I ducked behind a bush and started for help, when I met the Captain and a few others coming out to see what was the matter.

That," finished Mr.
Swift, "is the facts of the case, just as they happened." The Captain waited a minute or two, that the "facts" might sink deep into the minds of the listeners.
"Were any shots fired by any one except Allen ?" he asked coldly, when the silence was sufficiently emphasized.
"There were not.

Nobody," Swift flashed with a very human resentment, "had a chance after he commenced!" He flushed at the involuntary tribute to the prowess of his enemy, when he saw that maddening grin appear again on Jack's lips; a grin which called him liar and scoundrel and in the same flicker defied him.
The investigation took on the color of a sensation at that point, when the stranger sprang suddenly to his feet and stood glaring at the witness.

There were no signs now of tears or weakness; he was a man fighting for what he believed to be right and just.
"Captain, that man is a dirty liar!" he cried hotly.

"He and his precious cronies tried to rob me, out there.