"
David did not laugh. He pondered frowningly. He was the elder by two
years and he felt his responsibilities.
"They'll do all right. With two more men we'll make a strong enough
train."
Leff was cook that night, and he set the coffee on and began cutting
the bacon. Occupied in this congenial work, the joints of his tongue
were loosened, and as the skillet gave forth grease and odors, he gave
forth bits of information gleaned from the earlier part of the
interview:
"I guess they got a first rate outfit. The old gentleman said they'd
been getting it together since last autumn. They must be pretty well
fixed."
David nodded. Being "well fixed" or being poor did not count on the
edge of the prairie. They were frivolous outside matters that had
weight in cities. Leff went on,
"He's consumpted. That's why he's going. He says he expects to be
cured before he gets to California."
A sudden zephyr irritated the tree tops, which bent away from its touch
and scattered moisture on the fire and the frying pan. There was a
sputter and sizzle and Leff muttered profanely before he took up the
dropped thread:
"The man that drives the mules, he's a hired man that the old
gentleman's had for twenty years.
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