"Sartintly, I hez."

"Let's have it then, kummarade," said Garey, seeing that Rube had
relapsed into silence; "thar ain't much time to think o' things--"

"Plenty o' time, Billee! Don't be so durned impatient, boy. Thur's
gobs o' time. I'll stake my ole mar agin the young fellur's black hoss,
thet we'll be out o' this scrape afore sun-up. Geehosophat! how thu 'll
cuss when they finds the trap empty. He, he, he!--ho, ho, hoo!"

And the old sinner continued to laugh for some seconds, as coolly and
cheerfully as if no enemy was within a thousand miles of the spot.

Garey and I were chafing with impatience, but we knew that our comrade
was in one of his queer moods, and it was no use attempting to push him
faster than he was disposed to go.

When his chuckling fit was ended, he assumed a more serious air, and
once more appeared to busy himself with the calculation of some problem.
He spoke in soliloquy.

"Twenty yurds o' Bill's," muttered he, "an twenty of the young fellur's,
ur forty; an myen--it ur sixteen yurds--make the hul fifty an six;
ye-es, fifty-six preezactly. Then thur's the knots to kum off o' thet,
though fornenst 'em thur's bridles. Wagh! thur's rope aplenty, an
enough over, to string up half a score o' them yeller-bellies, ef iver I
gits holt on 'em. An _won't_ I! Wagh!"

During this arithmetical process, Rube, instead of gazing any longer
into the barrel of his rifle, had kept his eyes wandering up and down
the cliff. Before he had ceased talking, both Garey and myself had
divined his plan, but we refrained from telling him so. To have
anticipated the old trapper in his disclosure would have been a mortal
offence.

We waited for him to make it known.

"Now, boyees!" said he at length, "hyur's how we'll git clur. Fust an
fo'must, we'll crawl up yanner, soon's it gits dark enough to kiver us.
Seconds, we'll toat our trail-ropes along wi' us. Thuds, we'll jine the
three thegither, an ef thet ain't long enough, a kupple o' bridles 'll
help out. Fo'th, we'll tie the eend o' the rope to a saplin up thur on
top, an then slide down the bluff on t'other side, do ee see? Fift,
oncest down on the paraira, we'll put straight for the settlements.
Sixt an lastest, when we gits thur, we'll gather a wheen o' the young
fellur's rangers, take a bee-line back to the mound, an gie these hyur
niggurs sech a lambaystin as they hain't hed since the war begun. Now?"

"Now" meant, What think you of the