At this juncture Jim, the sheriff, returned and leaned nonchalantly against a tree, chewing a straw.
Accepting the point of view advanced by the chair, the miners decided that the two thieves should be whipped and banished from camp. A strong feeling prevailed that any man who, in this age of plenty, would descend to petty thieving, was a poor, miserable creature to be pitied. Some charitably inclined individual actually took up a small collection which was presented to the thieves after they had received their punishment.
“And now, vamos, git!” advised Semple. “And spread the glad tidings. We’ll do the same by any more of you. Well, Jim?” he inquired of the sheriff.
Jim shifted his straw from the right corner of his mouth to the left.
“That outfit don’t eject worth a cuss,” said he laconically.
“How many of them is there?” asked Semple.
“Two–and a shotgun,” stated Jim.
“I reckon we’ll eject them if we say ‘eject’!” cried some one truculently; and several others growled assent.
184Jim cast a humorous eye in that direction.
“Oh, I reckon I’m ekal to the job,” said he, “and if you say ‘eject’ again, why out they go. Only when I looked that outfit over, and saw they was only two of them and six of these jabbering keskydees, why, I jest nat’rally wondered whether it was by and according to the peace and dignity of this camp to mix up in that kind of a muss. I should think they ought to be capable of doin’ their own ejecting.”