"It's the effect of taking good advice, not the result of orders." Some of the masked listeners stirred impatiently.
"It's all the same," Jim growled.

"Your men don't come into town, and Paloma suffers from the loss of that much business." "I'm sorry to hear it." "So this committee," the gambler went on, "has instructed me to inform you that your immediate departure from Paloma will be necessary if you care to go on living." "I can't go just yet," Tom declared, with a shake of his bead.

"My work here at Paloma isn't finished." "Your work will be finished before the night is over, if you don't accept our orders to leave town," growled Duff.
"Dear me! Is it as bad as that ?" queried Reade.
"Worse, as you'll find! What's your answer, Reade ?" "All I can say then," Tom replied innocently, "is that it is too bad." Clip! Jim Duff bent forward, administering a smart cuff against the right side of the sitting engineer's face.
"Don't do that!" warned Tom, leaping lithely to his feet.

He faced the gambler coolly, but the lad's muscles were working under the sleeves of his shirt.
Duff drew back three steps, after which he faced the boy, eyeing him steadily.
"Reade, you've heard what we have to say to you.

That you can't go on living in Paloma.