"I did not say so."
"But it is, it is!"
"I don't say it ain't."
"It's in God's country—whereabouts?"
"That's what I ain't tellin'."
There was a clamour of inquiries. The new-comer, still holding his bottle prominently, was the target of eager gaze.
"Up the Porcupine—the Tanana, or the Koyukuck?"
"You must think I'm easy!" He spoke with a leer.
"You've made your stake, why not tell us where to make ours? It's a law of the frontier."
"So it is among pards. You ain't no pards of mine; I'm just standing you a few drinks out of pity, finding my reward in tellin' you what I think of you."