So he lay in a bunk and listened to a number of stories, and wondered if they were all true—­and it is a singular fact that some of them were.  But Whitey’s day’s hunt had been long, and his dinner had been big, and his eyes began to droop.

Buck Higgins was in the midst of a tale about being thrown from his cayuse and breaking his right arm.  There was a wild stallion in this story, which every puncher in seven states or so had tried to capture.  Now, Buck, with his right arm broken, naturally had to throw his rope with his left, and his manner of doing that took some description.  It was during this that in Whitey’s mind he, in a mysterious way, changed to Buck, or rather Buck changed to Whitey, and the stallion changed to an antelope, and pretty soon things began to get rather vague generally.

When Whitey awoke, the bunk house was almost dark.  How long he had been lying asleep he did not know.  The light came from a candle, and presently Whitey heard voices.  Three men were seated near by, and Whitey was about to get out of the bunk, when he recognized the voice of String Beans, and something held him back.  It was evident that the men did not know that he was there.

Whitey felt something warm stir against him, and, startled, put out his hand and encountered a hairy surface.  It was Sitting Bull, who had crawled into the bunk after Whitey had fallen asleep, and crowded in between the boy and the wall.  At the sound of String Beans’ voice Whitey felt the hair along Bull’s neck rise.  He remembered the dog’s dislike for the two men, and put his hand over Bull’s mouth to keep him from growling.  Whitey was glad he did not snore.  He might now have a chance to learn whether the two were on the level or not.

For the moment Whitey had some qualms about listening, but he soon dismissed them.  If these men were open and aboveboard, why were they whispering in the dimly lighted bunk house?  Whitey had never been able to overcome the first distrust he had felt for String Beans and Ham.  He also had a feeling that he ought to justify that distrust, that in a way it was up to him.  So he continued to eavesdrop.

String’s tones were low, and did not come to Whitey distinctly.  This was unfortunate in one way, but fortunate in another, for had the men been nearer they probably would have seen the boy.  Soon another voice broke in, and Whitey knew it as that of “Whiff” Gates, a puncher who was a constant smoker.  Then came another voice, that of Ham And.

Whiff Gates did not bear a good reputation, and it was only because of the scarcity of help that Bill Jordan kept him on.  As Whitey reflected on this, and the “birds of a feather flock together” idea, he kept very still.  His patience was soon rewarded, for as the men grew more earnest in their talk, their tones became louder, though Whitey could not hear as distinctly as he would have liked.