"Well," he said, "this place looks pretty good to me. Ever fish those streams?"
"Don"t eat fish."
"I"ll wager you"re missing some first-cla.s.s trout, though. By Jove, I"d like to cast a couple of times over some of the pools I"ve pa.s.sed in the last hour! By the way, who owns that house over there?"
"Same feller that owns this land."
"That so? What"s his name?"
The other lifted his s.h.a.ggy eyebrows and stared at the stranger.
"Ain"t been long around here, eh?"
"No."
"William Drew, he owns that house."
"William Drew?" repeated the rider, as though imprinting the word on his memory. "Is he home?"
"Maybe."
"I"ll ride over and ask him if he can put me up."
"Wait a minute. He may be home, but he lives on the other side of the range."
"Very far from here?"
"Apiece."
"How"ll I know him when I see him?"
"Big feller--grey--broad shoulders."
"Ah!" murmured the other, and smiled as though the picture pleased him.
"I"ll hunt him up and ask him if I can camp out in this house of his for a while."
"Well, that"s your party."
"Don"t you think he"d let me?"
"Maybe; but the house ain"t lucky."
"That so?"
"Sure. There"s a grave in front of it."
"A grave? Whose?"
"Dunno."
"Well, it doesn"t worry me. I"ll drop over the hill and see Drew."
"Maybe you"d better wait. You"ll be pa.s.sin" him on the road, like as not."
"How"s that?"
"He comes over here on Tuesdays once a month; to-morrow he"s about due."
"Good. In the meantime I can camp over there by that stream, eh?"
"Don"t know of n.o.body who"d stop you."
"By the way, what brings Drew over here every month?"
"Never asked him. I was brung up not to ask questions."
The stranger accepted this subtle rebuke with such an open, infectious laugh that the shepherd smiled in the very act of spitting at the stone, with the result that he missed it by whole inches.
"I"ll answer some of the questions you haven"t asked, then. My name is Anthony Bard and I"m out here seeing the mountains and having a bully time in general with my rod and gun."
The sad eyes regarded him without interest, but Bard swung from his horse and advanced with outstretched hand.
"I may be about here for a few days and we might as well get acquainted, eh? I"ll promise to lay off the questions."
"I"m Logan."
"Glad to know you, Mr. Logan."
"Same t"you. Don"t happen to have no fine-cut about you?"
"No. Sorry."
"So"m I. Ran out an" now all I"ve got is plug. Kind of hard on the teeth an" full of mola.s.ses."
"I"ve some pipe tobacco, though, which might do."
He produced a pouch which Logan opened, taking from it a generous pinch.
"Looks kind of like fine-cut--smells kind of like the real thing"--here he removed the quid from his mouth and introduced the great pinch of tobacco--"an" I"ll be d.a.m.ned if it don"t taste a pile the same!"
The misty eyes centred upon Bard and a light grew up in them.
"Maybe you"d put a price on this tobacco, stranger?"
"It"s yours," said Bard, "to help you forget all the questions I"ve asked."
The shepherd acted at once lest the other might change his mind, dumping the contents of the pouch into the breast pocket of his shirt. Afterward his gaze sought the dim summits of the Little Brothers, and a sad, great resolution grew up and hardened the lines of his sallow face.
"You can camp with me if you want--partner."