"The word 'stop,'" said Bill. "When Cimarron Bill says 'stop,' you can bet they stop. They know what it means if they don't. If you don't think so, count the notches on my guns."
"You mean that you would turn against me?"
"Not exactly, madam; I mean that I have no idea of letting any other gent get my job. I do this piece of work—or no one does it. I rather admire the sand of this Merriwell, though I'd slit his throat, just the same, for the price. If there was no object in being against him, I'd surely be for him; and it seems that you ought to know better than to put Cimarron Bill in the ranks of the enemy."
"It's a threat!" cried the woman.
"Not so; it's a business statement, begging your pardon, madam. I don't propose that any gent shall jump my claim."
"How can I be sure you'll not play me false? How can I know you'll not take the money and do nothing?"
"The syndicate paid me in advance, as you know. I did my best to earn the money. It was not my fault that I failed. In this case, if you pay the sum I have named, I swear to you I'll know no rest until I have succeeded. If I cannot succeed in one way, I will in another."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'll capture or kill Frank Merriwell himself."