“If you hadn’t been born a horse-thief, we’d have been all right, yuh mean,” retorted Butch.
They roped the two prisoners to their horses and started back to Red Arrow. There were three aching heads, a jubilant sheriff, and one sour cowboy—the latter being Sleepy, who had shared in none of the action.
“You’ll get into it,” assured Hashknife.
“Yea-a-ah—next time! Next time, you watch yore own back trail. I spend a week or so watchin’ you build up to a big climax, and then don’t even shoot off a roamin’—candle.”
“I swear, I can’t hardly realize it yet,” declared Slim. “I heard yuh tell it all, Hashknife. Oh, I don’t get any of the credit. I didn’t know what was goin’ on half the time.”
“Yuh never will—around him,” complained Sleepy.
“Well, he’ll get that five thousand,” said Slim.
“And give it to some orphin’ asylum, prob’ly.”
“Five thousand!” snorted Glover. “Why didn’t yuh throw in with us, Hartley?”
“You made me mad when yuh stole my horse.”