"I said he was, didn't I?"
"You said so, sure. But you might be mistaken."
"I don't make mistakes like that. And, anyway, all my boys here saw him branding that calf."
"We sure did," corroborated Jonesy. "Feller had a fire all lit, and was heating a running-iron when we jumped him."
"Did the calf have its mammy along?" was Billy's next question.
No one answered. Billy, however, did not remove his eyes from Rafe's face. The pause was becoming almost embarrassing when the five Tuckletonions made reply with a rush. Two of them said "Yes," and the other three said "No."
"There seems to be a difference of opinion," said Billy. "Don't you know whether the cow was along?"
"She wasn't along," declared Jonesy, sticking to his original assertion.
"But Rafe said she was," said Billy.
"I made a mistake," Rafe hastened to assure him.