"He's the man that caught Satan, an' rode him," answered a bystander.
"Some man if he can ride the devil," laughed Lee Haines.
"I mean the black mustang that ran wild around here for a couple of
years. Some people tell tales about him being a wonder with a gun. But
Morgan's the only one who claims to have seen him work."
"Maybe you did see it, and maybe you didn't," Morgan was saying to
Mike noncommittally, "but there's some pretty fair shots in this
room, which I'd lay fifty bucks no man here could hit a dollar with a
six-gun at twenty paces."
"While they're arguin'," said Bill Kilduff, "I reckon I'll hit the
trail."
"Wait a minute," grinned Jim Silent, "an' watch me have some fun with
these short-horns."
He spoke more loudly: "Are you makin' that bet for the sake of
arguin', partner, or do you calculate to back it up with cold cash?"
Morgan whirled upon him with a scowl, "I ain't pulled a bluff in my
life that I can't back up!" he said sharply.
"Well," said Silent, "I ain't so flush that I'd turn down fifty bucks
when a kind Christian soul, as the preachers say, slides it into my
glove. Not me. Lead out the dollar, pal, an' kiss it farewell!"
"Who'll hold the stakes?" asked Morgan.
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