"I'll be missed in Ackerton."
"We know," Barr muttered. "The boy said it all."
Jeff moistened dry lips with his tongue. His chance shot had ricocheted; whatever story Dan had concocted tied in with Jeff's trip to Ackerton. He had to think his way out of this.
"People will be looking for me."
"They won't find you," Barr promised. "But could be they'll find us."
Jeff said pointedly, "Five against one?"
"You had a shotgun when you come in."
"And if I'd known who was waiting, I'd have come shooting. But you can all cheer up. Maybe those who look for me won't expect to need guns, and you can take them just like you did me. Maybe they won't even have guns. Then you can shoot them down from ambush, like you did Johnny Blazer!"
Six pairs of eyes regarded him, and only Pete's remained unchanged. The rest shifted from deliberate purposefulness to cold fury, and Barr's face turned white. His lips tautened, and he bit his words off and spat them at Jeff.
"Ye lie!"