Ze Rainbow Company work ze mine, ze
mill. _Moi_, Pierre, mek ze gol' in mon cellaire." Zephyr blew forth the
words in a cloud of smoke.

Pierre started and looked around. His hand made a motion toward his hip
pocket. Zephyr dropped his bantering tone.

"Not yet, Frenchy. You'll tip over more soup kettles than you know of."
He dropped the flattened bullet on the table and pointed to it. "That
was a bad break on your part. It might have been worse for you as well
as for me, if your man hadn't been a bad shot."

Pierre reached for the bullet, but Zephyr gathered it in.

"Not yet, M'sieur. It was intended for me, and I'll keep it, as a token
of respect. I know M'sieur Pierre. Wen M'sieur Pierre bin mek up ze min'
for shoot, M'sieur Pierre bin say,'_Comment!_ Zat fellaire he bin too
damn smart _pour moi_.' Thanks! Me and Firmstone are much obliged."

Pierre shrugged his shoulders impatiently. Zephyr noted the gesture.

"Don't stop there, M'sieur. Get up to your head. You're in a mess, a bad
one. Shake your wits. Get up and walk around. Explode some _sacres_.
Pull out a few handfuls of hair and scatter around. No good looking
daggers. The real thing won't work on me, and you'd only get in a worse
mess if it did. That's Firmstone, too. We both are more valuable to you
alive than dead. Of what value is it to a man to do two others, if he
gets soaked in the neck himself?"

Pierre was angered. It was useless to try to conceal it. His swarthy
cheeks grew livid.

"_Sacre!_" he blurted. "What you mean in hell?"

"That's better. Now you're getting down to business. When I find a man
that's up against a thing too hard for him, I don't mind giving him a
lift."

"You lif' and bedam!" Pierre had concluded that pretensions were useless
with Zephyr, and he gave his passion full play. Even if he made breaks
with Zephyr, he would be no worse off.

"I'll' lif'' all right. 'Bedam' is as maybe. Now, Frenchy, if you'll
calm yourself a bit, I'll speak my little piece. You've slated Firmstone
and me for over the divide. _P'quoi, M'sieur?_ For this. Firmstone
understands his business and tends to it. This interferes with your
cellar. So Mr. Firmstone was to be fired by the company. You steered
that safe into the river to help things along. You thought that Jim
would be killed and Firmstone would be chump enough to charge it to a
hold-up, and go off on a wrong scent. Jim got off, and Firmstone was
going to get the safe. I know you are k