Honest, Miss Withersteen, them steers was thin.

They was thin when water and grass was everywhere.

Thin at this season--thet'll tell you how your steers was pestered.

Fer instance, one night a strange runnin' streak of fire run right through the herd.

That streak was a coyote--with an oiled an' blazin' tail! Fer I shot it an' found out.