“You talk like a fool!” shouted the man from the steamer.
“And you act like a fool!” insisted the other.
“I don’t believe you fellows ever owned any net!” the enraged outlaw shouted. “I’ve seen your old houseboat sneaking along the river here for months. You’re the kind of men who never have the price of a drink unless you can steal it. If you try to hold this boat, I’ll fill you both full of bullet holes!”
The eyes at the stock of the shotgun flashed wickedly, but the man’s voice was remarkably smooth as he said:
“If you move, either one of you, or try to get out a gun I’ll blow the tops of your heads off! You observe,” he went on, “that there are two barrels to this gun, and I’ll tell you right now that they’re both loaded with slugs.”
“This is nonsense!” roared the man from the steamer.
“That’s what I’ve been calculatin’,” replied the other.
Alex was thinking fast. It seemed to him at that time that it would be better to leave the Rambler in the hands of the houseboat men than in those of the men from the steamer.
The houseboat men would be satisfied with a small amount of money as soon as they discovered that they could get no more, while the other outlaws would insist on taking the Rambler for their alleged debt.
Taking this view of the situation, he turned to the man who was holding the shotgun.