“I’m aimin’ tuh wait fer Fox,” replied Kipp hoarsely.
“Don’t be a plumb —— fool. He’ll mebbe kill yuh.”
“Reckon not.”
“It’s yore funeral. I’m driftin’. Good luck. Mind what I say, now. Fox’ll beat yuh to it, if yuh make ary gun play. That ol’ ——’s a snake. So-long.”
Tad listened to the thudding of hoofs as the breed rode away into the night. A few moments and all was silent as a grave yard.
Kipp got to his feet, pinching out the glowing ash of his cigaret. He led his horse to a patch of brush beyond the tree. When he returned, the pale rays of the moon fell on the blued-steel barrel of the Winchester in the crook of his arm.
Tad, watching the sheriff’s every move, whistled noiselessly. He saw Kipp settle down behind a small patch of brush. This shelter hid Kipp from the trail but Tad could see him plainly, outlined against the pale sky. Came the clicking of the sheriff’s carbine lever as he threw a cartridge from the magazine into the barrel. Then the gun raised and Tad saw Kipp squint along the barrel.
“Testin’ his sights,” mused Tad. “If ever a man went through the motions uh bushwhackin’ a enemy, Kipp’s a-doin’ it now. He don’t noways aim tuh give Fox a chanct.”
Tad pondered this decision for some time, his eyes fixed on Kipp.
“——,” he muttered inwardly. “Puts me in one —— of a mess. Fox needs killin’ and needs it bad. Shore does. Even shootin’ him from the brush is mebbeso what’s comin’ to him, I dunno. But that won’t keep Kipp from bein’ a low-down, bushwhackin’ killer iffen he does the job. Looks tuh me like this Black Jack Injun and Fox is shore th’owin’ the hooks to the ol’ sheriff plumb scan’lous. They got him nigh loco, ’pears tuh me. But shore as he’s a foot high, Kipp’ll hate hisse’f fer pullin’ the trigger, afore his gun barrel cools off. Yessir. Bound tuh. Then what’ll he do? He’ll go to the bad, complete. Booze’ll put him in the bog fer keeps. Either that, er he’ll turn that gun on hisse’f and blow his own head off. Which won’t do nobody no good ’ceptin’ mebbe this Black Jack skunk. Hmm. I never cut into no man’s game up till now, but I’m shore declarin’ myse’f in on this.”