The little man began to pant and even in the dim light Vic could see that his face was working.
"Him!" he said at length.

And then: "I might of knowed! Him!" He leaned closer.

"Keep it to yourself, Vic, or you'll have the rest of the boys runnin' for cover before the fun begins." He snuggled a little closer to his rock and turned his head towards the house.
"Him!" he said again.
Columbus, when he saw the land of his dream wavering blue in the distance, might have hailed it with such a heart-filling whisper, and Vic knew that when these two met, these two slender, small men--with the uneasy hands, there would be a battle whose fame would ring from range to range.
"If they was only a bit more light," muttered the sheriff.

"My God, Vic, why ain't the moon jest a mite nearer the full!" After that, not a word for a long time until the lights in the house were suddenly extinguished.
"So they won't show up agin no background when they make their run," murmured the sheriff.

He pushed up his hat brim so that it covered his eyes more perfectly.