“Drink much?”
“Hardly ever took a drink.”
“Ride a bad horse?”
“Been ridin’ the same one three years, and it never made a bobble. Jim’s bronc-scratchin’ days was over, Hartley.”
“Uh-huh,” Hashknife rubbed his chin with the fork. “Was it goin’ to take five thousand dollars for to ship that girl back East?”
“Probably not.”
“What kind of a feller is Ed Merrick?”
“Good cow-man. He’s one of the county commissioners. Owned the Circle M about five years, and is kind of a big man in the county. Mostly horse outfit.”
“Yuh say they made a sheriff out of the deputy?”
“Yeah; Len Kelsey.”