“By God, he’s gone loco!” exclaimed Baldy.
“I’m not crazy.” Jack shook his head.
“Go back,” he warned his father. “Go back before I shoot.”
Lucy and Wanna drew away, but no one tried to stop them.
“Somebody shoot the damn fool,” ordered Baldy. “He’s crazy, I tell yuh.”
“What’s the matter, Jack?” asked his father. “Put down that gun. Why are you acting like this?”
“Go ahead and shoot me, if you want to,” said Jack, ignoring the doctor’s questions.
“Stuck on the girl yourself, eh?” sneered Horan.
But Jack refused to debate the question. No one made a move to draw a gun. Kohler and Horan both held rifles in their hands, but something told them that this white-faced kid might shoot straight.
“It was a dirty deal,” said Jack evenly. “I’ve been raised to admire dirty deals, but this one was more than I could stand. I never had a chance to live honest. Until lately I’ve never had any ambition to be anything but a crook.