"But to-day, bein' the end of our month, we got our pay an' quit.

Beasley sure was sore." "Why'd you knock off ?" John essayed no reply, and his brothers all had that quiet, suppressed look of knowledge under restraint.
"Listen to what I come to tell you, then you'll talk," went on Dale.

And hurriedly he told of Beasley's plot to abduct Al Auchincloss's niece and claim the dying man's property.
When Dale ended, rather breathlessly, the Mormon boys sat without any show of surprise or feeling.

John, the eldest, took up a stick and slowly poked the red embers of the fire, making the white sparks fly.
"Now, Milt, why'd you tell us thet ?" he asked, guardedly.
"You're the only friends I've got," replied Dale.

"It didn't seem safe for me to talk down in the village.