I plugged 'bout fer two er three months hopin' ter ketch up with him, but I never did.

I heerd tell o' him onc't or twice, an' caught on he was travellin' under 'nuther name--some durn French contraction--but thet's as much as I ever did find out.

Finally, up in Independence I wus so durn near broke I reckoned I 'd better put what I hed left in a grub stake, an' drift back yere.

I figgered thet maybe I could pick up some o' those Injun cattle again, and maybe some mavericks, an' so start 'nuther herd.
Anyhow I could lie low fer a while, believin' Le Fevre wus sure ter come back soon as he thought the coast wus clear.

I knew then he an' Koleta was in cahoots an' he 'd be headin' this way after the stock.
So I come down yere quiet, an' laid fer him to show up." "What then ?" "Nuthin' much, till yisterday.