They were not interested
in Saunders's proposal.
Saunders, coming from the saloon, was not a little surprised to see a
band of horsemen far out on the desert. He felt that their presence in
his vicinity had something to do with himself. He counted the horses.
There were six of them. He knew instantly that the riders were cowmen,
although he could not distinguish one from another. He beckoned to the
saloon-keeper.
"We could 'a' stopped that," he said, pointing toward the desert.
"Big bunch. One--two--three--six of 'em. _Big_ bunch to come visitin'
here."
Saunders gestured toward the canon behind Gophertown.
The saloon-keeper shook his head. "Don't think most of our boys will be
back this week. Brandin' that bunch of new stock. Takes time to do it
right."
"Well, here comes Parks and Santa Fe Smith," said Saunders. "That makes
four of us."
"Mebby--and mebby not," said the saloon-keeper. "That depends. Depends
on the party that's callin' and who they're callin' _on_."
"There's Sago--just ridin' the ledge trail. That's five."
"'Lige and Joe Kennedy are up at the corrals," said the saloon-keeper.
"They would hate to miss anything like this."
"Mebby they won't, if that bunch gets past us," said Saunders.
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