And this name in time was reduced to "Ham." Bill Jordan did not seem to take the men seriously.

Their names may have had something to do with his attitude, and the early West was not over-suspicious, anyway.

It had been said that "out here we take every man to be honest, until he is proven to be a thief, and in the East they take every man to be a thief, until he is proven to be honest." You can believe that or not, as you happen to live in the West or in the East.
Besides, Bill could make use of the talents of String Beans and Ham.

He needed "hands" to work on the ranch.
When Whitey found that his supposed tragedy was turning into a comedy, he felt rather bad about it, especially as Bill was inclined to guy him.
"Lucky you didn't shoot up them two fellers what's named after food," Bill said, when the strangers had retired to the bunk house.

"Or knock 'em out with some of them upper-cuts you're so handy in passin' 'round." For a boy, Whitey was an expert boxer.
"What was I to think, finding them that way ?" Whitey retorted.