"Well, I set in, an' my friend went to sleep pronto. Pretty soon luck begin t' cum my way an' I win a bet now an' then. After a spell I had seventy dollars in silver in front o' me, an' my friend woke up. He cum over back o' my chair an' he says, 'How much yo' got?' 'Seventy dollars,' I says. 'Don't make no more bets,' he says, kinder loud, 'thet bald-headed pirate is dealin' seconds an' settin' up splits.'
"Right there's where she started. I managed t' git the money into my jeans before the worst cum, an' the' was considerable fire-works an' breakage took place. I dunno jes' what happened, but I seen my friend wa'n't no slouch an' took quite a hand in th' festivities, an' the' wa'n't much left o' the place when the smoke cleared. I seen my friend make a get-away, an' I follered as soon 's I could. But though I put in all nex' day lookin' fer him to give him his forty dollars, I never saw him agin till to-night!"
Bill rode along in silence for a moment; then he said, reminiscently, "His name wasn't Crowley, then—somethin' a heap more stylisher! Seems t' me 't was some such name as Smith—er, mebbe, Jones. Whatever 't was, I consider he had mebbe a little more'n forty dollars comin' to him from me—after what he done to me thet night in Juarez."
[CHAPTER XXI]
INJUN TACKLES CIVILIZATION
The happenings at the Cross and Circle ranch had served to knit closer those bonds which held the white boy and the Indian together. Already fast friends, the trials and dangers that they had been through still further cemented the tie into something more than friendship. Injun received his full share of credit in the affair, for it had been through his wonderful sagacity and his remarkable powers of observation that the various discoveries had been made that led to the tracing of the cattle, the cleaning out of the gang, and the recovery of much valuable property. In fact, it was finally revealed, after a long investigation, that the former owner, Bradley, had been murdered by Ross, or Yancy, and that deeds and other papers conveying the property had been forged, and thus the rustler had come into possession of a valuable property—far too valuable to have jeopardized it by the nefarious practices in which he engaged. And when the property was finally restored to the rightful heirs, each of the boys was remembered in a substantial way by the Bradley heirs, as will be seen later.
Whitey, too, was not forgotten when it came to apportioning the credit for the clean-up. He, it must be remembered, had first undertaken the investigation on his own hook; he had crawled out of the hay and offered himself for capture that Injun might escape—a thing which required very much more than ordinary nerve and unselfishness. And it was largely on account of his aggressive action that the capture of the band was effected without any bloodshed, except that which flowed from "One-Card" Tucker's arm, and the bruises which Whitey inflicted on the various members of the Ross gang.
When the whole story was fully known, it is almost needless to say that the two boys were heroes with the men of the Bar O and the other nearby ranches; but they bore their honors modestly, and each made little of the part that he, himself, had played in the affair, and gave credit to the other for having enacted the principal rôle.
The one "fly in the ointment" was the escape of Pedro. Not only did this continue a very grave menace to Injun, for Pedro had sworn to get even with the boy, but it was a keen disappointment to Bill Jordan, who regarded Pedro in about the same light as a mad dog, only the man was far more dangerous and resourceful than any dog could possibly be.