“We have evidence enough. It isn’t that. I’m giving you a chance, Sam. That’s all.”
The lips of the Texan murmured another stanza, but his thoughts were far afield:
“Oh, a ten-dollar hoss and a forty-dollar saddle—
And I’m goin’ to punchin’ Texas cattle.”
“Never again, Sam. Not unless you take your chance now.” The sheriff put a hand on his shoulder. “For the sake of the wife and the little man. You’re not going to throw them down, are you?”
“We hit Caldwell and we hit her on the fly,
We bedded down the cattle on the hill close by.”
The faded eyes were wistful. It was his chance for freedom, perhaps his chance for life, too. What would Missie and the baby do without him? Who would look after them?
“No chaps, no slicker, and it’s pourin’ down rain,
And damn my skin if I night-herd again!”