"
"You had no men?" questioned Pesita. "You had six
troopers."
"Oh, they was all croaked before we'd been gone two
hours. You see it happens like this: We got as far as that dry
arroyo just before the trail drops down into the valley, when
up jumps a bunch of this here Villa's guys and commenced
takin' pot shots at us.
"Seein' as how I was sent to guard Bridge an' Mig, I makes
them dismount and hunt cover, and then me an' my men
wades in and cleans up the bunch. They was only a few of
them but they croaked the whole bloomin' six o' mine.
"I tell you it was some scrap while it lasted; but I saved
your guests from gettin' hurted an' I know that that's what
you sent me to do. It's too bad about the six men we lost but,
leave it to me, we'll get even with that Villa guy yet. Just lead
me to 'im."
As he spoke Billy commenced scratching himself beneath
the left arm, and then, as though to better reach the point of
irritation, he slipped his hand inside his shirt. If Pesita noticed
the apparently innocent little act, or interpreted it correctly
may or may not have been the fact. He stood looking straight
into Byrne's eyes for a full minute. His face denoted neither
baffled rage nor contemplated revenge.
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