Does
Kenner, here, know you hit the hootch pretty strong at times?
Bootlegging's bad business for a man that laps it up the way you do.
Where's that piece of change, Kenner?"

"Aw, can't yuh find some way to leave me jack enough to buy gas and
grub?" Young Kenner asked sullenly, reaching into his pocket. The big
man shook his head.

"I'm doing a lot for you boys, when I let yuh get past me with the
Lizzie, to say nothing of half your load. I'd ought to trundle yuh
back to San Berdoo; you both know that as well as I do. I'm too
soft-hearted for this job, anyway. Hand over the roll."

Young Kenner swore and extended his arm behind Casey. "That leaves me
six bits," he growled, as the big man dropped something into his coat
pocket. "You might give me back ten, anyway."

"Couldn't possibly. I have to have something to square myself with if
this leaks out. Just back up, till you can get around my car. Turn to
the left where the sand ain't so deep and you ain't likely to run over
the booze."

With the big man still standing at his shoulder on the running board,
Casey Ryan did what he had rashly declared he never would do; he backed
the Ford, turned it to the left as he had been commanded to do, and
drove around the other car. It was bitter work for Casey; but even he
recognized the fact that the "settin'" was not good that evening. Back
in the road again, he stopped when he was told to stop, and waited,
with a surface calm altogether strange to Casey, while the officer
stepped off and gave a bit of parting advice.

"Better keep right on going, boys. I'd hate to see yuh get in trouble,
so you'd better take this old road up ahead here. That'll bring yuh out
at Dagget and you'll miss Barstow altogether. I just came from there;
there's a hard gang hanging around on the lookout for anything they can
pick up. Don't get caught again. On your way!"

Casey drove for half a mile still staring straight before him. Then
young Kenner laughed shortly.

"That's Smilin' Lou," he said. "He's a mean boy to monkey with. Talk
about road hawgs--he's one yuh can't outset!"

CHAPTER ELEVEN

"So that's the kind uh game yuh asked me to set in on!" Casey broke
another long silence. He had felt in his bones that young Kenner was
watching him secretly, waiting for him to take his stand for or against
the proposition.

"I'd like to know who passed the word around amongst outlaws that Casey
Ryan is the only original easy