"I am addressing the Captain in command?" Pate asked.
"You are, sir."
"Then let me announce that I am a Deputy United States Marshal."
"And why are you fighting us?"
"I have no desire for bloodshed, sir. I am acting under the orders of the Marshal of the Territory."
"And what does the Marshal demand?"
"The arrest of the men for whom I have warrants."
Pate had never seen John Brown and had no idea that he was talking to the old man himself.
"I have a proposition to make," he went on.
"I'll have no proposals from you, sir," Brown announced shortly. "I demand your surrender."