The sleepy tiger look lay warily in the sheepman’s eyes. “That’s what the dictionaries call a coincidence, Bucky.”
“They may. I’m not sure I do.”
“Fact, just the same.”
“I’ve a notion it will take some explaining.”
“Confidentially?”
“Confidentially what?”
“The explanation. You won’t use it against me.”
“Not if you weren’t in the hold-up.”
“I wasn’t. This is the way it happened. You know Cullison was going to prove up on that Del Oro claim on Thursday. That would have put the C. F. ranch out of business. I knew he was in town and at the Del Mar, but I didn’t know where he would be next day. He had me beat. I couldn’t see any way out but to eat crow and offer a compromise. I hated it like hell, but it was up to me to hunt Luck up and see what he would do. His hat gave me an excuse to call. So I started out and came round the corner of San Mateo Street just in time to see the robber pull out. Honest, the fellow did shape up a little like Luck. Right then I got the darned fool notion of mixing him up in it. I threw his hat down and shot a hole in it, then unlocked the door of the express office carrying the hat in my hand. That’s all there was to it.”
“Pretty low-down trick, wasn’t it, to play on an innocent man?”