There was a clangor of metal at the farthest end of the room. Larrimer's gun had rattled on the boards, unfired. He tossed up his great gaunt arms as though he were appealing for help, leaped into the air, and fell heavily, with a force that vibrated the floor where Terry stood. There was one heartbeat of silence. Then Terry shoved the gun slowly back into his holster and walked to the body of Larrimer. To these things Bill, the storekeeper, and Jack Baldwin, the rancher, afterward swore. That young Black Jack leaned a little over the corpse and then straightened and touched the fallen hand with the toe of his boot. Then he turned upon them a perfectly calm, unemotional look. "I seem to have been elected to do the scavenger work in this town," he said. "But I'm going to leave it to you gentlemen to take the carrion away. Shorty, I'm going back to the house. Are you ready to ride that way?" When they went to the body of Larrimer afterward, they found a neat, circular splotch of purple exactly placed between the eyes. CHAPTER 31 The first thing the people in Pollard's big house knew of the return of the two was a voice singing faintly and far off in the stable--they could hear it because the door to the big living room was opened. And Kate Pollard, who had been sitting idly at the piano, stood up suddenly and looked around her. It did not interrupt the crap game of the four at one side of the room, where they kneeled in a close circle. But it brought big Pollard himself to the door in time to meet Denver Pete as the latter hurried in. When Denver was excited he talked very nearly as softly as he walked. And his voice tonight was like a contented humming. "It worked," was all he said aside to Pollard as he came through the door. They exchanged silent grips of the hands. Then Kate drew down on them; as if a mysterious; signal had been passed to them by the subdued entrance of Denver, the four rose at the side of the room. It was Pollard who forced him to talk. "What happened?" "A pretty little party," said Denver. His purring voice was so soft that to hear him the others instantly drew close. Kate Pollard stood suddenly before him. "Terry Hollis has done something," she said. "Denver, what has he done?" "Him? Nothing much. To put it in his own words, he's just played scavenger for the town--and he's done it in a way they won't be forgetting for a good long day. "Denver!" "Well? No need of acting up, Kate." "Who was it?" "Ever meet young Larrimer?" She shuddered. "Yes. A--beast of a man." "Sure. Worse'n a beast, maybe. Well, he's carrion now, to use Terry's words again." "Wait a minute," cut in big blond Phil Marvin. Don't spoil the story for Terry. But did he really do for Larrimer? Larrimer was a neat one with a gun--no good otherwise."