one to
unspool th' bedroll till I was sure o' th' brand I was ridin' for. An' you
an' me's kinda hide-matched there. Glad you wised me up in time."

"Maybe I didn't," Drew admitted.

"You mean that Shannon? I know you think he's filin' his teeth for you,
but I'd say he was too busy countin' stars from that skull beltin' to make
sense out of our hurrawin'. I'll give him th' eye though. Lissen now,
you're Kirby--so am I called for a rebrandin', too? Seems like two Kirbys
turnin' up in a town this size is gonna make a few people ask some
questions."

"You're my cousin--Anson Kirby." Drew had already thought that out. "Now,
you've some tall talkin' to do your ownself. I saw you roll out of your
saddle back in Tennessee. How come you turn up here and now?"

Anse sluiced water over his head and shoulders with cupped hands.

"Do I tell it jus' like it happened, you'll think I'm callin' up mountains
outta prairie-dog hills, it's that crazy. But it's range truth. Yeah, I
landed outta that saddle on some mighty hard ground. If you'll remember, I
had me a hole in the shoulder big enough to let th' wind whistle through.
I rolled between th' bushes jus' in time to see you get it--plumb center
an' final, so I thought. Then ... well, I don't remember too good for a
while. Next time I was able to take a real interest I was lyin' on a bed
with about a mountain of quilts on top me, weaker'n a yearlin' what's jus'
been dragged outta a bog hole. Seems like them Yankees gathered me up with
th' rest of them bushwacker scrubs, but when they got me a mile or so down
th' road they decided as how I'd had it good an' there was no use wastin'
wagon room on me. So they let me lie....

"Only," the Texan paused and then continued more soberly, "Drew,
sometimes--sometimes it seems like a hombre can have a mite more'n his
share of luck; or else he's got him Someone as is line ridin' for him. We
had us friends in Tennessee, an' it jus' happened as how I was dropped
where one of them families found me. They sure was good folks; patched me
up an' saw me through like I was their close kin. Hid me out by sayin' as
how I had th' cholera.

"An' most of th' time I didn't know a rope from a saddle--outta my head
complete. First there was that shoulder hole; then I got me a good case of
lung fever. It was two months 'fore I could crawl round better'n a sick
calf what lost its ma too early. Then, jus' as I got so I could stamp m'
boots on th' ground an' e