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‘Duchess’ held out the loaded tray.
After the ‘wealthy Brazilian’ had accepted one of the glasses of
wine, she served the Kid. Reaching with the haste which might be
expected of one in a hurry to take a drink, he contrived to spill
some of the liquor while accepting his glass. Growling an
imprecation in his fluent Spanish, although of the kind spoken
along the border between the United States and Mexico rather than
in South America, he set the glass down untouched on the table.
While the right hand began to rub at the front of his multi-colored
‘trade’ shirt, the left went into the outside pocket of the leather
jacket as if in search of something with which to help dry its
mate.
    Giving ‘Manuel’ no more than a cursory and
slightly disgusted glance, Emily continued to distribute the drinks
until reaching the ‘Duke’!
    Waiting until the ‘Duchess’ was extending
the tray in the direction of her husband, holding it ready to
exchange the two decks of cards undetected in the manner she, he
and one of the ‘guests’ who handled the task when, as with Andrew
Bullstrode, Emily was playing the ‘helpful sister’ role had
perfected, the lady outlaw rose swiftly and threw the wine into her
face.
    Despite her claim to be a member of the
French aristocracy, the profane exclamation which burst from the
‘Duchess’ was in most basic English!
    Emily’s hands, rising instinctively to her
eyes, which the liquid was stinging severely, released the tray and
the cards sprayed in an incriminating cloud from beneath it!
    Having been warned by Belle as to when and
how the situation was likely to develop, the Kid had not been
reaching for something with which to dry his right hand!
    Instead, the disguised Texan had taken hold
of the hollow wooden tube about six inches in length in the left
side pocket!
    Seeing the time for inactivity was ended,
much to his satisfaction, the Kid also came to his feet. Moving as
he had spent much time in practicing since learning the part he was
to play, he brought out the tube and raised it to his lips. At the
same instant, he was sending his right hand beneath the near side
of his jacket. As the other men around the table were showing
consternation and starting to get up, he blew sharply into the
tube. Propelled by the gust of air and moving faster than the human
eye could follow, a sharp sliver of wood its rearmost tip supplied
with a piece of cotton wool dyed bright red for a flight flew to
bury its point in Chauvelin’s left cheek.
    Rising involuntarily, as his wife’s had
done, the fingers of the ‘Duke’s’ right hand touched the missile
and he gave vent to a gasp of alarm!
    Moving faster than any of the other
‘guests’, Driberg sent his right hand towards the butt of his
holstered revolver!
    Spitting out a profanity seemingly at odds
with his ‘cloth’, Huckfield was the second swiftest to respond!
    The other two ‘guests’ were also reacting,
but less rapidly due to carrying their handguns in positions which
did not permit a speedy withdrawal. However, like their companions,
they were devoting the majority of their attention to the only
weapon other than the ‘blowing pipe’, which they realized would
need to be recharged before it was available for further use
displayed by the ‘husband’ of their intended victim. All were
convinced the massive bowie knife also posed no threat to their
well being under the circumstances. Furthermore, the other two were
taking comfort from remembering how competently the ‘cattle buyer’
and the ‘preacher’ had coped with hostile behavior on previous
occasions.
    To all the members of the gang who did not
have other things on their minds, such as the leader and his wife,
it seemed the discovery of the prepared deck was only a temporary
setback. It would not, they felt sure, prevent the acquisition of
the money brought by the beautiful ‘Brazilian’. In fact, she would
regret having made it so obvious she had detected the