The other boy grinned and patted the side of his bronco.
“Well,� he admitted, “I’m not saying much, but you have no right to talk about falling in love with a horse. The way you treat Star would make any one think he was made of cut glass! All the while it’s easy now, Star, you might hurt yourself! Is that cinch-strap too tight, Star? Here, let me brush that fly off your ear!’ Huh! Do you tuck him in bed and kiss him good-night, Roy?�
Roy Manley refused the bait.
“I remember,â€� he said calmly, wiping the sweat from his upper lip and leaving in its stead a streak of black dust, “when you first got Flash. Dad gave him to you for your birthday. You were just a little shaver then—â€�
“Aw, donkey-dust! Who do you think you are—Methuselah? Just because you’re a year older—â€�
“You were just a little shaver then,â€� Roy went on imperturbably, “and maybe you didn’t know what you were doing. You simply went into ecstasy. Get that—ecstasy? Sixty-cent word. Yep, you jumped up and down with glee, I’ll tell a maverick!â€�
“Well, if I jumped up and down with glee, you, by golly, stood on your head when dad gave you Star! Now laugh that off!�
“We won’t argue about it,� Roy replied, with assumed dignity. “Baby, this road is sure some dusty! Wind’s right at our backs, too. If I took a drink of water now I’d turn into a mud-pie. Hey, Teddy, think you can coax that cayuse you’re riding into something more than a trickle? Maybe he’ll run, if you talk to him real nice.�
Teddy Manley did not reply, but clucked softly to his mount. Flash responded with a leap that caused General, the bay that Teddy was leading, to toss his head in protest.
“You’d better be careful,� Roy cautioned. “There’s only one man who can boss General, and that’s dad. If the bay takes it into his head to stop, he’ll stop, and neither one of us will be able to budge him. Then dad’s train will pull in, and he’ll expect to find General at the station waiting for him. And where’ll we be?�