"You had a shotgun when you come in."
"And if I'd known who was waiting, I'd have come shooting. But you can
all cheer up. Maybe those who look for me won't expect to need guns, and
you can take them just like you did me. Maybe they won't even have guns.
Then you can shoot them down from ambush, _like you did Johnny Blazer_!"
Six pairs of eyes regarded him, and only Pete's remained unchanged. The
rest shifted from deliberate purposefulness to cold fury, and Barr's
face turned white. His lips tautened, and he bit his words off and spat
them at Jeff.
"Ye lie!"
"I do not lie!"
Swiftly Barr closed the distance between them. His left hand snaked
forward and his open palm struck Jeff's cheek. It was not a blow that a
man might offer a worthy antagonist, but an insulting slap. Barr's eyes
were glowing coals.
"Ye lie, policeman! Nary a man in the hills shot Blazer thataway!"