‘How long have you been cooling yourself here?’ asked the second man, who was of course Ben; ‘and why did you not wake me up?’
‘Reckon I have not been here six minutes,’ replied the other, taking no notice of the second query. ‘I expect we had better see now about fixing the breakfast.’
‘You might have done something, instead of loafing around,’ muttered Ben, who was clearly in no pleasant mood, although his features bespoke him a frank, good-tempered fellow enough. ‘Here! I will light the fire.’
In a few minutes the fire was blazing, the kettle on, and the men, who had scarcely interchanged another word, were seated, waiting for the water to boil.
‘Now, Rube,’ suddenly exclaimed Ben, ‘you know this is my last day here; I mean clearing out; so this is our time to have a settlement. If we don’t fix things straight now, we shall not fix them at all.’
‘They air fixed, ain’t they?’ retorted Rube. ‘You have done considerable as you please; so, if you don’t like the position, I can’t help it.’
‘You shift too much in your argyment, you do,’ continued Ben. ‘But say now, right away, do you mean to pay me those fifteen hundred dollars or not?’
‘You air unreasonable altogether,’ returned Rube. ‘Why should I pay fifteen hundred dollars, because a man who robbed us both has gone off with twice as much?’
‘Don’t tell me about robbing us both—you can’t fool me like that!’ angrily exclaimed the other. ‘I never would trust the man with dust—you knew it—although he was your friend, and you could not say enough in his favour. It was through you he hung around here; and even if you did not get your half from him, with a big profit, you are bound in honour to pay me my share.’
Rube’s eyes assumed for a moment a very ugly and dangerous look, as his comrade spoke. ‘Seems to me, pardner Ben,’ he said, ‘that you are gone wrong altogether in this connection. Two or three citizens saw the order, and thought it was in your writing; so did I. Then where does the blame come in? Fix it how you like, it was only a mistake, not a fault. And as to my having shared the plunder with this stranger’——