ain't been none too friendly, recollect. When's your boss
expected home, did yuh say? I'd kinda like to meet 'im."

"He'll kinda like to meet you," Joe returned darkly. "Your
actions has been plumb suspicious.

"Nothin' suspicious about MY actions," Casey stated truculently,
throwing discretion behind him. "The suspiciousness lays up here
somewheres on this butte. If yuh want to know what brung me up
here, Casey Ryan's the man that can tell yuh to your faces. I
come up here to find out who's been gittin' busy with a
high-power on my camp down below. Ain't it natural a man'd want
to know who'd shot his two burros--an' 'is pardner?" Casey had
impulsively decided to throw in Barney for good measure. "Casey
Ryan ain't the man to set under a bush an' be shot at like a
rabbit. You can ask anybody if Casey ever backed up fer man er
beast. I come up here huntin'. Shore I did. It wasn't sheep I
was after--that there's my mistake. It was goats."

"Guess I got yourn," Hank leered "when stuck my gun in your back
hair."

"If any one's 'been usin' a high-power it wasn't on this butte,"
Joe growled. "None uh this bunch done any shootin'. Pap an'
Hank, they was up here huntin' burros an I caught yuh up a tree
spyin'. We got a little band uh antelope up here we're
pertectin'. Our boss got himself made a deppity fer just such
cases as yourn appears t' be--pervidin' your case ain't worse.

"Now you say your pardner was shot down below in your camp. That