without question or criticism.

The fat man's name was Barney Oakes, and he had heard of Casey
Ryan and was glad to meet him. Though Casey had never heard of
Barney Oakes, he discovered that they both knew Bill Masters, the
garage man at Lund; and further gossip revealed the amazing fact
that Barney Oakes had once been the husband of the woman whom
Casey had very nearly married, the widow who cooked for the Lucky
Lode.

"Boy, you're sure lucky she turned loose on yuh before yuh went
an' married her!" Barney congratulated Casey, slapping his great
thigh and laughing loudly. "She shore is handy with her
tongue--that old girl. Ever hear a sawmill workin' overtime?
That's her--rippin' through knots an' never blowin' the whistle
fer quittin' time. I never knowed a man could have as many faults
as what she used t' name over fer me." He drained his cup and
sighed with great content. "At that, I stayed with her seven
months and fourteen days," he boasted. "I admit, two of them
months I was laid up with a busted ankle an' shoulder blade.
Tunnel caved in on me."

They talked late that night and were comrades, brothers, partners
share and share alike before they slept. Next morning Casey
tried again to start the Ford; couldn't; and yielded to Barney's
argument that burros were better than a car for prospectin' in
that rough country. They overhauled Casey's outfit, took all the
grub and as much else as the burros could carry and debated
seriously what point in the Panamints they should aim for.