man's calves were subjects for the unwritten law. But in his
code this law meant death only after a fair trial, with neighbors
for a jury. He was not scrupulous that a judge should be
present. His duties were ended when he brought in his prisoner.

Hoover's rule had been marked by the taming of bad men in
Florence, and a truce declared in the guerrilla warfare between
the cattlemen and the sheepmen on the range.

Slim's seemingly superfluous flesh was really of great advantage
to him: it served as a mask for his remarkable athletic
abilities, and so lulled the outlaws with whom he had to deal
into a false sense of superiority and security.

Slow and lethargic in his ordinary movements, in an emergency he
was quick as a panther, never failing to get the drop on his man.

Furthermore, his fat exerted a beneficial influence on his
character in keeping him humble-minded. Being the most popular
man in the county, he would probably have been swollen with
vanity had there been any space left vacant for it in his huge
frame. He was especially admired by the women, but was at ease
only in the company of those who were married. It was his fate
to see the few girls of the region, with every one of whom, by
turns, he was in love, grow up to marry each some less diffident
wooer.

"Dangnation take it!" he used to say, "I don't git up enough
spunk to cut a heifer out o' the herd until somebody else has
roped her and slapped his brand onto her. Talk about too many