“I’ve a pint flask under the seat cushion,” Joshua told him. “It’s yours when we sight the stage. Now get busy and tell me the whole of it.”
“Jack, gi’me dat flask now an’—”
“Say, you talk and talk fast or—” Once more those long brown fingers writhed in and out, and The Whimperer began speaking rapidly.
“Well, dere ain’t much more to tell. But keep yer eye on dat boid dey call Lee Sweet, Jack—de cowpunch. Watch dat boid, I’m tellin’ youse. I seen Slim let dat guy get away with a stack o’ De Golden Eagle’s money apoipoise. I seen Slim’s whole card, an’ Slim knew as well as I did dat he had dis Lee Sweet beat. But he lets Sweet take de pot, an’ after dat dey’re t’ick as mud. Dat’s dat.
“An’ de only udder t’ing is dis here: Slim’s been tellin’ all over Ragtown dat youse was Number Fifty-six Thoity-five in a kid-pen back East, an’ tryin’ to make out youse’re a bad actor all aroun’—see? An’ ever’ time dis big Lee Sweet gets a snoot-full in De Silver Dollar he tells de worl’ he’s gonta get youse. Den Slim Wolfgang he grins. Dat’s all, Jack. Honest to Gawd! An’ f’r de sake of de good ole times de bot’ of us had togedder I hope youse win!”
“Thanks,” drawled Joshua in mock politeness.
Two hours later they sighted the stage from Ragtown to Spur winding about the hairpin curves above them. And half an hour later The Whimperer eagerly clutched the flask of snakebite remedy, and the weird old John Yegg boarded the stage and became only a bitter memory in the life of Cole of Spyglass Mountain.
CHAPTER XXVIII
“YOU’LL COME BACK TO SPYGLASS MOUNTAIN”
WINNIE THE WEEPER was not the least attractive of the girls who were attached to The Golden Eagle at Ragtown for the purpose of separating the railroad stiffs from their hard-earned money. She was dark-eyed and dark-haired and of a good figure. She danced well, and was able to put up a painted pout that made men part with their money and believe themselves in luck. When the pout failed, she had the gift of causing tears to spurt from her dark eyes, and then men longed to make her smile once more, and only money could make her smile. Hence “Winnie the Weeper” was the underworld “monaker” of Slim Wolfgang’s girl.
It was evening, three days after Cole of Spyglass Mountain had hauled his load of lumber to the homesteads and set to work with nails and hammer. The stage reached Ragtown, and Winnie left her place behind the chair of Slim Wolfgang in The Golden Eagle, where she had been watching a desultory game of stud between Slim and one of his cappers. The revel of the night was not yet on, and Slim had asked her—ordered her, rather—to see if any mail had come for them on the stage.