"I
reckon thar'll be one hell of a fight before I do now. However, you
don't need to worry, young man. On second thought, I 'll have the
hosses brought over here, an' we 'll go down this trail."
Winston glanced about into the faces of Hicks and the Swede. There was
no help forthcoming from either, but he had already reached a definite
decision for himself.
"Very well," he said calmly, "I 'll go with you quietly, sheriff, only
I don't need any hand-cuffing."
"Never use 'em," and Hayes affectionately patted his gun. "I reckon
this yere instrument will do the business all right if any
misunderstandin' should arise atween us goin' down. However, I 'll
trouble yer to discard them weapons for the sake o' peace."
Without a word the engineer unbuckled his belt, tossed it over to
Hicks, and then slowly turned his body about to prove himself entirely
disarmed. Then he smiled, and extended his hand. The sheriff grasped
it cordially.
"There need be no hard feeling between us, Hayes," he said pleasantly.
Pages:
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342