“Hold on, hold on, hold on, Jeff!” Pole raised a warning hand. “Keep that paw off'n that cannon in yore belt or thar'll be a war right here before you hear my proclamation of the terms we kin both live under. Jeff, I am yore neighbor an' friend I love you mighty nigh like a brother, but I'm here to tell you that, with all yore grit an' good qualities, you are makin' a bellowin' jackass o' yourself. An' ef I let you put through yore present plans, you'll weep in repentance fer it till you are let down in yore soggy grave. Thar's two sides to every question, an' you are lookin' only at yore side o' this un. You cayn't tell how sorry I am about havin' to take this step. I've been a friend to yore entire family--to yore brothers, an' yore old daddy, when he was alive. I mighty nigh swore a lie down in Atlanta to keep _him_ out o' limbo, when he was arrested fer moon-shinin'.” “I know all that!” growled Wade; “but, damn it, you--” “Hold yore taters, now, an' listen. You mought as well take yore mind off'n that spring. You hain't a-goin' to git at Nelson Floyd without you walk over my dead body--an' thar's no efs an' an's about that. You try to mount that hoss, an' I'll kill you ef it's in my power. I say I've got some'n to tell you that you'll wish you'd listened to. I know some'n about Minnie that will put a new color on this whole nasty business; an' when you know it, ef you kill Nelson Floyd in cold blood the law will jerk that stiff neck o' your'n--jerk it till it's limber.” “You say you know some'n about Minnie?” The gaunt hand which till now had hovered over the butt of the big revolver hung straight down. Wade stood staring, his lip hanging loose, a sudden droop of indecision upon him. “I know this much, Jeff,” Pole said, less sharply, “I know you are not on the track o' the fust offender in that matter, an' when I prove _that_ to you I don't believe you'll look at it the same.” “You say--you say--” “Listen now, Jeff, an' don't fly off the handle at a well-wisher sayin' what he thinks has to be said in justice to all concerned. The truth is, you never seed Minnie like other folks has all along. You seed 'er grow up an' she was yore pet. To you she was a regular angel, but other folks has knowed all along, Jeff, that she was born with a sorter light nature. Women folks, with the'r keen eyes, has knowed that ever since she got out o' short dresses. Even yore own wife has said behind yore back a heap on this line that she was afeard to say to your face. Not a soul has dared to talk plain to you, an' even _I_ wouldn't do it now except in this case o' life an' death.” Wade shook back his long, coarse hair. He was panting like a tired dog. “I don't believe a damn word of what you are a-sayin,” he muttered, “an' I'll make you prove it, by God, or I'll have yore lifeblood!”