After the laughter quieted down, Cimarron jammed his fist into an open palm with a resounding smash. "I'm thinkin' we got more interest in th' way them SV cows are handled than we ever thought. I'm gettin' interested in seein' that th' SV runs itself some better than it has. There's ideas millin' around in my head that some folks might say are scandalous an' unpolite. You all heard _me_--lemme hear somethin'." "An' I'm wantin' to know," said Johnny, "what kind of barb wire is sold down in these parts?" "Mean, cussed mean," replied Slim. "Then mebby that's why it won't stay up," muttered Johnny. "It keeps a-comin' down from off them posts around th' quicksands, pullin' out double staples, an' draggin' itself all over th' valley. A couple of them posts set fire to themselves, too, an' burned till they busted themselves off, close to th' ground. I'm shore doin' a lot of guessin'." "Lacey told me--" began Deuce. "--to rope yourself," interrupted Cimarron. "We got lots of time, later, to hear about what Lacey told you." "I believe in bein' neighborly," said Matt, "an' givin' folks a hand when they deserve it." "Is th' Doc a friend of you fellers?" asked Johnny. "We ain't weepin' none over his kidnappin', if that's what you mean," chuckled Matt. "He mebby will be kidnapped ag'in, sometime--an' hoof it back home. Why?" "Well, I didn't want to hurt you fellers' feelin's," replied Johnny. "What you mean?" asked Cimarron. "You'll have to be plumb rough to hurt any feelin's out here." "Matt was sayin' he believes in bein' neighborly," explained Johnny, "an' I happened to think of somethin' about th' Doc, what stirred me a-plenty. That's why I asked." "What was that?" asked Slim. "Why, that Arnold girl was took sick about a year ago, an' they sent for th' Doc. He said he would doctor cows an' hosses, but he wouldn't sling a laig across a saddle if th' whole SV was dyin', an' be refused to go. That kid had to ride to Highbank for that drunken doctor down there." "Th' h--l you say!" snapped Thompson. "Is that right?" "It is," answered Johnny. "An' it made me wonder what kind of country I'd got into. I maintains that no doctor like that measures up to th' standards of cow-country men; an' when th' old man busted his laig I says it was plumb proper that th' coyote was kidnapped an' made to do his plain duty." "I'm admirin' that kidnappin' more every day," exclaimed Slim. "Th' dog wouldn't have to be kidnapped if he was needed on th' Bar H." "Huh!" snorted Cimarron. "If Big Tom had a sore toe th' Doc would bust his neck an' kill a hoss gettin' there." "Will somebody tell me what's th' matter with that coyote?" asked Larry Hallock. "One day he's as bright as a new dollar an' witty as blazes; th' next, he looks like somebody had dragged him by th' heels through th' hottest parts of h--l. Talk about quick changes! He's a wonder. What's he drinkin', anyhow?"