“No, you don't, Barney Palmer!” he cried. “You stay right here!”
Startled as Barney was by this appearance of his dearest enemy, he wasted no precious time on mere words. He swung a vicious blow at Larry, intended to remove this barrier to his freedom. But the experienced Larry let it glance off his forearm, and with the need of an instantaneous conclusion he sent a terrific right to Barney's chin. Barney staggered back, fell in a crumpled heap, and lay motionless.
Sparing only the fraction of a second to see that Barney was momentarily out of it, Larry sprang upon Joe Ellison and tried to break the deadly grips Joe held upon Old Jimmie.
“Stop, Joe—stop!” he cried peremptorily. “Your killing Jimmie Carlisle isn't going to help things!”
Without relaxing his holds, Joe turned upon this interferer.
“Larry Brainard! How'd you come in here?”
“I've been here all the time. But, Joe—don't kill Jimmie Carlisle!”
“You keep out—this is my business!” Joe fiercely replied. “If you've been here all the time, then you know what he's done to me, and what he's done to my girl! You know he deserves to have his neck twisted off—and I'm going to twist it off!”
Larry perceived that Joe's sense of tremendous injury had made him for the moment a madman in his rage. Only the most powerful appeal had a chance to bring him back to sanity.
“Listen, Joe—listen!” he cried desperately, straining to hold back the other's furious strength from its destructive purpose. “After what's happened, every one is bound to know that Maggie is your daughter! Understand that, Joe?—every one will know that Maggie is your daughter! It's not going to help you to be charged with murder. And think of this, Joe—what's it going to do to your daughter to have her father a murderer?”