That’s all that saved us, I reckon. I rolled over, shoved my rifle across the lumber pile and took a snap-shot at Cale Ames, as he threw down on Hashknife from one of the windows. I seen Cale’s gun fall outside and he fell down past the window-sill. Hashknife jumps back around the corner and covers the crowd with his six-shooter.
I reckon that Mitch Ames figured that Hashknife would explode that dynamite, and he also figured that we wouldn’t let him surrender; so he ran out of the door, and vaulted over the top of the railing. I ain’t no wing shot with a rifle, but Mitch Ames didn’t get up after he hit the ground.
“Got him!” I yells at Hashknife.
Buddy follers me out into the street and we meets Hashknife near the crowd.
“Sol,” says Hashknife, “I ought to kill you for lyin’. If it hadn’t been for Buddy your scheme would ’a’ worked. I reckon them Ameses are your best shots, eh?”
Sol masticates real fast for a while, and then says—
“What do yuh want now?”
“Watch ’em, Sleepy,” grins Hashknife.
Hashknife takes a sheet of paper and a pencil from his pocket and holds the paper against the side of the building, while he writes. He finally finishes and goes over to Sol Vane and hands him the paper.
“Have your council sign that, Sol; and then you put your name at the bottom.”