"'Now what the hell's wrong with Glenn?' said dad, getting up from where

we sat.

"Shore I knew Glenn was mad, though I never before saw him that way.

He looked sort of grim an' black.... Well, he rode right down on us an'

piled off. Dad yelled at him an' so did I. But Glenn made for the sheep

pen. You know where we watched Haze Ruff an' Lorenzo slinging the sheep

into the dip. Ruff was just about to climb out over the fence when Glenn

leaped up on it."

"'Say, Ruff,' he said, sort of hard, 'Charley an' Ben tell me they heard

you speak disrespectfully to Miss Burch last night.'"

"Dad an' I ran to the fence, but before we could catch hold of Glenn

he'd jumped down into the pen."

"'I'm not carin' much for what them herders say,' replied Ruff.

"'Do you deny it?' demanded Glenn.

"'I ain't denyin' nothin', Kilbourne,' growled Ruff. 'I might argue

against me bein' disrespectful. That's a matter of opinion.' "'You'll apologize for speaking to Miss Burch or I'll beat you up an'

have Hutter fire you.' "'Wal, Kilbourne, I never eat my words,' replied Ruff.

"Then Glenn knocked him flat. You ought to have heard that crack.

Sounded like Charley hitting a steer with a club. Dad yelled: 'Look out,

Glenn. He packs a gun!'--Ruff got up mad clear through I reckon. Then

they mixed it. Ruff got in some swings, but he couldn't reach Glenn's

face. An' Glenn batted him right an' left, every time in his ugly

mug. Ruff got all bloody an' he cussed something awful. Glenn beat him

against the fence an' then we all saw Ruff reach for a gun or knife. All

the men yelled. An' shore I screamed. But Glenn saw as much as we saw.

He got fiercer. He beat Ruff down to his knees an' swung on him hard.

Deliberately knocked Ruff into the dip ditch. What a splash! It wet all

of us. Ruff went out of sight. Then he rolled up like a huge hog. We

were all scared now. That dip's rank poison, you know. Reckon Ruff knew

that. He floundered along an' crawled up at the end. Anyone could

see that he had mouth an' eyes tight shut. He began to grope an' feel

around, trying to find the way to the pond. One of the men led him out.

It was great to see him wade in the water an' wallow an' souse his head

under. When he came out the men got in front of him any stopped him.

He shore looked bad.... An' Glenn called to him, 'Ruff, that sheep-dip

won't go through your tough hide, but a bullet will!"




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