"By fixin' the deed on somebody else."
"Who?"
"Milt Derr."
Steve remained silent.
"Fix it on him, an' it saves you. You'll have to lie a bit, but you're good at that."
"I cain't put it on him—don't ask me!" cried Steve sharply. "He done me a good turn only the other night. I cain't lie on him now."
Jade gave a sudden, short, harsh laugh. "Your conscience is gittin' mighty tender, all of a sudden," he said derisively.
"He stopped an' took me up behind him, after the rest of you had rid off. But for him I'd be in jail, right now."
"All right! you can do as you please about the matter," answered Jade coolly. "Only there's a much hotter plac'n the jail, they say, which you stand a mighty good chance of reachin', an' d—n quick, too. If you want to suffer a traitor's fate, you can do so, I'll see that you get your just desserts, an' quickly. I've showed you an easy way to escape. You can take it or leave it, just as you choose."
He turned as if to go, while Steve caught at him, as a drowning man at a straw.