See heah, Surface, flashed Brazos, his piercing tenor stiffening his hearers. I am a Texan an' one of the breed thet don't forget insult or injustice. You're a hell of a fine Westerner to act as an adviser to a Cattlemen's Association. A real Westerner-a big-hearted cattleman who was on the square- wouldn't condemn me without askin' for proofs. You take this Bodkin's word. If he hasn't got some queer reason to fasten this crime on me, it's a shore bet he itches to hang someone. Wal, I happen to be innocent an' I can prove it. I could choke up an' spit fire at the idee of my bein' taken for a low-down skunk who'd shoot a boy in the back to rob him. An' swallow this, Mister Raine Surface-you'll rue the day you insulted a ragamuffin of a cowboy who was only huntin' for a job.