His most prominent attribute was that of always getting into
trouble without any intention of so doing; in fact, he was much
aggrieved and surprised when it came. It seemed as though when any
"bad man" desired to add to his reputation he invariably selected
Hopalong as the means (a fact due, perhaps, to the perversity of
things in general). Bad men became scarce soon after Hopalong became a
fixture in any locality. He had been crippled some years before in a
successful attempt to prevent the assassination of a friend, Sheriff
Harris, of Albuquerque, and he still possessed a limp.
When Red had relieved his feelings and had dug the alkali out of his
ears and eyes, he led the Sioux to the rear of the saloon, where a
"pinto" was busily engaged in endeavoring to pitch a saddle from his
back, employing the intervals in trying to see how much of the picket
rope he could wrap around his legs.
When By-and-by saw what he was expected to ride he felt somewhat
relieved, for the pony did not appear to have more than the ordinary
amount of cussedness. He waved his hand, and Johnny and Red bandaged
the animal's eyes, which quieted him at once, and then they untangled
the rope from around his legs and saw that the cinches were secure.
Motioning to By-and-by that all was ready, they jerked the bandage off
as the Indian settled himself in the saddle.
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