* * * * *




The Odds




"If he comes my way, I'll shoot him!" said Dot Burton, her blue eyes
gleaming in her boyish, tanned face. "I'm not such a bad shot, am I,
Jack?"

"Not so bad," said Jack, kindly. "But don't shoot at sight, or p'r'aps
you'll shoot a policeman--which might be awkward for us both!"

"As if I should be such an idiot as that!" protested Dot. "I wasn't born
yesterday, anyhow."

"No?" said Jack. "Somehow you look as if you were."

"Don't you be a donkey, Jack!" said his young sister, with an impudent
snap of the fingers under his nose. "Being ten years older than I am
doesn't qualify you for that superior pose. You're only a man, you know,
after all."

"Buckskin Bill is only a man, but he's a pretty tough proposition," said
Burton, with a frown.