"How do you know it is? Mebby he took the other!"
"He started out on the cayuse that made these little tracks," retorted
Charley, "an' I don't see no reason to think he swapped animules. Don't
you know the prints of yore own cayuse?"
"Lawd, no!" answered Old John. "Why, I don't hardly ride the same cayuse
the second day, straight hand-running. I tell you we ought to foller
that other trail. He's just cute enough to play some trick on us."
"Well, you better do that for us," Charley replied, hoping against hope
that the old man would chase off on the other and give his companions a
rest.
"He ain't got sand enough to tackle a thing like that single-handed,"
laughed Jed White, winking to the others.
Old John wheeled. "Ain't, hey! I am going to do that same thing an'
prove that you are a pack of fools. I'm too old to be fooled by a common
trick like that. An' I don't need no help--I'll ketch him all by myself,
an' hang him, too!" And he wheeled to follow the other trail, angry and
outraged. "Young fools," he muttered. "Why, I was fighting all around
these parts afore any of 'em knowed the difference between day an'
night!"
"Hard-headed old fool," remarked Charley, frowning, as he led the way
again.
"He's gittin' old an' childish," excused Stevenson. "They say warn't
nobody in these parts could hold a candle to him in his prime.
Pages:
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147