"Meaning--?"

"Hell! You know what he means," Tony cried, feebly.

"So! You do me the honor to offer a bribe." Gray laughed. "Pardon
my amusement. It sounds callous, I know, but, frankly, your
unhappy condition fails to distress me. Well, how much do you
offer?"

"All we got. A coupla thousand."

"A temptation, truly."

Mallow addressed his companion irritably. "Have a little sense. He
don't need money."

Calvin Gray had never been more pleased with himself than now, for
matters had worked out almost exactly according to plan, a
compliment indeed to his foresight and to his executive ability.
He loved excitement, he lived upon it, and much of his life had
been devoted to the stage-management of sensational exploits like
this one. As a boy plays with a toy, so did Gray amuse himself
with adventure, and now he was determined to exact from this one
the last particle of enjoyment and whatever profit it afforded.

Within a few minutes of his arrival at Ranger, the town was noisy
with the story, for he drove down the brightly lighted main street
and stopped in front of the most populous cafe. There he called
loudly for a policeman, and when the latter elbowed his way
through the crowd, Gray told him, in plain hearing of all, enough