"I've got a shootin'-iron myself, old Rip-tail, and I'm goin' to use
it if necessary."

"What have you to say in answer to this man's charge?" asked one of
the miners, a large man who was looked upon as the leader of the
company. "He charges you with taking his horse."

"He lies!" said the man from Pike.

"Be keerful, old Rip-tail," said Mr. Bickford in a warning tone. "I
don't take sass any more than you do."

"I didn't steal your horse."

"No, you didn't exactly steal it, but you took it without leave and
left your own bag of bones in his place. But that wasn't so bad as
stealin' all our provisions and leavin' us without a bite, out in the
wilderness. That's what I call tarnation mean."

"What have you to say to these charges?" asked the mining leader
gravely.

"Say? I say that man is mistaken. I never saw him before in my
life."

"Well, that's cheeky," said Joshua, aghast at the man's impudence.
"Why, I know you as well as if we'd been to school together. You are
the Rip-tail Roarer. You are from Pike County, Missouri, you are.
You can whip your weight in wildcats. That's he, gentlemen. I leave