denied it in kind, an' one word leadin' to another, he called me a
liar. To which statement, although to a certain extent veracious, I
took exception, an' in the airy persiflage that ensued, he took umbrage
to an extent that it made him hostile. Previous to this little
altercation, he an' I had been good friends, and deemin', rightly, that
it wasn't a shootin' matter, he ondertook to back up his play with his
fists, and he hauled off an' smote me between the eyes before I'd
devined his intentions. Judgin' the move unfriendly, not to say right
downright aggressive, I come back at him with results you-all noted.
An' that's all there was to the incident of me showin' up with black
eyes, an' a lip that would do for a pin cushion."

All during supper and afterward while the half-breed was washing the
dishes, the Texan eyed him sharply, and several times caught the flash
of a furtive smile upon the habitually sombre face.

"He knows somethin' mirthful," thought the cowboy, "I noticed it
particular, when I was flounderin' up to my neck in the mire of
deception. The old reprobate ain't easy amused, either."

Alice retired early, and before long Endicott, too, sought his
blankets. The moon rose, and the Texan strolled over to the grazing
horses. Returning, he encountered Bat seated upon a rock at some
distance from camp, watching him. The half-breed was grinning openly
now, broadly, and with evident enjoyment. Tex regarded him with a
frown: "For a Siwash you're plumb mirthful an' joyous minded. In fact
I ain't noticed any one so wrapped up in glee for quite a spell.
Suppose you just loosen up an' let me in on the frivolity, an' at the
same time kind of let it appear where you put in the day. I mistrusted
my packin' a pair of purple ones wouldn't give you the whoopin' cough,