"That is just it. Presumably a disinterested party may help along."
"I'm rather sorry."
"Why?"
"Well, they're a rough lot, quick, passionate, not too scrupulous——"
"Why, this is a peace affair, isn't it?"
"Yes," dryly; "so make every son-of-a-gun disarm before he becomes a part of it."
With this the young man, now dressed, flung into his saddle with an alert grace that spoke favorably of the regeneration of his bath.
Perhaps the most significant thing about this interview was that neither had spoken of what was uppermost in the mind of each—Wah-na-gi!
"Hello!" exclaimed the chief of police as he settled in his saddle; "here come McShay and his pals. Howdy, boys," he shouted down to the three men who had halted their horses in mid-stream. "By the way, McShay, I've just had a chat with our chairman. Perhaps you'd like a word with him before we confer this afternoon."
"Sure," called back a thick-set man with a meaty face; "sure, only ain't got nuthin' to say nobody couldn't hear."