Every door
and window is watched. I've got to raise hell to draw the guards in....
Well, you're my countrymen. We're in Mexico. A beautiful girl's honor
and life are at stake. Now, gentlemen, watch me!"
One cowboy's eyes narrowed, blinking a little, and his lean jaw
dropped; the other's hard face rippled with a fleeting smile.
Gale backed away, and his pulse leaped when he saw the two cowboys,
as if with one purpose, slowly stride after him. Then Gale swerved,
staggering along, brushed against the tables, kicked over the empty
chairs. He passed Rojas and his gang, and out of the tail of his
eye saw that the bandit was watching him, waving his hands and
talking fiercely. The hum of the many voices grew louder, and
when Dick lurched against a table, overturning it and spilling
glasses into the laps of several Mexicans, there arose a shrill cry.
He had succeeded in attracting attention; almost every face turned
his way. One of the insulted men, a little tawny fellow, leaped
up to confront Gale, and in a frenzy screamed a volley of Spanish,
of which Gale distinguished "Gringo!" The Mexican stamped and
made a threatening move with his right hand. Dick swung his leg
and with a swift side kick knocked the fellows feet from under
him, whirling him down with a thud.
The action was performed so suddenly, so adroitly, it made the
Mexican such a weakling, so like a tumbled tenpin, that the shrill
jabbering hushed. Gale knew this to be the significant moment.
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