The Benson signal., 1917-07-21

side of the room. The left end, as they
faced the bar, was brought around to
| escape small window opening on q
court or patio to the rear of the room.
Back Of the bar itself, about midway,
a low door in the bare wall gave en-
trance to rear room. Aside from
this the room presented nothing but
walls. Two windows fanking the front
door helped to light it, but not mir
ror, picture, chair, table, bottle or
glass was to be seen. De Spain COW
cred every feature of the interior at a
glance. "Quiet around here, John," he
remarked casually.
''This is the quietest place in the
Rocky mountains most of the time. But
when it is noisy, believe me, it is
noisy. Look at the bullet holes in the
walls"
'The old story" remarked De Spain,
inspecting with mild-mannered interest
the punctured plastering, "they always
shoot high
He walked over to the left end of the
bar, noting the hard usage shown by
the ornate mahogany, and spreading
his hands wide open, palms down, on
the face of it, glanced at the low win
dow on his left, opening on the grav-
eled patio. He peered, in the semi
darkness, at the battered door behind
the bar
"Henry," observed Lefever, eff you
are looking for a drink, it would only
be fair, as well as politic, to call the
Mexican"
De Spain, turning, looked all
around the room again. "You wouldn' t
Think" he said slowly. 'Erom looking at
the place there was a road-agent with
in a thousand miles"
"You wouldn't think, from riding
through the Superstition mountains
there was a lion within a thousand
miles. I've hunted them for eleven
years, an! [ never saw one except
when the dogs drove 'em out but for
eleven years they saw me. If we
haven't been Seen coming in here by
some of this Calabasas bunch, I miss
my guess" declared Lefever cheer
fully.
The batten Goor behind the bar now
began to open slowly and noiselessly.
Lefever peered through it. "Come in,
Pedro" he cried reassuringly, "cOme
in, man. This is no officer, no revenue
agent looking for your license. Meet
a friend, Pedro" he continued encour-
agingly, as the swarthy publican, low
brOwed and 'sullen, emerged very de-
liberately from the inner darkness into
the obscurity of the barroom, and bent
his one good eye searchingly on De
Spain. "This," Lefever's left hand lay
familiarly on the back of De Spain's
shoulder, 'is our new manager, Mr..
Henry de Spain. Henry, shake hands
with Mexico
This invitation to shake hands
seemed an empty formality. De Spain
never shook hands with anybody; at
least if he did so, he extended, through
habit long Injured, his left hand, with
an excuse for the soreness of his right.
Pedro did not even bat his remaining
eye at the invitation. The situation, as
! Lefever facetiously remarked, re-
mained about where it was before he
spoke, when the sound of galloping
horses came through the open door. A
moment later three men walked, sin
gle file, into the room. De Spain stood
at the left end Of the bar, and Lefever
introduced him to Gale Morgan, to
David Sassoon, and to Sassoon's crony,
Deaf Sandusky, as the new stage-line
manager. The later arrivals lined up
before the bar, Sandusky next to Le-
fever and De Spain, so he could hear
what was said. Pedro from his den
produced two queer-looking bottles and
supply of glasses.
''De Spain," Gale Morgan began
bluntly, zone Of our men was put off a
stage of yours last week by Frank FL
paso." He spoke without any pre-
liminary compliments, and his heavy
voice was bellicose.
De Spain, regarding him undis-
turbed, answered after a little pause
'Elpaso told me he put man off his
stage last week for fighting"
"No," contradicted Morgan loudly.
mot for fighting. Elpaso was drunls.'
"What's the name of the mar Ell
paso put off, John?' asked De Spain,
looking at Lefever.
Morgan hooked his thumb toward
the man standing at his side. Here's
the man right here, Dave Sassoon."
Sassoon never looked q mar n the
face when the man looked at him, ex-
cept by Implication; it was almost i'm