"I've been on this river fer years, an' I've seen hundreds of boys come in on the dodge.

Most of them, though, was no good.

An' thet kind don't last long.

This river country has been an' is the refuge fer criminals from all over the states.

I've bunked with bank cashiers, forgers, plain thieves, an' out-an'-out murderers, all of which had no bizness on the Texas border.