“Yea! But now that we’ve got that shipment off, things are easin’ up some. So, if you want to—”
“If we want to! Wait till Roy hears this!” Teddy glanced over toward Silent. “Say, Dad,” he said awkwardly, “could you spare Silent here?”
“Silent?” Mr. Manley gazed at the puncher. “You want to go too?”
“Well, you see it’s this way,” Silent answered uneasily. “I heard there was two fellers hangin’ around Nugget Camp, that—I want to meet.” His voice became tense. “That I want to meet real bad! An’ if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to go along with Teddy an’ Roy, if they go. I’ve a reason.”
Mr. Manley nodded. Roy had told him privately the story of Silent’s recent tragedy, and the man understood and sympathized with the grim puncher.
“I reckon we can fix that,” he said after a moment. “Here’s what I thought. Suppose you, Teddy, an’ Roy an’ Nick make up a party an’ stake a few claims. I can spare you-all, I reckon. Four will be just about right. An’ you can start to-morrow, if you want to.”
“That’s great, Dad!” Teddy exclaimed. “Silent, let’s get Roy.”
The two hurried off, Mr. Manley watching them go. His eyes were tender, his lips half open.
“Teddy,” he muttered, “come back the way you go!” and he went into the house.
When he heard the news, Roy was as excited as his brother. Bug Eye declared that he was going straightway to ask Mr. Manley for time off.