The skitter of the roulette balls sounded with painful distinctness; and drunken men, wrangling in an uproar, heard their voices break through and rise high in the sudden silence. Texans were rare in Geronimo, they almost never came there, and especially in the heat of summer; and these swashbucklers from Tonto were known for what they were, though their purpose that night was still a mystery. All the Arizonans knew was that they were out to make trouble--Hall knew they had come to get him. They called for the drinks and then scattered through the room, some watching the crap-games, others losing a dollar at roulette, but gradually closing in. A hand, coming from nowhere, reached out to steal his pistol; another man jostled him from behind, but as the gang surged towards him Hall slipped between two tables and stood with his back to the wall. There was a pause, in which crap dealers slid down softly beneath their tables and the rest of the assembly stood frozen, and then Hall spoke to the nearest of the gang. "What can I do for you, my friend?" he asked with deceptive quietness, and the nerve of the Texan broke. "Have a drink!" he guffawed, turning and heading for the bar; but Burge Masters stepped out in his place. "We want you," he said, "and you might as well come quietly. If you don't----" "I won't come," stated Hall. There was another pause, and the crowd by the door suddenly ducked and charged out into the street; then, after an interval, another crowd surged in, and in the lead strode Wahoo Meshackatee. He had a gun in each hand and when he saw the Texans he started, then glanced inquiringly at McIvor. "Well, hello!" he exclaimed, "what's going on here, anyhow? Have I broke in on a little family party?" Burge Masters turned his head but he did not speak and his men began to shuffle away. "Oh, nothing much," he mumbled, and Meshackatee beckoned to Hall, then held up his hand to the bar-keeper. "Have a drink, boys," he said. "Your faces seem familiar. Long time since I've seen a live Texan." They looked at him and winced, for they knew what he meant, and suddenly all the fight went out them. "Well," grumbled Masters, and they drank in stony silence then turned and filed out of the door. CHAPTER XXVII WINCHESTER TAKES THE LONG CHANCE "What you doing down here?" demanded Meshackatee of Hall as soon as he could draw him aside. "And what was that--a Horse-thieves' Reunion?" "Those are Scarborough gunmen," answered Hall behind his hand. "We're lucky to get off alive." "_You're_ lucky," corrected Meshackatee. "But say, have you seen Winchester? The rascal is down here, somewhere." "Let's find him!" exclaimed Hall, and started for the door, but Meshackatee drew him back. "Keep inside," he advised. "Them Teehannos will pot you if you show yourself in the door. Leave 'im alone--I ain't worried about Winchester."