“I’ll make yuh a little bet on that.”
“Well,” grinned Hashknife. “if I find out anythin’ at all, I’d win. You can’t tell me a thing.”
Harry Cole of the Oasis was also looking for information, and a short time after Hashknife left the office he came in. He wanted to know what the sheriff had deduced on the attempted assassination of Amos Baggs. The sheriff was getting touchy.
“I don’t know a danged thing, Harry. I’m goin’ to get me an answer book so I can talk back to you jiggers.”
“I suppose Baggs is a little curious.”
“If he is, he keeps it to himself.”
“You don’t need to be sore at me, Ben.”
“I ain’t sore at yuh, Harry. I ain’t sore at anybody. Just before yuh left, Hashknife Hartley was in here, askin’ me a lot of fool questions, which nobody can answer. Said he was goin’ out to ask the same questions of Len Ayres, and he’d bet he’d find out more from Len than he did from me.”
“What’s his idea of askin’ questions, Ben?”
“Answer yore own question. I don’t know.”