"Who're you and what do you want?" says I.
"I am the hired man, Jimmie," says he. "I've come back."
"The hell you have!" says I. "Well, I can't talk to you. What made you come back? Where you been?"
"Out West," says he, "on the Circle Arrow Ranch."
"What's that!" says I. "What do you mean?"
"Just what I said. I've been working out there. I found I could rope a little and I didn't always fall off a horse. You see, the old man owns a lot in that company."
"Why didn't you tell me you was going out there?" says I. "And how come these folks to take you back?"
"They couldn't help it," he says. "I told you I had too much on them. You'd ought to see how things is going out there! They had to take me back."
"Well, what are you breaking a hole in our fence for?" says I. "Quit it! Do you want to get buried in a sunk garden, instead of on the lone prairee? Leave our fence alone."
"Your fence? It's our fence. Don't I know all about it? It was a damn shame, Curly."