Buffalo Bill and Gentleman Jim appeared to be the only two who had glimpsed the stage. Spangler dozed in front of the hotel, and Wild Bill and Nomad shuffled, and dealt and played, oblivious of the fact that the stage was coming, and that it had met with any trouble.
“Buffler Bill, by hokey!” cried Chick Billings.
“Ye’re the feller we’re lookin’ fer!” chimed in Lonesome Pete.
“You bet y’u!” added Hotchkiss.
The moment Billings drew to a halt, De Bray tumbled over the wheel and grabbed the scout’s welcoming hand.
“Hello, Cody!” cried the Denver man. “You’re looking husky as ever.”
“Feeling that way,” answered the scout, with a smile. “You appear to stack up pretty well, De Bray.”
“Then I stack up a whole lot better than I feel. I’ve got a lump on the back of my head as big as your fist, and a hole in my pocket as big as a tunnel.”
“A hole in your pocket?”
“It was big enough for twenty thousand to slip through.”