"Hardly that, sheriff," replied Rathburn cheerfully. "I arrived in town this morning after most of the population had moved to the desert and the country aroun' Imagination. I didn't think I was goin' to be lucky enough to catch you in till I saw you arrive in that flivver. Are you back for more recruits?" The sheriff continued to hold the paper without moving. "When you first started to talk, Rathburn, I thought maybe bravado had brought you here to make a grand-stand play," he said coolly. "But I see you're not as foolhardy as some might think. I always gave you credit for being clever." "Thanks, Sheriff Long," said Rathburn dryly. "There's a few preliminaries we've got to get over, so----" His gun leaped into his hand and instantly covered the official. He stepped to the end of the desk, reached over and appropriated the belt with the two guns with his left hand. He tossed the belt and weapons to a vacant chair. "Now, sheriff, I didn't come lookin' for a cell like you hinted; I drifted in for a bit of information." "This is headquarters for that article, especially if it's about yourself," said Long, dropping the paper on his desk and sitting down in the chair before it. "What all have you got against me?" frowned Rathburn. "Nothing much," said the sheriff with biting sarcasm; "just a few killings, highway robbery, a bank stick-up, two or three gaming houses looted, and a stage holdup. Enough to keep you in the Big House for ninety-nine years and then hang you." Rathburn nodded. "You're sure an ambitious man, sheriff. The killings now--there was White and Moran, that you know about, an' a skunk over in California named Carlisle, that you don't know about, I guess. I couldn't get away from those shootings, sheriff." "How about Simpson and Manley?" countered the official scornfully. "Not on my list," said Rathburn quickly. "I heard I was given credit for those affairs, but I wasn't a member of the party where they were snuffed out." "If you can make a jury believe that, you're in the clear," said Long. "But how about that stage driver yesterday morning?" Rathburn's face darkened. "I got in from the west just in time to stumble on that gang of rats," he flared. "That's how your men came to see me. The chase happened to come in my direction, that's all." "If you can prove that, you're all right again," the sheriff pointed out. "The law will go halfway with you, Rathburn." "An' I probably wouldn't be able to prove it," said Rathburn bitterly. "Those other things--the bank job an' the gamblin' stick-ups--I was younger then, sheriff, an' no one can say that that bank sharp didn't do me dirt."