The outlaw sat him down on a crumbling wall. “I value your good opeenion, Mr. Bransford, and I would not have ye judge that fear held me from fightin’ ye, drop or no drop. ’Twould have done no good to any one and I should certainly have been killed. Men, ye’ve a grand idee of strategy yourself. I wouldna hae ye think I’m daft enough to throw away my life to no good purpose. But there the case is verra diff’rent. There are no thick walls now to muffle the noise: ye canna keel me wi’oot muckle deesturbance, bringin’ the police on ye. Thorpe has friends here, verra alert folk—and ’gin he gets wind o’ any deesturbance at just this place—ye see!” He wagged his head in slow cunning; he drew in a long breath. “Ho!” he bellowed. “Ho! Murder!”
They pulled him down, fighting savagely.—Page [166].
“Damnation!” said Jeff, and sprang at his throat. The others had his arms: they pulled him down, fighting savagely, turned him over, piled on his back, and gagged him. But it was too late. Two policemen were already running down the street. The neighbors, however, kept prudently within doors.
“Jeff, you and Pringle hike for the U. S. A.,” gasped Leo. “Get Thorpe, anyhow. I’ll tap this devil dumb, and stay here and stand the gaff, to give you a start.”
“Hold on! Don’t do it,” said Beebe. “Let me talk to the policemen. Do you tie Mr. MacGregor up.”
“Talk to—why you can’t even speak Spanish!” said Pringle.
“You don’t know me. Watch!” said Billy.
Without waiting for further remonstrance he went to meet the advancing officers. They halted; there was a short colloquy and, to the amazement of the three friends, they turned amicably back together and passed from sight at the next corner.
“Let me make a suggestion,” said Aughinbaugh. “Lug this gentleman back to Jeff’s quarters, tie him up tight, and I think I can undertake to keep him while you get your man. As soon as you have Thorpe, see Tillotson’s lawyers and let them swear out warrants for the arrest of Patterson and the cab driver, and then take steps to secure Borrowman and Mr. MacGregor legally. You can have them arrested for kidnapping or illegal detention, and held here until we can get extradition papers. You might send some one—or two, or three—over right away, in case Mr. Borrowman drops in. He might eat me if he found me there alone. For myself, I am not sorry to remain in the background. I have no desire for prominence. You fellows are going back to Rainbow—and you’re used to trouble anyway, so it’s all very well for you. But I have to stay here and I’m a legal-minded person. This will be a hanging matter for some of ’em before they get done with it. They’ll talk like the parrot. I’ve no desire to make a lot of enemies. There’s no knowing how many leading lights may be implicated in this thing when they go to turning state’s evidence.”