you want me to stop with you. If you don't ask me, I'll ride off with
the boy."

"All right. Fire ahead, old hoss. I'll ask you fast enough."

The Texan told his story from the beginning. Only one thing he
omitted-- that Arlie had told him the name of the Squaw Creek raiders.

"There are the facts, Alec. You've got them from beginning to end.
It's up to you. Do you want me here?"

"Before I answer that, I'll have to put a question myse'f, Steve. Why
do you want to stay? Why not leave the valley while you're still able
to?"

"Because Jed Briscoe put it up to me that I'd got to leave within a
week. I'll go when I'm good and ready."

Alec nodded his appreciation of the point. "Sure. You don't want to
sneak out, with yore tail betwixt yore laigs. That brings up another
question, Steve. What about the Squaw Creek sheep raiders? Just for
argument, we'll put it that some of them are my friends. You
understand-- just for argument. Are you still aiming to run them
down?"

Fraser met his frank question frankly. "No, Alec, I've had to give up
that notion long since-- soon as I began to guess they were friends of
Miss Arlie. I'm going back to tell Hilliard so. But I ain't going to
be run out by Briscoe."