The man paused here, and Ashton-Kirk said:
"And then he was about to draw a revolver, but you stopped him."
Hutchinson stared at the speaker; the desire to deny this was strong in his face, but the certainty of the keen eyes was so great that he said, weakly:
"Joe was only a little wild, that's all. He didn't mean any harm. When I spoke to him, he was as quiet as a baby."
Ashton-Kirk asked a dozen more questions regarding the relationship between the Bounder and Fenton; Hutchinson answered them all hesitatingly and with many qualifications. Finally, the front door swung open and Scanlon, who was watching it, said:
"Here's your man now."
Fenton, frowning and evidently in bad humor, entered the back room. Hutchinson greeted him with:
"Hello, Joe. A couple of people who want to talk to you."
Ashton-Kirk nodded to the broken-nosed man, who looked at him, inquiringly.
"What do you want?" asked he. "It ought to be something bright to rout a man out of bed."