"I know him," said Dawson. "Used to ride for Tasker once. C'mon, Tommy, what you scared of? It's me, Johnny Dawson."
Tommy at once remounted and rode in to them. "'Lo, Johnny," he said, with a straight mouth. "Did that man with his arms tied kill Daley?"
"Is that his name?" asked Billy, flicking his thumb toward the dead man.
"Jim Daley," said Tommy. "Did he?"
"Sure, I killed him," Slike truculently answered the question. "What about it?"
At that instant Billy demonstrated that the hand is sometimes quicker than the eye.
"He'll die anyway," he said mildly. "You better let us do it."
"I pass," surrendered Tommy, removing his hand from the butt of his six-shooter.
"Daley got one before he went," said Billy, returning his six-shooter whence it came. "He's back there on the bank of the creek if you want to look."
"This is sure hard on Daley," observed Tommy, dismounting to turn loose the calf. "He told me he came north for his health."