Page:Frederick Faust--Free Range Lanning.djvu/128

124 up. The whole mountains will be alive watchin' for you. Every trail will be alive with guns,"

But Andrew stood up, and, using always his left hand while the right arm hung with apparent carelessness at his side, he arranged his hat so that it came forward at a jaunty angle, and then hitched his belt around so that the holster hung a little more to the rear. The position for a gun when one is sitting is quite different from the proper position when one is standing. All these things Uncle Jasper had taught Andrew long and long before. He was remembering them in chunks.

"Give me three minutes to get my saddle on my horse and out of town," said Andrew. "Is that fair?"

"Considering that you could have filled me full of lead here," said Hal Dozier, with a wry smile, "I think that's fair enough,"

"Are you riding Gray Peter?" asked Andrew from the door, to which he backed with instinctive caution.

"Of course,"

"He'll be safe, Hal. No matter how you press me, I'll never take a bead on that horse. Why, God bless him, I've ridden him myself!"

"You didn't have to tell me that," said Hal. "Skunks that shoot hosses don't look down their rifles with your kind of eyes, Andy."

There was a moisture in the eyes of Hal Dozier as the door closed, and Andrew's quick, light step went down the hall.