Hastily David passed in review the various reasons why Dargin should come thus to lie in wait for him. There were two and possibly three; all of them warlike if Dargin chose to hold them so: the attempt to abate the man-traps, the attempt to persuade Judith Fallon to leave Powder Can, and for the third, the assumption that Dargin was in a partnership of some sort with Lushing. In the new recklessness which had come to him with the other transformations, he attacked the reasons boldly in their order. “You’ve got a kick coming, Dargin, if you want to make it,” he began brusquely. “I’m out to wipe your Powder Can speak-easys off the map if I can swing the big stick hard enough.” “I was onto that a month ago,” was the growling answer. Then, after a deep pull at the fragrant cigar: “I reckon they ought to be wiped out--though that ain’t sayin’ that I wouldn’t take a crack at the man that did it when it came to a show-down.” “If you think the place ought to be cleaned up, why don’t you do it yourself?” David shot back. “Huh! Maybe I will, some day--if you don’t beat me to it.” “But if I should beat you to it, I suppose you’ll come after me with a gun. Is that the way of it?” The shadow that flitted across the swarthy face of the man on the opposite bunk was scarcely a smile, though possibly it was intended for one. “I might; but it’d be a heap like takin’ candy from a baby. You ain’t been carryin’ a gun long enough to get the hang of it. You’re a whole lot too slow to make it interestin’.” “All right,” said David; “we’ll pass that up. The next thing may get a bit nearer to you. Judith Fallon has doubtless told you that she knew me back East, and that we went to school together and were good friends?” “Uh-huh.” “But perhaps she hasn’t told you that I have tried to persuade her to break off with you and leave Powder Can?” “No; she ain’t told me anything like that.” “Well, it’s so; I did it.” “What for?” “For common decency’s sake. If you admit that the mining-camp dives ought to be wiped out, you’ll also have to admit the facts concerning that girl. I know you’ve been befriending her honestly--the only mistake you made was in not putting a bullet through Tom Judson before you turned him loose--but you must know that a man of your stripe can’t befriend any woman without making her pay the penalty.” “A man of my stripe, eh?--well, I reckon that’s so, too.” “Then you are not here to pick a quarrel with me over Judith?” “Hell, no; not in a thousand years!” “Then what did you come for? Did Lushing send you?” “Jim Lushing? He can’t send me nowhere. He ain’t got the insides.” David Vallory had reached the end of his resources. There was apparently nothing for it but to wait patiently until Dargin was ready to disclose the object of the midnight visit; and he seemed to be in no manner of haste.