"That the 88 are damn fools. Why didn't they skin her?"
"Too lazy, I guess. That calf's branded an' earmarked all complete. Never was branded before, neither."
"Shore. An' the brand's about two days old. Just look at it. Raw yet."
"Same date as its ma's. They done some slick work with a wet blanket on that cow, but the Bar S is plain underneath. Give the cow a month, if she'd lived, an' yuh'd never know but what she was born 88."
"Oh, they're slick, the pups!" exclaimed Johnny Ramsay.
"The Old Man ought to see this. When Old Salt throws his eyes on that brandin' I'll gamble he'll change his views some."
"You bet he will. Better start now."
"All right. Let's get a-goin'."
"One's enough. You go, Tommy. I'll stay an' caper around. I might run onto somethin'. Yuh can't tell."
"I'd kind o' like to have yuh here when I get back."