“Yes, Mac. Larry behaved sensible an’ promised not to make any trouble, so I aim to be as easy on him as I can. Falkner had other notions. He tried to make a gun play.”
“You takin’ us to Wagon Wheel, Aleck?”
“Yes.”
“You have a warrant for my arrest?”
The officer showed the warrant and Rowan glanced over it.
“All right,” said McCoy. “I’ll saddle up an’ be ready in a jiffy.”
“No need for that, Mac. Fact is, I’m not quite ready to start. Got a little more business to do first. If you don’t mind I’ll make the Circle Diamond my headquarters for a few hours,” Matson proposed amiably.
The owner of the ranch answered pleasantly but perhaps with a touch of sarcasm. “Anything you say, Aleck. If yore boys are here at dinner time I expect Mrs. Stovall can fix you-all up.”
“Sure, Mac, an’ if he needs horses or guns probably you can lend him a few,” Falkner added with an oath. “An’ maybe a puncher or two to join his damned posse.”
“No use gettin’ annoyed, Hal,” the ranch owner said quietly. “This looks like a silly business to us, but Aleck has to make his play. He’s not arrestin’ us for pleasure. I reckon he thinks he’s got some evidence, or maybe he wants to scare us into thinkin’ he has some so he can pick up something against someone else.”