"Some. But not bad."
"All right. I don't want to say only 'How!' and thank 'em for Collie. If I say more than three words after that, you can have my hat."
"It don't take three words, sometimes," said Williams, somewhat ambiguously.
"Leave it to me," said Overland, still more ambiguously.
Ringed round their little fire in the meadow sat or lay the Moonstone riders. While crossing the desert Williams had sketched a few of the red episodes in Overland's early career. These pleased the riders mightily. They were anxious to meet Red Jack Summers. When Williams did introduce him, they were rather silent, asking after Collie in monosyllables. They seemed strangely reticent.
Both Williams and Overland felt an inexplicable tensity in the situation.
Miguel, the young Mexican vaquero, broke silence. "How long you call it to this Gophertown place, I think?"
"Thirty miles," said Overland.
"Walkin' backwards—like Miguel's talk," said Billy Dime.