It made Haw-Haw Langley grin, but peering more closely and observing that there was no mockery in the face of the giant, he wiped out his grin with a scrubbing motion of his wet hand and peered closely into the face of his companion.

“They ain’t any doubt of it,” he said reassuringly.  “He’ll know what you do, Mac.  What was it that Pale Annie said to you?”

“Wanted me not to meet Barry.  Said that Barry had once cleaned up a gang of six.”

“And here we are only two.”

“You ain’t to fight!” warned Mac Strann sharply.  “It’ll be man to man, Haw-Haw.”

“But he might not notice that,” cried Haw-Haw, and he caressed his scrawny neck as though he already felt fingers closing about his windpipe.  “Him bein’ used to fight crowds, Mac.  Did you think of that?”

“I never asked you to come,” responded Mac Strann.

“Mac,” cried Haw-Haw in a sudden alarm, “s’pose you wasn’t to win.  S’pose you wasn’t able to keep him away from me?”

The numb lips of Mac Strann sprawled in an ugly smile, but he made no other answer.

“You don’t think you’ll lose,” hurried on Haw-Haw, “but neither did them six that Pale Annie was tellin’ about, most like.  But they did!  They lost; but if you lose what’ll happen to me?”

“They ain’t no call for you to stay here,” said Mac Strann with utter indifference.

Haw-Haw answered quickly:  “I wouldn’t go—­I wouldn’t miss it for nothin’.  Ain’t I come all this way to see it—­I mean to help?  Would I fall down on you now, Mac?  No, I wouldn’t!”

And twisting those bony fingers together he burst once more into that rattling, unhuman laughter which all the Three B’s knew so well and dreaded as the dying dread the sight of the circling buzzard above.

“Stop laughin’!” cried Mac Strann with sudden anger.  “Damn you, stop laughin’!”

The other peered upon Mac Strann with incredulous delight, his broad mouth gaping to that thirsted grin of enjoyment.

“You ain’t gettin’ nervous, Mac?” he queried, and thrust his face closer to make sure.  “You ain’t bothered, Mac?  You ain’t doubtin’ how this’ll turn out?” There was no answer and so he replied to himself:  “I know what done it to you.  I seen it myself.  It was that yaller light in his eyes, Mac.  My God, it come up there out of nothin’ and it wasn’t a light that ought to come in no man’s eyes.  It was like I’d woke up at night with a cold weight on my chest and found two snakes’ eyes glitterin’ close to my face.  Makes me shivery, like, jest to think of it now.  D’you notice that, Mac?”

“I’m tired of talkin’,” said Mac Strann hoarsely, “damned tired!”

And so saying he swung his great head slowly around and glared at Haw-Haw.  The latter shrank away with an undulatory motion in his saddle.  And when the head of Mac Strann turned away again the broad mouth began gibbering:  “It’s gettin’ him like it done me.  He’s scared, scared, scared—­even Mac Strann!”