“There's trouble afoot, Miss Margaret. No girl should be out, let alone an unprotected one.”
“I did not come here unprotected. There was a man with me. The one, Mr. Dunke, that you are now looking for to murder!”
She gave it to him straight from the shoulder, her eyes holding his steadily.
“Struve?” he gasped, taken completely aback.
“No, not Struve. The man who stood beside Lieutenant Fraser, the one you threatened to kill because he backed the law.”
“I guess you don't know all the facts, Miss Kinney.” He came close and met her gaze while he spoke in a low voice. “There ain't many know what I know. Mebbe there ain't any beside you now. But I know you're Jim Kinney's sister.”
“You are welcome to the knowledge. It is no secret. Lieutenant Fraser knows it. So does his friend. I'm not trying to hide it. What of it?”
Her quiet scorn drew the blood to his face.
“That's all right. If you do want to keep it quiet I'm with you. But there's something more. Your brother escaped from Yuma with this fellow Struve. Word came over the wire an hour or two ago that Struve had been captured and that it was certain he had killed his pal, your brother. That's why I mean to see him hanged before mo'ning.”
“He did kill my brother. He told me so himself.” Her voice carried a sob for an instant, but she went on resolutely. “What has that to do with it? Isn't there any law in Texas? Hasn't he been captured? And isn't he being taken back to his punishment?”