"He was a weak brother," Johnny sorrowfully declared. "Th' last I saw of him he was fallin' off his cayuse about five miles northwest of th' ranch. First he fell back over a chair, backwards; then he fell out of a window, frontwards; an' when he fell off his cayuse he was goin' sideways. When it comes to fallin' I'll back him against anybody. What do I owe you for them two bottles of whiskey? They was amazin' medicine." "Whiskey?" queried Dave. "Did you taste it?" "I didn't," confessed Johnny. "I handed th' first bottle to Dahlgren, an' by th' time it got back to me there wasn't nothin' in it. Th' second bottle I gives to Smitty, an' I got left again. If I'd had a couple more I might a' got a drink. What makes you ask?" "The first was brandy, an' th' second was gin," said Dave. "I reckoned mebby they'd like a change. Sorry you didn't get none of 'em." Johnny looked at him reproachfully. "_I_ ain't," he said. "Good Lord! Come, Pepper, there ain't no tellin' what this man'll do next. Mebby we won't see Smitty till next week--come, little hoss!" CHAPTER VIII A MAN'S A MAN Having eaten enough to arouse the unqualified admiration of George, Johnny went to the kitchen and became busy with patch paper, tallow, and loading cup, and had just finished the twenty-fifth, and last, cartridge, when Two-Spot wandered in. George was out attacking the wood pile. "Got 'em done, huh? Ain't it better to buy 'em?" asked Two-Spot, looking into the dining-room. "It is, Ol' Timer, when you can. Just now I can't get 'em, so I got to make 'em." His companion looked at the belt full of .45's. "Gimme a couple of them? I want to try somethin'." Johnny complied. "Want to see if they fits?" he asked. "What you mean?" "Carson dropped his gun under Dave's floor. Who got th' one in th' road?" "Don't say nothin'," begged Two-Spot. "Dave's an old woman, an' I don't want nobody to know I got it. He got th' other." "What you goin' to do with yourn?" "Keep it in my bunk. I might need it, sometime. I ought to have a rifle, though." "I'll get you one," promised Johnny. "What you goin' to do this afternoon?" asked Two-Spot, his face beaming at the thought of owning a rifle. "Don't know yet." "It's time you knowed about things out here. You ride up th' Juniper trail to th' second draw, in about an hour, an' I'll fix yore case rack so you'll know what cards are out. Yo're guessin' good, but Faro ain't th' only game where keepin' cases is better." "Why go up there?" "Well, purty soon it ain't goin' to be healthy for anybody to be too friendly with you," said Two-Spot, reflectively. "Anyhow, I'll be worth more if I ain't suspected of bein' too talkative."