“Donefor？“murmuredtheother，lookingaboutstupidly。
“Donefor，that’stheword。Donefor？Yes，Iguesswe’redonefor。“
“WhatarewegoingtodoNOW？“exclaimedMarcus，sharply，afterawhile。
“Well，let’s——let’sbemovingalong——somewhere。“
“WHERE，I’dliketoknow？What’sthegoodofmovingon？“
“What’sthegoodofstoppinghere？“
Therewasasilence。
“Lord，it’shot，“saidthedentist，finally，wipinghisforeheadwiththebackofhishand。Marcusgroundhisteeth。
“Donefor，“hemuttered；“donefor。“
“IneverWASsothirsty，“continuedMcTeague。“I’mthatdryIcanhearmytonguerubbingagainsttheroofofmymouth。“
“Well，wecan’tstophere，“saidMarcus，finally；“wegottogosomewhere。We’lltryandgetback，butitain’tnomannerofuse。Anythingwewanttotakealongwithusfromthemule？Wecan——“
Suddenlyhepaused。Inaninstanttheeyesofthetwodoomedmenhadmetasthesamethoughtsimultaneouslyroseintheirminds。Thecanvassackwithitsfivethousanddollarswasstilltiedtothehornofthesaddle。
Marcushademptiedhisrevolveratthemule，andthoughhestillworehiscartridgebelt，hewasforthemomentasunarmedasMcTeague。
“Iguess，“beganMcTeaguecomingforwardastep，“Iguess，evenifwearedonefor，I’lltake——someofmytruckalong。“
“Holdon，“exclaimedMarcus，withrisingaggressiveness。
“Let’stalkaboutthat。Iain’tsosureaboutwhothat——whothatmoneybelongsto。“
“Well，IAM，yousee，“growledthedentist。
Theoldenmitybetweenthetwomen，theirancienthate，wasflamingupagain。
“Don’ttryan’loadthatguneither，“criedMcTeague，fixingMarcuswithhislittleeyes。
“Thendon’tlayyourfingeronthatsack，“shoutedtheother。“You’remyprisoner，doyouunderstand？You’lldoasIsay。“Marcushaddrawnthehandcuffsfromhispocket，andstoodreadywithhisrevolverheldasaclub。“Yousoldieredmeoutofthatmoneyonce，andplayedmeforasucker，an’it’smyturnnow。Don’tyoulayyourfingeronthatsack。“
MarcusbarredMcTeague’sway，whitewithpassion。McTeaguedidnotanswer。Hiseyesdrewtotwofine，twinklingpoints，andhisenormoushandsknottedthemselvesintofists，hardaswoodenmallets。HemovedastepnearertoMarcus，thenanother。
Suddenlythemengrappled，andinanotherinstantwererollingandstrugglinguponthehotwhiteground。McTeaguethrustMarcusbackwarduntilhetrippedandfelloverthebodyofthedeadmule。Thelittlebirdcagebrokefromthesaddlewiththeviolenceoftheirfall，androlledoutupontheground，theflour-bagsslippingfromit。McTeaguetoretherevolverfromMarcus’sgripandstruckoutwithitblindly。Cloudsofalkalidust，fineandpungent，envelopedthetwofightingmen，allbutstranglingthem。
McTeaguedidnotknowhowhekilledhisenemy，butallatonceMarcusgrewstillbeneathhisblows。Thentherewasasuddenlastreturnofenergy。McTeague’srightwristwascaught，somethinglickeduponit，thenthestrugglingbodyfelllimpandmotionlesswithalongbreath。
AsMcTeaguerosetohisfeet，hefeltapullathisrightwrist；somethinghelditfast。Lookingdown，hesawthatMarcusinthatlaststrugglehadfoundstrengthtohandcufftheirwriststogether。Marcuswasdeadnow；McTeaguewaslockedtothebody。Allabouthim，vastinterminable，stretchedthemeasurelessleaguesofDeathValley。
McTeagueremainedstupidlylookingaroundhim，nowatthedistanthorizon，nowattheground，nowatthehalf-deadcanarychitteringfeeblyinitslittlegiltprison。
TheEnd