tendered the bottle:

"Take all you need, there's plenty," he said. But she would take only a
swallow which she held in her mouth and allowed to trickle down her
throat. Endicott did the same and Bat, whereupon the cowboy replaced the
cork to the bottle and was about to return it to his slicker when the
girl caught his arm.

"You didn't drink any!" she cried, but he overrode her protest.

"I ain't thirsty," he said almost gruffly. "You better catch you a
little rest, because as soon as we get these horses fixed up, we're goin'
to pull out of here." The girl assayed a protest, but Tex turned
abruptly away and the three fell to work removing the caked dust from the
eyes and nostrils of the horses, and rinsing out their mouths. When they
finished, Tex turned to Bat.

"How far d'you reckon it is to the water-hole?" he asked.

The half-breed shrugged: "Mebbe-so fi' mile, mebbe-so ten. I ain' know
dis place. A'm t'ink we los'."

"Lost!" snorted the Texan, contemptuously. "You're a hell of an Injun,
you are, to get lost in broad daylight in sight of the Bear Paws. I
ain't lost, if you are, an' I tell you we camp at that water-hole
tonight!"

Again the half-breed shrugged: "I ain' see no mountaine. I ain' see no
mooch daylight, neider. Too mooch de dam' dus'--too mooch san'--too
mooch de win' blow. If we com' by de water-hole, A'm t'ink dat dam'