“I’ve been playing a game with ’em, Henry.  And now—­if one of us could clear the road, what will we do together?  Eh?”

The smile of Lord Nick showed his teeth.

“Haven’t I been hungry all my life for a man like you, lad?  Somebody to stand and guard my back while I faced the rest of the world?”

“And I’ll do my share of the facing, too.”

“You will, Garry.  But I’m your elder.”

“Man, man!  Nobody’s my elder except one that’s spent half his life—­as I have done!”

“We’ll teach you to forget the pain I’ll make life roses for you, Garry.”

“And the fools outside thought—­”

Donnegan broke into a soundless laughter, and, running to the door, opened it a fraction of an inch and peeped out.

“They’re standing about in a circle.  I can see ’em gaping.  Even from here.  What will they think, Henry?”

Lord Nick ground his teeth.

“They’ll think I’ve backed down from you,” he said gloomily.  “They’ll think I’ve taken water for the first time.”

“Why, confound ’em, the first man that opens his head—­”

“I know, I know.  You’d fill his mouth with lead, and so would I. But if it ever gets about—­as it’s sure to—­that Lord, Nick, as they call me, has been bluffed down without a fight, I’ll have every Chinaman that cooks on the range talking back to me.  I’ll have to start all over again.”

“Don’t say that, Henry.  Don’t you see that I’ll go out and explain that I’m your brother?”

“What good will that do?  No, do we look alike?”

Donnegan stopped short.

“I’m not very big,” he said rather coldly, “but then I’m not so very small, either.  I’ve found myself big enough, speaking in general.  Besides, we have the same hair and eyes.”

“Why, man, people will laugh when they hear that we call ourselves brothers.”

Donnegan ground his teeth and the old flush burned upon his face.

“I’ll cut some throats if they do,” he said, trembling with his passion.

“I can hear them say it.  ’Lord Nick walked in on Donnegan prepared to eat him up.  He measured him up and down, saw that he was a fighting wildcat in spite of his size, and decided to back out.  And Donnegan was willing.  They couldn’t come out without a story of some kind—­with the whole world expecting a death in that cabin—­so they framed a crazy cock-and-bull story about being brothers.’  I can hear them say that, Donnegan, and it makes me wild!”

“Do you call me Donnegan?” said Donnegan sadly.

“No, no.  Garry, don’t be so touchy.  You’ve never got over that, I see.  Still all pride and fire.”

“You’re not very humble yourself, Henry.”

“Maybe not, maybe not.  But I’ve been in a certain position around these parts, Don—­Garry.  And it’s hard to see it go!”

Donnegan closed his eyes in deep reverie.  And then he forced out the words one by one.