ay--savvee? Being dead,
with grass growing out of your carcasses, you won't know when I hang,
but I'll sure have the pleasure a long time of knowing you-all beat me
to it."

Daylight paused.

"You surely wouldn't kill us?" Letton asked in a queer, thin voice.

Daylight shook his head.

"It's sure too expensive. You-all ain't worth it. I'd sooner have my
chips back. And I guess you-all'd sooner give my chips back than go to
the dead-house."

A long silence followed.

"Well, I've done dealt. It's up to you-all to play. But while you're
deliberating, I want to give you-all a warning: if that door opens and
any one of you cusses lets on there's anything unusual, right here and
then I sure start plugging. They ain't a soul'll get out the room
except feet first."

A long session of three hours followed. The deciding factor was not
the big automatic pistol, but the certitude that Daylight would use it.
Not alone were the three men convinced of this, but Daylight himself
was convinced. He was firmly resolved to kill the men if his money was
not forthcoming. It was not an easy matter, on the spur of the moment,
to raise ten millions in paper currency, and there were vexatious
delays. A dozen times Mr. Howison and the head clerk were summoned
into the room. On these occasions the pistol lay on Daylight's lap,
covered carelessly by a newspaper, while he was usually engaged in
rolling or lighting his brown-paper cigarettes. But in the end, the
thing was accomplished. A suit-case was brought up by one of the
clerks from the waiting motor-car, and Daylight snapped it shut on the
last package of bills. He paused at the door to make his final remarks.

"There's three several things I sure want to tell you-all. When I get
outside this door, you-all'll be set free to act, and I just want to
warn you-all about what to do. In the first place, no warrants for my
arrest--savvee? This money's mine, and I ain't robbed you of it. If
it gets out how you gave me the double-cross and how I done you back
again, the laugh'll be on you, and it'll sure be an almighty big laugh.
You-all can't afford that laugh. Besides, having got back my stake that
you-all robbed me of, if you arrest me and try to rob me a second time,
I'll go gunning for you-all, and I'll sure get you. No little
fraid-cat shrimps like you-all can skin Burning Daylight. If you win
you lose, and there'll sure be some several unexpected funerals around
th