“Will you let me go if I do?”
“I will make no conditions with you. Hand over the watch!”
Burns drew it from his inside pocket and handed it over.
“Humph! So far so good. Now how about that dollar you took to buy eggs?”
“It is the only money I have, except a few pennies. Please let me keep it.”
“If I tell what you have done to the miners you won’t need any more money,” said Luke grimly.
“Why not?” asked Burns, trembling.
“Why not?” repeated Luke. “Because they will hang you to the nearest tree. You won’t need to trouble about money matters after that.”
“You won’t give me up, Mr. Robbins,” pleaded Burns, in an agony of terror. “I—I am not fit to die. Besides, I am a young man. I am not yet forty. I will turn over a new leaf.”
“It’s high time you did. It is a long time since you earned an honest living.”