Withdrawing from the road, the three men sat down on the pine needles. Bull Bracker and the girl, full of anxiety, drew within earshot.
Brinklow took out his pipe and filled it. “Tell me the whole story, Wat,” he said encouragingly.
But the older man hesitated. He was obviously thinking up what to say. His face looked pinched and tormented with the effort. He glanced at Julia. McNab watching him, could see him as a boy, a sturdy bullet-headed boy, resolute and game. He looked like a boy now, a boy cornered. He bit his fingers and the silence lengthened. Brinklow glancing at him shrewdly, said:
“Wait a minute, Wat, before you begin… What’s the use of tryin’ to string me along? The truth is bound to come out. And if you lie to me it’ll only put you in worse than you are already.”
“Who sa
