and how many thousand
dollars a month in amalgam comes down from the Sky-line camp. He even
dragged out of me that old Surly Brown, the miser, has fifteen thousand
dollars buried under the dirt floor of his cabin--which reminds me that
if Brown's home becomes the scene of a mining stampede, I'll have to
keep shy of his rifle. I owned up that our provincial constable is in
bed with the mumps at Alexandria--temperature of a hundred and six in
the shade. I sort of hinted that he was prejudiced agin me for belonging
to the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and because I was
suspected of adopting poor, dumb, driven cattle which had happened to
stray within range of my branding-iron. He even learned I'd rode for the
Lightning outfit, and from this jumps on to the conclusion I must have
belonged once to the Tonto gang of outlaws. This might account for me
being hid up here in the British possessions. Our mutual acquaintance,
even at Abilene, was all candidates for the gallows, or such of the
dear departed as had been invited to the hereafter by Judge Lynch. Yes,
he showed a great gift of faith, and got both his photo and the negative
to show there was no ill feeling. I'm pastoral, harmless, simple, raised
for a pet.

Leaving Kate hid in a ruined shack, half-way to the ferry, I was down by
eleven P.M. to the bank of the river, hailing old man Brown. So soon as
he'd brung me acrost, I sent him to ride for all he was worth and
collect our constable, which cost me eighteen dollars and a horse. The
money is severe, but I'll get even on horse trades.

From midnight to one A.M. I put in the time cussing Dale; from then till
two A.M. I felt that nobody loved me; from two A.M. to half past, I was
scheming to take the robbers single-handed. At two thirty-five Dale
rolled up with nine men from Sky-line, mounted on Billy's ponies,
besides O'Flynn, and Ransome Pollock, who may be good for a burnt
offering but ain't much use alive.

Of course, having raised the country, I'd got to make good, producing a
business proposition and robbers to follow. Iron has no sense of humor
anyhow, and can't see jokes unless the prices is wrote plain on their
tickets. He's come to this earth after dollars. If a batch of robbers
is liable to cost him fifty dollars a day, and only fetches fifty-one
dollars a day on the contract, his mine is better money, so he rolls his
tail and takes away his men. That's Iron Dale seven days in the week.

He'