“Yea, an’ we got to stand guard over a passel o’ senseless gals!” growled another. “Crazy, I calls it—plumb crazy! Why, the way old Reltsur, as he calls himself—wonder what his real name is?—the way he started with that note fer the X Bar X you’d think he was goin’ to a fire! Lickety-cut, down the trail like a locoed steer. An’ sometimes I think he is locoed, too—takin’ to kidnappin’ girls! Why, blame it all, they’re more trouble than they’re worth. Me, I told him that! But no, he would have his way. Fer revenge, he said. Huh! Revenge! What’s he want revenge fer? Couple of hundred head of white-face Durhams ’ud be more to my notion. Got a match, Bill? This pipe’s gone out. Guess she don’t draw well.”
Around the corner of the rock came the reflection of a tiny flame, and Teddy nudged Roy.
“Jump ’em?” he breathed. It was a tense question.
Roy shook his head. “Not yet. We may hear something that’ll help us. Listen—”
The one who spoke first continued:
“He’s a funny bird, that Reltsur. Now where’d he pick up a name like that? Sounds like a Russian dressing. You know, before we got mixed up with that X Bar X outfit he was O. K. Just a regular rustler then, an’ he knew his stuff, let me tell yuh. Almost as good as that other waddy we had, who got knifed by Froud. What was his name, now? Well, don’t matter. As I was sayin’, this Reltsur was all right up to then. When we got nabbed at the fence he tried to slide out from under, but he gits his right under the left ear. Ever notice how funny he rides—leanin’ to the left, kind of?”
“Yea, but he don’t ride on his ear, does he?” the other chuckled. “Anyway, we got to give him credit fer arrangin’ that little affair at Hawley. He sure turned that out proper. But what ’ud he want to go an’ cart along those billies from New York fer? They ain’t no good. They can’t even shoot, though they said they could. Know where they are now? Back in town, playin’ poker with the rest of our outfit. That’s where we ought to be, ’stead of standin’ here catchin’ cold! What say we duck? Hey?”
Teddy seized Roy’s arm. These two must be alone! What a chance! But now the other spoke again:
“Better not, Bill. Reltsur will be back soon, an’ if we’re not here, he’ll raise Jim Henry. But if you can keep that loose tongue of yors still fer a while, I’m goin’ to sleep. G’night.”
The boys heard a body move restlessly about, as though trying to find a comfortable spot for repose. Roy glanced back. At his elbow Bug Eye crouched, gun out and raised. Close to him stood Gus and Nick.