uch hurt." His eyes
turned, and dwelt sharply upon the face of Good Indian.

"Yo' all time thinkum Squaw-with-sun-hair. Me tell yo' for watchum, yo'
no think for watchum. Baumberga, him all same snake. Yo' think him all
time catchum fish. HUH! Yo' heap big fool, yo' thinkum cat. Rattlesnake,
mebbyso sleepum in sun one time. Yo' no thinkum bueno, yo' seeum sleep
in sun. Yo' heap sabe him all time kay bueno jus' same. Yo' heap sabe
yo' come close, him biteum. Mebbyso biteum hard, for killum yo' all
time." He paused, then drove home his point like the true orator.
"Baumberga catchum fish. All same rattlesnake sleepum in sun. Kay
bueno."

Good Indian jerked his mind back from delicious recollection of one
sweet, swift-passing minute, and half opened his lips for reply. But
he did not speak; he did not know what to say, and it is ill-spent
time--that passed in purposeless speech with such as Peppajee. Peppajee
roused himself from meditation brief as it seemed deep, lifted a lean,
brown hand to push back from his eyes a fallen lock of hair, and pointed
straight away to the west.

"Las' night, sun go sleepum. Clouds come all same blanket, sun wrappum
in blanket. Cloud look heap mad--mebbyso make much storm. Bimeby much
mens come in cloud, stand so--and so--and so." With pointing finger he
indicated a half circle. "Otha man come, heap big man. Stoppum 'way off,
all time makeum sign, for fight. Me watchum. Me set by fire, watchum
cloud makeum sign. Fire smoke look up for say, 'What yo' do all time,
mebbyso?' Cloud man shakeum hand, makeum much sign. Fire smoke heap sad,
bend down far, lookum me, lookum where cloud look. All time lookum for
Peaceful Hart ranch. Me lay down for sleepum, me dream all time much
fight. All time bad sign come. Kay bueno." Peppajee shook his head
slowly, his leathery face set in deep, somber lines.

"Much trouble come heap quick," he said gravely, hitching his blanket
into place upon his shoulder. "Me no sabe--all same, heap trouble come.
Much mens, mebbyso much fight, much shootum--mebbyso kill. Peaceful Hart
him all time laugh me. All same, me sabe smoke sign, sabe cloud sign,
sabe--Baumberga. Heap ka-a-ay bueno!"

Good Indian's memory dashed upon him a picture of bright moonlight and
the broody silence of a night half gone, and of a figure forming sharply
and suddenly from the black shadow of the stable and stealing away into
the sage, and of Baumberger emerging warily from that same shadow and