red. I saw your fire and
rode over--" Andy's hand was on Pete's shoulder, and that shoulder was
shaking queerly. Andy drew back. "There goes that dam' cayuse," cried
Andy. "I'll go catch him up, and let him drag a rope."

When Andy returned from putting an unnecessary rope on a decidedly
tired horse that was quite willing to stand right where he was, Pete
had pulled himself together and was rolling a cigarette.

"Well, you ole sun-of-a-gun!" said Pete; "want to swap hats? Say,
how'll you swap?"

Andy grinned, but his grin faded to a boyish seriousness as he took off
his own Stetson and handed it to Pete, who turned it round and
tentatively poked his fingers through the two holes in the crown. "You
got my ole hat yet, eh? Doggone if it ain't my ole hat. And she's
ventilated some, too. Well, I'm listenin'."

"And you sure are lookin' fine, Pete. Say, is it you? Or did my hoss
pitch me--and I'm dreamin'--back there on the flat? No. I reckon it's
you all right. I ain't done shakin' yet from the way you come at me
when I rode in. Say, did you git Jim's letter? Why didn't you write
to a guy, and say you was comin'? Reg'lar ole Injun, same as ever.
Quicker 'n a singed bob-cat gittin' off a stove-lid. That Blue Smoke
'way over there? Thought I knowed him. When did they turn you loose
down to El Paso? Ma Bailey was worryin' that they wasn't feedin' you
good. When did you get here? Was you in the gun-fight when The Spider
got bumped off?"

Pete was still gazing at the little round holes in Andy's hat. "Andy,
did you ever try to ride a hoss down the ole mesa trail backwards?"

"Why, no, you sufferin' coyote! What you drivin' at?"

"Here's your hat. Now if you got anything under it, go ahead and talk
up. Which way did you ride when we split, over by the timber there?"

Andy reached over and put a stick of wood on the fire. "Well, seein'
it's your hat, I reckon you got a right to know how them holes come in
it." And he told Pete of his ride, and how he had misled the posse,
and he spoke jestingly, as though it had been a little thing to do;
hardly worth repeating. Then he told of a ride he had made to Showdown
to let Pete know that Gary would live, and how The Spider had said that
he knew nothing of Pete--had never seen him. And of how Ma Bailey
upheld Pete, despite all local gossip and the lurid newspaper screeds.
And that the boys would be mighty glad to see him again; concluding
with an ex