This was a fact, too, as all he had with him was about five dollars in silver.
"I reckon I had better go through you," said the leader of the outlaws.
Hop quickly produced what money he had, and then held up his arms to let the man make a search of his clothing.
Roche went through him and brought out as many as half a dozen packs of cards, a flask of whisky, several little vials containing liquids and powders, two or three oblong objects that looked like a lot of paper pressed together, some black-looking cigars, a dead mouse, some colored string, and a lot of other small things, too numerous to mention.
But there was no money to be found.
"That's a nice lot of trash fur a galoot ter have in his pockets," he declared, looking at the pile in disgust. "What are you doing with a dead mouse in your pockets?"
"Me feel lat me might gittee hungly some time, and len me have lillee bite to eatee," replied Hop, looking very innocent.
The outlaws grinned at this.
They had all heard that Chinamen liked to eat rats, so they were not surprised to hear that one ate mice.
Even Wild smiled at the way Hop was working it.