He thought of his father, also, with a certain tenderness, remembering how he had stood by him in his trial.

"Who will stand by me now ?" he asked himself, and the thought of the Pratts helped him.

Delmar, he felt sure, would defend him, but he knew the customs of the cattle country too well to think the matter ended there.

He must hereafter shoot or be shot.

If these men met him again he must disable them instantly or die.