human
Get the mule, Ellis.
gpt
You two drop your guns.
human
Now get out. You can pick up your guns after we leave. But if we see either of you again, we'll shoot to kill.
gpt
Joe, those men will give us trouble!
human
How come you didn't give them back their mule?
gpt
Because it isn't their mule, Joe said.
human
Those men are rustlers. All they'll do is hightail it back to wherever they left their other stolen stock and get out of the country.
gpt
Exactly, said Ellis. With his hand he parted the hair on the mule's side, revealing a brand.
human
This is an army mule. It can be returned when we get to Camp Axton, which is probably where it was stolen in the first place.
gpt
You knew this all the time?
human
I know the army brand when I see it,
gpt
Then why in tarnation didn't you tell me!
human
Because I knew you would put the worst possible interpretation on anything I did. I knew if I stole a mule, you'd be ready to blast out at me before I had a chance to explain. He clenched his teeth.
gpt
So I didn't feel like hurrying to explain.
human
Too proud to explain, is that it? he said.
gpt
By not explaining, you hoped to make a fool of me, is that it?
human
The way I figured, he said,
gpt
Very true,