"Then what's to be done?" Tresler asked, watching the little man's twisted face as he munched his tobacco.
"What's to be done? Wal, I don't rightly know. Say, what wus you doin' around that house? I ain't askin' fer cur'osity. Ye see, if you got tellin' Jake as you wus round ther', it's likely he'd git real mad. Y' see, Jake's dead sweet on Miss Dianny. It gives him the needle that I'm around that house. O' course, ther' ain't nuthin' wi' me an' Miss Dianny, 'cep' we're kind o' friendly. But Jake's that mean-sperrited an' jealous. She hates him like pizen. I know, 'cos I'm kind o' friendly wi' her, so to speak, meanin' nuthin', o' course. But that ain't the point. If you wus to tell him he'd make your head swim."
"Oh, hang Jake!" exclaimed Tresler, impatiently; "I'm sick to death of hearing of his terrorizing. He can't eat me----"
"No, but he'll make you wish he could," put in the choreman, quietly.
"He'd find me a tough mouthful," Tresler laughed.
"I simply wandered there by chance. I was smoking and taking a stroll. I'd been all round the ranch."
"That wouldn't suit Jake. No." Joe was silent for a moment.
Tresler waited. At last the little man made a move and spat out his chew.
"That's it," he said, slapping his thigh triumphantly--"that's it, sure. Say, we needn't to tell Jake nuthin'. I'll git around among the boys, an' let 'em know as I heerd tell of Red Mask bein' in the region o' the Bend, an' how a Breed give me warnin', bein' scared to come along to the ranch lest Red Mask got wind of it an' shut his head lights fer him. Ther' ain't no use in rilin' Jake. Meanin' for you. He's layin' fer you anyways, as I'm guessin' you'll likely know. Savee? Lie low, most as low as a dead cat in a well. I'll play this hand, wi'out you figgerin' in it; which, fer you, I guess is best."
Tresler got up and dusted his clothes. There was a slight pause while he fingered the leather-capped stirrups of the stock saddle on the wall.
Joe grew impatient. "Wal?" he said at last; "y' ain't bustin' wi' 'preciation."
"On the contrary, I appreciate your shrewdness and kindly interest on my behalf most cordially," Tresler replied, dropping the stirrup and turning to his companion; "but, you see, there's one little weakness in the arrangement. Jake's liable to underestimate the importance of the nocturnal visits unless he knows the real facts. Besides----"