clutched at her breast for an instant, and her color ebbed till
her lips were ashen, but her neighbor across the aisle noticed
that her eyes were steady and her figure tense.

"Scared stiff, but game," was his mental comment.

"Gents to the right and ladies to the left; line up against the
walls; everybody waltz." called the man behind the guns, with
grim humor.

The passengers fell into line as directed, Collins with the rest.

"You're calling this dance, son; it's your say-so, I guess," he
conceded.

"Keep still, or I'll shoot you full of holes," growled the
autocrat of the artillery.

"Why, sure! Ain't you the real thing in Jesse Jameses?" soothed
the sheriff.

At the sound of Collins' voice, the masked man had started
perceptibly, and his right hand had jumped forward an inch or two
to cover the speaker more definitely. Thereafter, no matter what
else engaged his attention, the gleaming eyes behind the red
bandanna never wandered for a moment from the big plainsman. He
was taking no risks, for he remembered the saying current in
Arizona, that after Collins' hardware got into action there was
nothing left to do but plant the deceased and collect the
insurance. He had personal reasons to know the fundamental