table, but was crouched, listening like an animal to the shouts that were
coming from a safe distance down in the gulch. Cutler, outside of the
window, could not see the face of Toussaint, but he saw one long brown
hand sliding up and down the man's leg, and its movement put him in mind
of the tail of a cat. The hand stopped to pull out a pistol, into which
fresh cartridges were slipped. Cutler had already done this same thing
after dismounting, and he now felt confident that his weapon needed no
further examination. He did not put his hand to his holster. The figure
rose from the table, and crossed the room to a set of shelves in front of
which hung a little yellow curtain. Behind it were cups, cans, bottles, a
pistol, counters, red, white, and blue, and two fresh packs of cards,
blue and pink, side by side. Seeing these, Toussaint drew a handkerchief
from his pocket, and unwrapped two further packs, both blue; and at this
Cutler's intent face grew into plain shape close to the window, but
receded again into uncertain dimness. From down in the gulch came shouts
that the runaway horse was captured. Toussaint listened, ran to the door,
and quickly returning, put the blue pack from the shelf into his pocket,
leaving in exchange one of his own. He hesitated about altering the
position of the cards on the shelf, but Kelley and Loomis were
unobservant young men, and the half-breed placed the pink cards on top of
his blue ones. The little yellow curtain again hung innocently over the
shelves, and Toussaint, pouring himself a drink of whiskey, faced round,
and for the first time saw the window that had been behind his back. He
was at it in an instant, wrenching its rusty pin, that did not give, but
stuck motionless in the wood. Cursing, he turned and hurried out of the
door and round the cabin. No one was there. Some hundred yards away the
noiseless Cutler crawled farther among the thickets that filled the head
of the gulch. Toussaint whipped out a match, and had it against his
trousers to strike and look if there were footprints, when second
thoughts warned him this might be seen, and was not worth risking