"What's he doin' to that rabbit?" Allen flashed a glance at him and then seemed to busy himself studying the lay of the land immediately surrounding the guard. Momentarily silenced by what he saw in the outlaw's face, Snoots aroused himself when he saw Allen start to crawl off to the right. "Let me go; I'm bigger. I can take him silently," Snoots murmured. "He ain't goin' to be took prisoner!" Before Snoots could voice a further objection, Allen had crawled silently and as rapidly as a lizard behind a projecting rock and vanished. Snoots stared stupidly at the rock a moment and then covered the man on guard with his rifle. Twenty minutes later, they rejoined the other men. Making their way to the south of the gully, they rode silently to another break in the valley that led to an obvious cul-de-sac. Concealing their ponies there, they reached points of vantage above the valley and studied the terrain before them. About a half mile to their right, and almost in the center of the valley, were two rough huts, in front of which stood several saddled horses. About the same distance to their left, three other horsemen were driving several hundred cows toward the hut. Midway between these, there was a lone man on a buckskin pony heading for the gully Snoots and Allen had just left. "He's goin' to relieve the guard," Snoots said. "He's goin' to join the guard," Allen laughed. Then he added: "Yuh boys stay put an' let 'em all get in afore yuh starts shootin'." Before any one could raise any objection, he vanished, and presently they saw him advance coolly toward the lone rider. "I dunno, but I'm sayin' I'm plumb tickled that I ain't ridin' a buckskin hoss, 'cause that little runt is sure mad an' awful homicidal. "I ain't sayin' that guard wasn't treatin' that rabbit scandalous, but after Allen knifed him an' he's coughin' blood, Allen don't pay no attention, but looks broodin'like at that bunny. An' when he picks it up an' sees that its leg is broke, he goes white, an' I'll swear there is tears in his eyes when he regretfully uses his sticker to end its misery." Snoots stopped, took a chew of tobacco, and then added reflectively: "Damn a knife, I say; it sure ain't no white man's weapon. Yet, I dunno. Some one had to stop that feller from yappin', an' a shot would sure have mussed up our plans. But he ought to have paid more attention to the feller he knifed than to the rabbit." "Sure, he ought to have begged his pardon for stickin' him," Flat-foot scoffed. "Aw, shut up!" Slivers growled. They sank into silence and watched Allen ride directly toward the man on the buckskin, until he was within two hundred yards. The little outlaw made no effort at concealment, but suddenly swung his pony and headed toward the ranch house. The man on the buckskin fired two shots and then started in pursuit. At the sound of the reports, several men ran from the hut, threw themselves on their ponies, and started to cut off Allen, now circling to the left.