Still Indian Jake made no move save that the little hawk eyes had
narrowed to slits. He did not drop his gun. From all the indications,
he did not hear Eli's count.

"Nine--ten!"

True to his threat, Eli's rifle rang out with the last word of his
count.




CHAPTER X

THE END OF ELI'S HUNT


Indian Jake, quick as a cat, had thrown himself upon the ground with
Eli's last count. Like the loon that dives at the flash of the
hunter's gun, he was a fraction of a second quicker than Eli. Now,
lying prone, his rifle at his shoulder, he had Eli covered, and the
chamber of Eli's rifle was empty.

"Drop that gun!" he commanded.

Eli, believing in the first instant that Indian Jake had fallen as the
result of the shot, was taken wholly by surprise. He stood dazed and
dumb with the smoking rifle in his hand. He did not at once realize
that the half-breed had him covered. His brain did not work as rapidly