“You don’t need to let that bother you?” retorted Slim.
“Oh, I know all about it,” grinned Jimmy. “You wired him. I got the depot agent drunk, and he told me about it.”
“The dirty bum!” exploded Slim. “I’ll fix him.”
“Well, he told the truth, didn’t he?”
“He didn’t need to tell anythin’.”
“Well, he didn’t,” laughed Jimmy. “I guessed it, and you bit like a hungry fish. I saw you head for the depot after the inquest; so the rest was a cinch. How’s the old man lookin’, and what’s he goin’ to do about it?”
Slim gnawed the corner of his lip.
“He’ll do somethin’—that’s a cinch,” said Clayton. “Old Mose Conley cut his upper fence, herded eight Big 4 steers down into Hot Creek basin and shot ’em. I reckon that’ll hold him for a while.”
“A-a-a-aw, what are you talkin’ about!” snorted Jimmy. “He never did any such a thing.”
“Yes, he did,” said Slim quickly. “We found ’em, Jimmy. We went down to bring the old man to town, and the girl got the drop on us with a shotgun. Oh, we all know how you feel about that girl—but I’m tellin’ you the truth.”