d now he was glad to see that the subject was to be
dropped. For it had reminded Buck Higgins of lariats and their merits,
especially for hanging men.

"For all-round use give me a braided linen," said Buck.

He was speaking of a rope that is made as its name suggests, and is very
strong. If you have ever been in the West, you probably have seen a
mounted cowboy carrying one of these thin but strong ropes coiled at the
horn of his saddle, or dragging on the ground behind him to take the
kinks out of it.

"Rawhide's purty good," suggested Shorty Palmer.

"Yes, but braided linen for me," Buck declared. "It's got any other
kind o' rope beat a mile for strength."

"Ever get stretched with one?" Jim Walker asked, with interest.

"Nope," Buck replied, "but I seen other fellers that did."

"G'wan, spill your yarn about it," said Shorty. "We don't care whether
it's true or not."

Buck was inclined to be offended. "Say, you all never heard me tell
nothin' but th' truth," he snorted.

"Sure, we didn't," said Jim. "Leastways, your yarns is told about places
so far away that we has t' take 'em as true, not knowin' any one to call
on for t' verify 'em."

"Well, if they're made up, you c'n make up just as good ones
yourselves," said Buck, and he lapsed into silence.

"Your tale interests me strangely," said Bill. "Get to it. You started
fine."

"He didn't start at all," Jim said.

"That's what Bill means," explained Shorty.

"Aw, let him tell th' story," said Charlie Bassett. "You fellers that
ain't liars yourselves is all jealous."

Whitey would have thought that the tale was to go untold had he not
known that every story of Buck's met with this sort of reception, and
that nothing short of an earthquake could keep him from talking.

"Well, just to show you fellers you can't queer me, I _will_ tell about
this here lynchin'," Buck declared, after a pause.

"'Twas back in Wyomin', 'bout five years ago," Buck began, "an' I was
workin' for the Lazy I. An' rustlers was good an' plenty. An' every one
knows that there ain't on easier brand to cover up than a lazy I. It was
got up by old man Innes, what owned th' ranch, an' lived in Boston, an'
was so honest an' unsuspectin' that he'd 'a' trusted Slim, here, with a
lead nickel."

Fortunately Slim was asleep, and did not hear this reflection on his
character, so Buck continued:

"Well, our stock had been disappearin' in bunches, an' purty soon them
bunches begins t' s