human
Howd'y,
gpt
No use bein' lonesome. Meet Red Thompson,
human
Glad to meet you, said Johnny, truthfully, but hiding as well as he could the pleasure it gave him.
gpt
I once knowed a Thompson--short, fat feller. Worked up on a mountain range in Colorado. Know him?
human
Th' world's full of Thompsons, he explained.
gpt
You punchin'?
human
Got a job on th' SV, couple of days' ride north of here. Just come down with a little beef herd for Twitchell an' Carpenter. Ain't seen no good bunch of yearlin's that can be got cheap, have you?
gpt
No, I ain't.
human
Modest feller, _he_ is, he said.
gpt
He's foreman, up there.
human
That so? I passed yore ranch comin' down. Need another man?
gpt
I could do with one less. Them bank fellers picked a good time for it, didn't they?
human
They shore did, agreed the gambler.
gpt
Couldn't 'a' picked a better. Kane loses a lot by that, I reckon. Well, what do you gents say to a little game? Small enough not to cause no calamities; large enough to be interestin'? Nothin' else to do that I can see.