“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me.”
“We must watch ’em an’ find out. If we see that they are strikin’ for our grounds we must shoot their critters an’ stop ’em. Thar aint room enough in our valley fur me an’ Big Thompson.”
“You don’t like that man, do you? What has he done to you?”
The two worthies had by this time reached the place where Lish had left his horse. The latter did not answer Tom’s question, but threw one of his long legs over the pony’s back, and rode toward the camp, leaving his partner to follow on foot.
He did not even offer to carry Tom’s bundle, for he was too lazy to make any unnecessary exertion.
While on the way down the ravine Tom made repeated efforts to find out why it was that Lish hated Oscar’s guide so cordially, but the answers he received did not let him into the secret of the matter.
All he could learn was that Big Thompson had interfered too much with the wolfer’s business, and that the latter owed the guide a grudge for it.
He had never been able to have a settlement with him, but he would have it the very first time they met.
The facts of the case were that Big Thompson, in his capacity of government scout, had several times caused the wolfer to be arrested on the charge of selling arms and ammunition to hostile Indians.
While there was not the least doubt of his guilt, there was no evidence on which he could be convicted, and he had always been released, after a short confinement in the guard-house.