"I don't mean holes—I mean cows!" explained Jake.
"Oh, then it 's all right," responded Buck. "I ain't goin' to ask you to dig no cows, Jake. But yo 're goin' to dig some nice ditches to-morrow; long, deep ones, an' good an' wide."
"I ain't never dug a ditch in my life," hastily objected Jake.
"Why, did n't you tell me how you dug that railroad cut down there in Iowa, an' got a hundred dollars extra 'cause you saved th' company so much money?" inquired Buck.
"Oh, but that was a steam shovel!"
"All right; you 'll steam afore yo 're at it very long."
Jake backed out again, slipped out of his kitchen, and stood reflective under the stars. He would quit and flee to Twin River if it was n't such a long walk. "D—n it!" he growled, and forthwith threw two stones into the darkness by way of getting rid of some of his anger.
"Sa-a-y!" floated a voice out of the night. "You jerk any more rocks in this direction an' I 'll beat you up so you 'll wipe your feet on yoreself, thinkin' yo 're a doormat! What 'n h—l you mean, anyhow?"
"Mebby they 's apples!" jeered Bow-Wow from the bunk-house. "Hello, William Tell!"
The cook softly closed the door and propped a chair against it. "Gee whiskers! I ain't goin' to stay here much longer! Everybody 's gettin' crazy!"