Crosby ironically.
"But I'm going to jail, too," finished he grimly.
"All right," called Crosby from the window; "here we come!"
And forth marched the desperate quintet, three strapping young men and
two very pretty and nervous young women. They were met by Anderson Crow
and a dozen armed men from Tinkletown, every one of them shaking in his
boots. The irrepressible Mrs. Crosby said "Boo!" suddenly, and half the
posse jumped as though some one had thrown a bomb at them.
"Now, I demand an explanation of this outrage," said Jack Barnes
savagely. "What do you mean by shooting at me and my--my wife and
arresting us, and all that?"
"You'll find out soon enough when you're strung up fer it," snarled
Anderson Crow. "An' you'll please hand over that money I paid fer the
hoss and buggy. I'll learn you how to sell stolen property to me."
"Oh, I'm a horse-thief, am I? This is rich. And they'll string me up,
eh? Next thing you'll be accusing me of killing that farmer up near
Boggs City."
"Well, by gosh! you're a cool one!" ejaculated Anderson Crow. "I s'pose
you're goin' ter try the insanity dodge."
"It's lucky for me that they caught him," said Barnes as the herd of
prisoners moved off toward the string of boats tied to Mr. Bracken's
wharf.
"Come off!" exclaimed Squires, the reporter, scornfully. "We're onto
you, all right, all right.
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