"I'll tell you gents this," he said. "Quade was killed because he needed killing, and Sinclair confessed because he's straight."
With that, casting an ugly glance at the lot of them, he went back into the kitchen and demanded a cup of coffee. The Chinese cook obeyed the order in a hurry, highly flattered and not a little nervous at the presence of the great man in the kitchen.
While Kern was there, Arizona entered. The sheriff greeted him cheerfully, with his coffee cup balanced in one hand.
"Arizona," he said, "or Dago, or whatever you like to be called—"
"Cut the Dago part, will you?" demanded Arizona. "I ain't no ways wishing to be reminded of that name. Nobody calls me that."
Kern grinned covertly.
"I s'pose," said Arizona slowly, "that you and Sinclair had a long yarn about when he knew me some time back?"
The sheriff shook his head.
"Between you and me," he said frankly, "it sounded to me like Sinclair knew something you mightn't want to have noised around. Is that straight?"
"I'll tell you," answered the other. "When I was a kid I was a fool kid. That's all it amounts to."