This elicited a low rumble of laughter. The earthenware receptacle went around, and was returned to Old Buck almost empty. Old Buck raised it to a level with his eyes, looked toward Little Buck, and drawled the only toast he knew. "'Here's to you, as good as you are, and to me, as bad as I am; and as bad as I am, and as good as you are, I'm as good as you are, as bad as I am!'" Young Wolfe only smiled. Nathan responded for him, "Drink hearty." Old Buck went on. "When a feller can say that 'ar toast straight, he natchelly hain't loaded. I don't never 'low none o' my people to git loaded. I tests 'em by that toast; and ef they cain't say it straight, I thrashes 'em. I thrashed Nath atter he'd got over his dido and his mistake last summer. Ax him, ef ye don't believe it." Nathan pulled at his silky black beard, grinned, and changed the subject, "What'n Tophet brung ye back, Little Buck?" he asked. The man addressed swept the half-circle before him with his eyes. They were all smiling upon him now, and he was glad indeed to note that they were disposed to be so friendly. He moistened his lips and began. "I decided some little time ago to come back. I had heard, through Oliver, about----" "How's Oliver?" broke in his father. "Oliver's all right. I had heard, through Oliver, about the fighting, and I wanted to see----" "You say Oliver he's all right?" interrupted his mother, who now stood in the doorway. "Absolutely. The fighting didn't seem worth while to me, and I wanted----" "I'm shore glad pore Oliver he's all right," said Oliver Wolfe's wife. [Illustration] "----To see if I could do anything to stop it," Little Buck pursued doggedly. "When I was ready to start out here, I learned that the Thorntons, some of whom have owned the basin land since the days of the old North Carolina land grant, were about to sell out to some cattlemen, who wanted the basin for grazing purposes. I investigated, and found out that the cattlemen hadn't offered a very good price because of the trouble they expected to have with the Wolfes and Singletons----" "Them cattlemen," his father cut in grimly, "had right good hoss sense."