The Texan happened to know that Mr. Peter G. Kester, owner of the K 2, was a very dignified old gentleman who left the details of his ranch entirely in the hands of his foreman, and the idea of his drinking in the Long Horn with his cowboys was as unique as was hearing him referred to as “Old Pete.”

“What’s ailin’ him?” asked the Texan.  “Did he lose a hen, or is he fixin’ to steal someone’s mewl?”

“It’s them Bar A saddle horses,” continued the cowboy, without noticing the interruption.  “He buys a string of twenty three-year-olds offen the Bar A an’ they broke out of the pasture.  They range over here on the south slope, an’ if them horse-thieves down in the bad lands has got ’em they’re a-goin’ to think twict before they run off any more K 2 horses, as long as I’m workin’ fer the outfit.”

“Are you aimin’ to drive twenty head of horses off their own range single handed?”

“Sure.  You can do it easy if you savvy horses.”

The Texan refrained from comment.  He wanted to know who was supposed to be interested in catching him, and why.  Had someone told the truth about the lynching, and was he really wanted for aiding and abetting the pilgrim’s escape?

“I reckon that’s true,” he opined.  “They can’t get me here in the bad lands.”

The other laughed:  “You bet they can’t!  Say, that was some ride you put up down to Wolf River.  None of us could have done better.”

“Did you say they was headin’ this way?”

“Who?”

“Who would I be thinkin’ about now, I wonder?”

“Oh!  Naw!  They ain’t ready to make any arrests yet.  The grand jury set special an’ returned a lot of indictments an’ you’re one of ’em, but the districk attorney, he claims he can’t go ahead until he digs up the cripus delinkty——­”

“The what?”

“Oh, that’s a nickname the lawyers has got fer a pilgrim.”

“Wasn’t one stranglin’ enough for spreadin’ out Purdy?  What do they want of the pilgrim?”

“Spreadin’ out Purdy!” exclaimed the other, “don’t you know that Purdy didn’t stay spread?  Wasn’t hardly hurt even.  The pilgrim’s bullet just barely creased him, an’ when Sam Moore went back with a spring wagon to fetch his remains, Purdy riz up an’ started cussin’ him out an’ scairt Sam so his team run away an’ he lost his voice an’ ain’t spoke out loud since—­an’ them’s only one of the things he done.  So, you see, you done your lynching too previous, an’ folks is all stirred up about it, holdin’ that lawless acts has got to be put a stop to in Choteau County, an’ a pilgrim has got as good a right to live as the next one.  They’re holdin’ that even if he had got Purdy it would of be’n a damn good thing, an’ they wasn’t no call to stretch a man for that.  So the grand jury set, an’ the districk attorney has got a gang of men diggin’ up all the coulees for miles around, a-huntin’ for the pilgrim’s cripus delinkty so he kin go ahead with his arrests.”