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Twenty
men
promptly
sprang
to
the
buckskin
’
s
head
,
but
she
broke
away
,
and
wild
with
terror
,
bewildered
,
blind
,
insensate
,
charged
into
the
corner
of
the
barn
by
the
musicians
’
stand
.
She
brought
up
against
the
wall
with
cruel
force
and
with
impact
of
a
sack
of
stones
;
her
head
was
cut
.
She
turned
and
charged
again
,
bull
-
like
,
the
blood
streaming
from
her
forehead
.
The
crowd
,
shrieking
,
melted
before
her
rush
.
An
old
man
was
thrown
down
and
trampled
.
The
buckskin
trod
upon
the
dragging
bridle
,
somersaulted
into
a
confusion
of
chairs
in
one
corner
,
and
came
down
with
a
terrific
clatter
in
a
wild
disorder
of
kicking
hoofs
and
splintered
wood
.
But
a
crowd
of
men
fell
upon
her
,
tugging
at
the
bit
,
sitting
on
her
head
,
shouting
,
gesticulating
.
For
five
minutes
she
struggled
and
fought
;
then
,
by
degrees
,
she
recovered
herself
,
drawing
great
sobbing
breaths
at
long
intervals
that
all
but
burst
the
girths
,
rolling
her
eyes
in
bewildered
,
supplicating
fashion
,
trembling
in
every
muscle
,
and
starting
and
shrinking
now
and
then
like
a
young
girl
in
hysterics
.
At
last
she
lay
quiet
.
The
men
allowed
her
to
struggle
to
her
feet
.
The
saddle
was
removed
and
she
was
led
to
one
of
the
empty
stalls
,
where
she
remained
the
rest
of
the
evening
,
her
head
low
,
her
pasterns
quivering
,
turning
her
head
apprehensively
from
time
to
time
,
showing
the
white
of
one
eye
and
at
long
intervals
heaving
a
single
prolonged
sigh
.
And
an
hour
later
the
dance
was
progressing
as
evenly
as
though
nothing
in
the
least
extraordinary
had
occurred
.
The
incident
was
closed
—
that
abrupt
swoop
of
terror
and
impending
death
dropping
down
there
from
out
the
darkness
,
cutting
abruptly
athwart
the
gayety
of
the
moment
,
come
and
gone
with
the
swiftness
of
a
thunderclap
.
Many
of
the
women
had
gone
home
,
taking
their
men
with
them
;
but
the
great
bulk
of
the
crowd
still
remained
,
seeing
no
reason
why
the
episode
should
interfere
with
the
evening
’
s
enjoyment
,
resolved
to
hold
the
ground
for
mere
bravado
,
if
for
nothing
else
.
Delaney
would
not
come
back
,
of
that
everybody
was
persuaded
,
and
in
case
he
should
,
there
was
not
found
wanting
fully
half
a
hundred
young
men
who
would
give
him
a
dressing
down
,
by
jingo
!
They
had
been
too
surprised
to
act
when
Delaney
had
first
appeared
,
and
before
they
knew
where
they
were
at
,
the
buster
had
cleared
out
.
In
another
minute
,
just
another
second
,
they
would
have
shown
him
—
yes
,
sir
,
by
jingo
!
—
ah
,
you
bet
!
On
all
sides
the
reminiscences
began
to
circulate
.
At
least
one
man
in
every
three
had
been
involved
in
a
gun
fight
at
some
time
of
his
life
.
“
Ah
,
you
ought
to
have
seen
in
Yuba
County
one
time
—
”
“
Why
,
in
Butte
County
in
the
early
days
—
”
“
Pshaw
!
this
to
-
night
wasn
’
t
anything
!
Why
,
once
in
a
saloon
in
Arizona
when
I
was
there
—
”
and
so
on
,
over
and
over
again
.
Osterman
solemnly
asserted
that
he
had
seen
a
greaser
sawn
in
two
in
a
Nevada
sawmill
.
Old
Broderson
had
witnessed
a
Vigilante
lynching
in
’
55
on
California
Street
in
San
Francisco
.
Dyke
recalled
how
once
in
his
engineering
days
he
had
run
over
a
drunk
at
a
street
crossing
.
Gethings
of
the
San
Pablo
had
taken
a
shot
at
a
highwayman
.
Hooven
had
bayonetted
a
French
Chasseur
at
Sedan
.
An
old
Spanish
-
Mexican
,
a
centenarian
from
Guadalajara
,
remembered
Fremont
’
s
stand
on
a
mountain
top
in
San
Benito
County
.
The
druggist
had
fired
at
a
burglar
trying
to
break
into
his
store
one
New
Year
’
s
eve
.
Young
Vacca
had
seen
a
dog
shot
in
Guadalajara
.
Father
Sarria
had
more
than
once
administered
the
sacraments
to
Portuguese
desperadoes
dying
of
gunshot
wounds
.
Even
the
women
recalled
terrible
scenes
.
Mrs
.
Cutter
recounted
to
an
interested
group
how
she
had
seen
a
claim
jumped
in
Placer
County
in
1851
,
when
three
men
were
shot
,
falling
in
a
fusillade
of
rifle
shots
,
and
expiring
later
upon
the
floor
of
her
kitchen
while
she
looked
on
.
Mrs
.
Dyke
had
been
in
a
stage
hold
-
up
,
when
the
shotgun
messenger
was
murdered
.
Stories
by
the
hundreds
went
the
round
of
the
company
.
The
air
was
surcharged
with
blood
,
dying
groans
,
the
reek
of
powder
smoke
,
the
crack
of
rifles
.
All
the
legends
of
’
49
,
the
violent
,
wild
life
of
the
early
days
,
were
recalled
to
view
,
defiling
before
them
there
in
an
endless
procession
under
the
glare
of
paper
lanterns
and
kerosene
lamps
.
But
the
affair
had
aroused
a
combative
spirit
amongst
the
men
of
the
assembly
.
Instantly
a
spirit
of
aggression
,
of
truculence
,
swelled
up
underneath
waistcoats
and
starched
shirt
bosoms
.
More
than
one
offender
was
promptly
asked
to
“
step
outside
.
”
It
was
like
young
bucks
excited
by
an
encounter
of
stags
,
lowering
their
horns
upon
the
slightest
provocation
,
showing
off
before
the
does
and
fawns
.
Old
quarrels
were
remembered
.
One
sought
laboriously
for
slights
and
insults
,
veiled
in
ordinary
conversation
.
The
sense
of
personal
honour
became
refined
to
a
delicate
,
fine
point
.
Upon
the
slightest
pretext
there
was
a
haughty
drawing
up
of
the
figure
,
a
twisting
of
the
lips
into
a
smile
of
scorn
.
Caraher
spoke
of
shooting
S
.
Behrman
on
sight
before
the
end
of
the
week
.
Twice
it
became
necessary
to
separate
Hooven
and
Cutter
,
renewing
their
quarrel
as
to
the
ownership
of
the
steer
.
All
at
once
Minna
Hooven
’
s
“
partner
”
fell
upon
the
gayly
apparelled
clerk
from
Bonneville
,
pummelling
him
with
his
fists
,
hustling
him
out
of
the
hall
,
vociferating
that
Miss
Hooven
had
been
grossly
insulted
.
It
took
three
men
to
extricate
the
clerk
from
his
clutches
,
dazed
,
gasping
,
his
collar
unfastened
and
sticking
up
into
his
face
,
his
eyes
staring
wildly
into
the
faces
of
the
crowd
.
But
Annixter
,
bursting
with
pride
,
his
chest
thrown
out
,
his
chin
in
the
air
,
reigned
enthroned
in
a
circle
of
adulation
.
He
was
the
Hero
.
To
shake
him
by
the
hand
was
an
honour
to
be
struggled
for
.
One
clapped
him
on
the
back
with
solemn
nods
of
approval
.
“
There
’
s
the
BOY
for
you
;
”
“
There
was
nerve
for
you
;
”
“
What
’
s
the
matter
with
Annixter
?
”
“
How
about
THAT
for
sand
,
and
how
was
THAT
for
a
SHOT
?
”
“
Why
,
Apache
Kid
couldn
’
t
have
bettered
that
.
”
“
Cool
enough
.
”
“
Took
a
steady
eye
and
a
sure
hand
to
make
a
shot
like
that
.
”
“
There
was
a
shot
that
would
be
told
about
in
Tulare
County
fifty
years
to
come
.
”
Annixter
had
refrained
from
replying
,
all
ears
to
this
conversation
,
wondering
just
what
had
happened
.
He
knew
only
that
Delaney
had
run
,
leaving
his
revolver
and
a
spatter
of
blood
behind
him
.
By
degrees
,
however
,
he
ascertained
that
his
last
shot
but
one
had
struck
Delaney
’
s
pistol
hand
,
shattering
it
and
knocking
the
revolver
from
his
grip
.
He
was
overwhelmed
with
astonishment
.
Why
,
after
the
shooting
began
he
had
not
so
much
as
seen
Delaney
with
any
degree
of
plainness
.
The
whole
affair
was
a
whirl
.
