"You see?
soft as cheese--rotten," he said.

And then the knife struck something hard.
A chill crept over him.

Stupefied, he scraped the base metal back, revealing a portion of _an irrefutably good dollar._ The dismayed rascals looked up.

In Thompson's hand a large, businesslike gun wavered portentously from one head to the other.
"Go on!" he admonished.

His tone was not particularly pleasant.