“Well, I don’t know. You cowboys are mighty reckless in handling money, and you might tell me to look farther before you would give me a cent.”
“As sure as you live and breathe we have no such an idea,” said Ainsworth, opening his eyes in surprise. “You get the key for us and we will give you the money.”
“That is a little too far-fetched,” thought Claude, as the last calf was driven inside the corral. “You were almost too ready to promise me that money. It must be pretty near night now, and I am just aching to tell my uncle of the plans that have been laid against him. How much will he give me? Five thousand dollars at least. If he gives me less than that I shall be sorry I told him.”
CHAPTER XVIII.
“They’re in the Office!”
It was long after dark before the cowboys went to supper, but they had performed a good day’s work, and felt jolly over it. Claude was the liveliest one of the party. He conducted himself in such a way that his uncle looked at him with surprise, and he more than once caught the angry glances of the two squawmen fastened upon him with amazement. But Claude didn’t mind that. Within two hours he would see his uncle and post him in regard to the robbery, and that was all he cared for.
“You can look at me as angry as you have a mind to,” he kept saying to himself. “I will get a big sum of money for this evening’s work, and then I can go back to the city and live as I please. Five thousand dollars! One can see a heap of pleasure with that.”
Supper over, Claude went out to take care of his horse (we mean by that that he turned him loose with the other horses, to feed during the night), and as he turned back to the house who should come up but Harding and his partner.
“Say,” said the former, looking all around to satisfy himself that nobody else was within hearing, “what made you act so during supper-time? Do you want everybody about the ranch to know what we are going to do?”
“No, but I felt so gay that I couldn’t hold in,” replied Claude. “I don’t care what they think. I shall soon have some money, and I can go back to the city with that. I think, as you do, that I am getting sick of this cattle business.”