"But 'Red-hot' Dan does."
"What's he got to do with us?"
"See here, Sergeant-Major—why not trust me? You needn't play you're not going after Dan, because I know you are. He's the only whiskey-trader operating 'round here and——"
"Trust you? Why, of course we trust you!" laughed the cunning Sergeant-Major. "But we don't talk about our work to—outsiders."
"I guess I should be snubbed!" said Welland. "That's a nasty slap to a man who wants to help you. I'm talking for your good when I tell you Dan's a devil. Wait till I tell you——"
And he narrated several stories of the trader's daring.
"Now," he concluded, "if that won't satisfy you, ask Martin there. Isn't Dan a dangerous man, Martin?"
Martin, apparently asleep, pricked up his ears like a dozing dog.
"You bet," he said.
"There!" Welland declared. "The whole country knows these things. You're new—and you should be warned."