"I saw the
whole affair, and don't ye try any of yer lies on me."
"What business is it of yourn, anyway, Josh Britt? It ain't your
funeral, is it? You git out of this, an' leave me alone!"
"Not my funeral, eh? It might have been one fer the lad here, though,
if you had yer way. I saw ye pull yer horses over to scare him, and
when he spoke up to ye like a man, ye slashed him with yer whip. He
didn't sass ye, not a bit of it."
"Well, you'll git the same, then, ye old fool," and once more Tom
raised his whip to strike.
He was not dealing with a boy now, however, but with the strongest man
in Hillcrest. Tom knew this, but in his rage he had thrown reason to
the wind. With lightning rapidity Captain Josh reached up, caught Tom
by the arm, and in a twinkling brought him sprawling upon the side of
the road. With an ugly oath, the teamster tried to regain his feet,
but he was helpless in the grip of the captain's powerful arm. He
writhed and cursed, but all in vain, and at length was forced to give
up the struggle, and sat panting upon the road completely cowed.
By this time several men from the store surrounded the contestants, who
watched with much interest the subjection of Tom Dunker.
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