you go? I'm sayin' you don't feel that way, not by a long sight."

What if Drew answered with the exact truth, that he did not know how he
felt?

Nye came in, trailed by three of the other Rennie riders.

"Johnny's got him a hoss-size headache an' maybe so a pair of burnt ears.
Th' Old Man musta lit into him hot an' heavy, chewed him out good. I'd say
they warn't even talkin' by th' time they pulled up here. Seems like th'
kid got an idear to scout north, struck trace near th' Long Canyon, rode
th' sign on his own an' was bushwacked. Guess whoever did it thought
Johnny was wolf meat, jus' took his hoss an' left him there. You gotta
give th' kid credit for havin' it in him. He kept on goin' after he came
to some----Walked till that patrol picked him up. I'd say he sure had him a
run of pure solid luck! There wasn't much pawin' an' bellerin' left in him
when Muller's boys brought him to town. Been gittin' a little of it back,
though, seems like. But maybe this here will learn him a little hoss
sense--"

"It was Kitchell's men who shot him?" Leon wanted to know.

"Could be. Warn't no Apaches, that's for certain. No Injun would have jus'
shot him down an' not made sure he was crow bait. Sure a fool thing to do,
ridin' there alone. Anyway, th' Old Man'll stick him into bed here, an'
I'll bet you Johnny ain't gonna ride out anywhere without an eye on
him--not for a good long while."

"Long Canyon--" Perse Donally, one of the other Anglo riders, paused in
shucking his shirt to look inquiringly over his shoulder. "That sure is
off th' trail th' kid was supposed to be followin'. How come he ever
drifted that far north from th' wells round, anyway?"

"You ask him." Nye sat down on a bunk, flipped his hat away, and lay back.
"Sure feels good jus' to stretch out a mite," he observed. "Th' Old Man,
he was movin' like he warn't on speakin' terms with th' law an' there was
a sheriff behind every rock. Usually he's calm as a hoss trough on a mild
day. Johnny gittin' his hair cut with a slug sure shook Rennie up some,
almost as much as it shook Johnny. As for th' kid ridin' north--well, I'd
say that was some more of his tryin' to make a real big brag. Maybe he
thought he could run down Kitchell all by hisself. Which is jus' about as
straight thinkin' as kickin' a loaded polecat on th' tail end. But
Johnny's always been like that. Do it now, think 'bout it later. Got him
into more scrapes 'n I can count me on both hands. Hope th'