"Ask him," answered the Texan grimly, "you an' him will be close neighbours--wherever you're goin'." Inadvertently the Texan leaned a little to one side, as he shifted his position. There was a quick report, and a bullet tore through a loose fold of his shirt sleeve. "Pretty fair shootin', Purdy," he drawled, "little bit wide--you'd have nicked me if you'd held in against the rock." So intently did each man watch the other that neither noted the four men who approached stealthily from rock to rock and finally crouched behind an irregular buttress of rock only a short pistol shot away. Their vantage point did not permit any view of the man who had been knocked down by the galloping horse nor of the contestants themselves, but the exchange of shots could be followed with ease and accuracy. Cass Grimshaw nudged Endicott and pointed to the bodies of the outlaws: "He got two," he whispered, with grim approval. "An' he got 'em right out in the open. They must have seen him comin' an' laid for him before he got to their hang-out." "Hey, Tex," called Purdy after a long interval, "we ain't goin' to git one another peckin' away like this behind these rocks." "No--_we_ ain't goin' to git _one another_--but _I'm_ goin' to get _you_--like that!" He fired as he spoke and his bullet chipped the rock and tore through Purdy's hat brim. "Missed, By Grab! But, that pays up for puttin' a hole in my shirt. You was a fool for fallin' for that old gag I put over on you!" "An' I wouldn't of fell fer it neither, if it hadn't of be'n fer luck--you outlucked me--if you'd of said anyone else except Cass, I wouldn't of fell fer it." "That wasn't luck, Purdy--that was brains. If I figured on murderin' a man tonight--an' he knew it--do you suppose I wouldn't jump quick if I thought he was sneakin' up behind me with a gun? You bet I would!" "Murderin'!" Purdy's voice sounded shrill with a quavering note of fear. "What--what do you mean--murderin'?" "Why, I run across Cass awhile back. I told him I was huntin' you an' he said I'd find you an' three more over here. Said you an' them had planned to bump him an' Bill Harlow off tonight, an' you was busy arrangin' the details. He wanted to come along--him an' Bill--but I told him they wasn't no use--if they was only you an' three more like you, I could handle you myself. Him an' Bill are goin' to ride over after awhile an' see if I need any help--but I don't do I, Purdy?" The Texan's words were drowned in a perfect tirade of curses. Purdy's voice was shrill with fear. "I've be'n double-crossed! It's a lie! Everyone's agin me! I ain't never had no show!" The voice trailed off in a whine. A few moments of silence followed, and then above the edge of Purdy's rock appeared a white handkerchief tied to the end of a gun-barrel. Taking careful aim, the Texan fired. The white flag disappeared and the gun struck the rocks with a ring of steel. "You shot at a white flag!" screamed Purdy.