"I ben figgerin' on goin' back to see maw. I ain't
thought o' nothin' else since you told me 'bout how she
missed me. I ken see her right now just like I was there. I'll
bet she's scrubbin' the kitchen floor. Maw was always a-scrubbin'
somethin'. Gee! but it's tough to cash in like this
just when I was figgerin' on goin' home."
Billy couldn't think of anything to say. He turned to look
up and down the canyon in search of the enemy.
"Home!" whispered Eddie. "Home!"
"Aw, shucks!" said Billy kindly. "You'll get home all right,
kid. The boys must a-heard the shootin' an' they'll be along in
no time now. Then we'll clean up this bunch o' coons an'
have you back to El Orobo an' nursed into shape in no
time."
Eddie tried to smile as he looked up into the other's face.
He reached a hand out and laid it on Billy's arm.
"You're all right, old man," he whispered. "I know you're
lyin' an' so do you; but it makes me feel better anyway to
have you say them things."
Billy felt as one who has been caught stealing from a blind
man. The only adequate reply of which he could think was,
"Aw, shucks!"
"Say," said Eddie after a moment's silence, "if you get out
o' here an' ever go back to the States promise me you'll look
up maw and paw an' tell 'em I was comin' home--to stay.
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