Peter nodded.
“But why do you want to track him?”
“’Cause he’s bad––an’ ain’t got no ‘strike.’ He’s on some crook’s work. Maybe he’s cattle duffin’. I mean to find out.”
Peter’s eyes grew cold and hard, and the boy watching him read what he saw with a certainty that was almost uncanny.
“You’ve been thinking that always, too,” he said. “You don’t believe in his strike, neither,” he added triumphantly.
“I don’t see why I shouldn’t,” replied Peter, guardedly.
“Yes, you do,” the boy persisted. “It’s because he’s bad. Say, he’s makin’ Eve bad takin’ that money he sends her. An’ she don’t know it.”
“And supposing it’s as you say––and you found out?”
“The boys ’ud hang him. And––and Eve would be quit of him.”