ll have been fightin' you and your interests and the cattle
company and the Republicans for all we were worth. They arrested
Emerson again on that same old murder fake, to say nothin' of me for
bein' drunk and disorderly, which I sure was, and there was hell to
pay for two days. They tried to take Emerson out of town, and Tom and
me held up the train they had him on. I buffaloed the engineer while
they took care of Daniels and Halliday, and then we pulled our
freight. And here we ride up to the ranch, fugitives from justice,
just barely in time to save you-all."

Wellesly laughed. "I am very glad you did it. My only regret is that
you didn't break jail several days earlier."

"I don't know whether or not you-all understand the position I take
about that Whittaker case," said Mead. "I reckon likely you think I
break jail every time you get me in just out of pure cussedness. But I
don't. I do it because I think you-all haven't any reason but pure
cussedness for puttin' me in. I consider that you haven't any right to
arrest me on mere suspicion, and I shall keep on resistin' arrest and
breakin' jail just as long as you fellows keep on tryin' to run me in
without any proof against me. Why, you don't even know that Will
Whittaker's dead! Now, Mr. Wellesly, I'll make a bargain with you."
Mead's eyes were fastened on Wellesly's with an intent look which
gripped the invalid's attention. Wellesly's eyelids suddenly half
closed and between them flashed out the strips of pale, brilliant
gray.

"All right, go on. I must hear it before I assent."

"It is this: I won't ask you to have any evidence that I had a hand in
the killing of Will Whittaker, if he is dead. But whenever you can
prove that he is dead and show that he died by violence, I give you my
word, and my friends here, Tom Tuttle and Nick Ellhorn, will add
theirs to mine, I give you my word that I'll submit quietly to arrest
and will stand trial for his murder. But unless you can do that I
shall keep on fightin' you till kingdom come!"

Tuttle and Ellhorn nodded. "He's right!" they exclaimed. "We'll stick
to what he says."

Wellesly considered Mead's challenge in silence for a moment. He was
wondering whether this was the courage of innocence or whether it was
mere bluffing audacity. It was very like the former, but he decided
that it must be the latter, because he was quite convinced that Mead
had killed Whittaker.

"Of course," he said, "after what you have done