“Tell me.”
“See you, Rosie, ef I go out o’ here presently, will 276 you jest close these gates an’ fix ’em? An’ will you be up to open ’em for me?”
“Yes. But tell me.”
Seth gazed at the horizon again.
“As I said, ther’ ain’t much,” he began presently. “This has been goin’ on fer days. Ther’s Injuns out most every night, an’ they are lyin’ this side o’ the fort. They’re all about it, an’ them soldier-fellers ain’t wise to it. What’s more we darsen’t to put ’em wise. They’re li’ble to butt right in, an’ then ther’ won’t be any stoppin’ them pesky redskins. Y’ see ther’s only a handful at the fort, an’ the Injuns could eat ’em.”
“Yes, you always said it was a mistake to bluff with soldiers so near the Reservation. I suppose the Indians resent their presence. Is that it?”
“Mebbe.”
“There’s another reason?”
“Can’t rightly say.”
Rosebud knew that the man was prevaricating.