"Give me that rope, Davis." Then Jack paid in pain for his vanity, and paid in full.

The Captain did not bind his arms--perhaps because of the crowd and a desire to seem merciful.

But though he merely tied the prisoner's ankle after the usual manner, he knotted the small rope with a vicious yank, pulled it as tight as he could and passed the rope under the flinching belly of the buckskin to Davis, on the other side.

Also he sent a glance of meaning which the other read unerringly and obeyed most willingly.

Davis drew the rope taut under the cinch and tied Jack's other ankle as if he were putting the diamond hitch on a pack mule.
The two stepped back and eyed him sharply for some sign of pain, when all was done.
"Thanks," drawled Jack.