By the time he had finished drinking and faced about, the little man with the carroty-blond hair was on his feet.

Alan stared, and the little man grinned.

His ruddy cheeks grew pinker.

His blue eyes twinkled, and in what seemed to be a moment of embarrassment he gave his gun a sudden snap that drew an exclamation of amazement from Alan.

Only one man in the world had he ever seen throw a gun into its holster like that.