"You brought me here because you wanted to be sure there'd be enough of you to down me.

Well, damn you--get goin!" His voice rose to a screech of awful rage; and while it still resounded through the room he dropped his right hand and dragged at the pistol at his hip.
It was done so swiftly that Ruth could make no movement to interfere.
And yet as swiftly as her father's hand had dropped to the holster at his side, the dark-faced man who stood near Singleton anticipated the movement.

His right hand moved like a streak of light.

It went down, then up again with the same motion.

The air rocked with a crashing report, mingled with Ruth's scream of terror.