"Aw'right." Pete became more calm. "I'll leave him 'lone, but all the same I wan' it 'stinctly un'erstood I kin lick any man in town 'ceptin' m' wife. G'night, everybody."
He gathered himself together and by a supreme effort lunged through the door and into the deepening dusk.
"Well, Roly?" Nat asked, turning back.
His ironic calm gave Roland pause. For a moment he lost his bearings and stammered in confusion. "I come in to tell you that me and you's apt to have trouble," he concluded.
"Oh? And are you thinking of starting it?"
"You bet I'll start it, and I'll start it damn' quick if you don't leave Josie Lockwood alone."
"So that's the trouble, is it?" commented Nat thoughtfully.
"Yes, that's the trouble. From now on I want you to let her alone, and you'll do it, too, if you know what's best for you."
A suggestion of menace in his manner, unconnected with any hint of physical correction, caught Nat's attention. He frowned over it.
"Just what do you mean by this line of talk?" he inquired blandly, stepping nearer.