y purely
purposeless conflict were more or less concerned and watchful of him. He
would drive steadily for four or five minutes with thoughtfully knitted
brows, but eyes still keenly observant under his slouched hat, and then,
relaxing his strained attitude, would give way to a movement of
impatience. "You aint uneasy about anything, Bill, are you?" asked the
Expressman confidentially. Bill lifted his eyes with a slightly
contemptuous surprise. "Not about anything ter _come_. It's what _hez_
happened that I don't exackly sabe. I don't see no signs of Ramon's gang
ever havin' been out at all, and ef they were out I don't see why they
didn't go for us."

"The simple fact is that our _ruse_ was successful," said an outside
passenger. "They waited to see our lights on the ridge, and, not seeing
them, missed us until we had passed. That's my opinion."

"You aint puttin' any price on that opinion, air ye?" enquired Bill,
politely.

"No."

"'Cos thar's a comic paper in 'Frisco pays for them things, and I've
seen worse things in it."

"Come off! Bill," retorted the passenger, slightly nettled by the
tittering of his companions. "Then what did you put out the lights for?"

"Well," returned Bill, grimly, "it mout have been because I didn't keer
to hev you chaps blazin' away at the first bush you _thought_ you saw
move in your skeer, and bringin' down their fire on us."

The explanation, though unsatisfactory, was by no means an improbable
one, and we thought it better to accept it with a laugh. Bill, however,
resumed his abstracted manner.

"Who got in at the Summit?" he at last asked abruptly of the Expressman.

"Derrick and Simpson of Cold Spring, and one of the 'Excelsior' boys,"
responded the Expressman.

"And that Pike County girl from Dow's Flat, with her bundles. Don't
forget her," added the outside passenger, ironically.

"Does anybody here know her?" continued Bill, ignoring the irony.

"You'd better ask Judge Thompson; he was mighty attentive to her;
gettin' her a seat by the off window, and lookin' after her bundles and
things."

"Gettin' her a seat by the _window_?" repeated Bill.

"Yes, she wanted to see everything, and wasn't afraid of the shooting."

"Yes," broke in a third passenger, "and he was so d----d civil that when
she dropped her ring in the straw, he struck a match agin all your
rules, you know, and held it for her to find it. And it was just as we
were crossin' through the brush, too. I