The Pup disdained to answer. An ugly look on his face, he lashed his horse savagely, and jumped him toward the hitching rail. Then he dismounted and walked toward Gus.
“Come on,” he snarled. “Don’t sit there talkin’. We got to see the boss. Ain’t you heard orders?” and he looked at Roy, a sneer on his face.
Roy flushed. He did not wish to seem above the men, but rather as working with them. Joe intimated with his glance that Roy’s authority was given by virtue of his being “the boss’s son,” and not because he deserved it. Roy opened his mouth to reply, thought better of it, and walked slowly away. The Pup laughed loudly. Roy felt his muscles tighten, but he did not turn. He would not argue with a man who had been drinking.
He was not present at the scene between Mr. Manley and Gus and The Pup. Teddy told him of it later.
“There’s two we will have no longer with us,” Teddy said that night. “Dad was feeding General sugar when they came up. Soon as he heard them he whirled around and he knew in a second that they had been hitting the bottle. Gus just looked kind of ashamed, but The Pup had a mean look on his face.
“‘Gus, where you been?’ dad wanted to know. Gus said he’d been to town, to get a letter that didn’t come. Said he’d been expecting it for two weeks, and he was kind of disappointed. Say, Roy, I thought he was sweet on Norine?” Norine was the daughter of Mrs. Moore, who was the housekeeper on the X Bar X. “How about that?”
“Don’t know,” Roy replied. “Gus told me about the letter, too. I have an idea that had something to do with his drinking—he never used to touch it before. But go ahead. What happened next?”
“Well, as I said, dad caught on right away, and he was some sore. Told ’em both to get out—that he wouldn’t have men on his ranch who drank during working hours. Then he asked The Pup what was the idea, lying to Nick and getting him to change places with him, so The Pup could ride herd. At first Joe wouldn’t tell, but when Gus let out a few secrets the whole thing came forth. It seems that The Pup wanted to take the cows so he could slip away to town when he felt like it and liquor up and no one would know about it. How he ever got Gus to consent to a thing like that is beyond me unless, as you say, Gus isn’t himself on account of that letter.”
“What did Gus do when The Pup spilled the beans?”
“Just acted as if he was mighty sorry. Roy, it isn’t like Gus to pull a stunt like that. He isn’t built that way. Joe Marino, now—I wouldn’t put it past him. I don’t like that hombre for a cent. When he came here last month, dad was short a hand, or he never would have taken him. And now look at the trouble he’s got us in. Jake Trummer, one of dad’s oldest friends, turned into an enemy. You know, Roy, I think something happened up on Whirlpool River at Jake’s ranch besides the mere fact that our cattle wandered there. That, in itself, wouldn’t cause Jake to raise the row he did. I’ll bet The Pup said something to Jake that he didn’t want to repeat, knowing dad as he does. So he took it all out in being sore about the cattle.”