“You don’t need to be so —— virtuous!” snapped Barnhardt. “You’re in pretty deep already. And any time I want to, I can cut you loose from your present job. Don’t forget that I can do you a lot of harm, if I want to, Tex. One of these days that X Bar 6 is going to be mine.”
“Yea-a-ah? How do yuh figure that, Lee?”
“That’s my business. You think things over, Tex.”
Tex nodded shortly.
“All right. What kind of a case have they got against Taylor?”
“I don’t know. That Wade, the railroad detective, seems to think the dog links ’em pretty close to the case, but he’s got to wait until the engine crew and the messenger identify the dog as being the one that was on the express car.”
“Marion says it’s a dog that picked up with them the day after the hold-up. I don’t remember any such a dog around the Double Bar 8.”
“Well, you don’t need to worry about it, do you?”
“Why not? I expect to marry Taylor’s daughter.”
“Well? She’s not under arrest. You better look out for Le Moyne, Tex. He’s got the same ideas that you have, and I understand that Apostle Paul thinks a lot of Le Moyne.”