They walked out of the depot and mounted their horses.
‘We’ll just keep this information under our hat, Lem,’ said Hashknife as they road away.
‘Oh, shore. I may not be worth a damn to find out anythin’ but I can keep still about it when somebody else tells me about it.’
CHAPTER XV: THE CAVE MAN
For what seemed hours Nan and Rex stared across the fire at this man. It was Napoleon Bonaparte Briggs, but they did not know him. His closest friends would have had difficulty in recognizing him now. His head seemed to have been battered until it was out of shape. His forehead was swollen over his eyes, giving him almost the appearance of a gorilla, and on one side of his head the scalp had been torn loose, disclosing an ugly wound.
His eyes glittered brightly in the firelight, as he swayed on his feet, moving his head slowly, shifting his eyes from Nan to Rex, as though trying to make up his mind just what to do. Rex and Nan seemed incapable of speech. Neither of them had known Briggs. Suddenly his lips parted and he laughed insanely, disclosing two broken front teeth. Rex started to step forward, but the gun muzzle shifted toward him quickly.
‘What ’r yuh doin’ here?’ he asked gutturally.
‘Somebody shot my horse,’ said Rex weakly.
‘What ’r yuh doin’ here?’ he repeated, as though he had not heard Rex. ‘Keep back! I’ll kill yuh. I own this place, and I don’t allow nobody here.’
‘We’ll go away,’ said Nan quickly, getting to her feet.