“They didn’t,” said Dewey. “They don’t know we call it the Banded Seven, or anything else about it, but they’ve seen us together so much when they’ve tried to haze us that they’ve sort of guessed it. Anyway, they’ve determined to break it up, b’gee.”
“They have! How?”
“Simply by walloping every man in it, b’gee. And they started on yours truly. The whole crowd piled on at once, Mark.”
“The cowards!” exclaimed Mark.
“Well, I gave ’em a good time, anyway,” laughed Dewey, whose natural light-heartedness had not been marred in the least. “I made for Bull. B’gee, I was bound one of them would be sorry, and I chose him. I lammed him two beauties and tumbled him into a ditch. But by that time they had me down. And——”
“Where are the rest of the Seven?” cried Mark, springing up impatiently. “By George, I’m going to get square for this outrage if it’s the last thing I ever do in my life. I’ll fight them fair just as long as they want it. I’m ready to meet any man they send, as I did. But, by jingo, I won’t stand the tricks of that miserable coward Bull Harris another day. He’s done nothing but try to get me into scrapes since the day I came here, and refused to let him haze me. And now I’m going to stop it or bust. Where are the rest of the fellows?”
“I don’t know,” began Dewey, but he was interrupted by an answer from an unexpected quarter. Texas came rushing down the company street and bounded into Mark’s tent.
He, too, was marred with the scars of battle. His clothing was soiled, and his bronzed features were sadly awry. And Texas was wild.
“Wow!” he roared, his words fairly tripping each other up, in such rapid succession did they come. “Whoop! Say, you fellows, you dunno what you been a-missin’! I ain’t had so much fun since the day I come hyar. Jes’ had the rousin’est ole scrap I ever see. There was a dozen of ’em, them ole yearlin’s, and they all piled on to once. Whoop! Mark, git up thar an’ come out an’ help me finish it.”
Texas was prancing around the tent in excitement, his fingers twitching furiously. He gasped for breath for a moment, and then continued.