"I've been
praying for you, two hours and more. Say, don't ever talk to me about
hungry wolf-packs, boys. I'll take 'em in preference to the meek-eyed
cow-bossies, any time."
They besought him for details and got them in Bill's own fashion of
telling. Briefly, he had long had in mind a trip down to the Picardo
ranch, just to see the boys and the country and have a talk over the
stirring events of the past month; and, he added, he wanted to bring
Jack his pistols himself, because it was not reasonable to expect any
greaser to withstand the temptation of keeping them, once he got them in
his hands.
Therefore, having plenty of excuses for venturing so far from his place,
and having "tied the dove of peace to the ridge-pole" of town by means
of some thorough work on the part of the new Committee, he had boldly
set forth that morning, soon after sunrise, upon a horse which somebody
had sworn that a lady could ride.
Bill confessed frankly that he wasn't any lady, however; and so, when
the horse ducked unexpectedly to one side of the trail, because of
something he saw in the long grass, Bill surprised himself very much by
getting his next clear impression of the situation from the ground.
"I dunno how I got there, but I was there, all right, and it didn't feel
good, either. But I'd been making up my mind to get off and try walking
though, so I done it. Say, I don't see nothing so damned attractive
about riding horseback, anyway!"
He yelled at the horse to stop, but it appeared that his whoas were so
terrifying that the horse ran for its life.
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