t _that_; 'though I shore ain't bettin' on it," he chuckled.

Zack laughed. "Th' Platte shore comes close ter bein' all shadder an' no
substance. Dangest stream _I_ ever seen, an' I've seen a-plenty."

"Don't think a hull lot o' that country, nohow," said a third. "Them
Pawnees air th' worst thieves an' murderers this side o' th' Comanchees.
They kin steal yer shirt without techin' yer coat, danged if they can't.
Blast 'em, I _know_ 'em!"

Zack laughed shortly. "They ain't no-whar with th' Crows when it comes
ter stealin'," he averred.

Smith chuckled again. "Yer right, Zack. He's pizen set ag'in 'em ever
sence they stole his packs an' everythin' that wasn't a-hangin' ter him.
'Twarn't much o' a walk he had, though, only a couple hundred miles."

"Ye kin bet I'm pizen ag'in 'em sence then," retorted the Pawnee-hater
vehemently. "If I tuk scalps I could show ye somethin'. They've paid a
lot fer what they stole that time."

From another group came the mention of a name which took Tom's instant
attention.

"I hears Ol' Jim Bridger's quit tradin' in furs as a reg'lar thing,"
said the voice. "They say he's gone in fer tinkerin' an' outfittin' up
nigh Teton Pass. Got a fust rate post too, they say."

"Tinkerin' what?" demanded a listener. "What kin he outfit 'way up
thar?"

"Emigrants!" snorted the first speaker. "Figgers on sellin' 'em supplies
an' sich, an' repairin' fer 'em at his smithy. I shore reckon they'll
need him a hull lot more'n he'll need them. That's a long haul fer
wagons, tenderfeet's 'spacially--Independence ter th' Divide--'though it
ain't what it was when Hunt an' Crooks went out thirty year ago."

"No, 'tain't," replied a third man. "An' it's a lucky thing fer th'
tenderfeet that Nat Wyeth went an' built Fort Hall whar he did, even if
'twas fer th' Hudson Bay. I'm tellin' ye these hyar emigrants would be
stayin' ter home from Oregon an' Californy if 'twarn't fer what us
trappers has did fer th' country. Thar ain't nary a trail that we didn't
locate fer 'em."

The first man nodded. "Not mentionin' th' Injuns afore us, we found thar
roads, passes, an' drinkin' water fer 'em; an' now thar flockin' in ter
spile our business. One thing, though, thar goin' straight acrost, most
on 'em. It could be a hull lot worse."

While Tom's ears caught bits of the conversation roundabout his eyes
paid attention to the gambling table and on two occasions he half arose
from his chair to object profanely to the w