The man who had handled the box was carrying a revolver in one hand, and now he came back to those who were watching the passengers. The men were all masked. The man with the revolver looked at the passengers closely.
Suddenly, and with apparently no reason, he threw up his revolver and fired point-blank at the stranger. The action was so sudden, so uncalled for, that Hashknife and Sleepy instinctively ducked.
“Stand still, damn yuh!” roared one of the shotgun men.
The stranger went to his knees, groped blindly for a moment, and sprawled on his face.
For several moments not a sound was heard. Then the man who fired the shot shoved his g*n back into his holster.
“The damn fool reached for a g*n,” he said slowly. “Shove the rest of ’em back into the stage.”
Hashknife turned and climbed
