Page:Edward Ellis--Alden the Pony Express Rider.djvu/262

 the case seemed incredible, but days afterward Alden submitted the question to Shagbark. The veteran stroked his whiskers, puffed his pipe for a minute, and then squinted one eye.

“Thar’s only one way to explanify it,” he answered; “the varmint whose scalp ye left on top of his head was so thankful that he signaled ahead to the other three varmints not to hurt ye, ’cause ye and him war friends.

“I’ll own that that ain’t the gin’ral style of the critters, but sometimes they act jest as if they war white men, and better than some white men I’ve met.”