Gonzalez sent one searching glance into Conrad’s set face, and dropped sullen eyes to the ground. He knew there was only one thing to do if he wished to live. For half the minute he stared downward, then looked blankly up at Curtis. “Fifteen seconds more,” said the stern voice. His face worked, his lips opened and closed again. Then he seemed to gather himself together for the unwilling effort, and the words fairly rushed from his mouth:
“It is your friend, Señor Bancroft.”
“What!” exclaimed Curtis, in a voice that had sunk back into his throat.
Gonzalez repeated his words. Conrad leaned forward, white with anger, and thrust the two revolvers close to the other’s face. “José,” he said slowly, in hard, sharp tones, “a little while ago a man told me that. I shook him as if he’d been a dog and told him that he lied. I ask you once more, the last time, who is it?”
Gonzalez threw back his head, crossed his arms, and looked his antagonist angrily in the eye. “I am not a liar, Don Curtis,” he said proudly. “I may kill sometimes, if my patron wishes. But I do not lie.” He placed the muzzle of one of the pistols against his heart. “I have told you the truth, Señor Conrad,” he went on. “I swear to you, by the Mother of God, that I could not say different if you pulled that trigger now.”
Conrad trembled and his white face went suddenly crimson. “It is hard to believe,” he said; but he lowered the pistols. “I know you are not a liar, José, and you seem to be speaking the truth. You understand, don’t you,” he added in a tone almost apologetic, “that it is hard for me to believe what you say?”
“It is the truth, señor.”
Curtis put his own pistol away, and looked thoughtfully at the other. “José,” he said, “I shall have to think about this thing. In the meantime I’m going to keep your gun.”
“As you like, Don Curtis,” replied Gonzalez, indifferently. “I shall do nothing more. To-morrow I shall ask for my time.”
Conrad eyed him keenly. “Well, then, here’s your gun. Go on to Adobe Springs and do the work, as I told you. To-morrow morning, if you want it, you can have your time.”