Cash cocked an eye at the two as he went by, threw the wood down on his

side of the hearth, and began to replenish the fire. If he heard, he

gave no sign of understanding or interest.

"I'll bet that old squaw musta half starved yah," Bud addressed the baby

while he spooned gravy out of a white enamel bowl on to the second slice

of bread. "You're putting away grub like a nigger at a barbecue. I'll

tell the world I don't know what woulda happened if I hadn't run across

yuh and made her hand yuh over."

"Ja--ja--ja--jah!" said Lovin Child, nodding his head and regarding Bud

with the twinkle in his eyes.

"And that's where you're dead right, Boy. I sure do wish you'd tell me

your name; but I reckon that's too much to ask of a little geezer like

you. Here. Help yourself, kid--you ain't in no Injun camp now. You're

with white folks now."

Cash sat down on the bench he had made for himself, and stared into the

fire. His whole attitude spelled abstraction; nevertheless he missed no

little sound behind him.

He knew that Bud was talking largely for his benefit, and he knew

that here was the psychological time for breaking the spell of silence

between them. Yet he let the minutes slip past and would not yield.

The quarrel had been of Bud's making in the first place. Let Bud do the

yielding, make the first step toward amity.

But Bud had other things to occupy him just then. Having eaten all his

small stomach would hold, Lovin Child wanted to get down and explore.

Bud had other ideas, but they did not seem to count for much with Lovin

Child, who had an insistent way that was scarcely to be combated or

ignored.

"But listen here, Boy!" Bud protested, after he had for the third time

prevented Lovin Child from backing off the table. "I was going to take

off these dirty duds and wash some of the Injun smell off yuh. I'll tell

a waiting world you need a bath, and your clothes washed."

"Ugh, ugh, ugh," persisted Lovin Child, and pointed to the floor.

So Bud sighed and made a virtue of defeat. "Oh, well, they say it's bad

policy to take a bath right after yuh eat. We'll let it ride awhile, but

you sure have got to be scrubbed a plenty before you can crawl in with

me, old-timer," he said, and set him down on the floor.

Lovin Child went immediately about the business that seemed most

important. He got down on his hands and knees and gravely inspected the

broad black line, hopefully testing it with tongue and with fingers to

see if it would yield him anything in the way of flavor or stickiness.

It did not. It had been there long enough to be thoroughly dry and

tasteless. He got up, planted both feet on it and teetered back and

forth, chuckling up at Bud with his eyes squinted.




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