human
Boys, he said,
gpt
Are you willing to let the troopers have him? You must remember that the thing looks bad against him, and he will not be tried by you.
human
Then it should be quite plain that you will have to keep the troopers from him. It is only a question of a day or two at the longest before they trail him. They may do it to-night. Esmond will very soon find out that he isn't pushing on in front of him for the settlements.
gpt
There's not a trooper in this valley going to lay hands on Tomlinson.
human
Well, he said,
gpt
I guess not, said the man who had spoken already.
human
Still, if there's any shooting, two or three of us are going to smell trouble as well as Tomlinson.
gpt
There will not be any, said Ingleby.
human
Esmond has only two men at the outpost. Nobody wants to hurt them. The thing can be done without it. In fact, that's essential. I want three or four determined men.
gpt
Have you figured what's going to happen when Esmond comes back?
human
I have, said Ingleby.
gpt
He will have a handful of tolerably active men under his orders then, but only a handful, after all. Now, the outpost's outside the ca隳n, and there's a spot where a log barricade would effectively block the trail. The troopers will have to be kept outside it until we can arrive at a compromise. Esmond will probably make it. It would be two months, anyway, before he could get more troopers in, and if there's another heavy snowfall it mightn't be done till spring.