The cowboy pushed and
jostled feverishly at the Swede, and the Easterner and Scully clung
wildly to Johnnie; but, through the smoky air, above the swaying
bodies of the peace-compellers, the eyes of the two warriors ever
sought each other in glances of challenge that were at once hot and
steely.
Of course the board had been overturned, and now the whole company
of cards was scattered over the floor, where the boots of the men
trampled the fat and painted kings and queens as they gazed with their
silly eyes at the war that was waging above them.
Scully's voice was dominating the yells. "Stop now! Stop, I say!
Stop, now-"
Johnnie, as he struggled to burst through the rank formed by
Scully and the Easterner, was crying: "Well, he says I cheated! He
says I cheated! I won't allow no man to say I cheated! If he says I
cheated, he's a-!"
The cowboy was telling the Swede: "Quit, now! Quit, d'ye hear-"
The screams of the Swede never ceased. "He did cheat! I saw him! I
saw him-"
As for the Easterner, he was importuning in a voice that was not
heeded. "Wait a moment, can't you? Oh, wait a moment. What's the
good of a fight over a game of cards? Wait a moment-"
In this tumult no complete sentences were clear. "Cheat"- "Quit"-
"He says"- These fragments pierced the uproar and rang out sharply. It
was remarkable that whereas Scully undoubtedly made the most noise, he
was the least heard of any of the riotous band.
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