“West.”

“Uh-huh. I know that. What’re you ridin’ on?”

“I’m broke.”

“Yeah? You don’t look it. You look like a workin’man.”

“I am.”

“What d’ye follow?”

“Railroad-construction work.”

“Huh! A stiff, eh?”

“Yes—a stiff.”

The “shack” was silent a little. Then seeming to have decided the point under contemplation: