Part 12 (1/2)

”No. This is my first experience.”

”I never, either. But, if I was you I'd kind of have an eye on my neighbors.”

”You mean--the Wattses?” asked the girl in surprise.

The brown eyes were twinkling again: ”No, Watts, he's all right! Only trouble with Watts is he sets an' herds the sun all day. But, they's others besides Watts in the hills.”

”Yes,” answered the girl, quickly, ”I know. And that is the reason I came to see you about a horse.”

”What's the matter with the one you got?”

”Nothing at all. He seems to be a good horse. He's fast too, when I want to crowd him. But, I need another just as good and as fast as he is. Have you one you will sell?”

”I'll sell anything I got, if the price is right,” smiled the man.

Patty regarded him thoughtfully: ”I haven't very much money,” she said. ”How much is he worth?”

Thompson considered: ”A horse ain't like a cow-brute. There ain't no regular market price. Horses is worth just as much as you can get folks to pay fer 'em. But it looks like one horse ort to be enough to prospect 'round the hills on.”

”It isn't that,” explained the girl. ”If I buy him I shall try to arrange with you to leave him right here where I can get him at a moment's notice. I shall probably never need him but once, but when I do, I shall need him badly.” She paused, but without comment the man waited for her to proceed: ”I believe I am being followed, and if I am, when I locate the claim, I am going to have to race for the register's office.”

Thompson leaned forward upon the table and chewed his toothpick rapidly: ”By Gosh, an' you want to have a fresh horse here for a change!” he exclaimed, his eyes beaming approval.

”Exactly. Have you got the horse?”

The man nodded: ”You bet I've got the horse! I've got a horse out there in the corral that'll run rings around anythin' in this country unless it's that there buckskin of Vil Holland's--an' I guess you ain't goin' to have no call to race him.”

Patty was on the point of exclaiming that the buckskin was the very horse she would have to race, but instead she smiled: ”But, if your horse started fresh from here, and even Vil Holland's horse had run clear from the mountains, this one could beat him to town, couldn't he?”

”Could do it on three legs,” laughed the man.

”How much do you ask for him?” The girl waited breathless, thinking of her diminis.h.i.+ng bank account.

Thompson's brow wrinkled: ”I hold Lightnin' pretty high,” he said, after a pause. ”You see, some of us ranchers is holdin' a fast horse handy, a-waitin' fer word from the hills--an' when it comes, they's goin' to be the biggest horse-thief round-up the hill country ever seen. An' unless I miss my guess they'll be some that's carried their nose pretty high that's goin' to snap down on the end of a tight one.”

”Now, Thompson, what's the use of talkin' like that? Them things is bad enough to have to do, let alone set around an' talk about 'em.

Anyone'd think you took pleasure in hangin' folks.”

”I would--some folks.”

The little woman turned to Patty: ”He's just a-talkin'. Chances is, if it come to hangin', Thompson would be the one to try an' talk 'em out of it. Why, he won't even brand his own colts an' calves--makes the hands do it.”

”That's different,” defended the man. ”They're little an' young an'

they ain't never done nothin' ornery.”

”But you haven't told me how much you want for your horse,” persisted the girl.

”Now just you listen to me a minute. I don't want to sell that horse, an' there ain't no mortal use of you buyin' him. He's always here--right in the corral when he ain't in the stable, an' either place, all you got to do is throw yer kak on him an' fog it.”