Without checking his horse the rider kept on until he was within half a length of the horse of Wild Bill, then checking the animal, he said, in a mocking tone:
"You spoke to me just as I rode away. I've come back to hear you out."
What was the matter with Wild Bill? He stood staring wildly at the Texan, his own face white as if a mortal fear had come upon him.
"Where have I seen that face before?" he gasped. "Can the dead come back to life?"
The Texan bent forward till his own face almost touched that of Wild Bill and hissed out one word in a shrill whisper:
"Sister!"
It was all he said, but the instant Wild Bill heard it, he shrieked out:
"'Tis him–'tis him I shot at Abilene!" and with a shuddering groan he sank senseless to the pavement.
In an instant Bill's friends, who had looked in wonder at this strange scene, sprang to his aid, and, lifting his unconscious form, carried it into the saloon where Bill had met Californian Joe, Captain Jack, and the rest of their crowd.
Left alone, the young Texan said a few words to Addie Neidic, then dismounted and told the stable-keeper to keep that horse saddled and bridled, and to get his own Texan mustang ready for use.