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“Hold your fire!” Benteen shouted around

As the Triple C riders e the unar atteh His eyes were rounded until the whites were showing He was a panicked animal with no more places to hide

“What’s this all about?” he pleaded “Somebody tell me what this is all about?”

“You knohat it’s about, Sallie” Benteen kept his gun leveled on the man

“No I swear I don’t” His breath wheezed through his voice, shrill with panic “You jest came ridin’ in here, shootin’ up the place”

“Have you forgot that Triple C herd you tried to run off two nights back?” Benteen challenged “My son was killed in that”

“I was here I swear I was right here” Behind hih the wooden structure, their hissing, popping soundsa hellish backdrop “I never stole anybody’s cattle Not the Triple C No one’s”

“He’s lyin’, boss” Vince Garvey pushed to the front of the tightening circle of cowboys and tossed to the ground a cowhide, carrying the Triple C brand “This was dryin’ on his fence”

“I trade with the Indians I bought it off of them,” he explained frantically while blood dripped from the wound in his hand

Bull Giles shouldered past Benteen, his ugly features curling with hate “Let e” He pulled his knife and reached down to slash off a strip of rawhide Handing it to Barnie, he said, “Tie up his hands” A second strip of rawhide, he took to the watering trough

“No” Big Ed Sallie started to struggle “No!”

Tboys juade and forcing his arms behind his back When they were tied, Bull strolled back with the wet piece of rawhide He sade’s hat

“I don’t have to tell you about rawhide, do I, Sallie?” He began to tie the wet stri

p around the e and duck away “When it’s wet, it stretches fine” He pulled it taut and tied a knot by the temple “But when it dries, it shrinks It’d pop your skull plumb open, Sallie”

“No, don’t,” he cried in fear “It was all your doin’, Bull You was the one who set me up”