“Well, this is one o’ ther times when it’s got ter be did, an’ I reckon we might as well be about it.  Git ready.”

“No, sir, I’m not goin’ ter do it.”

“Tom, yer a fool.  Do yer know what’ll happen when ther boss comes back an’ finds out that it ain’t been did?”

“I do.”

“An’ aire yer goin’ ter resk it?”

“I be.”

“Then ye’re a bigger fool than I am.  I’m goin’ ter carry out orders.  What’s ther difference?  A couple of good slashes an’ it’s all over.”

“But think o’ the death cry, Bill.  I’ve heerd too many o’ them already.  I hears them when I sleep and they wake me up.”

“Tom, yer talk ter me like a sick canary peeps.  I always thought yer wuz a man.”

“An’ don’t yer think so now, Bill?”

“Not from ther way yer talkin’.”

“Well, if yer has any doubts erbout it I’ll give yer a chanct ter prove it, any way yer like.”

“Now, what’s ther use o’ talkin’ that away, Tom?  Dick’s dead by ther hand o’ ther boss.  What’s thar in it fer you or me if ther cub in thar dies er not?  Be sensible.”

“It ain’t matterin’ a chaw o’ terbaccer ter me whether he dies er not, but he’s got a right ter die in a natural way, so to speak.”

“An’ how is that, my Sunday-school friend?”

“In a fair fight, by gosh!”

“An’ who’s goin’ ter give him a fair fight?  I don’t want none o’ it.”

“So that’s ther way yer built, is it, Bill?  I always thought yer was a game man.”

“I reckon I be, but that’s not in this question.  Here’s an enemy ter ther gang what lays bound in the cabin.  Why should I resk my life in a fight with him er fer him.  It’s so derned easy fer a feller ter go in thar an’ stick a knife inter him, an’ then, yer see, it’s all over with.”

“Yer wrong, Bill.”

“I’d sooner do that than have ther boss come back an’ stick his knife inter me.”

“Aire yer afraid ter fight ther boss?”

“He’s ther only man I be afraid of.”

There was a long silence following this, and Ted understood the terrible power of Checkers over his men, and Desmond’s warning.

“Well, I’m tired o’ chewin’ erbout ther virtue o’ killin’ a man one way or another, an’ I’m goin’ ter foller orders.  If you don’t want ter jine in I reckon as how I’ll have ter tell ther boss that yer flunked.”

There was no response to this, and a few moments elapsed in which Ted listened hopefully for his champion’s voice.

Suddenly something dropped in the fireplace, and Ted, straining his eyes in that direction, saw a tiny pair of tan riding boots come into view, followed by a tan skirt, and Stella dropped noiselessly into the room.

She held up a warning finger as she saw Ted in the corner.

“Sh, sh!” she whispered, as she felt for his bonds and cut them.

Ted was on his feet on the instant, and Stella pressed a revolver into his hand.