found a ledger in which he had been writing down every dollar he made, all crooked, for months. The money he won from Bill… cattle money and the five thousand he borrowed from Burch… were all entered. And a lot more. He was well on his way to bein' a rich man… or a rich skunk.
'Anyway, I figger Bill's money belongs to you. The rest will go to those pore devils he cheated. Their names and the amounts they lost are all down in the books.'
Kirby listened in amazement. 'Lon, I don't know if this will be legal or not. If it is, let's pay off the gambling money first. But I don't want all of Bill's money. Some of the smaller spreads who were rustled are almost out of business. Let's add up the money and divide it equally among us all. I don't need it. All I want is the old Wagon together again. It just might save some smaller ranches from going under, and there's lots of kids on those small outfits. I believe Bill would like us to do that. What do you think?'
Doc Williams cleared his throat huskily, and Josh's sniffle was almost a snort. The sheriff studied Kirby's face, his faded old eyes shining. Finally he sighed, the sound coming from his boots.
'I'll be dad-burned if you ain't gettin' more like old Muddy every day.' He blew his nose violently in an equally violent red bandana. He turned his gaze on Jen. 'Hope you know you got yourself quite a man here,' he said. 'I always liked what Spanish people say about such a feller. They say he's
Her eyes were bright with unshed tears as she looked up to answer the sheriff's question.
'
