Page:Harvey O'Higgins--Silent Sam and other stories.djvu/263

Rh. It gives him something to do, I guess. He knows I can't go far. I have to stay in hotels mostly. Boarding-houses won't let you in when you 're as bad as I am. I can't go off and live by myself. I 'm scared to get far from a doctor."

There was a long silence. The car rocked along the rails to a rhythm of "Clackety-Clack" and "clackety-clack." Suddenly Colburn said: "Look here. The Chief of Police is an old friend of mine. If you 'll come back to Denver, I 'll see that your brother gets out—and does n't bother you any more. And it won't go into the papers. I 'll get a warrant against him for murder, if we can't scare him any other way. He 'll never dare to put his nose inside the town again."

Sims sighed. "That 's all right. Thanks," he said.

"Well, will you do it?"

He studied the hollows between his knuckles, rubbing the back of one clenched hand with the thumb of the other. "What 's the use? Leave him alone. He 's in hell as it is." He looked around. "You don't think he 'd be doing this if he were n't suffering like the devil, do you? He knows how he treated her. He knows he 's got nothing against me. And I ain't going to give him anything. He murdered her, and he can't get away from it. That 's what 's the matter with him. Leave him alone. He 's getting all that 's coming to him."

"How about you?"

"I can stand it. Never mind me."

His tone was final. Colburn returned to Fisher's