"What questions did you want to ask him?"
"About Biddy—his little girl."
"What did she do—rob the bank?"
Laughter bubbled in the crowd and Cecil Bates had a sudden helpless feeling. "No, Sam. You see I was up real early this morning and—"
More laughter and someone remarked, "Glory be! He was up at dawn looking for law-breakers."
"—I met Biddy Parker riding out on her burro."
Sam Taber waved an impatient hand. "I got the story—what there was of it. One of my men brought it to me this morning. That's why I'm here."
"Then you'll back me up."
Sam Taber rifled a contemptuous look at Bates. "Put that popgun away. You've got no more case than a jackrabbit. I'll ask the questions around here."
The crowd was silent and Cecil Bates stood alone and the humiliation was gall. He holstered his gun muttering, "You got no right to do this Sam. You got no right to make me look foolish."