Ellhorn returned to Las Plumas for his own trial, the result of which was that he was found guilty of assault and battery upon the Chinese and fined five hundred dollars. The moment sentence was pronounced upon him he strode to the judge's desk and laid down his check for the amount of his fine. Then he straightened up, thrust his hands in his pockets, and exclaimed: "Now, I want that pig tail!" "You are fined five dollars for contempt of court," said the judge, frowning at the tall Texan, who looked very much in earnest. "All right, Judge! Here you are!" said Nick cheerfully, as he put a gold piece down beside the check. "Now, I want that Chiny pig tail! It's mine! I've paid big for it! It's cost me five hundred and five dollars, and no end of trouble, and it belongs to me." "You are fined ten dollars for contempt of court," the judge said severely, biting his lips behind his whiskers. "Here you are, Judge!" and Nick spun a ten-dollar gold piece on the desk. "I want that scalp as a memento of this affair, and to remind me not to mix my drinks again. I've paid for it, a whole heap more'n it's worth, and I demand my property!" And Nick brought his fist down on the judge's desk with a bang that made the gold coins rattle. "Mr. Sheriff, remove this man!" ordered the Judge, and John Daniels stepped forward to seize his arm. Ellhorn leaped to one side, exclaiming, "I'll not go till I get my property!" He thrust his hand into the accustomed place for his revolver, and with a look of surprise and chagrin on his face stood meekly before the sheriff. "A man can't get his rights unless he has a gun, even in a court," he growled, as he submitted to be led out. At the door he looked back and called to the judge: "That scalp's mine, and I mean to have what I've paid for, if I have to sue your blamed old court till the day o' judgment!" And he went at once and filed a suit against the district attorney for the recovery of the queue. Marguerite Delarue kept on with her quiet life through the summer, caring for little Paul and attending to her father's house. She did not see Emerson Mead again after the day when, with her little white sunbonnet pulled over her disordered hair, she helped her baby brother to mount his horse. Long before the summer was over she decided that he cared nothing for her and that she must no longer feel more interest in him than she did in any other casual acquaintance. But sometimes she wakened suddenly, or started at her work, seeming to feel the intent gaze of a pair of brown eyes. Then she would blush, cry a little, and scold herself severely.