He waited a moment until he saw that his instructions were being carried out, then he leaped again to the doorway of the powder house.
Sautee’s face was livid, and his teeth were chattering. Rathburn took a match from his shirt pocket.
“Stop!” screamed Sautee. “I’ll talk. You were 169 right. It was a frame-up. I’ll tell everything––everything!”
The perspiration was streaming from his face, and his voice shook with terror.
“You’ll have a chance to talk in less than a minute,” said Rathburn calmly.
A chorus of shouts came from the trail just below the powder house as a number of men came into view.
Rathburn stepped in front of the door with the match in his left hand and his gun in his right.