out, and flowers till further notice: a cross uh carnations, and
the boys sent up to Minot and had a spur made uh--oh, well, all
right; I'll shut up about it, I know how yuh feel, Bud; it broke
us all up to have him go that way. He sure was a white boy, if
ever there was one, and--ahem!"

"I'd give a thousand dollars, hard coin, to get my hands on them
Wagners. It would uh been all off with them, sure, if the boys
had run acrost 'em. I'd uh let 'em stay out and hunt a while
longer, only old Lauman'll get 'em, all right, and we're late as
it is with the calf roundup. Lauman'll run 'em down--and by the
Lord! I'll hire Bowman myself and ship him out from Helena to
help prosecute 'em. They're dead men if he takes the case
against 'em, Bud, and I'll get him, sure--and to hell with the
cost of it! They'll swing for what they done to you and Bob, if
it takes every hoof I own."

Thurston told him he hoped they would be caught and--yes, hanged;
though he had never before advocated capital punishment.

But when he thought of Bob, the care-naught, whole-souled fellow.

He tried not to think of him, for thinking unmanned him. He had
the softest of hearts where his friends were concerned, and
there were times when he felt that he could with relish
officiate at the Wagners' execution.

He fought against remembrance of that day; and for sake of
diversion he took to studying a large, pastel portrait of Mona
which hung against the wall opposite his bed. It was rather