Then silence--complete. Jim-twin Allen stood staring through the swirling smoke--stared. With a cry he ran forward. Jack Allen lay in a crumpled heap against the wall. Swiftly Jim examined him and gave a cry of relief when he saw that his brother was only creased. A bullet had made a slight furrow across the top of the sheriff's head. Slowly the Wolf rose to his feet and faced the men who were crawling out from behind the bar, from beneath tables. As he stood there he pressed fresh shells into his guns and then dropped them back into their holsters. "Jack ain't hurt bad. When he comes to, I want you gents to tell him somethin'. The Blue Sky Mine ain't no good--Baldy was gettin' his ore by stealin' from other mines. Steve Brandon was in it; so was Bill Tucker an' a gent in Black Rock, called Ed Tucker--reckon he was Bill's brother. Tucker an' Brandon gets scared of Baldy an' sends for Jack. They fixes things so that Jack will tackle Baldy an' rub him out. They has men waitin' to get Jack, so he can't dig no deeper an' mebbe go after them!" Murmurs swept the crowd--a surge of resentment against such treachery. Then the murmurs died away and the men stared past Jim Allen. He turned and saw that Jack had struggled to his feet and was leaning weakly against the wall. "These here folks will tell yuh all about it. So long, Jack!" Jim Allen cried and moved slowly toward the door. "Come back here! Yuh're goin' to jail for robbin' the United States mail!" Jack was covering Jim with a big Colt. Jim stared at him and then shook his head and laughed. "Yuh're sure game, darn yuh! I've purty near filled your jail with crooks, an' left the evidence on the office desk, so everythin' is legal and plumb accordin' to law!" Jim laughed and took a step backward. "Darn yuh! Stop!" Jack ordered. Then he added: "Hell! what's the use? Yuh know my gun is empty!" Jim Allen turned, and the crowd opened to let him pass. Several hours later that night two riders were traveling across the desert, headed due south. As they went they sang: "He's neither rich nor handsome, Unlike the city dude----" Suddenly one of them broke off and laughed. "Slivers, I'm sure glad to have met yuh--'cause you're the first man I ever knowed what sings worse than me!" "If I does, yuh can shoot me!" "Kid, we'll sure fix up that mess of yours down in Texas. Yuh figger that gal is still waitin' for yuh?" "Yeh." The two rode for a while in silence. "Yuh know Jack is sure strong for the law. Hell, I wish I knew if that gun of his was really empty!" CHAPTER XVIII THE LONG TRAIL Jim Allen and his companion kept their horses at a gallop for a mile or so, then realizing there was no pursuit, they pulled them down to a fast walk. "That's the seventh town, since we hit New Mex, that we had to leave suddenlike," Slivers growled. Jim-twin Allen started singing: