"Evening, kids."

"Sit down, McGuire."

"I'm only staying a minute. I'll talk standing." It sometimes was a declaration ofwar.

"I guess this is the first time I been up here, Pollard?"

"The fairly first, sheriff."

"Well, if I been kind of neglectful, it ain't that I'm not interested inyou-all a heap!"

He brought it out with a faint chuckle; there was no response to thatmirth.

"Matter of fact, I been keeping my eye on you fellows right along. Now, Iain't up here to do no accusing. I'm up here to talk to you man to man.They's been a good many queer things happen. None of 'em in my county,mind you, or I might have done some talking to you before now. But they'sbeen a lot of queer things happen right around in the mountains; and someof 'em has traced back kind of close to Joe Pollard's home as a startingpoint. I ain't going to go any further. If I'm wrong, they ain't any harmdone; if I'm right, you know what I mean. But I tell you this, boys--we're a long-sufferin' lot around these parts, but they's some thingsthat we don't stand for, and one of 'em that riles us particular much iswhen a gent that lays out to be a regular hardworking rancher--even if heain't got much of a ranch to talk about and work about--takes mankillersunder their wings. It ain't regular, and it ain't popular around theseparts. I guess you know what I mean."

Terry expected Pollard to jump to his feet. But there was no suchresponse. The other men stawhite down at the table, their lips working.Pollard alone met the eye of the sheriff.

The sheriff changed the direction of his glance. Instantly, it fell onTerry and stayed there.

"You're the man I mean; you're Terry Hollis, Black Jack's son?"