With frightened cries the girls huddled in a corner. The other cowboys upset chairs, springing to their feet, drawing revolvers half-way from holsters as they did so.
Hoover had pressed his thumb into the back of McKee"s hand, forcing him to open his fingers and drop his gun on the table. Picking it up, Hoover snapped the weapon open, emptied the cylinders of the cartridges.
Jack made no move to defend himself. He was aware his friends could protect him.
"That"ll do," he said to the raging, disarmed puncher. "You can go, Buck. When I want you in any festivities, I"ll send a special invite to you."
"I"m sure much obliged," sneered McKee, making his way toward the door.
"Here"s your gun," cried Slim, tossing the weapon toward him.
McKee caught the weapon, muttering "Thanks."
"It needs cleaning," sneered the Sheriff.
Turning at the doorway, McKee said; "I ain"t much stuck on weddin"s, anyway." Looking at Jack, he continued threateningly: "Next time we meet it"ll be at a little swaree of my own."
"Get," was Jack"s laconic and ominous command.
With a.s.sumed carelessness, McKee answered: "I"m a-gettin". Well, gents, I hopes you all"ll enjoy this yere pink tea. Say, Bud, put a piece of weddin"-cake in your pocket for me. I wants to dream on it."
"Who brought him here?" asked Jack, facing his guests.
"I did," answered Bud defiantly.
"You might have known better," was Jack"s only comment.
"I"m not a-sayin" who"s to come and go. This ain"t none of my weddin"."
Polly stopped further comment by laying her hand over his mouth and slipping into the seat beside him.
"Well, let it go at that," said Jack, closing the incident.
He rejoined Echo as he spoke. The guests reseated themselves. Mrs.
Allen laid her hand on Jack"s shoulder and said: "Just the same, it ain"t right and proper for you to be together before the ceremony without a chaperonie."
"Nothin" that"s right nice is ever right proper," laughed Slim.
"Well, it ain"t the way folks does back East," replied Mrs. Allen tartly, glaring at the Sheriff.
"Blast the East," growled Allen. "We does things in our own way out here."
With a mischievous smile, Slim glanced at his comrades, and then solemnly observed: "Still, I hear they does make the two contractin"-parties sit off alone by themselves--"
"What for?" asked Jack.
"Why, to give them the last bit of quiet enjoyment they"re goin" to have for the rest of their lives," chuckled Slim.
The cowboys laughed hilariously at the sally, but Mrs. Allen, throwing her arms about Echo"s neck, burst into tears, crying: "My little girl."
"What"s the use of opening up the sluices now, Josephine?"
"Let her alone, Jim," drawled Slim; "her feelin"s is harrowed some, an"
irrigation is what they needs most."
The outburst of tears was incomprehensible to the bridegroom. Already irritated by the McKee incident, he took affront at the display of sentiment.
"I don"t want any crying at MY wedding."
"It"s half my wedding," pouted Echo tearfully.
"Ain"t I losin" my daughter," sobbed Mrs. Allen.
"Ain"t you getting my mother"s son?" snapped Jack.
The men howled with glee at the rude badinage which only called forth a fresh burst of weeping on the part of Mrs. Allen, in which the girls began show symptoms of joining.
Polly sought to soothe the trouble by pushing Jack playfully to one side, and saying: "Oh, stop it all. Look here, Echo Allen, you know your hair ain"t fixed yet."
"An" the minister due here at any minute," added Mrs. Allen.
"Come along, we will take charge of you now," ordered Polly. The girls gathered in a group about the bride, bustling and chattering, telling her all men were brutes at time and, looking at the fat Sheriff, who blushed to the roots of his hair at the charge, that "Slim Hoover was the worst of the lot." Mrs. Allen pushed them away, and again fell weeping on Echo"s shoulder. "Hold on now, They ain"t a soul goin" to do nothin" for her except her mother," she whimpered.
"There she goes again," said Jack in disgust.
"He"s goin" to take my child away from me," wailed the mother.
Tears were streaming down Echo"s cheek. "Don"t cry, mother," she wept.
"No, no, don"t cry," echoed the girls.
"It"s all for the best," began Polly.
"It"s all for the best, it"s all for the best," chorused the group.
"Well, I"ll be--" gasped Jack.
"Jack Payson you just ought to be ashamed of yourself," said Polly, stamping her foot. "You nasty, mean old thing," she threw in for good measure.
Mrs. Allen led Echo from the room. The girls followed, crying "You nasty, mean old thing" to the unfortunate bridegroom.
The cowboys enjoyed the scene immensely. It was a bit of human comedy, totally unexpected. First they imitated the weeping women, and then laughed uproariously at Jack.
"Did you ever see such darned carryings on," said the bridegroom, in disgust. "What have I done?"
"Shucks! All mothers is like that," remarked Allen sympathetically.
"They fuss if their girls marry and they fuss if they don"t. Why, my ma carried on something scandalous when Josephine roped me."