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its store of water. Befor e him the slope fell away to the bottom of a shallow canyon and somewhere across i t were Branch and the others.
    Once, the Kid thought he heard a stone rattle, then a footstep. He got to his fee t and peered around but could see nothing-and then he saw Kirby, motioning violently.
    "Hey!" she called. She held up a brown stick in her hands. "Blasting powder!"
    Scrambling back over the rocks, he stopped beside her. "Uncle found it in the prospector' s shanty. There's almost half a box, and some caps and fuses."
    The Cactus Kid grinned suddenly. "Bring 'em down! This'll be good!"
    A half hour later Branch called out. He was not over thirty yards away, probabl y less. "You comin' out or are we comin' after you?"
    "Come and get us," the Kid said hopefully. "Come right on up." As they hesitate d he lighted a short fuse. The giant powder was tied to a rock for better throwing , and as the fuse spattered, the Kid drew back his hand and threw, and Bully Brock , nearby, did the same.
    He never saw the dynamite. The stick hit somewhere in front of him and blew up wit h a terrific concussion , scattering rocks and gravel. Brock's throw had been the stronger and it lit betwee n two head-sized rocks atop a boulder. It blasted with even greater force and scattere d rock in every direction.
    Jewell came out of the rocks, running, and Farb with him. Both men had their hand s up.
    "Come on, Branch!" Brock yelled. "The next one's right in your lap!"
    Kit Branch came out of the rocks. He came walking toward them, his hands swinging , and the Cactus Kid stepped out in the open. Branch stared vindictively. "Nobody get s the best of me, boy. You're gonna get yours and I'm gonna be the one givin' it t o you."
    The Kid's eyes never left those of the gunman. "Well, I'll be-!"
    Branch's hand swept down for his gun. Triumph was on his face as the gun lifted an d then something struck him a wicked blow just below the breastbone. He staggered , seeing the smoking gun in the Kid's hand, then fell over on his face.
    The Cactus Kid walked over to Jewell. "All I want from you is my money," he said.
    "Dish it out."
    Reluctantly, the two outlaws dug out the money and handed it back. When he counte d it, the sum came to two hundred dollars more than he had lost. "For my trouble," h e said calmly, and pocketed it. "That's all I want with you fellows. You can bea t it."
    "Oh, no, they can't!" Kirby Brock walked up to Jewell and Farb. "Push me around , will you?" She kicked Jewell right on the shins.
    Farbeson bellowed with laughter, and coolly, she turned and kicked him in the sam e place. With both men howling with pain, Kirby turned and gathered up the reins o f he r horse. "Maybe," she said, glaring at the Cactus Kid, "that wasn't ladylike, but i t sure was satisfying!"
    The Cactus Kid gathered up their weapons. Farbeson had been wearing the Kid's ow n guns. Gravely, he handed guns to both Brock and Kirby.
    Mounting up, he studied Kirby. "You know, ma'am," he said, "if you get a husban d who'll keep a tight rein on you, you'd make him a mighty good wife, but if you eve r get the bit in your teeth, heaven help him!"
    He turned his horse and headed off up the trail.
    *

IRONWOOD STATION
    The riders met where the trails formed a Y with the main road. The man from the north was fat, with a narrow-brimmed hat an d round cheeks. He raised a hand in greeting. "Mind if I ride along with you? Get s mighty lonesome, ridin' alone. I ain't seen even a jackrabbit last ten miles, an' a man can say just so much to a horse.
    "Figured to make Ironwood Station before sundown. They feed passengers, an' I'm might y tired of my own cookin'." The fat man bit off a chunk of chewing tobacco and offere d the plug to the other man, who shook his head. "Long empty stretch in here," th e fat man continued. "Never see nobody 'ceptin' Utes, whom nobody wants to see." Th e fat man glanced at his companion. "Ain't much for talkin', are you?"
    "Not much."
    "Well, I'm