know him more'n to merely drink with at that eepock, an' he's that
sly an' furtive in his plays, an' covers his trails so speshul, he
nacherally breeds sech suspicions that when the stage begins to be
stood up reg'lar once a week, an' all onaccountable, Cherokee comes
mighty close to culminatin' in a rope. Which goes to show that you
can't be too open an' free in your game, an' Cherokee would tell you
so himse'f.

"This yere tangle I'm thinkin' of ain't more'n a month after
Cherokee takes to residin' in Wolfville. He comes trailin' in one
evenin' from Tucson, an' onfolds a layout an' goes to turnin' faro-
bank in the Red Light. No one remarks this partic'lar, which said
spectacles is frequent. The general idee is that Cherokee's on the
squar' an' his game is straight, an' of course public interest don't
delve no further into his affairs.

"Cherokee, himse'f, is one of these yere slim, silent people who
ain't talkin' much, an' his eye for color is one of them raw grays,
like a new bowie.

"It's perhaps the third day when Cherokee begins to struggle into
public notice. Thar's a felon whose name is Boone, but who calls
himse'f the 'Stingin' Lizard,' an' who's been pesterin' 'round
Wolfville, mebby, it's a month. This yere Stingin' Lizard is thar
when Cherokee comes into camp; an' it looks like the Stingin' Lizard
takes a notion ag'in Cherokee from the jump.

"Not that this yere Lizard is likely to control public feelin' in
the matter; none whatever. He's some onpop'lar himself. He's too
toomultuous for one thing, an' he has a habit of molestin' towerists