“That so?” queried Aifred, laughing.  “Well, tell us about it.”

Madeline simply gazed at her brother, and, though he seemed amused at her consternation, there was mortification in his face.

It required no great perspicuity, Madeline thought, to see that Stillwell loved to talk, and the way he squared himself and spread his huge hands over his knees suggested that he meant to do this opportunity justice.

“Miss Majesty, I reckon, bein’ as you’re in the West now, thet you must take things as they come, an’ mind each thing a little less than the one before.  If we old fellers hedn’t been thet way we’d never hev lasted.

“Last night wasn’t particular bad, ratin’ with some other nights lately.  There wasn’t much doin’.  But, I had a hard knock.  Yesterday when we started in with a bunch of cattle I sent one of my cowboys, Danny Mains, along ahead, carryin’ money I hed to pay off hands an’ my bills, an’ I wanted thet money to get in town before dark.  Wal, Danny was held up.  I don’t distrust the lad.  There’s been strange Greasers in town lately, an’ mebbe they knew about the money comin’.

“Wal, when I arrived with the cattle I was some put to it to make ends meet.  An’ to-day I wasn’t in no angelic humor.  When I hed my business all done I went around pokin’ my nose beak an’ there, tryin’ to get scent of thet money.  An’ I happened in at a hall we hev thet does duty fer’ jail an’ hospital an’ election-post an’ what not.  Wal, just then it was doin’ duty as a hospital.  Last night was fiesta night—­these Greasers hev a fiesta every week or so—­an’ one Greaser who hed been bad hurt was layin’ in the hall, where he hed been fetched from the station.  Somebody hed sent off to Douglas fer a doctor, but be hedn’t come yet.  I’ve hed some experience with gunshot wounds, an’ I looked this feller over.  He wasn’t shot up much, but I thought there was danger of blood-poison-in’.  Anyway, I did all I could.

“The hall was full of cowboys, ranchers, Greasers, miners, an’ town folks, along with some strangers.  I was about to get started up this way when Pat Hawe come in.

“Pat he’s the sheriff.  I reckon, Miss Majesty, thet sheriffs are new to you, an’ fer sake of the West I’ll explain to you thet we don’t hev many of the real thing any more.  Garrett, who killed Billy the Kid an’ was killed himself near a year or so ago—­he was the kind of sheriff thet helps to make a self-respectin’ country.  But this Pat Hawe—­wal, I reckon there’s no good in me sayin’ what I think of him.  He come into the hall, an’ he was roarin’ about things.  He was goin’ to arrest Danny Mains on sight.  Wal, I jest polite-like told Pat thet the money was mine an’ he needn’t get riled about it.  An’ if I wanted to trail the thief I reckon I could do it as well as anybody.  Pat howled thet law was law, an’ he was goin’ to lay down the law.  Sure it ’peared to me thet Pat was daid set to arrest the first man he could find excuse to.