“It does make a strong combination,” admitted the sheepman.
“Strong! It’s invincible. I can see him playing it, laughing up his sleeve all the time at the honest fools he is working. No, sir! I draw out of a game like that. Y’u don’t get a run for your money.”
“Of course he knows already what has happened,” mused Bannister.
“Sure he knows. That fellow with Morgan made a bee-line for him. Just about now he’s routing the sheriff out of his bed. We got no time to lose. Thing is, to burn the wind out of this town while we have the chance.”
“I see. It won’t help us any to be spilling lead into a sheriff’s posse. That would ce’tainly put us in the wrong.”
“Now y’u’re shouting. If we’re honest men why don’t we surrender peaceable? That’s the play the ‘king’ is going to make in this town. Now if we should spoil a posse and bump off one or two of them, we couldn’t pile up evidence enough to get a jury to acquit. No, sir! We can’t surrender and we can’t fight. Consequence is, we got to roll our tails immediate.”
“We have an appointment with Miss Messiter and Nora for to-morrow morning. We’ll have to leave word we can’t keep it.”
“Sure. Denver and Missou are playing the wheel down at the Silver Dollar. I reckon we better make those boys jump and run errands for us while we lie low. I’ll drop in casual and give them the word. Meet y’u here in ten minutes. Whatever y’u do, keep that mask on your face.”
“Better meet farther from the scene of trouble. Suppose we say the north gate of the grand stand?”
“Good enough. So-long.”