human
You an' the breed come along with me, he whispered,
gpt
he paused and winked,
human
By George! he exclaimed,
gpt
I wonder----
human
Wonder--hell! Give 'em a chance! Come on, we'll pull out. Bill, he'll h'ist him onto his horse, an' then he'll stay an' drop them corpses down some mud crack.
gpt
Oh, Win--Win--dear! she sobbed,
human
Forgive you! I have nothing to forgive, dearest. I know it's all right! At first I was a little--worried, but Old Bat came along--and after that, I knew it was all right--but come on, let's go inside and you can tell me all about it!
gpt
Seen Tex? he asked anxiously. Grimshaw nodded:
human
Yeh--we seen him.
gpt
Did he--git Purdy?
human
No--he didn't git him. He almost, but he didn't quite.
gpt
Where you goin'?
human
To Wolf River.
gpt
Wolf River! What's goin' on in Wolf River that you're so hell bent to take in?
human
You might as well know it as the rest of 'em. I'm goin' to give myself up, an' I want to beat Purdy to it. He's got somethin' on me--a hold-up that I was partly mixed up in, way back when I was a kid. I never got none of the money, an' I've be'n on the level since. I figgered I'd payed fer that long ago. But, if Purdy got away, he'll tip me off. It's goin' to be hard as hell on her.
gpt
Put up yer horse, boy, he said;
human
There comes Tex, now! cried Cinnabar, pointing to two riders who appeared outlined for a moment against the opposite valley rim, before beginning the descent of the slope.
gpt
He's ridin' McWhorter's blue roan. But who's that with him? Why--it's McWhorter's girl! But, what horse has she got? She busted out of here two or three hours ago ridin' her bay mare!
human
There's a pair to draw to,
gpt
Do you mean----?
human
Yes--that's just what I mean! But, they rode a damn sight faster than what I would, at that.
gpt
Hey, Bat! You old reprobate! called the Texan, as his horse ascended the bank from the creek,
human
Reaching into his shirt he withdrew a half-dollar suspended from his neck by a greasy thong of rawhide.
gpt
See, A'm ain' fergit. Dat fo'-bit she giv' me chanc' to pay heem back 'bout seex-seven hondre tam'. W'at you wan' in Wo'f Reevaire? Nodder pilgrim to hang, eh, _bien_?
human
You hit the trail now--an' hit it hard. An' you show up here tomorrow morning with a preacher an' a round yellow ring--savvy?
gpt
The old man looked straight into the eyes of the girl who sat her horse close beside the Texan.
human
You gon' mar' heem tomor'?
gpt
Dat good. You git de bes' dam' man on de worl'! Dat Tex mebbe-so she git to be de gov'--de w'at you call, de _president_! But, som'tam' he lak de bad boy an' you got to knock hell out of heem to mak' heem good. Ol' Bat--he know. For er long tam' A'm know heem. You lov' heem lak hell. Een de eye A'm see it--an' een de eye A'm see you gon' to mak heem stay good----
human
Hey, you old leather image! laughed the Texan,
gpt
Ba Goss! A'm lak A'm see you scare wan tam'! You bet A'm ride wan hondre mile to laff on you. You git de dam' fine 'oman. Now you got to mak' her, w'at you call, de happiness. Bye-m-bye, Ol' Bat, she git to ol' to ride de range--to cook. Den A'm joos' stay 'roun' an' look aftaire _les enfants_. A'm show um how to ride, an' shoot, an' t'row de rope--joos' so good lak de _pere_ kin do, _ah voila_!
human
Slip over to McWhorter's tomorrow, Cass, he invited--
gpt
I'd like to have you there.
human
You're sure you want me? You ain't askin' me just so I won't feel--left out? An' how about the others? How about yer--wife? She never has had no time for us horse-thieves.
gpt
She's learnt a lot in the last couple of hours, Cass. If you ain't at the weddin' she'll be the most disappointed one of all.
human
All right, boy--I'll come. I got to be goin' now. He ran his fingers over his stubby beard,
gpt
Sure is goin' to be hell to shave.