"Got to bore through difficulties," Beresford said. "Then you're
liable to bump into disappointment. But you can't ever tell till you
try."

His friend began to catch the drift of the officer's purpose. He was
looking for a liquor shipment, _and he had bought an auger to bore
through difficulties_.

Tom's eyes glowed. "Come over to the storeroom an' take a look at my
stock. Want you to see I'm gonna have these moccasins made from good
material."

They kept step across the corral, gay, light-hearted sons of the
frontier, both hard as nails, packed muscles rippling like those of
forest panthers. Their years added would not total more than twoscore
and five, but life had taken hold of them young and trained them to
its purposes, had shot them through and through with hardihood and
endurance and the cool prevision that forestalls disaster.

"I'm in on this," the Montanan said.

"Meaning?"

"That I buy chips, take a hand, sit in, deal cards."

The level gaze of the police officer studied him speculatively. "Now
why this change of heart?"

"You get me wrong. I'm with you to a finish in puttin' West and Whaley