realized he must have looked pretty hard and 猛烈な／残忍な bursting into her room with that big gun in 手渡す.
The way she searched Duane's 直面する with doubtful, fearful 注目する，もくろむs 傷つける him.
"Listen. I didn't know this was your room. I （機の）カム here to get away— to save my life. I was 追求するd. I was 秘かに調査するing on—on your father and his men. They heard me, but did not see me. They don't know who was listening. They're after me now."
Her 注目する，もくろむs changed from blank 湾s to dilating, 影をつくる／尾行するing. 生き返らせる windows of thought.
Then she stood up and 直面するd Duane with the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 and 知能 of a woman in her 注目する，もくろむs.
"Tell me now. You were 秘かに調査するing on my father?"
簡潔に Duane told her what had happened before he entered her room, not omitting a terse word as to the character of the men he had watched.
"My God! So it's that? I knew something was terribly wrong here— with him—with the place—the people. And 権利 off I hated Floyd Lawson. Oh, it'll kill me if—if—It's so much worse than I dreamed. What shall I do?"
The sound of soft steps somewhere 近づく distracted Duane's attention, reminded him of her 危険，危なくする, and now, what counted more with him, made （疑いを）晴らす the probability of 存在 discovered in her room.
"I'll have to get out of here," whispered Duane.
"Wait," she replied. "Didn't you say they were 追跡（する）ing for you?"
"They sure are," he returned, grimly.
"Oh, then you mustn't go. They might shoot you before you got away. Stay. If we hear them you can hide. I'll turn out the light. I'll 会合，会う them at the door. You can 信用 me. Wait till all 静かなs 負かす／撃墜する, if we have to wait till morning. Then you can slip out."
"I oughtn't to stay. I don't want to—I won't," Duane replied, perplexed and stubborn.
"But you must. It's the only 安全な way. They won't come here."
"Suppose they should? It's an even chance Longstreth'll search every room and corner in this old house. If they 設立する me here I couldn't start a fight. You might be 傷つける. Then—the fact of my 存在 here—"
Duane did not finish what he meant, but instead made a step toward the door. White of 直面する and dark of 注目する，もくろむ, she took 持つ／拘留する of him to 拘留する him. She was as strong and supple as a panther. But she need not have been either resolute or strong, for the clasp of her 手渡す was enough to make Duane weak.
"Up yet, Ray?" （機の）カム Longstreth's （疑いを）晴らす 発言する／表明する, too 緊張するd, too eager to be natural.
"No. I'm in bed reading. Good night," 即時に replied 行方不明になる Longstreth, so calmly and 自然に that Duane marveled at the difference between man and woman. Then she 動議d for Duane to hide in the closet. He slipped in, but the door would not の近くに altogether.
"Are you alone?" went on Longstreth's 侵入するing 発言する／表明する.
"Yes," she replied. "Ruth went to bed."
The door swung inward with a swift 捨てる and jar. Longstreth half entered, haggard, 炎上ing-注目する，もくろむd. Behind him Duane saw Lawson, and indistinctly another man.
Longstreth 閉めだした Lawson from entering, which 活動／戦闘 showed 支配（する）／統制する as 井戸／弁護士席 as 不信. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to see into the room. When he had ちらりと見ることd around he went out and の近くにd the door.
Then what seemed a long interval 続いて起こるd. The house grew silent once more. Duane could not see 行方不明になる Longstreth, but he heard her quick breathing. How long did she mean to let him stay hidden there? Hard and perilous as his life had been, this was a new 肉親，親類d of adventure. He had divined the strange softness of his feeling as something 予定 to the magnetism of this beautiful woman. It hardly seemed possible that he, who had been outside the pale for so many years, could have fallen in love. Yet that must be the secret of his agitation.
Presently he 押し進めるd open the closet door and stepped 前へ／外へ. 行方不明になる Longstreth had her 長，率いる lowered upon her 武器 and appeared to be in 苦しめる. At his touch she raised a quivering 直面する.
"I think I can go now—安全に," he whispered.
"Go then, if you must, but you may stay till you're 安全な," she replied.
"I—I couldn't thank you enough. It's been hard on me—this finding out—and you his daughter. I feel strange. I don't understand myself 井戸／弁護士席. But I want you to know—if I were not an 無法者—a 特別奇襲隊員—I'd lay my life at your feet."
"Oh! You have seen so—so little of me," she 滞るd.
"All the same it's true. And that makes me feel more the trouble my coming 原因（となる）d you."
"You will not fight my father?"
"Not if I can help it. I'm trying to get out of his way.'
"But you 秘かに調査するd upon him."
"I am a 特別奇襲隊員, 行方不明になる Longstreth."
"And oh! I am a rustler's daughter," she cried. "That's so much more terrible than I'd 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd. It was tricky cattle 取引，協定s I imagined he was engaged in. But only to-night I had strong 疑惑s 誘発するd."
"How? Tell me."
"I overheard Floyd say that men were coming to-night to arrange a 会合 for my father at a rendezvous 近づく Ord. Father did not want to go. Floyd taunted him with a 指名する."
"What 指名する?" queried Duane.
"It was Cheseldine."
"CHESELDINE! My God! 行方不明になる Longstreth, why did you tell me that?"
"What difference does that make?"
"Your father and Cheseldine are one and the same," whispered Duane, hoarsely.
"I gathered so much myself," she replied, miserably. "But Longstreth is father's real 指名する."
Duane felt so stunned he could not speak at once. It was the girl's part in this 悲劇 that 弱めるd him. The instant she betrayed the secret Duane realized perfectly that he did love her. The emotion was like a 広大な／多数の／重要な flood.
"行方不明になる Longstreth, all this seems so unbelievable," he whispered. "Cheseldine is the rustler 長，指導者 I've come out here to get. He's only a 指名する. Your father is the real man. I've sworn to get him. I'm bound by more than 法律 or 誓いs. I can't break what 貯蔵所d me. And I must 不名誉 you— 難破させる your lifer Why, 行方不明になる Longstreth, I believe I—I love you. It's all come in a 急ぐ. I'd die for you if I could. How 致命的な—terrible —this is! How things work out!"
She slipped to her 膝s, with her 手渡すs on his.
"You won't kill him?" she implored. "If you care for me—you won't kill him?"
"No. That I 約束 you."
With a low moan she dropped her 長，率いる upon the bed.
Duane opened the door and stealthily stole out through the 回廊（地帯） to the 法廷，裁判所.
When Duane got out into the dark, where his hot 直面する 冷静な／正味のd in the 勝利，勝つd, his 救済 equaled his other feelings.
The night was dark, 風の強い, 嵐の, yet there was no rain. Duane hoped as soon as he got （疑いを）晴らす of the ranch to lose something of the 苦痛 he felt. But long after he had tramped out into the open there was a lump in his throat and an ache in his breast. All his thought 中心d around Ray Longstreth. What a woman she had turned out to be! He seemed to have a vague, hopeless hope that there might be, there must be, some way he could save her.
BEFORE going to sleep that night Duane had decided to go to Ord and try to find the rendezvous where Longstreth was to 会合，会う his men. These men Duane 手配中の，お尋ね者 even more than their leader. If Longstreth, or Cheseldine, was the brains of that ギャング（団）, Poggin was the executor. It was Poggin who needed to be 設立する and stopped. Poggin and his 権利-手渡す men! Duane experienced a strange, tigerish thrill. It was thought of Poggin more than thought of success for MacNelly's 計画（する）. Duane felt 疑わしい over this emotion.
Next day he 始める，決める out for Bradford. He was glad to get away from Fairdale for a while. But the hours and the miles in no wise changed the new 苦痛 in his heart. The only way he could forget 行方不明になる Longstreth was to let his mind dwell upon Poggin, and even this was not always 効果的な.
He 避けるd Sanderson, and at the end of the day and a half he arrived at Bradford.
The night of the day before he reached Bradford, No. 6, the mail and 表明する train going east, was held up by train-robbers, the 井戸／弁護士席s-Fargo messenger killed over his 安全な, the mail-clerk 負傷させるd, the 捕らえる、獲得するs carried away. The engine of No. 6 （機の）カム into town minus even a tender, and engineer and 消防士 told 相反する stories. A posse of 鉄道／強行採決する men and 国民s, led by a 郡保安官 Duane 嫌疑者，容疑者／疑うd was crooked, was made up before the engine steamed 支援する to 選ぶ up the 残り／休憩（する） of the train. Duane had the sudden inspiration that he had been cudgeling his mind to find; and, 事実上の／代理 upon it, he 機動力のある his horse again and left Bradford unobserved. As he 棒 out into the night, over a dark 追跡する in the direction of Ord, he uttered a short, grim, sardonic laugh at the hope that he might be taken for a train-robber.
He 棒 at an 平易な trot most of the night, and when the 黒人／ボイコット 頂点（に達する） of Ord Mountain ぼんやり現れるd up against the 星／主役にするs he 停止（させる）d, tied his horse, and slept until 夜明け. He had brought a small pack, and now he took his time cooking breakfast. When the sun was 井戸／弁護士席 up he saddled 弾丸, and, leaving the 追跡する where his 跡をつけるs showed plain in the ground, he put his horse to the 激しく揺するs and 小衝突. He selected an exceedingly rough, roundabout, and difficult course to Ord, hid his 跡をつけるs with the 技術 of a long-追跡（する）d 逃亡者／はかないもの, and arrived there with his horse winded and covered with lather. It 追加するd かなりの to his arrival that the man Duane remembered as Fletcher and several others saw him come in the 支援する way through the lots and jump a 盗品故買者 into the road.
Duane led 弾丸 up to the porch where Fletcher stood wiping his 耐えるd. He was hatless, vestless, and evidently had just enjoyed a morning drink.
"Howdy, Dodge," said Fletcher, laconically.
Duane replied, and the other man returned the 迎える／歓迎するing with 利益／興味.
"Jim, my hoss 's done up. I want to hide him from any chance tourists as might happen to ride up curious-like."
"Haw! haw! haw!"
Duane gathered 激励 from that chorus of coarse laughter.
"Wal, if them tourists ain't too durned snooky the hoss'll be 安全な in the 'dobe shack 支援する of 法案's here. 料金d thar, too, but you'll hev to rustle water."
Duane led 弾丸 to the place 示すd, had care of his 福利事業, and left him there. Upon returning to the tavern porch Duane saw the group of men had been 追加するd to by others, some of whom he had seen before. Without comment Duane walked along the 辛勝する／優位 of the road, and wherever one of the 跡をつけるs of his horse showed he carefully obliterated it. This 手続き was attentively watched by Fletcher and his companions.
"Wal, Dodge," 発言／述べるd Fletcher, as Duane returned, "thet's safer 'n prayin' fer rain."
Duanes reply was a 発言／述べる as loquacious as Fletcher's, to the 影響 that a long, slow, monotonous ride was 役立つ to かわき. They all joined him, unmistakably friendly. But Knell was not there, and most assuredly not Poggin. Fletcher was no ありふれた 無法者, but, whatever his ability, it probably lay in 死刑執行 of orders. 明らかに at that time these men had nothing to do but drink and lounge around the tavern. Evidently they were 貧しく 供給（する）d with money, though Duane 観察するd they could borrow a peso occasionally from the bartender. Duane 始める，決める out to make himself agreeable and 後継するd. There was card-playing for small 火刑／賭けるs, idle jests of coarse nature, much bantering の中で the younger fellows, and occasionally a 穏やかな quarrel. All morning men （機の）カム and went, until, all told, Duane calculated he had seen at least fifty. Toward the middle of the afternoon a young fellow burst into the saloon and yelled one word:
"Posse!"
From the 緊急発進する to get outdoors Duane 裁判官d that word and the 続いて起こるing 活動／戦闘 was rare in Ord.
"What the hell!" muttered Fletcher, as he gazed 負かす／撃墜する the road at a dark, compact bunch of horses and riders. "Fust time I ever seen thet in Ord! We're gettin' popular like them （軍の）野営地，陣営s out of Valentine. Wish Phil was here or Poggy. Now all you gents keep 静かな. I'll do the talkin'."
The posse entered the town, trotted up on dusty horses, and 停止（させる）d in a bunch before the tavern. The party consisted of about twenty men, all ひどく 武装した, and evidently in 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 of a clean-削減（する）, lean-四肢d cowboy. Duane experienced かなりの satisfaction at the absence of the 郡保安官 who he had understood was to lead the posse. Perhaps he was out in another direction with a different 軍隊.
"Hello, Jim Fletcher," called the cowboy.
"Howdy," replied Fletcher.
At his short, 乾燥した，日照りの 返答 and the way he strode leisurely out before the posse Duane 設立する himself 修正するing his contempt for Fletcher. The 無法者 was different now.
"Fletcher, we've 跡をつけるd a man to all but three miles of this place. 跡をつけるs as plain as the nose on your 直面する. 設立する his （軍の）野営地，陣営. Then he 攻撃する，衝突する into the 小衝突, an' we lost the 追跡する. Didn't have no tracker with us. Think he went into the mountains. But we took a chance an' rid over the 残り／休憩（する） of the way, seein' Ord was so の近くに. Anybody come in here late last night or 早期に this mornin'?"
"Nope," replied Fletcher.
His 返答 was what Duane had 推定する／予想するd from his manner, and evidently the cowboy took it as a 事柄 of course. He turned to the others of the posse, entering into a low 協議. Evidently there was difference of opinion, if not real dissension, in that posse.
"Didn't I tell ye this was a wild-goose chase, comin' way out here?" 抗議するd an old 強硬派-直面するd rancher. "Them hoss 跡をつけるs we follored ain't like any of them we seen at the water-戦車／タンク where the train was held up."
"I'm not so sure of that," replied the leader.
"Wal, Guthrie, I've follored 跡をつけるs all my life—'
"But you couldn't keep to the 追跡する this feller made in the 小衝突."
"Gimme time, an' I could. Thet takes time. An' heah you go hell-bent fer 選挙! But it's a wrong lead out this way. If you're 権利 this road-スパイ／執行官, after he killed his pals, would hev rid 支援する 権利 through town. An' with them mail-捕らえる、獲得するs! Supposin' they was greasers? Some greasers has sense, an' when it comes to thievin' they're shore 削減（する）."
"But we sent got any 推論する／理由 to believe this robber who 殺人d the greasers is a greaser himself. I tell you it was a 悪賢い 職業 done by no ordinary こそこそ動く. Didn't you hear the facts? One greaser hopped the engine an' covered the engineer an' 消防士. Another greaser kept flashin' his gun outside the train. The big man who 押すd 支援する the car-door an' did the killin'—he was the real gent, an' don't you forget it."
Some of the posse 味方するd with the cowboy leader and some with the old cattleman. Finally the young leader disgustedly gathered up his bridle.
"Aw, hell! Thet 郡保安官 押すd you off this 追跡する. Mebbe he hed 推論する／理由s Savvy thet? If I hed a bunch of cowboys with me—I tell you what —I'd take a chance an' clean up this 穴を開ける!"
All the while Jim Fletcher stood 静かに with his 手渡すs in his pockets.
"Guthrie, I'm shore treasurin' up your friendly talk," he said. The menace was in the トン, not the content of his speech.
"You can—an' be damned to you, Fletcher!" called Guthrie, as the horses started.
Fletcher, standing out alone before the others of his 一族／派閥, watched the posse out of sight.
"Luck fer you-all thet Poggy wasn't here," he said, as they disappeared. Then with a thoughtful mien he strode up on the porch and led Duane away from the others into the 妨げる／法廷，弁護士業-room. When he looked into Duane's 直面する it was somehow an 完全に changed scrutiny.
"Dodge, where'd you hide the stuff? I reckon I git in on this 取引，協定, seein' I 突き破るd off Guthrie."
Duane played his part. Here was his a tiger after prey he 掴むd it. First he coolly 注目する，もくろむd the 無法者 and then disclaimed any knowledge whatever of the train-強盗 other than Fletcher had heard himself. Then at Fletcher's persistence and 賞賛 and 増加するing show of friendliness he laughed occasionally and 許すd himself to swell with pride, though still 否定するing. Next he feigned a 欠如（する） of 一貫した will-力／強力にする and seemed to be wavering under Fletcher's 説得／派閥 and grew silent, then surly. Fletcher, evidently sure of ultimate victory, desisted for the time 存在; however, in his solicitous regard and の近くに companionship for the 残り／休憩（する） of that day he betrayed the bent of his mind.
Later, when Duane started up 発表するing his 意向 to get his horse and make for （軍の）野営地，陣営 out in the 小衝突, Fletcher seemed grievously 感情を害する／違反するd.
"Why don't you stay with me? I've got a comfortable 'dobe over here. Didn't I stick by you when Guthrie an' his bunch come up? Supposin' I hedn't showed 負かす／撃墜する a 冷淡な 手渡す to him? You'd be swingin' somewheres now. I tell you, Dodge, it ain't square."
"I'll square it. I 支払う／賃金 my 負債s," replied Duane. "But I can't put up here all night. If I belonged to the ギャング（団） it 'd be different."
"What ギャング（団）?" asked Fletcher, bluntly.
"Why, Cheseldine's."
Fletcher's 耐えるd nodded as his jaw dropped.
Duane laughed. "I run into him the other day. Knowed him on sight. Sure, he's the king-pin rustler. When he seen me an' asked me what 推論する／理由 I had for bein' on earth or some such like—why, I up an' told him."
Fletcher appeared staggered.
"Who in all-解雇する／砲火／射撃d hell 空気／公表する you talkin' about?"
"Didn't I tell you once? Cheseldine. He calls himself Longstreth over there."
All of Fletcher's 直面する not covered by hair turned a dirty white. "Cheseldine—Longstreth!" he whispered, hoarsely. "Gord Almighty! You を締めるd the—" Then a remarkable 変形 （機の）カム over the 無法者. He gulped; he straightened his 直面する; he controlled his agitation. But he could not send the healthy brown 支援する to his 直面する. Duane, watching this rude man, marveled at the change in him, the sudden checking movement, the proof of a wonderful 恐れる and 忠義. It all meant Cheseldine, a master of men!
"世界保健機構 AIR YOU?" queried Fletcher, in a queer, 緊張するd 発言する／表明する.
"You gave me a 扱う, didn't you? Dodge. Thet's as good as any. Shore it 攻撃する，衝突するs me hard. Jim, I've been pretty lonely for years, an' I'm gettin' in need of pals. Think it over, will you? See you manana."
The 無法者 watched Duane go off after his horse, watched him as he returned to the tavern, watched him ride out into the 不明瞭—all without a word.
Duane left the town, threaded a 静かな passage through cactus and mesquite to a 位置／汚点／見つけ出す he had 示すd before, and made ready for the night. His mind was so 十分な that he 設立する sleep aloof. Luck at last was playing his game. He sensed the first slow heave of a mighty 危機. The end, always haunting, had to be 厳しく blotted from thought. It was the approach that needed all his mind.
He passed the night there, and late in the morning, after watching 追跡する and road from a 山の尾根, he returned to Ord. If Jim Fletcher tried to disguise his surprise the 成果／努力 was a 失敗. Certainly he had not 推定する／予想するd to see Duane again. Duane 許すd himself a little freedom with Fletcher, an 態度 hitherto 欠如（する）ing.
That afternoon a horseman 棒 in from Bradford, an 無法者 evidently 井戸／弁護士席 known and liked by his fellows, and Duane 耐えるd him say, before he could かもしれない have been told the train-robber was in Ord, that the loss of money in the ピストル強盗 was slight. Like a flash Duane saw the luck of this 報告（する）／憶測. He pretended not to have heard.
In the 早期に twilight at an opportune moment he called Fletcher to him, and, linking his arm within the 無法者's, he drew him off in a stroll to a スピードを出す／記録につける 橋（渡しをする） spanning a little gully. Here after gazing around, he took out a roll of 法案s, spread it out, 分裂（する） it 平等に, and without a word 手渡すd one half to Fletcher. With clumsy fingers Fletcher ran through the roll.
"Five hundred!" he exclaimed. "Dodge, thet's damn handsome of you, considerin' the 職業 wasn't—"
"Considerin' nothin'," interrupted Duane. "I'm makin' no 言及／関連 to a 職業 here or there. You did me a good turn. I 分裂（する） my pile. If thet doesn't make us pards, good turns an' money ain't no use in this country."
Fletcher was won.
The two men spent much time together. Duane made up a short fictitious history about himself that 満足させるd the 無法者, only it drew 前へ／外へ a laughing jest upon Duane's modesty. For Fletcher did not hide his belief that this new partner was a man of 業績／成就s. Knell and Poggin, and then Cheseldine himself, would be 説得するd of this fact, so Fletcher 誇るd. He had 影響（力）. He would use it. He thought he pulled a 一打／打撃 with Knell. But nobody on earth, not even the boss, had any 影響（力） on Poggin. Poggin was concentrated ice part of the time; all the 残り／休憩（する） he was bursting hell. But Poggin loved a horse. He never loved anything else. He could be won with that 黒人／ボイコット horse 弾丸. Cheseldine was already won by Duane's monumental 神経; さもなければ he would have killed Duane.
Little by little the next few days Duane learned the points he longed to know; and how indelibly they etched themselves in his memory! Cheseldine's hiding-place was on the far slope of 開始する Ord, in a 深い, high-塀で囲むd valley. He always went there just before a 熟視する／熟考するd 職業, where he met and planned with his 中尉／大尉／警部補s. Then while they 遂行する／発効させるd he basked in the 日光 before one or another of the public places he owned. He was there in the Ord den now, getting ready to 計画（する） the biggest 職業 yet. It was a bank-強盗; but where, Fletcher had not as yet been advised.
Then when Duane had pumped the now amenable 無法者 of all 詳細（に述べる）s 付随するing to the 現在の he gathered data and facts and places covering a period of ten years Fletcher had been with Cheseldine. And herewith was 広げるd a history so dark in its 血まみれの 政権, so incredible in its brazen daring, so appalling in its proof of the 無法者's sweep and しっかり掴む of the country from Pecos to Rio Grande, that Duane was stunned. Compared to this Cheseldine of the Big Bend, to this rancher, 在庫／株-買い手, cattle-相場師, 所有物／資産／財産-支えるもの／所有者, all the 無法者s Duane had ever known sank into insignificance. The 力／強力にする of the man stunned Duane; the strange fidelity given him stunned Duane; the intricate inside working of his 広大な／多数の／重要な system was 平等に 素晴らしい. But when Duane 回復するd from that the old terrible passion to kill 消費するd him, and it 激怒（する）d ひどく and it could not be checked. If that 現行犯で Poggin, if that 冷淡な-注目する，もくろむd, dead-直面するd Knell had only been at Ord! But they were not, and Duane with help of time got what he hoped was the upper 手渡す of himself.
AGAIN inaction and suspense dragged at Duane's spirit. Like a leashed hound with a keen scent in his 直面する Duane 手配中の，お尋ね者 to leap 前へ／外へ when he was bound. He almost fretted. Something called to him over the bold, wild brow of 開始する Ord. But while Fletcher stayed in Ord waiting for Knell and Poggin, or for orders, Duane knew his game was again a waiting one.
But one day there were 調印するs of the long 静かな of Ord 存在 broken. A messenger strange to Duane 棒 in on a secret 使節団 that had to do with Fletcher. When he went away Fletcher became （麻薬）常用者d to thoughtful moods and lonely walks. He seldom drank, and this in itself was a striking contrast to former 行為. The messenger （機の）カム again. Whatever communication he brought, it had a remarkable 影響 upon the 無法者. Duane was 現在の in the tavern when the fellow arrived, saw the few words whispered, but did not hear them. Fletcher turned white with 怒り／怒る or 恐れる, perhaps both, and he 悪口を言う／悪態d like a madman. The messenger, a lean, dark-直面するd, hard-riding fellow reminding Duane of the cowboy Guthrie, left the tavern without even a drink and 棒 away off to the west. This west mystified and fascinated Duane as much as the south beyond 開始する Ord. Where were Knell and Poggin? 明らかに they were not at 現在の with the leader on the mountain. After the messenger left Fletcher grew silent and surly. He had 現在のd a variety of moods to Duane's 観察, and this 最新の one was 挑発的な of thought. Fletcher was dangerous. It became （疑いを）晴らす now that the other 無法者s of the （軍の）野営地，陣営 恐れるd him, kept out of his way. Duane let him alone, yet closely watched him.
Perhaps an hour after the messenger had left, not longer, Fletcher manifestly arrived at some 決定／判定勝ち（する）, and he called for his horse. Then he went to his shack and returned. To Duane the 無法者 looked in 形態／調整 both to ride and to fight. He gave orders for the men in （軍の）野営地，陣営 to keep の近くに until he returned. Then he 機動力のある.
"Come here, Dodge," he called.
Duane went up and laid a 手渡す on the 鞍馬 of the saddle. Fletcher walked his horse, with Duane beside him, till they reached the スピードを出す／記録につける 橋（渡しをする）, when he 停止（させる）d.
"Dodge, I'm in bad with Knell," he said. "An' it 'pears I'm the 原因（となる） of 摩擦 between Knell an' Poggy. Knell never had any use fer me, but Poggy's been square, if not friendly. The boss has a big 取引，協定 on, an' here it's been held up because of this 捨てる. He's waitin' over there on the mountain to give orders to Knell or Poggy, an' neither one's showin' up. I've got to stand in the 違反, an' I ain't enjoyin' the prospects."
"What's the trouble about, Jim?" asked Duane.
"Reckon it's a little about you, Dodge," said Fletcher, dryly. "Knell hadn't any use fer you thet day. He ain't got no use fer a man onless he can 支配する him. Some of the boys here hev blabbed before I 辛勝する／優位d in with my say, an' there's hell to 支払う／賃金. Knell （人命などを）奪う，主張するs to know somethin' about you that'll make both the boss an' Poggy sick when he springs it. But he's keepin' 静かな. Hard man to figger, thet Knell. Reckon you'd better go 支援する to Bradford fer a day or so, then （軍の）野営地，陣営 out 近づく here till I come 支援する."
"Why?"
"Wal, because there ain't any use fer you to git in bad, too."
"The ギャング（団） will ride over here any day. If they're friendly, I'll light a 解雇する／砲火／射撃 on the hill there, say three nights from to-night. If you don't see it thet night you 攻撃する，衝突する the 追跡する. I'll do what I can. Jim Fletcher sticks to his pals. So long, Dodge."
Then he 棒 away.
He left Duane in a quandary. This news was 黒人／ボイコット. Things had been working out so 井戸／弁護士席. Here was a 後退. At the moment Duane did not know which way to turn, but certainly he had no idea of going 支援する to Bradford. 摩擦 between the two 広大な／多数の／重要な 中尉／大尉／警部補s of Cheseldine! Open 敵意 between one of them and another of the 長，指導者's 権利-手渡す men! の中で 無法者s that sort of thing was deadly serious. 一般に such 事柄s were settled with guns. Duane gathered 激励 even from 災害. Perhaps the disintegration of Cheseldine's 広大な／多数の／重要な 禁止（する）d had already begun. But what did Knell know? Duane did not circle around the idea with 疑問s and hopes; if Knell knew anything it was that this stranger in Ord, this new partner of Fletcher's, was no いっそう少なく than Buck Duane. 井戸／弁護士席, it was about time, thought Duane, that he made use of his 指名する if it were to help him at all. That 指名する had been MacNelly's hope. He had 錨，総合司会者d all his 計画／陰謀 to Duane's fame. Duane was tempted to ride off after Fletcher and stay with him. This, however, would hardly be fair to an 無法者 who had been fair to him. Duane 結論するd to を待つ 開発s and when the ギャング（団） 棒 in to Ord, probably from their さまざまな hiding-places, he would be there ready to be 公然と非難するd by Knell. Duane could not see any other culmination of this 一連の events than a 会合 between Knell and himself. If that 終結させるd fatally for Knell there was all probability of Duane's 存在 in no worse 状況／情勢 than he was now. If Poggin took up the quarrel! Here Duane （刑事）被告 himself again—tried in vain to 反乱 from a judgment that he was only 推論する／理由ing out excuses to 会合，会う these 無法者s.
一方／合間, instead of waiting, why not 追跡（する） up Cheseldine in his mountain 退却／保養地? The thought no sooner struck Duane than he was hurrying for his horse.
He left Ord, 表面上は toward Bradford, but, once out of sight, he turned off the road, circled through the 小衝突, and several miles south of town he struck a 狭くする grass-grown 追跡する that Fletcher had told him led to Cheseldine's （軍の）野営地，陣営. The horse 跡をつけるs along this 追跡する were not いっそう少なく than a week old, and very likely much more. It 負傷させる between low, 小衝突-covered 山のふもとの丘s, through arroyos and gullies lined with mesquite, cottonwood, and scrub-oak.
In an hour Duane struck the slope of 開始する Ord, and as he climbed he got a 見解（をとる） of the rolling, 黒人／ボイコット-spotted country, partly 砂漠, partly fertile, with long, 有望な lines of 乾燥した，日照りの stream-beds winding away to grow 薄暗い in the distance. He got の中で broken 激しく揺するs and cliffs, and here the open, downward-rolling land disappeared, and he was hard put to it to find the 追跡する. He lost it 繰り返して and made slow 進歩. Finally he climbed into a 地域 of all 激しく揺する （法廷の）裁判s, rough here, smooth there, with only an 時折の scratch of アイロンをかける horseshoe to guide him. Many times he had to go ahead and then work to 権利 or left till he 設立する his way again. It was slow work; it took all day; and night 設立する him half-way up the mountain. He 停止（させる）d at a little 味方する-canon with grass and water, and here he made （軍の）野営地，陣営. The night was （疑いを）晴らす and 冷静な／正味の at that 高さ, with a dark-blue sky and a streak of 星／主役にするs blinking across. With this day of 活動／戦闘 behind him he felt better 満足させるd than he had been for some time. Here, on this 投機・賭ける, he was answering to a call that had so often directed his movements, perhaps his life, and it was one that logic or 知能 could take little 在庫／株 of. And on this night, lonely like the ones he used to spend in the Nueces gorge, and memorable of them because of a likeness to that old hiding-place, he felt the 圧力（をかける）ing return of old haunting things—the past so long ago, wild flights, dead 直面するs—and the places of these were taken by one quiveringly alive, white, 悲劇の, with its dark, 意図, speaking 注目する，もくろむs—Ray Longstreth's.
That last memory he 産する／生じるd to until he slept.
In the morning, 満足させるd that he had left still より小数の 跡をつけるs than he had followed up this 追跡する, he led his horse up to the 長，率いる of the canon, there a 狭くする 割れ目 in low cliffs, and with 支店s of cedar 盗品故買者d him in. Then he went 支援する and took up the 追跡する on foot.
Without the horse he made better time and climbed through 深い clefts, wide canons, over 山の尾根s, up 棚上げにするing slopes, along precipices—a long, hard climb—till he reached what he 結論するd was a divide. Going 負かす／撃墜する was easier, though the さらに先に he followed this 薄暗い and winding 追跡する the wider the broken battlements of 激しく揺する. Above him he saw the 黒人／ボイコット fringe of pinon and pine, and above that the bold 頂点（に達する）, 明らかにする, yellow, like a 砂漠 butte. Once, through a wide gateway between 広大な／多数の／重要な escarpments, he saw the lower country beyond the 範囲, and beyond this, 広大な and （疑いを）晴らす as it lay in his sight, was the 広大な／多数の／重要な river that made the Big Bend. He went 負かす／撃墜する and 負かす／撃墜する, wondering how a horse could follow that broken 追跡する, believing there must be another better one somewhere into Cheseldine's hiding-place.
He 一連の会議、交渉／完成するd a jutting corner, where 見解（をとる） had been shut off, and presently （機の）カム out upon the 縁 of a high 塀で囲む. Beneath, like a green 湾 seen through blue 煙霧, lay an amphitheater 塀で囲むd in on the two 味方するs he could see. It lay perhaps a thousand feet below him; and, plain as all the other features of that wild 環境, there shone out a big red 石／投石する or adobe cabin, white water 向こうずねing away between 広大な／多数の／重要な 国境s, and horses and cattle dotting the levels. It was a 平和的な, beautiful scene. Duane could not help grinding his teeth at the thought of rustlers living there in 静かな and 緩和する.
Duane worked half-way 負かす／撃墜する to the level, and, 井戸／弁護士席 hidden in a niche, he settled himself to watch both 追跡する and valley. He made 公式文書，認める of the position of the sun and saw that if anything developed or if he decided to descend any さらに先に there was small 見込み of his getting 支援する to his （軍の）野営地，陣営 before dark. To try that after nightfall he imagined would be vain 成果／努力.
Then he bent his keen 注目する，もくろむs downward. The cabin appeared to be a 天然のまま structure. Though large in size, it had, of course, been built by 無法者s.
There was no garden, no cultivated field, no corral. Excepting for the rude pile of 石／投石するs and スピードを出す／記録につけるs plastered together with mud, the valley was as wild, probably, as on the day of 発見. Duane seemed to have been watching for a long time before he saw any 調印する of man, and this one 明らかに went to the stream for water and returned to the cabin.
The sun went 負かす／撃墜する behind the 塀で囲む, and 影をつくる／尾行するs were born in the darker places of the valley. Duane began to want to get closer to that cabin. What had he taken this arduous climb for? He held 支援する, however, trying to 発展させる その上の 計画（する）s.
While he was pondering the 影をつくる／尾行するs quickly gathered and darkened. If he was to go 支援する to （軍の）野営地，陣営 he must 始める，決める out at once. Still he ぐずぐず残るd. And suddenly his wide-roving 注目する，もくろむ caught sight of two horsemen riding up the valley. The must have entered at a point below, 一連の会議、交渉／完成する the 抱擁する abutment of 激しく揺する, beyond Duane's 範囲 of sight. Their horses were tired and stopped at the stream for a long drink.
Duane left his perch, took to the 法外な 追跡する, and descended as 急速な／放蕩な as he could without making noise. It did not take him long to reach the valley 床に打ち倒す. It was almost level, with 深い grass, and here and there clumps of bushes. Twilight was already 厚い 負かす／撃墜する there. Duane 示すd the 場所 of the 追跡する, and then began to slip like a 影をつくる／尾行する through the grass and from bush to bush. He saw a 有望な light before he made out the dark 輪郭（を描く） of the cabin. Then he heard 発言する／表明するs, a merry whistle, a coarse song, and the clink of アイロンをかける cooking-utensils. He smelled fragrant 支持を得ようと努めるd-smoke. He saw moving dark 人物／姿／数字s cross the light. Evidently there was a wide door, or else the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 was out in the open.
Duane swerved to the left, out of direct line with the light, and thus was able to see better. Then he 前進するd noiselessly but 速く toward the 支援する of the house. There were trees の近くに to the 塀で囲む. He would make no noise, and he could scarcely be seen—if only there was no watch-dog! But all his 無法者 days he had taken 危険s with only his useless life at 火刑／賭ける; now, with that changed, he 前進するd stealthy and bold as an Indian. He reached the cover of the trees, knew he was hidden in their 影をつくる／尾行するs, for at few paces' distance he had been able to see only their 最高の，を越すs. From there he slipped up to the house and felt along the 塀で囲む with his 手渡すs.
He （機の）カム to a little window where light shone through. He peeped in. He saw a room shrouded in 影をつくる／尾行するs, a lamp turned low, a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, 議長，司会を務めるs. He saw an open door, with 有望な ゆらめく beyond, but could not see the 解雇する／砲火／射撃. 発言する／表明するs （機の）カム indistinctly. Without hesitation Duane stole さらに先に along—all the way to the end of the cabin. Peeping 一連の会議、交渉／完成する, he saw only the ゆらめく of light on 明らかにする ground. Retracing his 用心深い steps, he paused at the 割れ目 again, saw that no man was in the room, and then he went on 一連の会議、交渉／完成する that end of the cabin. Fortune 好意d him. There were bushes, an old shed, a 支持を得ようと努めるd-pile, all the cover he needed at that corner. He did not even need to はう.
Before he peered between the rough corner of 塀で囲む and the bush growing の近くに to it Duane paused a moment. This excitement was different from that he had always felt when 追求するd. It had no bitterness, no 苦痛, no dread. There was as much danger here, perhaps more, yet it was not the same. Then he looked.
He saw a 有望な 解雇する／砲火／射撃, a red-直面するd man bending over it, whistling, while he 扱うd a steaming マリファナ. Over him was a roofed shed built against the 塀で囲む, with two open 味方するs and two supporting 地位，任命するs. Duane's second ちらりと見ること, not so blinded by the sudden 有望な light, made out other men, three in the 影をつくる／尾行する, two in the ゆらめく, but with 支援するs to him.
"It's a smoother 追跡する by long 半端物s, but ain't so short as this one 権利 over the mountain," one 無法者 was 説.
"What's eatin' you, Panhandle?" ejaculated another. "Blossom an' me 棒 from Faraway Springs, where Poggin is with some of the ギャング（団）."
"Excuse me, Phil. Shore I didn't see you come in, an' Boldt never said nothin'."
"It took you a long time to get here, but I guess that's just 同様に," spoke up a smooth, suave 発言する／表明する with a （犯罪の）一味 in it.
Longstreth's 発言する／表明する—Cheseldine's 発言する／表明する!
Here they were—Cheseldine, Phil Knell, Blossom Kane, Panhandle Smith, Boldt—how 井戸／弁護士席 Duane remembered the 指名するs!—all here, the big men of Cheseldine's ギャング（団）, except the biggest—Poggin. Duane had 穴を開けるd them, and his sensations of the moment deadened sight and sound of what was before him. He sank 負かす／撃墜する, controlled himself, silenced a 開始するing exultation, then from a いっそう少なく-緊張するd position he peered 前へ／外へ again.
The 無法者s were waiting for supper. Their conversation might have been that of cowboys in （軍の）野営地，陣営, ranchers at a 一斉検挙. Duane listened with eager ears, waiting for the 商売／仕事 talk that he felt would come. All the time he watched with the 注目する，もくろむs of a wolf upon its quarry. Blossom Kane was the lean-四肢d messenger who had so 怒り／怒るd Fletcher. Boldt was a 巨大（な） in stature, dark, bearded, silent. Panhandle Smith was the red-直面するd cook, merry, profane, a short, 屈服する-legged man 似ているing many rustlers Duane had known, 特に Luke Stevens. And Knell, who sat there, tall, わずかな／ほっそりした, like a boy in build, like a boy in years, with his pale, smooth, expressionless 直面する and his 冷淡な, gray 注目する，もくろむs. And Longstreth, who leaned against the 塀で囲む, handsome, with his dark 直面する and 耐えるd like an aristocrat, 似ているd many a rich Louisiana planter Duane had met. The sixth man sat so much in the 影をつくる／尾行する that he could not be plainly discerned, and, though 演説（する）／住所d, his 指名する was not について言及するd.
Panhandle Smith carried マリファナs and pans into the cabin, and cheerfully called out: "If you gents 空気／公表する hungry fer grub, don't look fer me to 料金d you with a spoon."
The 無法者s piled inside, made a 広大な／多数の／重要な bustle and clatter as they sat to their meal. Like hungry men, they talked little.
Duane waited there awhile, then guardedly got up and crept 一連の会議、交渉／完成する to the other 味方する of the cabin. After he became used to the dark again he 投機・賭けるd to steal along the 塀で囲む to the window and peeped in. The 無法者s were in the first room and could not be seen.
Duane waited. The moments dragged endlessly. His heart 続けざまに猛撃するd. Longstreth entered, turned up the light, and, taking a box of cigars from the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する, he carried it out.
"Here, you fellows, go outside and smoke," he said. "Knell, come on in now. Let's get it over."
He returned, sat 負かす／撃墜する, and lighted a cigar for himself. He put his booted feet on the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する.
Duane saw that the room was comfortably, even luxuriously furnished. There must have been a good 追跡する, he thought, else how could all that stuff have been packed in there. Most assuredly it could not have come over the 追跡する he had traveled. Presently he heard the men go outside, and their 発言する／表明するs became indistinct. Then Knell （機の）カム in and seated himself without any of his 長，指導者's 緩和する. He seemed preoccupied and, as always, 冷淡な.
"What's wrong, Knell? Why didn't you get here sooner?" queried Longstreth.
"Poggin, damn him! We're on the outs again."
"What for?"
"Aw, he needn't have got sore. He's breakin' a new hoss over at Faraway, an you know him where a hoss 's 関心d. That kept him, I reckon, more than anythin'."
"What else? Get it out of your system so we can go on to the new 職業."
"井戸／弁護士席, it begins 支援する a ways. I don't know how long ago—weeks —a stranger 棒 into Ord an' got 負かす／撃墜する 平易な-like as if he owned the place. He seemed familiar to me. But I wasn't sure. We looked him over, an' I left, tryin' to place him in my mind."
"What'd he look like?"
"Rangy, powerful man, white hair over his 寺s, still, hard 直面する, 注目する，もくろむs like knives. The way he packed his guns, the way he walked an' stood an' swung his 権利 手渡す showed me what he was. You can't fool me on the gun-sharp. An' he had a grand horse, a big 黒人／ボイコット."
"I've met your man," said Longstreth.
"No!" exclaimed Knell. It was wonderful to hear surprise 表明するd by this man that did not in the least show it in his strange physiognomy. Knell laughed a short, grim, hollow laugh. "Boss, this here big gent drifts into Ord again an' makes up to Jim Fletcher. Jim, you know, is 平易な led. He likes men. An' when a posse come along trailin' a blind lead, huntin' the wrong way for the man who held up No. 6, why, Jim—he up an' takes this stranger to be the 飛行機で行く road-スパイ／執行官 an' cottons to him. Got money out of him sure. An' that's what stumps me more. What's this man's game? I happen to know, boss, that he couldn't have held up No. 6."
"How do you know?" 需要・要求するd Longstreth.
"Because I did the 職業 myself."
A dark and 嵐の passion clouded the 長，指導者's 直面する.
"Damn you, Knell! You're incorrigible. You're unreliable. Another break like that queers you with me. Did you tell Poggin?"
"Yes. That's one 推論する／理由 we fell out. He raved. I thought he was goin' to kill me."
"Why did you 取り組む such a risky 職業 without help or 計画（する）?"
"It 申し込む／申し出d, that's all. An' it was 平易な. But it was a mistake. I got the country an' the 鉄道／強行採決する hollerin' for nothin'. I just couldn't help it. You know what idleness means to one of us. You know also that this very life 産む／飼育するs fatality. It's wrong—that's why. I was born of good parents, an' I know what's 権利. We're wrong, an' we can't （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 the end, that's all. An' for my part I don't care a damn when that comes."
"罰金 wise talk from you, Knell," said Longstreth, scornfully. "Go on with your story."
"As I said, Jim cottons to the pretender, an' they get chummy. They're together all the time. You can 賭事 Jim told all he knew an' then some. A little アルコール飲料 緩和するs his tongue. Several of the boys 棒 over from Ord, an' one of them went to Poggin an' says Jim Fletcher has a new man for the ギャング（団）. Poggin, you know, is always ready for any new man. He says if one doesn't turn out good he can be shut off 平易な. He rather liked the way this new part of Jim's was 上げるd. Jim an' Poggin always 攻撃する，衝突する it up together. So until I got on the 取引，協定 Jim's pard was already in the ギャング（団）, without Poggin or you ever seein' him. Then I got to figurin' hard. Just where had I ever seen that chap? As it turned out, I never had seen him, which accounts for my bein' doubtful. I'd never forget any man I'd seen. I dug up a lot of old papers from my 道具 an' went over them. Letters, pictures, clippin's, an' all that. I guess I had a pretty good notion what I was lookin' for an' who I 手配中の，お尋ね者 to make sure of. At last I 設立する it. An' I knew my man. But I didn't spring it on Poggin. Oh no! I want to have some fun with him when the time comes. He'll be wilder than a 罠にかける wolf. I sent Blossom over to Ord to get word from Jim, an' when he 立証するd all this talk I sent Blossom again with a message calculated to make Jim hump. Poggin got sore, said he'd wait for Jim, an' I could come over here to see you about the new 職業. He'd 会合，会う me in Ord."
Knell had spoken hurriedly and low, now and then with passion. His pale 注目する，もくろむs glinted like 解雇する／砲火／射撃 in ice, and now his 発言する／表明する fell to a whisper.
"Who do you think Fletcher's new man is?"
"Who?" 需要・要求するd Longstreth.
"BUCK DUANE!"
負かす／撃墜する （機の）カム Longstreth's boots with a 衝突，墜落, then his 団体／死体 grew rigid.
"That Nueces 無法者? That two-発射 エース-of-spades gun-投げる人 who killed Bland, Alloway—?"
"An' Hardin." Knell whispered this last 指名する with more feeling than the 明らかな circumstance 需要・要求するd.
"Yes; and Hardin, the best one of the 縁 激しく揺する fellows—Buck Duane!"
Longstreth was so 恐ろしい white now that his 黒人／ボイコット mustache seemed 輪郭（を描く）d against chalk. He 注目する，もくろむd his grim 中尉／大尉／警部補. They understood each other without more words. It was enough that Buck Duane was there in the Big Bend. Longstreth rose presently and reached for a flask, from which he drank, then 申し込む／申し出d it to Knell. He waved it aside.
"Knell," began the 長，指導者, slowly, as he wiped his lips, "I gathered you have some grudge against this Buck Duane."
"Yes."
"井戸／弁護士席, don't be a fool now and do what Poggin or almost any of you men would—don't 会合，会う this Buck Duane. I've 推論する／理由 to believe he's a Texas 特別奇襲隊員 now."
"The hell you say!" exclaimed Knell.
"Yes. Go to Ord and give Jim Fletcher a hunch. He'll get Poggin, and they'll 直す／買収する，八百長をする even Buck Duane."
"All 権利. I'll do my best. But if I run into Duane—"
"Don't run into him!" Longstreth's 発言する／表明する 公正に／かなり rang with the 軍隊 of its passion and 命令（する）. He wiped his 直面する, drank again from the flask, sat 負かす／撃墜する, 再開するd his smoking, and, 製図／抽選 a paper from his vest pocket he began to 熟考する／考慮する it.
"井戸／弁護士席, I'm glad that's settled," he said, evidently referring to the Duane 事柄. "Now for the new 職業. This is October the eighteenth. On or before the twenty-fifth there will be a 出荷／船積み of gold reach the Rancher's Bank of Val Verde. After you return to Ord give Poggin these orders. Keep the ギャング（団） 静かな. You, Poggin, Kane, Fletcher, Panhandle Smith, and Boldt to be in on the secret and the 職業. Nobody else. You'll leave Ord on the twenty-third, ride across country by the 追跡する till you get within sight of Mercer. It's a hundred miles from Bradford to Val Verde—about the same from Ord. Time your travel to get you 近づく Val Verde on the morning of the twenty-sixth. You won't have to more than trot your horses. At two o'clock in the afternoon, sharp, ride into town and up to the Rancher's Bank. Val Verde's a pretty big town. Never been any ピストル強盗s there. Town feels 安全な. Make it a clean, 急速な／放蕩な, daylight 職業. That's all. Have you got the 詳細（に述べる）s?"
Knell did not even ask for the dates again.
"Suppose Poggin or me might be 拘留するd?" he asked.
Longstreth bent a dark ちらりと見ること upon his 中尉／大尉／警部補.
"You never can tell what'll come off," continued Knell. "I'll do my best."
"The minute you see Poggin tell him. A 職業 on 手渡す 安定したs him. And I say again—look to it that nothing happens. Either you or Poggin carry the 職業 through. But I want both of you in it. Break for the hills, and when you get up in the 激しく揺するs where you can hide your 跡をつけるs 長，率いる for 開始する Ord. When all's 静かな again I'll join you here. That's all. Call in the boys."
Like a swift 影をつくる／尾行する and as noiseless Duane stole across the level toward the dark 塀で囲む of 激しく揺する. Every 神経 was a strung wire. For a little while his mind was cluttered and clogged with whirling thoughts, from which, like a flashing scroll, unrolled the long, baffling order of 活動／戦闘. The game was now in his 手渡すs. He must cross 開始する Ord at night. The feat was improbable, but it might be done. He must ride into Bradford, forty miles from the 山のふもとの丘s before eight o'clock next morning. He must telegraph MacNelly to be in Val Verde on the twenty-fifth. He must ride 支援する to Ord, to 迎撃する Knell, 直面する him be 公然と非難するd, kill him, and while the アイロンをかける was hot strike hard to 勝利，勝つ Poggin's half-won 利益／興味 as he had wholly won Fletcher's. Failing that last, he must let the 無法者s alone to 企て，努力，提案 their time in Ord, to be 解放する／自由な to ride on to their new 職業 in Val Verde. In the mean time he must 計画（する） to 逮捕（する） Longstreth. It was a magnificent 輪郭（を描く）, incredible, alluring, unfathomable in its nameless certainty. He felt like 運命／宿命. He seemed to be the アイロンをかける consequences 落ちるing upon these doomed 無法者s.
Under the 塀で囲む the 影をつくる／尾行するs were 黒人／ボイコット, only the tips of trees and crags showing, yet he went straight to the 追跡する. It was 単に a grayness between 国境s of 黒人／ボイコット. He climbed and never stopped. It did not seem 法外な. His feet might have had 注目する，もくろむs. He surmounted the 塀で囲む, and, looking 負かす／撃墜する into the ebony 湾 pierced by one point of light, he 解除するd a 脅迫的な arm and shook it. Then he strode on and did not 滞る till he reached the 抱擁する 棚上げにするing cliffs. Here he lost the 追跡する; there was 非，不，無; but he remembered the 形態／調整s, the points, the notches of 激しく揺する above. Before he reached the 廃虚s of 後援d ramparts and jumbles of broken 塀で囲むs the moon topped the eastern slope of the mountain, and the mystifying blackness he had dreaded changed to 魔法 silver light. It seemed as light as day, only soft, mellow, and the 空気／公表する held a transparent sheen. He ran up the 明らかにする 山の尾根s and 負かす／撃墜する the smooth slopes, and, like a goat, jumped from 激しく揺する to 激しく揺する. In this light he knew his way and lost no time looking for a 追跡する. He crossed the divide and then had all downhill before him. 速く he descended, almost always sure of his memory of the 目印s. He did not remember having 熟考する／考慮するd them in the ascent, yet here they were, even in changed light, familiar to his sight. What he had once seen was pictured on his mind. And, true as a deer striking for home, he reached the canon where he had left his horse.
弾丸 was quickly and easily 設立する. Duane threw on the saddle and pack, cinched them tight, and 再開するd his 降下／家系. The worst was now to come. 明らかにする downward steps in 激しく揺する, 事情に応じて変わる, 天候d slopes, 狭くする 黒人／ボイコット gullies, a thousand 開始s in a maze of broken 石／投石する—these Duane had to descend in 急速な／放蕩な time, 主要な a 巨大（な） of a horse. 弾丸 割れ目d the loose fragments, sent them rolling, slid on the scaly slopes, 急落（する），激減（する）d 負かす／撃墜する the steps, followed like a faithful dog at Duane's heels.
Hours passed as moments. Duane was equal to his 広大な／多数の／重要な 適切な時期. But he could not 鎮圧する that self in him which reached 支援する over the lapse of lonely, searing years and 設立する the boy in him. He who had been worse than dead was now しっかり掴むing at the skirts of life—which meant victory, 栄誉（を受ける）, happiness. Duane knew he was not just 権利 in part of his mind. Small wonder that he was not insane, he thought! He tramped on downward, his marvelous faculty for covering rough ground and 持つ／拘留するing to the true course never before even in flight so keen and 激烈な／緊急の. Yet all the time a spirit was keeping step with him. Thought of Ray Longstreth as he had left her made him weak. But now, with the game （疑いを）晴らす to its end, with the 罠（にかける） to spring, with success strangely haunting him, Duane could not 追い散らす memory of her. He saw her white 直面する, with its 甘い sad lips and the dark 注目する，もくろむs so tender and 悲劇の. And time and distance and 危険 and toil were nothing.
The moon sloped to the west. 影をつくる／尾行するs of trees and crags now crossed to the other 味方する of him. The 星／主役にするs dimmed. Then he was out of the 激しく揺するs, with the 薄暗い 追跡する pale at his feet. 開始するing 弾丸, he made short work of the long slope and the 山のふもとの丘s and the rolling land 主要な 負かす／撃墜する to Ord. The little 無法者 （軍の）野営地，陣営, with its shacks and cabins and 列／漕ぐ／騒動 of houses, lay silent and dark under the paling moon. Duane passed by on the lower 追跡する, 長，率いるd into the road, and put 弾丸 to a gallop. He watched the dying moon, the 病弱なing 星／主役にするs, and the east. He had time to spare, so he saved the horse. Knell would be leaving the rendezvous about the time Duane turned 支援する toward Ord. Between noon and sunset they would 会合，会う.
The night wore on. The moon sank behind low mountains in the west. The 星／主役にするs brightened for a while, then faded. Gray gloom enveloped the world, thickened, lay like smoke over the road. Then shade by shade it lightened, until through the transparent obscurity shone a 薄暗い light.
Duane reached Bradford before 夜明け. He dismounted some distance from the 跡をつけるs, tied his horse, and then crossed over to the 駅／配置する. He heard the clicking of the telegraph 器具, and it thrilled him. An 操作者 sat inside reading. When Duane tapped on the window he looked up with startled ちらりと見ること, then went 速く to 打ち明ける the door.
"Hello. Give me paper and pencil. Quick," whispered Duane.
With trembling 手渡すs the 操作者 従うd. Duane wrote out the message he had carefully composed.
"Send this—repeat it to make sure—then keep mum. I'll see you again. Good-by."
The 操作者 星／主役にするd, but did not speak a word.
Duane left as stealthily and 速く as he had come. He walked his horse a couple miles 支援する on the road and then 残り／休憩（する）d him till break of day. The east began to redden, Duane turned grimly in the direction of Ord.
When Duane swung into the wide, grassy square on the 郊外s of Ord he saw a bunch of saddled horses hitched in 前線 of the tavern. He knew what that meant. Luck still 好意d him. If it would only 持つ／拘留する! But he could ask no more. The 残り／休憩（する） was a 事柄 of how 大いに he could make his 力／強力にする felt. An open 衝突 against 半端物s lay in the balance. That would be 致命的な to him, and to 避ける it he had to 信用 to his 指名する and a presence he must make terrible. He knew 無法者s. He knew what 質s held them. He knew what to 誇張する.
There was not an 無法者 in sight. The dusty horses had covered distance that morning. As Duane dismounted he heard loud, angry 発言する／表明するs inside the tavern. He 除去するd coat and vest, hung them over the 鞍馬. He packed two guns, one belted high on the left hip, the other swinging low on the 権利 味方する. He neither looked nor listened, but boldly 押し進めるd the door and stepped inside.
The big room was 十分な of men, and every 直面する pivoted toward him. Knell's pale 直面する flashed into Duane's swift sight; then Boldt's, then Blossom Kane's, then Panhandle Smith's, then Fletcher's, then others that were familiar, and last that of Poggin. Though Duane had never seen Poggin or heard him 述べるd, he knew him. For he saw a 直面する that was a 記録，記録的な／記録する of 広大な／多数の／重要な and evil 行為s.
There was 絶対の silence. The 無法者s were lined 支援する of a long （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する upon which were papers, stacks of silver coin, a bundle of 法案s, and a 抱擁する gold-機動力のある gun.
"Are you gents lookin' for me?" asked Duane. He gave his 発言する／表明する all the （犯罪の）一味ing 軍隊 and 力／強力にする of which he was 有能な. And he stepped 支援する, 解放する／自由な of anything, with the 無法者s all before him.
Knell stood quivering, but his 直面する might have been a mask. The other 無法者s looked from him to Duane. Jim Fletcher flung up his 手渡すs.
"My Gawd, Dodge, what'd you 破産した／（警察が）手入れする in here fer?" he said, plaintively, and slowly stepped 今後. His 活動／戦闘 was that of a man true to himself. He meant he had been sponsor for Duane and now he would stand by him.
"支援する, Fletcher!" called Duane, and his 発言する／表明する made the 無法者 jump.
"持つ／拘留する on, Dodge, an' you-all, everybody," said Fletcher. "Let me talk, seein' I'm in wrong here."
His 説得／派閥s did not 緩和する the 緊張する.
"Go ahead. Talk," said Poggin.
Fletcher turned to Duane. "Pard, I'm takin' it on myself thet you 会合，会う enemies here when I swore you'd 会合，会う friends. It's my fault. I'll stand by you if you let me."
"No, Jim," replied Duane.
"But what'd you come fer without the signal?" burst out Fletcher, in 苦しめる. He saw nothing but 大災害 in this 会合.
"Jim, I ain't pressin' my company 非，不，無. But when I'm 手配中の，お尋ね者 bad —"
Fletcher stopped him with a raised 手渡す. Then he turned to Poggin with a rude dignity.
"Poggy, he's my pard, an' he's riled. I never told him a word thet'd make him sore. I only said Knell hadn't no more use fer him than fer me. Now, what you say goes in this ギャング（団）. I never failed you in my life. Here's my pard. I vouch fer him. Will you stand fer me? There's goin' to be hell if you don't. An' us with a big 職業 on 手渡す!"
While Fletcher toiled over his slow, earnest 説得／派閥 Duane had his gaze riveted upon Poggin. There was something leonine about Poggin. He was tawny. He 炎d. He seemed beautiful as 解雇する／砲火／射撃 was beautiful. But looked at closer, with ちらりと見ること seeing the physical man, instead of that thing which shone from him, he was of perfect build, with muscles that swelled and rippled, bulging his 着せる／賦与するs, with the magnificent 長，率いる and 直面する of the cruel, 猛烈な／残忍な, tawny-注目する，もくろむd jaguar.
Looking at this strange Poggin, instinctively divining his 異常な and hideous 力／強力にする, Duane had for the first time in his life the inward 地震ing 恐れる of a man. It was like a 冷淡な-tongued bell （犯罪の）一味ing within him and numbing his heart. The old 直感的に 解雇する／砲火／射撃ing of 血 followed, but did not 運動 away that 恐れる. He knew. He felt something here deeper than thought could go. And he hated Poggin.
That individual had been considering Fletcher's 控訴，上告.
"Jim, I 賭け金 up," he said, "an' if Phil doesn't raise us out with a big 手渡す—why, he'll get called, an' your pard can 始める，決める in the game."
Every 注目する，もくろむ 転換d to Knell. He was dead white. He laughed, and any one 審理，公聴会 that laugh would have realized his 激しい 怒り／怒る 平等に with an 保証／確信 which made him master of the 状況／情勢.
"Poggin, you're a gambler, you are—the エース-high, straight-紅潮／摘発する 手渡す of the Big Bend," he said, with stinging 軽蔑（する）. "I'll bet you my roll to a greaser peso that I can 取引，協定 you a 手渡す you'll be afraid to play."
"Phil, you're talkin' wild," growled Poggin, with both advice and menace in his トン.
"If there's anythin' you hate it's a man who pretends to be somebody else when he's not. Thet so?"
Poggin nodded in slow-集会 wrath.
"井戸／弁護士席, Jim's new pard—this man Dodge—he's not who he seems. Oh-売春婦! He's a hell of a lot different. But I know him. An' when I spring his 指名する on you, Poggin, you'll 凍結する to your gizzard. Do you get me? You'll 凍結する, an' your 手渡す'll be stiff when it せねばならない be lightnin' —All because you'll realize you've been standin' there five minutes —five minutes ALIVE before him!"
If not hate, then assuredly 広大な／多数の／重要な passion toward Poggin manifested itself in Knell's scornful, fiery 演説（する）／住所, in the shaking 手渡す he thrust before Poggin's 直面する. In the 続いて起こるing silent pause Knell's panting could be plainly heard. The other men were pale, watchful, 慎重に 辛勝する／優位ing either way to the 塀で囲む, leaving the 主要な／長／主犯s and Duane in the 中心 of the room.
"Spring his 指名する, then, you—" said Poggin, violently, with a 悪口を言う／悪態.
Strangely Knell did not even look at the man he was about to 公然と非難する. He leaned toward Poggin, his 手渡すs, his 団体／死体, his long 長，率いる all somewhat expressive of what his 直面する disguised.
"BUCK DUANE!" he yelled, suddenly.
The 指名する did not make any 広大な／多数の／重要な difference in Poggin. But Knell's 熱烈な, swift utterance carried the suggestion that the 指名する せねばならない bring Poggin to quick 活動／戦闘. It was possible, too, that Knell's manner, the 輸入する of his denunciation the meaning 支援する of all his passion held Poggin bound more than the surprise. For the 無法者 certainly was surprised, perhaps staggered at the idea that he, Poggin, had been about to stand sponsor with Fletcher for a famous 無法者 hated and 恐れるd by all 無法者s.
Knell waited a long moment, and then his 直面する broke its 冷淡な immobility in an 驚くべき／特命の／臨時の 表現 of devilish glee. He had hounded the 広大な／多数の／重要な Poggin into something that gave him vicious, monstrous joy.
"BUCK DUANE! Yes," he broke out, hotly. "The Nueces 銃器携帯者／殺しや! That two-発射, エース-of-spades 孤独な wolf! You an' I—we've heard a thousand times of him—talked about him often. An' here he IN FRONT of you! Poggin, you were backin' Fletcher's new pard, Buck Duane. An' he'd fooled you both but for me. But I know him. An' I know why he drifted in here. To flash a gun on Cheseldine—on you—on me! Bah! Don't tell me he 手配中の，お尋ね者 to join the ギャング（団）. You know a 銃器携帯者／殺しや, for you're one yourself. Don't you always want to kill another man? An' don't you always want to 会合，会う a real man, not a four-紅潮／摘発する? It's the madness of the 銃器携帯者／殺しや, an' I know it. 井戸／弁護士席, Duane 直面するd you—called you! An' when I sprung his 指名する, what ought you have done? What would the boss—anybody—have 推定する／予想するd of Poggin? Did you throw your gun, swift, like you have so often? Naw; you froze. An' why? Because here's a man with the 肉親，親類d of 神経 you'd love to have. Because he's 広大な／多数の／重要な—meetin' us here alone. Because you know he's a wonder with a gun an' you love life. Because you an' I an' every damned man here had to take his 前線, each to himself. If we all drew we'd kill him. Sure! But who's goin' to lead? Who was goin' to be first? Who was goin' to make him draw? Not you, Poggin! You leave that for a lesser man—me —who've lived to see you a coward. It comes once to every 銃器携帯者／殺しや. You've met your match in Buck Duane. An', by God, I'm glad! Here's once I show you up!"
The hoarse, taunting 発言する／表明する failed. Knell stepped 支援する from the comrade he hated. He was wet, shaking, haggard, but magnificent.
"Buck Duane, do you remember Hardin?" he asked, in scarcely audible 発言する／表明する.
"Yes," replied Duane, and a flash of insight made （疑いを）晴らす Knell's 態度.
"You met him—軍隊d him to draw—killed him?"
"Yes."
"Hardin was the best pard I ever had."
His teeth clicked together tight, and his lips 始める，決める in a thin line.
The room grew still. Even breathing 中止するd. The time for words had passed. In that long moment of suspense Knell's 団体／死体 徐々に 強化するd, and at last the quivering 中止するd. He crouched. His 注目する，もくろむs had a soul-piercing 解雇する／砲火／射撃.
Duane watched them. He waited. He caught the thought—the breaking of Knell's muscle-bound rigidity. Then he drew.
Through the smoke of his gun he saw two red spurts of 炎上. Knell's 弾丸s thudded into the 天井. He fell with a 叫び声をあげる like a wild thing in agony.
Duane did not see Knell die. He watched Poggin. And Poggin, like a stricken and astounded man, looked 負かす／撃墜する upon his prostrate comrade.
Fletcher ran at Duane with 手渡すs aloft.
"攻撃する，衝突する the 追跡する, you liar, or you'll hev to kill me!" he yelled.
With 手渡すs still up, he shouldered and 団体／死体d Duane out of the room.
Duane leaped on his horse, spurred, and 急落（する），激減（する）d away.
DUANE returned to Fairdale and （軍の）野営地，陣営d in the mesquite till the twenty-third of the month. The few days seemed endless. All he could think of was that the hour in which he must 不名誉 Ray Longstreth was slowly but inexorably coming. In that waiting time he learned what love was and also 義務. When the day at last 夜明けd he 棒 like one 所有するd 負かす／撃墜する the rough slope, 障害物ing the 石／投石するs and 衝突，墜落ing through the 小衝突, with a sound in his ears that was not all the 急ぐ of the 勝利，勝つd. Something dragged at him.
明らかに one 味方する of his mind was unalterably 直す／買収する，八百長をするd, while the other was a hurrying conglomeration of flashes of thought, 歓迎会 of sensations. He could not get calmness. By and by, almost involuntarily, he hurried faster on. 活動／戦闘 seemed to make his 明言する／公表する いっそう少なく oppressive; it 緩和するd the 負わせる. But the さらに先に he went on the harder it was to continue. Had he turned his 支援する upon love, happiness, perhaps on life itself?
There seemed no use to go on さらに先に until he was 絶対 sure of himself. Duane received a （疑いを）晴らす 警告 thought that such work as seemed haunting and 運動ing him could never be carried out in the mood under which he labored. He hung on to that thought. Several times he slowed up, then stopped, only to go on again. At length, as he 機動力のある a low 山の尾根, Fairdale lay 有望な and green before him not far away, and the sight was a conclusive check. There were mesquites on the 山の尾根, and Duane sought the shade beneath them. It was the noon-hour, with hot, glary sun and no 勝利，勝つd. Here Duane had to have out his fight. Duane was utterly unlike himself; he could not bring the old self 支援する; he was not the same man he once had been. But he could understand why. It was because of Ray Longstreth. 誘惑 攻撃する，非難するd him. To have her his wife! It was impossible. The thought was insidiously alluring. Duane pictured a home. He saw himself riding through the cotton and rice and 茎, home to a stately old mansion, where long-eared hounds bayed him welcome, and a woman looked for him and met him with happy and beautiful smile. There might—there would be children. And something new, strange, confounding with its emotion, （機の）カム to life 深い in Duane's heart. There would be children! Ray their mother! The 肉親，親類d of life a lonely outcast always yearned for and never had! He saw it all, felt it all.
But beyond and above all other （人命などを）奪う，主張するs （機の）カム Captain MacNelly's. It was then there was something 冷淡な and death-like in Duane's soul. For he knew, whatever happened, of one thing he was sure—he would have to kill either Longstreth or Lawson. Longstreth might be 罠にかける into 逮捕（する）; but Lawson had no sense, no 支配（する）／統制する, no 恐れる. He would snarl like a panther and go for his gun, and he would have to be killed. This, of all consummations, was the one to be calculated upon.
Duane （機の）カム out of it all bitter and callous and sore—in the most fitting of moods to 請け負う a difficult and deadly 企業. He had fallen upon his old strange, futile dreams, now （判決などを）下すd poignant by 推論する／理由 of love. He drove away those dreams. In their places （機の）カム the images of the olive-skinned Longstreth with his sharp 注目する，もくろむs, and the dark, evil-直面するd Lawson, and then returned tenfold more thrilling and 悪意のある the old strange passion to 会合，会う Poggin.
It was about one o'clock when Duane 棒 into Fairdale. The streets for the most part were 砂漠d. He went 直接／まっすぐに to find Morton and Zimmer. He 設立する them at length, restless, somber, anxious, but unaware of the part he had played at Ord. They said Longstreth was home, too. It was possible that Longstreth had arrived home in ignorance.
Duane told them to be on 手渡す in town with their men in 事例／患者 he might need them, and then with teeth locked he 始める，決める off for Longstreth's ranch.
Duane stole through the bushes and trees, and when 近づくing the porch he heard loud, angry, familiar 発言する／表明するs. Longstreth and Lawson were quarreling again. How Duane's lucky 星／主役にする guided him! He had no 計画（する） of 活動／戦闘, but his brain was equal to a hundred 雷-swift 進化s. He meant to take any 危険 rather than kill Longstreth. Both of the men were out on the porch. Duane wormed his way to the 辛勝する／優位 of the shrubbery and crouched low to watch for his 適切な時期.
Longstreth looked haggard and thin. He was in his shirt-sleeves, and he had come out with a gun in his 手渡す. This he laid on a （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する 近づく the 塀で囲む. He wore no belt.
Lawson was red, bloated, 厚い-lipped, all fiery and sweaty from drink, though sober on the moment, and he had the 表現 of a desperate man in his last stand. It was his last stand, though he was ignorant of that.
"What's your news? You needn't be afraid of my feelings," said Lawson.
"Ray 自白するd to an 利益／興味 in this 特別奇襲隊員," replied Longstreth.
Duane thought Lawson would choke. He was 厚い-necked anyway, and the 急ぐ of 血 made him 涙／ほころび at the soft collar of his shirt. Duane を待つd his chance, 患者, 冷淡な, all his feelings shut in a vise.
"But why should your daughter 会合，会う this 特別奇襲隊員?" 需要・要求するd Lawson, 厳しく.
"She's in love with him, and he's in love with her."
Duane reveled in Lawson's 条件. The 声明 might have had the 軍隊 of a juggernaut. Was Longstreth sincere? What was his game?
Lawson, finding his 発言する／表明する, 悪口を言う／悪態d Ray, 悪口を言う／悪態d the 特別奇襲隊員, then Longstreth.
"You damned selfish fool!" cried Longstreth, in 深い bitter 軽蔑（する）. "All you think of is yourself—your loss of the girl. Think once of ME —my home—my life!"
Then the 関係 subtly put out by Longstreth 明らかに 夜明けd upon the other. Somehow through this girl her father and cousin were to be betrayed. Duane got that impression, though he could not tell how true it was. Certainly Lawson's jealousy was his 最高位の emotion.
"To hell with you!" burst out Lawson, incoherently. He was frenzied. "I'll have her, or nobody else will!"
"You never will," returned Longstreth, stridently. "So help me God I'd rather see her the 特別奇襲隊員's wife than yours!"
While Lawson 吸収するd that shock Longstreth leaned toward him, all of hate and menace in his mien.
"Lawson, you made me what I am," continued Longstreth. "I 支援するd you —保護物，者d you. YOU'RE Cheseldine—if the truth is told! Now it's ended. I やめる you. I'm done!"
Their gray passion-corded 直面するs were still as 石／投石するs.
"GENTLEMEN!" Duane called in far-reaching 発言する／表明する as he stepped out. "YOU'RE BOTH DONE!"
They wheeled to 直面する Duane.
"Don't move! Not a muscle! Not a finger!" he 警告するd.
Longstreth read what Lawson had not the mind to read. His 直面する turned from gray to ashen.
"What d'ye mean?" yelled Lawson, ひどく, shrilly. It was not in him to obey a 命令（する）, to see 差し迫った death.
All quivering and strung, yet with perfect 支配（する）／統制する, Duane raised his left 手渡す to turn 支援する a lapel of his open vest. The silver 星／主役にする flashed brightly.
Lawson howled like a dog. With barbarous and insane fury, with sheer impotent folly, he swept a clawing 手渡す for his gun. Duane's 発射 broke his 活動／戦闘.
Before Lawson ever tottered, before he loosed the gun, Longstreth leaped behind him, clasped him with left arm, quick as 雷 jerked the gun from both clutching fingers and sheath. Longstreth 保護するd himself with the 団体／死体 of the dead man. Duane saw red flashes, puffs of smoke; he heard quick 報告（する）／憶測s. Something stung his left arm. Then a blow like 勝利，勝つd, light of sound yet shocking in 衝撃, struck him, staggered him. The hot rend of lead followed the blow. Duane's heart seemed to 爆発する, yet his mind kept extraordinarily （疑いを）晴らす and 早い.
Duane heard Longstreth work the 活動／戦闘 of Lawson's gun. He heard the 大打撃を与える click, 落ちる upon empty 爆撃するs. Longstreth had used up all the 負担s in Lawson's gun. He 悪口を言う／悪態d as a man 悪口を言う／悪態d at 敗北・負かす. Duane waited, 冷静な／正味の and sure now. Longstreth tried to 解除する the dead man, to 辛勝する／優位 him closer toward the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する where his own gun lay. But, considering the 危険，危なくする of exposing himself, he 設立する the 仕事 beyond him. He bent peering at Duane under Lawson's arm, which flopped out from his 味方する. Longstreth's 注目する，もくろむs were the 注目する，もくろむs of a man who meant to kill. There was never any mistaking the strange and terrible light of 注目する，もくろむs like those. More than once Duane had a chance to 目的（とする） at them, at the 最高の，を越す of Longstreth's 長，率いる, at a （土地などの）細長い一片 of his 味方する.
Longstreth flung Lawson's 団体／死体 off. But even as it dropped, before Longstreth could leap, as he surely ーするつもりであるd, for the gun, Duane covered him, called piercingly to him:
"Don't jump for the gun! Don't! I'll kill you! Sure as God I'll kill you!"
Longstreth stood perhaps ten feet from the （米）棚上げする／（英）提議する where his gun lay Duane saw him calculating chances. He was game. He had the courage that 軍隊d Duane to 尊敬（する）・点 him. Duane just saw him 手段 the distance to that gun. He was magnificent. He meant to do it. Duane would have to kill him.
"Longstreth, listen," cried Duane, 速く. "The game's up. You're done. But think of your daughter! I'll spare your life—I'll try to get you freedom on one 条件. For her sake! I've got you nailed—all the proofs. There lies Lawson. You're alone. I've Morton and men to my 援助（する）. Give up. 降伏する. 同意 to 需要・要求するs, and I'll spare you. Maybe I can 説得する MacNelly to let you go 解放する／自由な 支援する to your old country. It's for Ray's sake! Her life, perhaps her happiness, can be saved! Hurry, man! Your answer!"
"Suppose I 辞退する?" he queried, with a dark and terrible earnestness.
"Then I'll kill you in your 跡をつけるs! You can't move a 手渡す! Your word or death! Hurry, Longstreth! Be a man! For her sake! Quick! Another second now —I'll kill you!"
"All 権利, Buck Duane, I give my word," he said, and deliberately walked to the 議長，司会を務める and fell into it.
Longstreth looked strangely at the 血まみれの blot on Duane's shoulder.
"There come the girls!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Can you help me drag Lawson inside? They mustn't see him."
Duane was 直面するing 負かす／撃墜する the porch toward the 法廷，裁判所 and corrals. 行方不明になる Longstreth and Ruth had come in sight, were 速く approaching, evidently alarmed. The two men 後継するd in 製図／抽選 Lawson into the house before the girls saw him.
"Duane, you're not hard 攻撃する，衝突する?" said Longstreth.
"Reckon not," replied Duane.
"I'm sorry. If only you could have told me sooner! Lawson, damn him! Always I've 分裂（する） over him!"
"But the last time, Longstreth."
"Yes, and I （機の）カム 近づく 運動ing you to kill me, too. Duane, you talked me out of it. For Ray's sake! She'll be in here in a minute. This'll be harder than 直面するing a gun."
"Hard now. But I hope it'll turn out all 権利."
"Duane, will you do me a 好意?" he asked, and he seemed shamefaced.
"Sure."
"Let Ray and Ruth think Lawson 発射 you. He's dead. It can't 事柄. Duane, the old 味方する of my life is coming 支援する. It's been coming. It'll be here just about when she enters this room. And, by God, I'd change places with Lawson if I could!"
"Glad you—said that, Longstreth," replied Duane. "And sure— Lawson plugged me. It's our secret."
Just then Ray and Ruth entered the room. Duane heard two low cries, so different in トン, and he saw two white 直面するs. Ray （機の）カム to his 味方する, She 解除するd a shaking 手渡す to point at the 血 upon his breast. White and mute, she gazed from that to her father.
"Papa!" cried Ray, wringing her 手渡すs.
"Don't give way," he replied, huskily. "Both you girls will need your 神経. Duane isn't 不正に 傷つける. But Floyd is—is dead. Listen. Let me tell it quick. There's been a fight. It—it was Lawson—it was Lawson's gun that 発射 Duane. Duane let me off. In fact, Ray, he saved me. I'm to divide my 所有物／資産／財産—return so far as possible what I've stolen —leave Texas at once with Duane, under 逮捕（する）. He says maybe he can get MacNelly, the 特別奇襲隊員 captain, to let me go. For your sake!"
She stood there, realizing her deliverance, with the dark and 悲劇の glory of her 注目する，もくろむs passing from her father to Duane.
"You must rise above this," said Duane to her. "I 推定する／予想するd this to 廃虚 you. But your father is alive. He will live it 負かす／撃墜する. I'm sure I can 約束 you he'll be 解放する／自由な. Perhaps 支援する there in Louisiana the dishonor will never be known. This country is far from your old home. And even in San Antonio and.Austin a man's evil repute means little. Then the line between a rustler and a rancher is hard to draw in these wild 国境 days. Rustling is stealing cattle, and I once heard a 井戸／弁護士席-known rancher say that all rich cattlemen had done a little stealing Your father drifted out here, and, like a good many others, he 後継するd. It's perhaps just 同様に not to 分裂（する） hairs, to 裁判官 him by the 法律 and morality of a civilized country. Some way or other he drifted in with bad men. Maybe a 取引，協定 that was honest somehow tied his 手渡すs. This 事柄 of land, water, a few 逸脱する 長，率いる of 在庫／株 had to be decided out of 法廷，裁判所. I'm sure in his 事例／患者 he never realized where he was drifting. Then one thing led to another, until he was 直面する to 直面する with 取引，協定ing that took on crooked form. To 保護する himself he bound men to him. And so the ギャング（団） developed. Many powerful ギャング（団）s have developed that way out here. He could not 支配（する）／統制する them. He became 伴う／関わるd with them. And 結局 their 取引 became deliberately and boldly dishonest. That meant the 必然的な 流出／こぼすing of 血 sooner or later, and so he grew into the leader because he was the strongest. Whatever he is to be 裁判官d for, I think he could have been infinitely worse."
ON the morning of the twenty-sixth Duane 棒 into Bradford in time to catch the 早期に train. His 負傷させるs did not 本気で incapacitate him. Longstreth was with him. And 行方不明になる Longstreth and Ruth Herbert would not be left behind. They were all leaving Fairdale for ever. Longstreth had turned over the whole of his 所有物／資産／財産 to Morton, who was to divide it as he and his comrades believed just. Duane had left Fairdale with his party by night, passed through Sanderson in the 早期に hours of 夜明け, and reached Bradford as he had planned.
That fateful morning 設立する Duane outwardly 静める, but inwardly he was in a tumult. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to 急ぐ to Val Verde. Would Captain MacNelly be there with his 特別奇襲隊員s, as Duane had planned for them to be? Memory of that tawny Poggin returned with strange passion. Duane had borne hours and weeks and months of waiting, had 耐えるd the long hours of the 無法者, but now he had no patience. The whistle of the train made him leap.
It was a 急速な／放蕩な train, yet the ride seemed slow.
Duane, disliking to 直面する Longstreth and the 乗客s in the car, changed his seat to one behind his 囚人. They had seldom spoken. Longstreth sat with 屈服するd 長，率いる, 深い in thought. The girls sat in a seat 近づく by and were pale but composed. Occasionally the train 停止（させる）d 簡潔に at a 駅／配置する. The latter half of that ride Duane had 観察するd a wagon-road running 平行の with the 鉄道／強行採決する, いつかs 権利 と一緒に, at others 近づく or far away. When the train was about twenty miles from Val Verde Duane 遠くに見つけるd a dark group of horsemen trotting eastward. His 血 （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 like a 大打撃を与える at his 寺s. The ギャング（団）! He thought he 認めるd the tawny Poggin and felt a strange inward 収縮過程. He thought he 認めるd the clean-削減（する） Blossom Kane, the 黒人／ボイコット-bearded 巨大（な） Boldt, the red-直面するd Panhandle Smith, and Fletcher. There was another man strange to him. Was that Knell? No! it could not have been Knell.
Duane leaned over the seat and touched Longstreth on the shoulder.
"Look!" he whispered. Cheseldine was stiff. He had already seen.
The train flashed by; the 無法者 ギャング（団） receded out of 範囲 of sight.
"Did you notice Knell wasn't with them?" whispered Duane.
Duane did not speak to Longstreth again till the train stopped at Val Verde.
They got off the car, and the girls followed as 自然に as ordinary 旅行者s. The 駅／配置する was a good 取引，協定 larger than that at Bradford, and there was かなりの 活動／戦闘 and bustle 出来事/事件 to the arrival of the train.
Duane's 広範囲にわたる gaze searched 直面するs, 残り／休憩（する）d upon a man who seemed familiar. This fellow's look, too, was that of one who knew Duane, but was waiting for a 調印する, a cue. Then Duane 認めるd him—MacNelly, clean-shaven. Without mustache he appeared different, younger.
When MacNelly saw that Duane ーするつもりであるd to 迎える／歓迎する him, to 会合，会う him, he hurried 今後. A keen light flashed from his 注目する，もくろむs. He was glad, eager, yet 抑えるing himself, and the ちらりと見ることs he sent 支援する and 前へ／外へ from Duane to Longstreth were 尋問, doubtful. Certainly Longstreth did not look the part of an 無法者.
"Duane! Lord, I'm glad to see you," was the Captain's 迎える／歓迎するing. Then at closer look into Duane's 直面する his warmth fled—something he saw there checked his enthusiasm, or at least its utterance.
"MacNelly, shake 手渡す with Cheseldine," said Duane, low-発言する／表明するd.
The 特別奇襲隊員 captain stood dumb, motionless. But he saw Longstreth's instant 活動／戦闘, and awkwardly he reached for the outstretched 手渡す.
"Any of your men 負かす／撃墜する here?" queried Duane, はっきりと.
"No. They're up-town."
"Come. MacNelly, you walk with him. We've ladies in the party. I'll come behind with them."
They 始める，決める off up-town. Longstreth walked as if he were with friends on the way to dinner. The girls were mute. MacNelly walked like a man in a trance. There was not a word spoken in four 封鎖するs.
Presently Duane 遠くに見つけるd a 石／投石する building on a corner of the 幅の広い street. There was a big 調印する, "Rancher's Bank."
"There's the hotel," said MacNelly. "Some of my men are there. We've scattered around."
They crossed the street, went through office and ロビー, and then Duane asked MacNelly to take them to a 私的な room. Without a word the Captain 従うd. When they were all inside Duane の近くにd the door, and, 製図／抽選 a 深い breath as if of 救済, he 直面するd them calmly.
"行方不明になる Longstreth, you and 行方不明になる Ruth try to make yourselves comfortable now," he said. "And don't be 苦しめるd." Then he turned to his captain. "MacNelly, this girl is the daughter of the man I've brought to you, and this one is his niece."
Then Duane 簡潔に 関係のある Longstreth's story, and, though he did not spare the rustler 長，指導者, he was generous.
"When I went after Longstreth," 結論するd Duane, "it was either to kill him or 申し込む／申し出 him freedom on 条件s. So I chose the latter for his daughter's sake. He has already 性質の／したい気がして of all his 所有物／資産／財産. I believe he'll live up to the 条件s. He's to leave Texas never to return. The 指名する Cheseldine has been a mystery, and now it'll fade."
A few moments later Duane followed MacNelly to a large room, like a hall, and here were men reading and smoking. Duane knew them—特別奇襲隊員s!
MacNelly beckoned to his men.
"Boys, here he is."
"How many men have you?" asked Duane.
"Fifteen."
MacNelly almost embraced Duane, would probably have done so but for the dark grimness that seemed to be coming over the man. Instead he glowed, he sputtered, he tried to talk, to wave his 手渡すs. He was beside himself. And his 特別奇襲隊員s （人が）群がるd closer, eager, like hounds ready to run. They all talked at once, and the word most 重要な and たびたび（訪れる） in their speech was "無法者s."
MacNelly clapped his 握りこぶし in his 手渡す.
"This'll make the adjutant sick with joy. Maybe we won't have it on the 知事! We'll show them about the 特別奇襲隊員 service. Duane! how'd you ever do it?"
"Now, Captain, not the half nor the ４半期/4分の1 of this 職業's done. The ギャング（団）'s coming 負かす／撃墜する the road. I saw them from the train. They'll ride into town on the dot—two-thirty."
"How many?" asked MacNelly.
"Poggin, Blossom Kane, Panhandle Smith, Boldt, Jim Fletcher, and another man I don't know. These are the 選ぶd men of Cheseldine's ギャング（団）. I'll bet they'll be the fastest, hardest bunch you 特別奇襲隊員s ever 直面するd."
"Poggin—that's the hard nut to 割れ目! I've heard their 記録，記録的な／記録するs since I've been in Val Verde. Where's Knell? They say he's a boy, but hell and 炎s!"
"Knell's dead."
"Ah!" exclaimed MacNelly, softly. Then he grew 事務的な, 冷静な／正味の, and of harder 面. "Duane, it's your game to-day. I'm only a 特別奇襲隊員 under orders. We're all under your orders. We've 絶対の 約束 in you. Make your 計画（する） quick, so I can go around and 地位，任命する the boys who're not here."
"You understand there's no sense in trying to 逮捕（する） Poggin, Kane, and that lot?" queried Duane.
"No, I don't understand that," replied MacNelly, bluntly.
"It can't be done. The 減少（する） can't be got on such men. If you 会合，会う them they shoot, and mighty quick and straight. Poggin! That 無法者 has no equal with a gun—unless—He's got to be killed quick. They'll all have to be killed. They're all bad, desperate, know no 恐れる, are 雷 in 活動／戦闘."
"Very 井戸／弁護士席, Duane; then it's a fight. That'll be easier, perhaps. The boys are spoiling for a fight. Out with your 計画（する）, now."
"Put one man at each end of this street, just at the 辛勝する／優位 of town. Let him hide there with a ライフル銃／探して盗む to 封鎖する the escape of any 無法者 that we might fail to get. I had a good look at the bank building. It's 井戸／弁護士席 据えるd for our 目的. Put four men up in that room over the bank—four men, two at each open window. Let them hide till the game begins. They want to be there so in 事例／患者 these foxy 無法者s get wise before they're 負かす／撃墜する on the ground or inside the bank. The 残り／休憩（する） of your men put inside behind the 反対するs, where they'll hide. Now go over to the bank, spring the thing on the bank 公式の／役人s, and don't let them shut up the bank. You want their 援助（する）. Let them make sure of their gold. But the clerks and cashier せねばならない be at their desks or window when Poggin rides up. He'll ちらりと見ること in before he gets 負かす／撃墜する. They make no mistakes, these fellows. We must be slicker than they are, or lose. When you get the bank people wise, send your men over one by one. No hurry, no excitement, no unusual thing to attract notice in the bank."
"All 権利. That's 広大な／多数の／重要な. Tell me, where do you ーするつもりである to wait?"
Duane heard MacNelly's question, and it struck him peculiarly. He had seemed to be planning and speaking mechanically. As he was 直面するd by the fact it nonplussed him somewhat, and he became thoughtful, with lowered 長，率いる.
"Where'll you wait, Duane?" 主張するd MacNelly, with keen 注目する，もくろむs 推測するing.
"I'll wait in 前線, just inside the door," replied Duane, with an 成果／努力.
"Why?" 需要・要求するd the Captain.
"井戸／弁護士席," began Duane, slowly, "Poggin will get 負かす／撃墜する first and start in. But the others won't be far behind. They'll not get swift till inside. The thing is—they MUSTN'T get （疑いを）晴らす inside, because the instant they do they'll pull guns. That means death to somebody. If we can we want to stop them just at the door."
"But will you hide?" asked MacNelly.
"Hide!" The idea had not occurred to Duane.
"There's a wide-open doorway, a sort of 一連の会議、交渉／完成する hall, a vestibule, with steps 主要な up to the bank. There's a door in the vestibule, too. It leads somewhere. We can put men in there. You can be there."
Duane was silent.
"See here, Duane," began MacNelly, nervously. "You shan't take any undue 危険 here. You'll hide with the 残り／休憩（する） of us?"
"No!"The word was wrenched from Duane.
MacNelly 星／主役にするd, and then a strange, comprehending light seemed to flit over his 直面する.
"Duane, I can give you no orders to-day," he said, distinctly. "I'm only 申し込む／申し出ing advice. Need you take any more 危険s? You've done a grand 職業 for the service—already. You've paid me a thousand times for that 容赦. You've redeemed yourself.—The 知事, the adjutant-general— the whole 明言する／公表する will rise up and 栄誉（を受ける） you. The game's almost up. We'll kill these 無法者s, or enough of them to break for ever their 力／強力にする. I say, as a 特別奇襲隊員, need you take more 危険 than your captain?"
Still Duane remained silent. He was locked between two 軍隊s. And one, a tide that was bursting at its bounds, seemed about to 圧倒する him. Finally that 味方する of him, the 退却／保養地ing self, the 女性, 設立する a 発言する／表明する.
"Captain, you want this 職業 to be sure?" he asked.
"Certainly."
"I've told you the way. I alone know the 肉親，親類d of men to be met. Just WHAT I'll do or WHERE I'll be I can't say yet. In 会合s like this the moment decides. But I'll be there!"
MacNelly spread wide his 手渡すs, looked helplessly at his curious and 同情的な 特別奇襲隊員s, and shook his 長，率いる.
"Now you've done your work—laid the 罠（にかける）—is this strange move of yours going to be fair to 行方不明になる Longstreth?" asked MacNelly, in 重要な low 発言する／表明する.
Like a 広大な／多数の／重要な tree chopped at the roots Duane vibrated to that. He looked up as if he had seen a ghost.
Mercilessly the 特別奇襲隊員 captain went on: "You can 勝利，勝つ her, Duane! Oh, you can't fool me. I was wise in a minute. Fight with us from cover—then go 支援する to her. You will have served the Texas 特別奇襲隊員s as no other man has. I'll 受託する your 辞職. You'll be 解放する／自由な, 栄誉（を受ける）d, happy. That girl loves you! I saw it in her 注目する，もくろむs. She's—"
But Duane 削減（する） him short with a 猛烈な／残忍な gesture. He 肺d up to his feet, and the 特別奇襲隊員s fell 支援する. Dark, silent, grim as he had been, still there was a 変形 singularly more 悪意のある, stranger.
"Enough. I'm done," he said, somberly. "I've planned. Do we agree— or shall I 会合，会う Poggin and his ギャング（団） alone?"
MacNelly 悪口を言う／悪態d and again threw up his 手渡すs, this time in baffled chagrin. There was 深い 悔いる in his dark 注目する，もくろむs as they 残り／休憩（する）d upon Duane.
Duane was left alone.
Never had his mind been so quick, so （疑いを）晴らす, so wonderful in its understanding of what had heretofore been intricate and elusive impulses of his strange nature. His 決意 was to 会合，会う Poggin; 会合，会う him before any one else had a chance—Poggin first—and then the others! He was as unalterable in that 決定／判定勝ち（する） as if on the instant of its 受託 he had become 石／投石する.
Why? Then （機の）カム 現実化. He was not a 特別奇襲隊員 now. He cared nothing for the 明言する／公表する. He had no thought of 解放する／自由なing the community of a dangerous 無法者, of ridding the country of an 障害 to its 進歩 and 繁栄. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to kill Poggin. It was 重要な now that he forgot the other 無法者s. He was the 銃器携帯者／殺しや, the gun-投げる人, the gun-闘士，戦闘機, 熱烈な and terrible. His father's 血, that dark and 猛烈な／残忍な 緊張する, his mother's spirit, that strong and unquenchable spirit of the 生き残るing 開拓する— these had been in him; and the 殺人，大当りs, one after another, the wild and haunted years, had made him, 絶対 in spite of his will, the 銃器携帯者／殺しや. He realized it now, 激しく, hopelessly. The thing he had 知能 enough to hate he had become. At last he shuddered under the 運動ing, ruthless 残忍な 血-lust of the 銃器携帯者／殺しや. Long ago he had seemed to 調印（する） in a tomb that horror of his 肉親，親類d—the need, ーするために forget the haunting, sleepless presence of his last 犠牲者, to go out and kill another. But it was still there in his mind, and now it stalked out, worse, more powerful, magnified by its 残り／休憩（する）, augmented by the violent passions peculiar and 必然的な to that strange, wild 製品 of the Texas frontier—the gun-闘士，戦闘機. And those passions were so violent, so raw, so base, so much lower than what せねばならない have 存在するd in a thinking man. Actual pride of his 記録，記録的な／記録する! Actual vanity in his 速度(を上げる） with a gun. Actual jealousy of any 競争相手!
Duane could not believe it. But there he was, without a choice. What he had 恐れるd for years had become a monstrous reality. 尊敬（する）・点 for himself, blindness, a 確かな 栄誉（を受ける） that he had clung to while in outlawry— all, like 規模s, seemed to 落ちる away from him. He stood stripped 明らかにする, his soul naked—the soul of Cain. Always since the first brand had been 軍隊d and 燃やすd upon him he had been 廃虚d. But now with 良心 flayed to the quick, yet utterly 権力のない over this tiger instinct, he was lost. He said it. He 認める it. And at the utter abasement the soul he despised suddenly leaped and quivered with the thought of Ray Longstreth.
Then （機の）カム agony. As he could not 治める／統治する all the chances of this 致命的な 会合—as all his swift and deadly genius must be 占領するd with Poggin, perhaps in vain—as hard-狙撃 men whom he could not watch would be の近くに behind, this almost certainly must be the end of Buck Duane. That did not 事柄. But he loved the girl. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 her. All her sweetness, her 解雇する／砲火／射撃, and pleading returned to 拷問 him.
At that moment the door opened, and Ray Longstreth entered.
"Duane," she said, softly. "Captain MacNelly sent me to you."
"But you shouldn't have come," replied Duane.
"As soon as he told me I would have come whether he wished it or not. You left me—all of us—stunned. I had no time to thank you. Oh, I do-with all my soul. It was noble of you. Father is 打ち勝つ. He didn't 推定する／予想する so much. And he'll be true. But, Duane, I was told to hurry, and here I'm selfishly using time."
"Go, then—and leave me. You mustn't unnerve me now, when there's a desperate game to finish."
"Need it be desperate?" she whispered, coming の近くに to him.
"Yes; it can't be else."
MacNelly had sent her to 弱める him; of that Duane was sure. And he felt that she had 手配中の，お尋ね者 to come. Her 注目する，もくろむs were dark, 緊張するd, beautiful, and they shed a light upon Duane he had never seen before.
"You're going to take some mad 危険," she said. "Let me 説得する you not to. You said—you cared for me—and I—oh, Duane— don't you—know—?"
The low 発言する／表明する, 深い, 甘い as an old chord, 滞るd and broke and failed.
Duane 支えるd a sudden shock and an instant of 麻ひさせるd 混乱 of thought.
She moved, she swept out her 手渡すs, and the wonder of her 注目する，もくろむs dimmed in a flood of 涙／ほころびs.
"My God! You can't care for me?" he cried, hoarsely.
Then she met him, 手渡すs outstretched.
"But I do-I do!"
Swift as light Duane caught her and held her to his breast. He stood 持つ／拘留するing her tight, with the feel of her warm, throbbing breast and the clasp of her 武器 as flesh and 血 realities to fight a terrible 恐れる. He felt her, and for the moment the might of it was stronger than all the demons that 所有するd him. And he held her as if she had been his soul, his strength on earth, his hope of Heaven, against his lips.
The 争い of 疑問 all passed. He 設立する his sight again. And there 急ぐd over him a tide of emotion unutterably 甘い and 十分な, strong like an intoxicating ワイン, 深い as his nature, something glorious and terrible as the 炎 of the sun to one long in 不明瞭. He had become an outcast, a wanderer, a 銃器携帯者／殺しや, a 犠牲者 of circumstances; he had lost and 苦しむd worse than death in that loss; he had gone 負かす／撃墜する the endless 血まみれの 追跡する, a 殺し屋 of men, a 逃亡者／はかないもの whose mind slowly and 必然的に の近くにd to all except the instinct to 生き残る and a 黒人／ボイコット despair; and now, with this woman in his 武器, her swelling breast against his, in this moment almost of resurrection, he bent under the 嵐／襲撃する of passion and joy possible only to him who had 耐えるd so much.
"Do you care—a little?" he whispered, unsteadily.
He bent over her, looking 深い into the dark wet 注目する，もくろむs.
She uttered a low laugh that was half sob, and her 武器 slipped up to his neck.
"A littler Oh, Duane—Duane—a 広大な／多数の／重要な 取引，協定!"
Their lips met in their first kiss. The sweetness, the 解雇する／砲火／射撃 of her mouth seemed so new, so strange, so irresistible to Duane. His sore and hungry heart throbbed with 厚い and 激しい （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域s. He felt the outcast's need of love. And he gave up to the enthralling moment. She met him half-way, returned kiss for kiss, clasp for clasp, her 直面する scarlet, her 注目する，もくろむs の近くにd, till, her passion and strength spent, she fell 支援する upon his shoulder.
Duane suddenly thought she was going to faint. He divined then that she had understood him, would have 否定するd him nothing, not even her life, in that moment. But she was 打ち勝つ, and he 苦しむd a pang of 悔いる at his unrestraint.
Presently she 回復するd, and she drew only the closer, and leaned upon him with her 直面する 上昇傾向d. He felt her 手渡すs on his, and they were soft, 粘着するing, strong, like steel under velvet. He felt the rise and 落ちる, the warmth of her breast. A （軽い）地震 ran over him. He tried to draw 支援する, and if he 後継するd a little her form swayed with him, 圧力（をかける）ing closer. She held her 直面する up, and he was compelled to look. It was wonderful now: white, yet glowing, with the red lips parted, and dark 注目する，もくろむs alluring. But that was not all. There was passion, unquenchable spirit, woman's 解決する 深い and mighty.
"I love you, Duane!" she said. "For my sake don't go out to 会合，会う this 無法者 直面する to 直面する. It's something wild in you. 征服する／打ち勝つ it if you love me."
Duane became suddenly weak, and when he did take her into his 武器 again he scarcely had strength to 解除する her to a seat beside him. She seemed more than a dead 負わせる. Her calmness had fled. She was throbbing, palpitating, quivering, with hot wet cheeks and 武器 that clung to him like vines. She 解除するd her mouth to his, whispering, "Kiss me!" She meant to change him, 持つ／拘留する him.
Duane bent 負かす／撃墜する, and her 武器 went 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck and drew him の近くに. With his lips on hers he seemed to float away. That kiss の近くにd his 注目する，もくろむs, and he could not 解除する his 長，率いる. He sat motionless 持つ／拘留するing her, blind and helpless, wrapped in a 甘い dark glory. She kissed him—one long endless kiss —or else a thousand times. Her lips, her wet cheeks, her hair, the softness, the fragrance of her, the tender clasp of her 武器, the swell of her breast—all these seemed to inclose him.
Duane could not put her from him. He 産する／生じるd to her lips and 武器, watching her, involuntarily returning her caresses, sure now of her 意図, fascinated by the sweetness of her, bewildered, almost lost. This was what it was to be loved by a woman. His years of outlawry had blotted out any boyish love he might have known. This was what he had to give up—all this wonder of her 甘い person, this strange 解雇する／砲火／射撃 he 恐れるd yet loved, this mate his 深い and 拷問d soul 認めるd. Never until that moment had he divined the meaning of a woman to a man. That meaning was physical inasmuch that he learned what beauty was, what marvel in the touch of 生き返らせる flesh; and it was spiritual in that he saw there might have been for him, under happier circumstances, a life of noble 行為s lived for such a woman.
"Don't go! Don't go!" she cried, as he started violently.
"I must. Dear, good-by! Remember I loved your"
He pulled her 手渡すs loose from his, stepped 支援する.
"Ray, dearest—I believe—I'll come 支援する!" he whispered.
These last words were falsehood.
He reached the door, gave her one last piercing ちらりと見ること, to 直す／買収する，八百長をする for ever in memory that white 直面する with its dark, 星／主役にするing, 悲劇の 注目する，もくろむs.
"DUANE!"
He fled with that moan like 雷鳴, death, hell in his ears.
To forget her, to get 支援する his 神経, he 軍隊d into mind the image of Poggin-Poggin, the tawny-haired, the yellow-注目する，もくろむd, like a jaguar, with his rippling muscles. He brought 支援する his sense of the 無法者's wonderful presence, his own unaccountable 恐れる and hate. Yes, Poggin had sent the 冷淡な sickness of 恐れる to his 骨髄. Why, since he hated life so? Poggin was his 最高の 実験（する）. And this 異常な and stupendous instinct, now 深い as the very 創立／基礎 of his life, 需要・要求するd its wild and 致命的な 問題／発行する. There was a horrible thrill in his sudden remembrance that Poggin likewise had been taunted in 恐れる of him.
So the dark tide 圧倒するd Duane, and when he left the room he was 猛烈な／残忍な, implacable, steeled to any 結果, quick like a panther, somber as death, in the thrall of his strange passion.
There was no excitement in the street. He crossed to the bank corner. A clock inside pointed the hour of two. He went through the door into the vestibule, looked around, passed up the steps into the bank. The clerks were at their desks, 明らかに busy. But they showed nervousness. The cashier paled at sight of Duane. There were men—the 特別奇襲隊員s—crouching 負かす／撃墜する behind the low partition. All the windows had been 除去するd from the アイロンをかける grating before the desks. The 安全な was の近くにd. There was no money in sight. A 顧客 （機の）カム in, spoke to the cashier, and was told to come to-morrow.
Duane returned to the door. He could see far 負かす／撃墜する the street, out into the country. There he waited, and minutes were eternities. He saw no person 近づく him; he heard no sound. He was 絶縁するd in his unnatural 緊張する.
At a few minutes before half past two a dark, compact 団体／死体 of horsemen appeared far 負かす／撃墜する, turning into the road. They （機の）カム at a sharp trot—a group that would have attracted attention anywhere at any time. They （機の）カム a little faster as they entered town; then faster still; now they were four 封鎖するs away, now three, now two. Duane 支援するd 負かす／撃墜する the middle of the vestibule, up the steps, and 停止（させる）d in the 中心 of the wide doorway.
There seemed to be a 急ぐing in his ears through which pierced sharp, （犯罪の）一味ing clip-clop of アイロンをかける hoofs. He could see only the corner of the street. But suddenly into that 発射 lean-四肢d dusty bay horses. There was a clattering of nervous hoofs pulled to a 停止（させる）.
Duane saw the tawny Poggin speak to his companions. He dismounted quickly. They followed 控訴. They had the manner of ranchers about to 行為／行う some 商売／仕事. No guns showed. Poggin started leisurely for the bank door, 生き返らせる step a little. The others, の近くに together, （機の）カム behind him. Blossom Kane had a 捕らえる、獲得する in his left 手渡す. Jim Fletcher was left at the 抑制（する）, and he had already gathered up the bridles.
Poggin entered the vestibule first, with Kane on one 味方する, Boldt on the other, a little in his 後部.
As he strode in he saw Duane.
"HELL'S FIRE!" he cried.
Something inside Duane burst, piercing all of him with 冷淡な. Was it that 恐れる?
"BUCK DUANE!" echoed Kane.
One instant Poggin looked up and Duane looked 負かす／撃墜する.
Like a striking jaguar Poggin moved. Almost as quickly Duane threw his arm.
The guns にわか景気d almost together.
Duane felt a blow just before he pulled 誘発する／引き起こす. His thoughts （機の）カム 急速な／放蕩な, like the strange dots before his 注目する，もくろむs. His rising gun had 緩和するd in his 手渡す. Poggin had drawn quicker! A 涙／ほころびing agony encompassed his breast. He pulled—pulled—at 無作為の. 雷鳴 of にわか景気ing 発射s all about him! Red flashes, jets of smoke, shrill yells! He was 沈むing. The end; yes, the end! With fading sight he saw Kane go 負かす／撃墜する, then Boldt. But 最高の 拷問, bitterer than death, Poggin stood, mane like a lion's, 支援する to the 塀で囲む, 血まみれの-直面するd, grand, with his guns spouting red!
All faded, darkened. The 雷鳴 deadened. Duane fell, seemed floating. There it drifted—Ray Longstreth's 甘い 直面する, white, with dark, 悲劇の 注目する，もくろむs, fading from his sight... fading... fading...
LIGHT shone before Duane's 注目する，もくろむs—厚い, strange light that （機の）カム and went. For a long time dull and にわか景気ing sounds 急ぐd by, filling all. It was a dream in which there was nothing; a drifting under a 重荷（を負わせる）; 不明瞭, light, sound, movement; and vague, obscure sense of time—time that was very long. There was 解雇する／砲火／射撃—creeping, 消費するing 解雇する／砲火／射撃. A dark cloud of 炎上 enveloped him, rolled him away.
He saw then, dimly, a room that was strange, strange people moving about over him, with faint 発言する／表明するs, far away, things in a dream. He saw again, 明確に, and consciousness returned, still unreal, still strange, 十分な of those vague and far-away things. Then he was not dead. He lay stiff, like a 石／投石する, with a 負わせる ponderous as a mountain upon him and all his bound 団体／死体 racked in slow, dull-（警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域ing agony.
A woman's 直面する hovered over him, white and 悲劇の-注目する，もくろむd, like one of his old haunting phantoms, yet 甘い and eloquent. Then a man's 直面する bent over him, looked 深い into his 注目する，もくろむs, and seemed to whisper from a distance: "Duane —Duane! Ah, he knew me!"
After that there was another long interval of 不明瞭. When the light （機の）カム again, clearer this time, the same earnest-直面するd man bent over him. It was MacNelly. And with 承認 the past flooded 支援する.
Duane tried to speak. His lips were weak, and he could scarcely move them.
"Poggin!" he whispered. His first real conscious thought was for Poggin. 判決，裁定 passion—eternal instinct!
"Poggin is dead, Duane; 発射 to pieces," replied MacNelly, solemnly. "What a fight he made! He killed two of my men, 負傷させるd others. God! he was a tiger. He used up three guns before we 負かす／撃墜するd him."
"Who-got—away?"
"Fletcher, the man with the horses. We 負かす／撃墜するd all the others. Duane, the 職業's done—it's done! Why, man, you're—"
"What of—of—HER?"
"行方不明になる Longstreth has been almost 絶えず at your 病人の枕元. She helped the doctor. She watched your 負傷させるs. And, Duane, the other night, when you sank low—so low—I think it was her spirit that held yours 支援する. Oh, she's a wonderful girl. Duane, she never gave up, never lost her 神経 for a moment. 井戸／弁護士席, we're going to take you home, and she'll go with us. 陸軍大佐 Longstreth left for Louisiana 権利 after the fight. I advised it. There was 広大な／多数の／重要な excitement. It was best for him to leave."
"Have I—a—chance—to 回復する?"
"Chance? Why, man," exclaimed the Captain, "you'll get 井戸／弁護士席! You'll pack a sight of lead all your life. But you can stand that. Duane, the whole 南西 knows your story. You need never again be ashamed of the 指名する Buck Duane. The brand 無法者 is washed out. Texas believes you've been a secret 特別奇襲隊員 all the time. You're a hero. And now think of home, your mother, of this noble girl—of your 未来."
The 特別奇襲隊員s took Duane home to Wellston.
A 鉄道／強行採決する had been built since Duane had gone into 追放する. Wellston had grown. A noisy （人が）群がる surrounded the 駅／配置する, but it stilled as Duane was carried from the train.
A sea of 直面するs 圧力（をかける）d の近くに. Some were 直面するs he remembered— schoolmates, friends, old neighbors. There was an upflinging of many 手渡すs. Duane was 存在 welcomed home to the town from which he had fled. A deadness within him broke. This welcome 傷つける him somehow, quickened him; and through his 冷淡な 存在, his 疲れた／うんざりした mind, passed a change. His sight dimmed.
Then there was a white house, his old home. How strange, yet how real! His heart （警官の）巡回区域，受持ち区域 急速な／放蕩な. Had so many, many years passed? Familiar yet strange it was, and all seemed magnified.
They carried him in, these 特別奇襲隊員 comrades, and laid him 負かす／撃墜する, and 解除するd his 長，率いる upon pillows. The house was still, though 十分な of people. Duane's gaze sought the open door.
Some one entered—a tall girl in white, with dark, wet 注目する，もくろむs and a light upon her 直面する. She was 主要な an old lady, gray-haired, 厳格な，質素な-直面するd, somber and sad. His mother! She was feeble, but she walked 築く. She was pale, shaking, yet 持続するd her dignity.
The some one in white uttered a low cry and knelt by Duane's bed. His mother flung wide her 武器 with a strange gesture.
"This man! They've not brought 支援する my boy. This man's his father! Where is my son? My son—oh, my son!"
When Duane grew stronger it was a 楽しみ to 嘘（をつく） by the west window and watch Uncle Jim whittle his stick and listen to his talk. The old man was broken now. He told many 利益／興味ing things about people Duane had known —people who had grown up and married, failed, 後継するd, gone away, and died. But it was hard to keep Uncle Jim off the 支配する of guns, 無法者s, fights. He could not seem to divine how について言及する of these things 傷つける Duane. Uncle Jim was childish now, and he had a 広大な／多数の／重要な pride in his 甥. He 手配中の，お尋ね者 to hear of all of Duane's 追放する. And if there was one thing more than another that pleased him it was to talk about the 弾丸s which Duane carried in his 団体／死体.
"Five 弾丸s, ain't it?" he asked, for the hundredth time.
"Five in that last 捨てる! By gum! And you had six before?"
"Yes, uncle," replied Duane.
"Five and six. That makes eleven. By gum! A man's a man, to carry all that lead. But, Buck, you could carry more. There's that nigger Edwards, 権利 here in Wellston. He's got a トン of 弾丸s in him. Doesn't seem to mind them 非，不，無. And there's Cole Miller. I've seen him. Been a bad man in his day. They say he packs twenty-three 弾丸s. But he's bigger than you—got more flesh... Funny, wasn't it, Buck, about the doctor only bein' able to 削減（する） one 弾丸 out of you—that one in your breastbone? It was a forty-one caliber, an unusual cartridge. I saw it, and I 手配中の，お尋ね者 it, but 行方不明になる Longstreth wouldn't part with it. Buck, there was a 弾丸 left in one of Poggin's guns, and that 弾丸 was the same 肉親，親類d as the one 削減（する） out of you. By gum! Boy, it'd have killed you if it'd stayed there."
"It would indeed, uncle," replied Duane, and the old, haunting, somber mood returned.
But Duane was not often at the mercy of childish old hero-worshiping Uncle Jim. 行方不明になる Longstreth was the only person who seemed to divine Duane's 暗い／優うつな mood, and when she was with him she 区d off all suggestion.
One afternoon, while she was there at the west window, a message （機の）カム for him. They read it together.
You have saved the 特別奇襲隊員 service to the 孤独な 星／主役にする 明言する／公表する
MACNELLEY.
Ray knelt beside him at the window, and he believed she meant to speak then of the thing they had shunned. Her 直面する was still white, but sweeter now, warm with rich life beneath the marble; and her dark 注目する，もくろむs were still 意図, still haunted by 影をつくる／尾行するs, but no longer 悲劇の.
"I'm glad for MacNelly's sake 同様に as the 明言する／公表する's," said Duane.
She made no reply to that and seemed to be thinking 深く，強烈に. Duane shrank a little.
"The 苦痛—Is it any worse to-day?" she asked, 即時に.
"No; it's the same. It will always be the same. I'm 十分な of lead, you know. But I don't mind a little 苦痛."
"Then—it's the old mood—the 恐れる?" she whispered. "Tell me."
"Yes. It haunts me. I'll be 井戸／弁護士席 soon—able to go out. Then that —that hell will come 支援する!"
"No, no!" she said, with emotion.
"Some drunken cowboy, some fool with a gun, will 追跡（する） me out in every town, wherever I go," he went on, miserably. "Buck Duane! To kill Buck Duane!"
"Hush! Don't speak so. Listen. You remember that day in Val Verde, when I （機の）カム to you—嘆願d with you not to 会合，会う Poggin? Oh, that was a terrible hour for me. But it showed me the truth. I saw the struggle between your passion to kill and your love for me. I could have saved you then had I known what I know now. Now I understand that—that thing which haunts you. But you'll never have to draw again. You'll never have to kill another man, thank God!"
Like a 溺死するing man he would have しっかり掴むd at straws, but he could not 発言する／表明する his 熱烈な query.
She put tender 武器 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck. "Because you'll have me with you always," she replied. "Because always I shall be between you and that— that terrible thing."
It seemed with the spoken thought 絶対の 保証／確信 of her 力／強力にする （機の）カム to her. Duane realized 即時に that he was in the 武器 of a stronger woman that she who had 嘆願d with him that 致命的な day.
"We'll—we'll be married and leave Texas," she said, softly, with the red 血 rising rich and dark in her cheeks.
"Ray!"
"Yes we will, though you're laggard in asking me, sir."
"But, dear—suppose," he replied, huskily, "suppose there might be —be children—a boy. A boy with his father's 血!"
"I pray God there will be. I do not 恐れる what you 恐れる. But even so —he'll be half my 血."
Duane felt the 嵐／襲撃する rise and break in him. And his terror was that of joy 鎮圧するing 恐れる. The 向こうずねing glory of love in this woman's 注目する，もくろむs made him weak as a child. How could she love him—how could she so bravely 直面する a 未来 with him? Yet she held him in her 武器, twining her 手渡すs 一連の会議、交渉／完成する his neck, and 圧力（をかける）ing の近くに to him. Her 約束 and love and beauty—these she meant to throw between him and all that terrible past. They were her 力／強力にする, and she meant to use them all. He dared not think of 受託するing her sacrifice.
"But Ray—you dear, noble girl—I'm poor. I have nothing. And I'm a 手足を不自由にする／（物事を）損なう."
"Oh, you'll be 井戸／弁護士席 some day," she replied. "And listen. I have money. My mother left me 井戸／弁護士席 off. All she had was her father's—Do you understand? We'll take Uncle Jim and your mother. We'll go to Louisiana —to my old home. It's far from here. There's a 農園 to work. There are horses and cattle—a 広大な／多数の／重要な cypress forest to 削減（する）. Oh, you'll have much to do. You'll forget there. You'll learn to love my home. It's a beautiful old place. There are groves where the gray moss blows all day and the nightingales sing all night."
"My darling!" cried Duane, brokenly. "No, no, no!"
Yet he knew in his heart that he was 産する／生じるing to her, that he could not resist her a moment longer. What was this madness of love?
"We'll be happy," she whispered. "Oh, I know. Come!—come!-come!"
Her 注目する，もくろむs were の近くにing, 激しい-lidded, and she 解除するd 甘い, tremulous, waiting lips.
With bursting heart Duane bent to them. Then he held her, の近くに 圧力（をかける）d to him, while with 薄暗い 注目する，もくろむs he looked out over the line of low hills in the west, 負かす／撃墜する where the sun was setting gold and red, 負かす／撃墜する over the Nueces and the wild ブレーキs of the Rio Grande which he was never to see again.
It was in this solemn and exalted moment that Duane 受託するd happiness and 直面するd a new life, 信用ing this 勇敢に立ち向かう and tender woman to be stronger than the dark and fateful passion that had 影をつくる／尾行するd his past.
It would come 支援する—that 勝利，勝つd of 炎上, that madness to forget, that 運動ing, relentless instinct for 血. It would come 支援する with those pale, drifting, haunting 直面するs and the 告発する／非難するing fading 注目する，もくろむs, but all his life, always between them and him, （判決などを）下すing them 権力のない, would be the 約束 and love and beauty of this noble woman.
All-Story 週刊誌, May 9, 1914, with first part of "The Texas 特別奇襲隊員s"
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