"Well, seein'
it's your hat, I reckon you got a right to know how them holes come in
it." And he told Pete of his ride, and how he had misled the posse,
and he spoke jestingly, as though it had been a little thing to do;
hardly worth repeating. Then he told of a ride he had made to Showdown
to let Pete know that Gary would live, and how The Spider had said that
he knew nothing of Pete--had never seen him. And of how Ma Bailey
upheld Pete, despite all local gossip and the lurid newspaper screeds.
And that the boys would be mighty glad to see him again; concluding
with an explanation of his own presence there--that he had been over to
the T-Bar-T to see Houck about some of his stock that had strayed
through some "down-fence"--"She's all fenced now," he explained--and
had run into a bunch of wild turkeys, chased them to a rim-rock and had
managed to shoot one, but had had to climb down a canon to recover the
bird, which had set him back considerably on his home journey. "And
that there bird is hangin' right on my saddle now!" he concluded. "And
I ain't et since mornin'.
Pages:
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547
548
549
550
551
552
553
554
555
556
557
558
559
560