Page:Ritchie - Trails to Two Moons.djvu/303

 their companions of the Spout expedition was one in a thousand. But the gaunt old range man and the little inspector each possessed to the full that calm fatalism that was the endowment of men of their clan, inured to the chances of the Big Country.

They were quick to appreciate that certain elements played with them. The cabin looked out upon unbroken prairie through two windows at the front and one at the eastern end; its back and western side were without windows, but equally without a second door to be rushed. The only possible cover offered the attackers was that of the corral and stable whose open front faced the cabin.

It would have been simple for the Spout men to slip up on the blind side of the cabin and fire the roof, but such tactics were denied by the presence of their leader, a prisoner, in the house. A rush could only be made across the flat dooryard swept by the fire from two windows.

As long as there was only one answering rifle from the cabin the outlaws risked circling their horses, Indian fashion, at about a hundred yards from the log fort and taking flying shots at the window whence Timberline's rifle spoke.