Page:Caroline Lockhart--The full of the Moon.djvu/255

 briskly across the street and held up his dollar watch.

The perspiration stood out on the Mexican's forehead, and he screwed his face in a grimace of distress as he strained his eyes to distinguish the object in McCaffrey's hand.

"Don't be bashful, pardner," encouraged the crowd; "don't be scart of your voice! Speak right out!"

But Ospino was "scart" of other things than his voice, for he was unable to more than dimly see McCaffrey, much less his watch.

In desperation he blurted out at random:

"A gun!"

The spectators' derisive hoots told him of his failure.

"Guess again, greaser! Air you plumb sure that cow you saw wer'n't a burro?"

The spectators were with Bob now to a man, and Nan thought he never had looked more the thoroughbred than when upon their return to the court-room he stood up to address the jury.

The element in the court-room had the natives innate prejudice against an Eastern