"'Oho! You have,' said Cleve, quick, like he was pleased. 'An' did
you get her?' "'Not yet. Just looked over the ground. I'm pickin' you to go with
me. We'll split on the gold, an' I'll take the girl.' "Cleve swung the whisky-bottle an' it smashed on Gulden's mug,
knockin' him flat. Cleve was up, like a cat, gun burnin' red. The
other fellers were dodgin' low. An' as I ducked I seen Gulden, flat
on his back, draggin' at his gun. He stopped short an' his hand
flopped. The side of his face went all bloody. I made sure he'd
cashed, so I leaped up an' grabbed Cleve.
"It'd been all right if Gulden had only cashed. But he hadn't. He
came to an' bellered fer his gun an' fer his pards. Why, you could
have heard him for a mile. ... Then, as I told you, I had trouble in
holdin' back a general mix-up. An' while he was hollerin' about it I
led them all over to you. Gulden is layin' back there with his ear
shot off. An' that's all."
Kells, with thoughtful mien, turned from Pearce to the group of
dark-faced men. "This fight settles one thing," he said to them.
"We've got to have organization. If you're not all a lot of fools
you'll see that. You need a head. Most of you swear by me, but some
of you are for Gulden. Just because he's a bloody devil. These times
are the wildest the West ever knew, and they're growing wilder.
Gulden is a great machine for execution. He has no sense of fear.
He's a giant. He loves to fight--to kill. But Gulden's all but
crazy. This last deal proves that. I leave it to your common sense.
He rides around hunting for some lone camp to rob. Or some girl to
make off with. He does not plan with me or the men whose judgment I
have confidence in. He's always without gold. And so are most of his
followers. I don't know who they are. And I don't care. But here we
split--unless they and Gulden take advice and orders from me. I'm
not so much siding with Cleve. Any of you ought to admit that
Gulden's kind of work will disorganize a gang. He's been with us for
long. And he approaches Cleve with a job. Cleve is a stranger. He
may belong here, but he's not yet one of us. Gulden oughtn't have
approached him. It was no straight deal. We can't figure what Gulden
meant exactly, but it isn't likely he wanted Cleve to go. It was a
bluff. He got called. ... You men think this over--whether you'll
stick to Gulden or to me. Clear out now."