"If anybody's gonna make money out of Harpe I am." Thus Bull, stubbornly. "I ain't aimin' to make _money_ out of Harpe. What I'm figuring to make out of him is somethin' else again." "Whatsa use of lying thataway? Don't--" "That'll be about all," interrupted Racey. "You've called me a liar enough for one night. I ain't got _all_ kinds of patience. You going to tell me what I want to know?" "No, I ain't." "Yo're mistaken. You'll tell me, or you'll leave town." "Leave town!" "Yep, leave town, go away from here, far, far away. So far away that you won't be able to blackmail Jack Harpe. See? Yore knowledge won't be worth a whoop to you then. An' I'll find out what I want to know from Marie." "She'll never tell." "Oh, I guess she will," said Racey, but he knew in his heart that worming information out of Marie would not be easy. Saving his life was one thing, but giving up information with a money value would be quite another. The amiable Marie was certainly not working for her health. "Yo're welcome to what you can get out of her," said Bull. "Then you'll be starting to-night. From here we'll go get yore hoss and see you safely on yore way." "What'll you gimme to tell you?" inquired the desperate Bull. "Nothin'--not a thin dime, feller. C'mon, let's go." "Nun-no, not yet. I--say, suppose you lemme talk to Jack Harpe first myself. Just you lemme get my share out of him, and I'll tell you all you wanna know." "When you going to him?" Racey demanded, suspiciously. "To-night if I can find him. It ain't so late. But to-morrow, anyway." "I'll give you till sundown to-morrow night. If you ain't ready to tell me then you'll have to drift." "Maybe, maybe not," sneered Bull. "I've said it," Racey said, shortly, rising to his feet. "There's no ropes on you. Skip.... Nemmine yore Winchester. She's all right where she is. So long, Bull, so long." CHAPTER XIV THE SURPRISE The sun, lifting over the rim of the world, sprayed its rays through the window and splashed with gold the face of Racey Dawson. He awoke, and much to the profane disgust of Swing Tunstall, shook that worthy awake immediately. "Aw, lemme sleep, will you?" begged Swing, with suspicious meekness, reaching surreptitiously for a boot. "You lemme alone, that's a good feller." "Get up," commanded Racey. "Get up, it's the early worm catches the most fish. Rise and shine, Swing. Never let the sun catch you snorin'. Besides, I can't sleep any more myself. I--" Wham! Swing's flung boot shaved Racey's surprised ear and smashed against the partition. "You'll wake up that Starlight proprietor," Racey said, calmly, as he picked up the boot and dropped it out of the window. "Good dog," he continued, presumably addressing a canine friend without, "leave Swing's nice new boot alone, will you? Don't go gnawin' at it thataway. It ain't a bone."