Thirsty shifted his feet and glanced around. Buck and Red were still
lounging against their bowlders and apparently were not paying any
attention to the proceedings. His fickle nerve came back again, for he
knew he would receive fair play. So he faced Hopalong once more and
regarded him with a cynical smile.
"Yu seems to worry a whole lot about me. Is it because yu has a
tender feelin', or because it's none of yore blame business?" He asked
aggressively.
Hopalong paled with sudden anger, but controlled himself.
"It's because yu murdered Harris," he replied.
"Shoo! An' how does yu figger it out?" Asked Thirsty, jauntily.
"He was huntin' yu hard an' yu thought yu'd stop it, so yu came in
to lay for him. When yu saw me an' him together yu saw di' chance to
wipe out another score. That's how I figger it out," replied Hopalong
quietly.
"Yore a reg'lar `tective, ain't yu?" Thirsty asked ironically.
"I've got common sense," responded Hopalong.
"Yu has? Yu better tell th' rest that, too," replied Thirsty.
"I know yu shot Harris, an' yu can't get out of it by makin' funny
remarks. Anyhow, yu won't be much loss, an' th' stage company'll feel
better, too."
"Shoo! An' suppose I did shoot him, I done a good job, didn't I?"
"Yu did the worst job yu could do, yu highway robber," softly said
Hopalong, at the same time moving nearer.
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