Page:B M Bower - Heritage of the Sioux.djvu/84

THE HERITAGE OF THE SIOUX the old man quizzically. "Her dog been licking your cat again, or what?"

"You're danged right he ain't!" Applehead testified boastfully. "Compadre's got that there dawg's goat, now I'm tellin' yuh! He don't take nothin' off him ner her neither."

"What you been doing to her, then?" Luck set his empty plate on the ground beside him and began feeling for the makings of a cigarette. "Way she side-stepped you, I know there must be something."

"Well, now, I ain't done a danged thing to that there squaw! She ain't got any call to go around givin' me the bad eye." He looked at the breakfasting company and then again at Luck, and gave an almost imperceptible backward jerk of his head as he got awkwardly to his feet and strolled away toward the milling horses in the remuda.

So when Luck had lighted his fresh-rolled cigarette he followed Applehead unobtrusively. "Well, what's on your mind?" he wanted to know when he came up with him.

"Well, now, I don't want you to think I'm 72