acting in self-defense."

"Very well," said Manning, "we will admit all that, but tell us what you
know."

"Well," answered King, after a pause in which to collect himself, "It
was about three weeks ago, that Duncan came to the city, and knowing
where I stopped, he came to see me. I happened to be in from my run when
he called, and he wanted to know if I could get a leave of absence for a
week, as he wanted to go on a fishing trip and would pay all the
expenses. I went to the master of transportation and found no difficulty
in obtaining my leave, and then I saw Tod and told him I was at his
service. We then procured a team, guns, fishing-tackle and provisions,
not forgetting a good supply of smoking and drinking articles, and the
next day started off in the direction of Grand Junction. Before we
started, Duncan told me about getting into a scrape over a game of cards
at Leadville, and that he had shot two gamblers and was keeping out of
the way until the excitement over the affair had died out."

"Duncan has raised one man, I see," laughed Manning. "When I heard this
story first, he had only killed one gambler in his fight over the
cards."

"Well, I am telling you what Duncan told me," answered King.

"That's all right," said Manning quietly, "but suppose you go ahead and
tell us what he told you about robbing the Geneva bank."

The cool assurance of the detective, and the easy assumption with which
he stated his conclusions, so disconcerted King, that he was speechless
for a few moments. Recovering himself quickly, however, he answered
doggedly:

"Well, I intended to tell you the whole story, and I was simply telling
it in my own way."

"Go on, Mr. King," said Manning, "all I want is the truth, but the card
story won't do."

"I guess it won't do me any good to tell you anything else but the
truth," rejoined King. "Well, Tod told me about this shooting business
before we started, and of course I believed it. I noticed, though,
before we were away from the city very long, that there was something
else on his mind, that made him very uneasy, and gave him a great deal
of trouble. He was moody and silent for hours, and it was only when he
drank a great deal that he was at all lively, or seemed like his old
natural self. Finally, on the morning of the third day, I put the
question fairly to him, and he then told me what he had done. He said he
and two others had robbed a bank, and that he was making his way
westw