"Considerin' all points, howsoever, I'm thinkin' them wallops was
distributed very proper."
They bandied such talk between them, and occasionally Bill chimed in with a
joke. Greaser ate in morose silence. There must have been something on his
mind. Buell took very little dinner, and appeared to be in pain. It was
dark when the meal ended. Bud bound me up for the night, and he made a good
job of it. My arm burned and throbbed, but not badly enough to prevent
sleep. Twice I had nearly dropped off when loud laughs or voices roused me.
My eyes closed with a picture of those rough, dark men sitting before the
fire.
A noise like muffled thunder burst into my slumber. I awakened with my body
cramped and stiff. It was daylight, and something had happened. Buell ran
in and out of the cabin yelling at his men. All of them except Herky were
wildly excited. Buell was abusing Bud for something, and Bud was blaming
Buell.
"Thet's no way to talk to me!" said Bud, angrily. "He didn't break loose in
my watch!'
"You an' Greaser had the job. Both of you--went to sleep--take thet from
me!"
"Wal, he's gone, an' he took the kid's gun with him," said Bill, coolly.
"Now we'll be dodgin' bullets."
Dick Leslie had escaped! I could hardly keep down a cry of triumph. I did
ask if it was true, but none of them paid any attention to me.
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