‘Day before yesterday—’
‘You weren’t there then?’
‘No, but they told me he had the nerve—that Bistula of the rurales, himself, finished the job. The soldiers wouldn’t shoot straight!’
‘I sure wanted to get to Monte in time,’ Bart said, queerly. ‘The game’s up, with him gone—’
Did he mean he regarded their own capture as inevitable? After another pause, Bart asked: ‘And what do you get, Mister, for coming down here and mixing up in this?’
‘Your father arranged all that. We were friends, you know—’
‘Don’t you know you’re in bad, ridin’ with this outfit?’
‘I took the job—’
‘Better if I’d left you locked up in that cell. You’re along with what’s left of a losing game—’ Bart’s laugh sounded forlorn as he added: ‘Why, they’re after us from every town—’
Elbert cleared his throat ‘You see, I took the job—’