A Life for a Kiss (S)

Jim Richeson was a haunted man, but he smiled carelessly as he handled the sign offering a reward for his capture, dead or alive. He smiled again as he wheeled his horse and galloped off down the road, waving a satirical adieu to the posse. A pretty mountain girl with pail in hand, stood at the pump when Jim rode up. He took the pail from her, drank deeply, and then, as an afterthought, seized her and kissed her heartily. Then he leisurely mounted his horse and galloped off. Furious at the insult, the girl rushed for a gun, only to meet her lover, just as he rounded the bunkhouse. That person at once flew into a passion and gave hot chase to the vanishing bandit, vowing to have his life. Meanwhile, the girl, at the head of a posse, followed less swiftly. A royal battle took place in the mountains. Dick and Jim, sheltered behind the great rocks, tried every expedient known to the West in an effort to kill each other. Finally both exhausted their ammunition and crept forward to test their strength. A desperate hand-to-hand encounter took place, Jim with the advantage of a long knife, Dick with only his bare hands. Suddenly Dick found the sharp blade enter his arm. For an instant he hesitated, then a shot rang out, and Jim plunged headforemost over the rock. Dick fainted then and there and recovered later to see the mountain girl leaning over him.