Part 44 (1/2)

”I should esteem it beneath my dignity to fight with a craven and a coward, suh!” the major saved his face.

The stranger glanced at Keith, an amused light in his eyes.

”We'll let it go at that,” he conceded. ”Anybody else?” he challenged, eying them.

Every one seemed busy getting ready to go home, and appeared not to hear him. After a moment he put on his felt hat and joined Keith and Ward, who were walking slowly toward the landing.

”Well,” remarked a rough-looking Yankee--our old friend Graves of the Eurekas to his friend Carter--”I didn't know anything would cool off the major like that!”

”I reckon the major knew who he was talking to,” replied Carter.

”Who is the cuss? I never saw him before.”

”Don't you know him? I reckon you must have heard of him, anyway. He's just down from the Sierra. That's the express rider, Johnny Fairfax--Diamond Jack, they call him.”

Graves whistled an enlightened whistle.

XLVIII

Johnny Fairfax accompanied Keith all the way back to his office, although Talbot Ward said good-bye at the wharves. He bubbled over with conversation and enthusiasm, and seemed to have taken a great fancy to the lawyer. The theme of his glancing talk was the duel, over which he was immensely amused; but from it he diverged on the slightest occasion to comment on whatever for the moment struck his notice.

”That was certainly the rottenest shooting I ever saw!” he exclaimed over and over, and then would go off into peals of laughter. ”I don't see how twelve shots at that distance could miss! After the second exchange I concluded even the side line wasn't safe, and I got behind a tree. Pays to be prompt In your decision; there were a hundred applicants for that tree a moment later, The bloodless duel as a parlour amus.e.m.e.nt! You ought to have charged that large and respectable audience an admission fee! That's a good idea; I'll present it to you!

If you ever have another due, you must have a good manager! There's money in it!”

Keith laughed a trifle ruefully,

”I suppose it was funny,” he acknowledged.

”Now don't get huffy,” begged Johnny Fairfax. ”What you ought to do is to learn to shoot. You'll probably need to know how if you keep on living around here,” His eye fell on a shooting gallery. ”Come in here,” he urged impulsively.

The proprietor was instructed to load his pistols and for a dozen shots Keith was coached vehemently in the elementals of shooting--taught at least the theory of pulling steadily, of coordinating various muscles and psychological processes that were not at all used to coordination.

He learned that mere steady aiming was a small part of it.

”Anybody can do wonderful shooting with an empty pistol,” said Johnny contemptuously. ”And anybody can hold as steady as a rock--until he pulls the trigger.”

”It's interesting,” conceded Keith; ”mighty interesting. I didn't know there was so much to it.”

”Of course it's interesting,” said Johnny. ”And you're only at the rudiments. Look here!”

And, to the astonishment of Keith, the wors.h.i.+pful adoration of the shooting-gallery proprietor, and the awe of the usual audience that gathered at the sound of the reports, he proceeded to give an exhibition of the skill that had made him famous. The shooting galleries of those days used no puny twenty-twos. Derringers, pocket revolvers, and the huge ”navies” were at hand--with reduced loads, naturally--for those who in habitual life affected these weapons.

Johnny shot with all of them, displaying the tricks of the gunman with all the nave enthusiasm of youth. His manner throughout was that engaging mixture of modesty afraid of being thought conceited and eager pride in showing his skill so attractive to everybody. At first he shot deliberately, splitting cards, hitting marbles, and devastating whole rows of clay pipes. Then he took to secreting the weapons in various pockets from which he produced and discharged them in lightning time.

His hand darted with the speed and precision of a snake's head.

”I've just been fooling with shooting things tossed in the air,” he said, exuberant with enthusiasm. ”But I'm afraid we can't try that here.”

”I'm afraid not,” agreed the proprietor regretfully.

”It really isn't very hard, once you get the knack.”