Bill laughed so genially that the others joined in it.
“In a ways, mebbe I am. You see, I mostly sit around, an’ when anything promisin’ comes along, why, I ain’t above plankin’ a few dollars by way of––speculation.”
Joe grinned broadly.
“A few shares in a poker hand, eh?” he suggested shrewdly.
“You’re kind o’ quick, mister,” Bill laughed. “I’m stuck on ‘draw’ some.”
Then the talk drifted suddenly. It was Longley who presently harked back to the commercial side of Suffering Creek.
“You was sayin’ ther’ wasn’t no bank on Suffering Creek,” he said interestedly. “What do folks do with their dust now, then?”
A quick but almost imperceptible glance passed between Bill and the storekeeper. And Bill’s answer came at once.
“Wal, as I sed, we used to pass it out by stage. But––”
Longley caught him up just a shade too quickly.