“You goin’ to home, Doc? I’m goin’ down to the saloon––to fetch Will.”
“You are?” It was Jim’s startled inquiry. “What for?”
“I’m going to yarn some––mebbe. You get right out to the ranch, boy. An’ don’t get around here till I send you word.”
The doctor stood for a moment.
“He needs hangin’,” he declared. Then, in the cheery starlight, he looked into the two men’s faces and grinned. He had a great knowledge of the men of his village. “Well, so long,” he added, and abruptly strode away.
The moment he had gone Jim protested.
“Peter,” he said, “we’ve got to help him; we’ve got to get him clear of that saloon. It’s not because I like him or want–––”
“Just so. But we got to help him. So, you get right out to the ranch, an’––leave him to me.”