“Maybe if you stay here long enough he will show up. That’s what my father used to tell me about the cows. He told me if I would take my milkin’ pail and go out and sit down in the middle of the pasture, pretty soon the cows would all come up and ask me to milk them. So I’m thinkin’ it may be a good thing for you to sit down here, and perhaps your friend, if there is such a friend, will come back.”
“What do you mean?” demanded Reuben quickly, as he turned and faced his companion. “Don’t you think Jean was here?”
“That’s what you say; I have your word for it.”
Reuben’s cheeks slowly flushed, but he wisely controlled his anger and did not respond to the implied unbelief of the huge Rat.
“I told you I couldn’t stay here all day,” continued Rat. “Now will you go back with me to the place where we started, or do you want to go on alone? I shan’t let you have that pony if you don’t go back with me, and if you do go I want you to understand right now that we part company when we get back to the gorge.”
Still Reuben did not respond to the rough declaration, for he was yet uncertain what his best course would be.
“Come, make up your mind,” called Rat, as he turned his horse about so that he faced the direction from which they had come.
“I’m going back with you,” said Reuben quietly.
“All right, then, come along.”
Together the two men departed from the camp, but they had not gone far before Rat insisted upon drawing his young companion into conversation.