slapping his knee in a perfect ecstasy of delight.

The curtains dropped and the face disappeared.

The sergeant fingered the gun and Cahill folded his arms defiantly.

"Well?" he said.

"Well?" asked the sergeant.

"I should think you could see how it is," said Cahill, "without my
having to tell you."

"You mean you don't want she should know?"

"My God, no! Not even that I kept a bar."

"Well, I don't know nothing. I don't mean to tell nothing, anyway, so
if you'll promise to be good I'll call this off."

For the first time in the history of Fort Crockett, Cahill was seen
to smile. "May I reach under the counter NOW?" he asked.

The sergeant grinned appreciatively, and shifted his gun. "Yes, but
I'll keep this out until I'm sure it's a bottle," he said, and
laughed boisterously.

For an instant, under the cover of the counter, Cahill's hand touched
longingly upon the gun that lay there, and then passed on to the
bottle beside it. He drew it forth, and there was the clink of