As the sheriff spoke he whirled to grasp Hashknife by the arm, as if to place himself between Hashknife and the door, but Hashknife was fully alive to his danger, and when Sudden tried to jump past him, Hashknife’s right hand whipped through in an uppercut, and the Lo Lo sheriff’s teeth shut with a dull “cluck!” and he went down on his shoulders.
The sheriff had hardly hit the floor when Hashknife ducked out through the doorway, knocking a cowboy spinning along the wall. Sleepy sprang across the sheriff and tried to escape, but they fell upon him in a group, and he went down on his face, with half a dozen men on top of him.
The room was in an uproar, as others jammed into the doorway, trying to get a glimpse of Hashknife; but all they glimpsed was a rider going away from the Totem hitch rack. Whether or not it was the leanfaced cowboy they did not know. So they went back and helped the rest subdue Sleepy, who was making life miserable for everyone concerned. But there is strength in numbers, and in a few minutes Sleepy was behind the bars of the only intact cell in the jail, while the sheriff held on to his jaw with both hands and swore through his nose. There were others who had suffered from Sleepy’s toes and fists, and they were equally divided as whether to hang him right away or to wait until they all had a drink. The drink idea finally carried, and they trooped over to the Totem Saloon, leaving the sheriff and Sunshine alone in the office.
“You talked too —— much,” said Sunshine with little sympathy. He had been kicked in the ankle.
“Ozz zhut ’p!” groaned Sudden.
“If yuh had any sense, you’d ’a’ shot ’em both and then told the crowd what yuh shot ’em for. By ——, if I’m ever elected sheriff of this county, I’ll show ’em.”
Sudden did not think it worth while replying to Sunshine. It was difficult for him to talk, and he felt that all of his teeth had been driven at least an inch deep into his jaws. He got to his feet, kicked his chair aside and started for the door.
“Stay here,” he ordered. “Goin’ ’fter drink.”
“Yeah, I’ll stay here,” snapped Sunshine. “But if them snake-hunters come and want to lynch that jigger—they can have him.”
Sudden grunted and walked out. Sunshine rubbed his ankle, after removing his boot, and the pain made him wince. He had stepped into range of Sleepy’s kicks, and now he cursed reflectively.