rd swept his hands outward in a gesture like a benediction and
stepped back. Where slurring growls had greeted him he left a silence
which testified to the telling effect of his words. Their anger now was
readier to burn into indignation against the invader who had sought to
alter their life.

Though the young Stacy had interrupted by no word or sound, there was
something in his stillness of deportment that presaged storm ready to
burst. As he came to the edge of the bowlder his movements had the
smooth elasticity of a panther--and when he stood silent for a moment
his eyes rained lightning bolts of intensity.

"I've done stood here without interruptin' an' listened at Kinnard
Towers' talk," he said, and the contempt of his tone was as stinging as
a rawhide lash. "'Most all of what he has told ye, I believes ter be
lies an' if they be, I aims ter have a full reckonin', but afore I
begins I wants ter charge ye all in full solemnity thet we've pledged
him a safe journey home--an' ef harm comes ter him afore he gits thar
our name stands disgraced ter ther end of time. He's a hirer of
murderers an' he's fattened offen poverty an' ther gallows air too good
fer him--but a pledge is a bond!"

Bear Cat wheeled for a moment to face Kinnard Towers himself as he made
this assertion, then he proceeded with the crescendo of a gathering
tempest.

"He says thet ther murder of Jerry Henderson hain't no consarn of
your'n, and he tells ye thet Henderson's under suspicion of seekin' ter
cheat ye outen yore birthright. Ef he believed thet on good reason an'
held his counsel thus far he aided an' abetted ther robbery. But I
believes thet's a lie, too, because ef Jerry Henderson sought ter rob
ye an' plunder ye successfully all he needed ter do war to _make a
deal_ with Kinnard Towers, fust.

"This man thet rules thet country from a boozin' ken, whar' ther stench
of infamy pizens ther air, tells ye he stands fer law--an' I tells ye
thet his kind of law makes all decent men want ter be outlaws. Judges
an' juries hyarabouts does his biddin' ter ther damage of every honest
man, because they walks in terror of him--an' debauches themselves ter
hold his favor! He flies high an' his wings are strong--he passes fer
an eagle--but he feeds on carrion."

Bear Cat swept into a stinging arraignment of the chicanery with which
he charged Towers, piling invective upon anathema with the passionate
sweep of a tornado. As faces that had listened to To