Harp whirled around, picked up his hat and stamped out of the house, while Brick put his head on his arms and cried tears. Mrs. Wesson hammered Cale on the back until the poor man slid sideways out of his chair; but Miss Miller failed to see the humor of the situation. “It’s a —— shame,” declared Cale. “Don’tcha believe a danged thing that either of these critters try to make yuh believe, Miss Miller. That’s their idea of fun.” “O-o-o-oh, that was good!” wailed Mrs. Wesson. “The look on his face! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Brick, he’ll hate us both for life.” “I fail to see anything funny about it,” stated Miss Miller. “Why accuse a man of something that isn’t true, Mr. Davidson?” “It was true,” choked Brick. “But not the way it sounded. He did get knifed by a woman. Anyway, I think it was a woman. And her husband was shootin’ mad, too. Me and Harp caught ’em stealing cattle—butcherin’ at night and burnin’ the hides.” Brick wiped away his tears and was about to tell them what had happened the night before, when Silent knocked loudly at the front door. “What happened to little Harp Harris?” he asked. “I met him up the street and asked him what you wanted. He said he didn’t care a —— what you wanted, but he knew what you was goin’ to get.” “He’s got indigestion,” said Mrs. Wesson. “He told me the other day that he had it real bad. You know that upsets a man somethin’ awful. I’d sure hate to marry a man that has indigestion. I sure know what it’s like, ’cause Cale has touches of it.” “I never had anythin’ like that in my life!” snorted Cale. “I’ll betcha yuh got it right now,” grinned Brick. “Anybody that would speak to Ma Wesson that-a-way has got stummick trouble.” Cale picked up his hat and started for the door. “All right, all right! I s’pose I’ve got to stand for it. If I’d ’a’ had any sense I’d never invited the sheriff’s office to settle down in my house. Between Ma and Brick, I’ll prob’ly have to pitch a tent, if I want to have any peace.” “Didja want me, Brick?” queried Silent, “or is that part of the joke?” Brick laughed and shook his head. “I was just wonderin’ if you’d like to ride to Silverton with me this evenin’.” Silent squinted closely at Brick’s face. Their eyes met for a moment and a grin spread Silent’s lips. He knew that Brick was not riding to Silverton just for the ride. “Yeah, I’d like to go along,” said Silent indifferently. “I’m ready any time you are. Is Harp goin’ along?” “No, I don’t think so. He better take care of that shoulder for a day or two.” Brick turned to Miss Miller. “Are you goin’ to the dance tomorrow night with Harp, Miss Miller?” “Not that I know of,” she replied. “I must remind Harp of that,” said Brick seriously. “He told me to be sure and remind him to ask yuh—but it slipped my mind completely.” “Oh, is that so?” Miss Miller’s brows lifted slightly and she glanced at Mrs. Wesson, who was still chuckling. “And if I forget it, Ma will remind him of it when he comes back.”